Scissor Car Lift Systems

Scissor car lift systems lift vehicles such as cars, SUV’s and light trucks, but are generally used for vehicle maintenance. Scissor car lift systems usually have a ramp pad where the vehicle is driven up on and from underneath the vehicle two extending posts extend vertically from one side to another. When the scissor car lifts a vehicle, the extension of these two posts are similar to a scissor or “X”. Because the lifting arms are directly below the vehicle, the use of the lift as storage is not practically since you can not drive another vehicle below it. Scissor lifts are extremely easy to use and mainly work via electric/hydraulic methods. However, on certain scissor lift systems pneumatic or mechanical methods of lifting the vehicle are available.

There are three types of scissor car lift systems; low rise, moderate rise and high rise lift systems. A low rise generally lifts a vehicle less than 36 inches off the ground. A moderate rise scissor lift system usually lifts a vehicle about 48 inches off the ground a high rise scissor lift system can lift a vehicle in excess of 48 inches. A moderate lift system is perfect for home owners that want to lift their vehicle, but have a low overhead ceiling. Even with a ceiling of 8 feet, you can safely and reliably lift your vehicle to perform maintenance.

Scissor lift kits usually come preassembled and in many cases include casters or removable casters. Generally, most scissor car lift systems start with a weight capacity of about 6,000 pounds and can continue to tens of thousands of pounds for industrial style scissor lift systems that are used for heavy duty trucks. Prices for a new scissor car lifts can start about $800 for a low rise, low weight capacity and increase to about $3,000 for high rise, high weight capacity lifts.