Advice

Car Lift: Ways to Protect Your Car From a Flood

By 08/09/2024 8:00am
Scissor lift

Quick Facts About Car Lifts

Whether rain, mountain snow melt, or a hurricane causes water to rise in your area, flood waters can damage or even render your car a total loss. Sometimes, such catastrophes are unavoidable. A flash flood caused by a freak rainstorm or a tornado can lead to an unexpected water catastrophe. However, another flooding, like rising river levels caused by excessive snow melt or a hurricane tracked for days, means advanced warning allows for preparation. The question then becomes, in the face of potential flooding, what precautions can you implement to protect your vehicle and maintain its value when simply driving it out of harm’s way isn’t an option? We’ll help with some solutions you may not have considered: car lifts and jack stands.

What Are Car Lifts?

A car lift is a mechanical apparatus that lifts an entire vehicle off the ground, usually using hydraulic pressure. You’ll find heavy-duty commercial lifts in the garages of car dealerships, full-service gas stations, tire stores, and other businesses that professionally service or repair vehicles. In addition to the more industrial-type lifts, there are consumer lifts engineered for shade-tree mechanics, do-it-yourselfers, and others who like to get their hands dirty maintaining their vehicles. Typically, home-use lifts are compact and sometimes portable. We’ll focus on home lifts in this article.

How Can a Car Lift Protect Your Vehicle

Flood water is much more likely to damage a car sitting on the ground than one raised two feet or more above the ground. Moreover, some lifts can elevate a vehicle six feet or more. A lift isn’t foolproof, but it can mean the difference between a totaled vehicle and one that just gets wet.

RELATED: Preparing Your Car for a Hurricane: An Emergency Checklist

Salt Water and Electric Vehicles

Flood damage can be especially nasty if you own an electric vehicle (EV) in a hurricane-prone area. Often, the manufacturers locate an EV’s battery under the passenger compartment floor. Although the battery is sealed, being submerged in water (particularly salt water) for a prolonged period can damage it and cause a short circuit, leading to a fire. For example, several such fires occurred after Hurricanes Idalia and Ian.

Although other types are available, car lifts generally fall into three categories: 2-post, 4-post, and scissor.

  • 2-post: These lifts feature a single post secured to the ground on each side of the vehicle. Each post has a mechanism with two arms that travel up and down the post to raise and lower the vehicle. Arranged to balance the vehicle when raised, the twin arms stabilize the lifted vehicle. The post mechanisms synchronize to raise and lower at an identical rate. The two types of 2-post lifts are symmetrical and asymmetrical. With symmetrical lifts, the twin arms are of equal length, and you position the vehicle with the posts at the center. The arms of asymmetrical lifts are two different lengths, allowing you to position the vehicle so the posts are forward of the vehicle’s center. The advantage of an asymmetrical lift is that it permits more straightforward access to the car’s cabin.
  • 4-post: Supporting runways (long platforms for the vehicle’s wheels), these lifts have four supporting posts with synchronized mechanisms to raise and lower the vehicle. When in the lowered position, the vehicle drives up onto the runways. You must bolt a 4-post lift to the floor, and it takes up more room than a 2-post lift. In general, the advantages of a 4-post lift include supporting heavier vehicles and providing a higher raised position for better under-car access.
  • Scissor: Think of scissor lifts as the little brother to 4-post and 2-post lifts. Typically, scissor lifts have a lower maximum weight capacity and require less space than the 4-post and 2-post lifts. Moreover, they provide less height when raised. “Scissor” refers to the lift’s support and the raise-lower structure on which the platform sits. It is a series of crossed tubes, which resemble scissors closing during the raising process and opening during the lowering process. The advantages of scissor lifts are price, a smaller footprint, and, depending on the design, portability.

What Do You Need to Know When Buying a Car Lift?

When shopping for a car lift, there are several factors to consider. Here, we list some of them.

  • Garage dimensions: You must determine the available length, width, and height of the space in which the lift will operate to ensure it fits and operates safely. If you have an overhead garage door, calculate the height with the door in its open position.
  • Vehicle specs: You need some basic information about the vehicle you will lift to make an educated decision. You should know the vehicle’s curb weight, wheelbase length, and track (distance between wheels on the same axle).
  • Weight limit: Every car lift has a maximum weight limit it can support. That weight limit must exceed your vehicle’s curb weight. We would recommend adding about 500 pounds to your vehicle’s curb weight to tally the total your potential car lift will need to support. For example, a 2024 Toyota Camry LE has a posted curb weight of 3,450 pounds. Adding our suggested 500 pounds brings the total minimum weight your car lift needs to support to 3,950 pounds.
  • Lift height: This is the total height the car lift raises your vehicle off the floor. Usually, it’s expressed in inches: 24 inches, 48 inches, and so forth.
  • Lift outside dimensions: If it’s a 4-post lift, you’ll need to know the lift’s length, width, and overall height to ensure it will accommodate your vehicle and fit in your garage or wherever you intend to locate it. For 2-post lifts, you only really need to worry about the height of the posts.
  • Runway specs: If the lift you are considering has runways (4-post lifts do) on which the vehicle’s wheels sit, you must ensure the runways are long enough. That is, they must accommodate your vehicle’s wheelbase (the distance between the middle of the front tire and the rear tire on the same side). Also, the width between the runways must match the width (track) between your vehicle’s wheels. Many 4-post lifts have adjustable-width ramps.
  • Electric power: Typically, hydraulic lifts operate electrically. Some can source their power from a regular 110-volt household outlet, while others require a 220-volt connection like a clothes dryer.

Are Car Lifts Safe?

A car lift is safe when properly installed and used according to its specifications. 

How Much Do Car Lifts Cost?

Costs fluctuate wildly between the three lift types and even within the types based on the brand and features. Generally, scissor lifts are the most affordable, followed by 2-post and then 4-post lifts. Pricing ranges from roughly $1,500 to as much as $10,000. Furthermore, many lifts require additional installation costs.

Is a Car Lift Right for You?

We believe a car lift is a sound method to get your car out of harm’s way during a flood. However, unless you can use it year-round as a parking solution or to ease the task of maintaining a vehicle yourself, a car lift represents a significant investment in money and garage space for something you may never need. There is an alternative.

Jack Stands: A Cheaper Option for Lifting a Car

As a technique to raise your car, jack stands save cost and space.

What Are Car Jack Stands?

Jack stands are single-point platforms capable of supporting a vehicle in a raised position once you have elevated it. Most jack stands are adjustable, so you can set them to multiple heights. Jack stands are typically engineered to support the vehicle’s frame, but you can use them in other areas.

How Do Car Jack Stands Work?

Once a jack has raised one corner of the car, you can situate a jack stand under the frame to maintain the raised height when you remove the jack. Repeating the process at all four wheels raises the entire vehicle off the ground. If you need to increase the height, jack each wheel to the jack stand’s next setting and reset the jack stand’s height. The advantages of jack stands over car lifts are affordability, portability, and a small storage footprint. The disadvantages are less raise height and more time-consuming to raise the vehicle.

NOTE: We recommend using a hydraulic jack to raise the car rather than the jack that comes with most cars. It’s quicker and safer than the car’s factory jack.

How Much Do Jack Stands Cost?

Often sold in pairs, a pair costs $30 to $250; therefore, a set of four costs $60 to $500. Buying a hydraulic jack will cost you roughly $130 to $250.

Are Jack Stands Safe?

Jack stands are safe when used according to specifications (weight limits and so on) and positioned at factory-recommended jacking points. However, there are precautions.

  • Only use jack stands on a level surface.
  • Place them at exactly the carmaker’s stated jacking points.
  • When placing the stands, raise one side of the car first and then the other side. Don’t raise the front and then the rear or vice versa.
  • While jacking up the vehicle, chock the wheels in contact with the floor.