Why A Portable Auto Lift Is a Good Investment
Portable Auto Lift
Some auto repair situations require only a portion of the vehicle being lifted up to get clearance for removing and replacing parts. Others require lifting the entire vehicle, a task that used to require a couple of floor jacks, several jacks stands, and a large degree of caution if you didn’t have a full-scale auto lift installed in your garage. But with the advent of a portable auto lift, even the smallest garage can work with the same degree of freedom larger shops have.
Leveraged Space
First, it should be pointed out that “portable” is a relative term. Most portable auto lifts can be moved around, even taken from place to place if the mechanic is keeping mobile. But it’s not going to be as mobile as a floor jack or jack stands. It will take more effort to move around and put into position, though a two-man team can get one setup fairly quickly. Depending on the type of portable auto lift, they can take up minimal amounts of space in a truck or trailer if they’re loaded up correctly. Also, you’ll need some means of supplying electricity or pneumatic pressure to the lift.
Functional Value
A portable auto lift sits in the space between tools and infrastructure. As such, their costs reflect the unusual position they occupy. Compared to installing the sort of lift one would find at a dealership’s service center, a portable auto lift is dirt cheap. However, when compared to a floor jack, even one with a large lift capacity, the cost is usually more than what most small businesses keep on hand in petty cash for when they need to replace a tool.