Install a single mast hydraulic in-ground service lift (2500-3000 US$) in the center of your "car lift area".

Rout a second high pressure service line to the ground next to the lift.

Install a large rectangular service foot on the lift that fits your model/models of car.

Mount that lift on a large bearing so that it can turn on the top of the lift mast.

Add a second hydraulic actuator motor so setup to turn the service foot 180* acting against a fixed mount welded to the top of the mast and powered from the extra service line/return through flex hoses.

install a pressure locked momentary actuated bypass valve on the service line to the rotation motor to be cam actuated at 180 and 360 degree positions.

Enjoy the envy of your neighbors as you rotate your car at will. Bonus of allowing you to show off the undercarriage detailing you spend your weekends on. And really easy servicing.

Please don't post wishes. Post ideas.
-- WcW, Jul 03 2009

Motorcycle turntable http://et-tu.com/motor/
Without the need for hydraulics [Twizz, Jul 03 2009]

Car turntable http://www.carturntables.co.uk/
Also without hydraulics [Twizz, Jul 03 2009]

The Joys of running a London Taxi as a private vehicle http://myblacktaxi.blogspot.com/
[zen_tom, Jul 06 2009]

Widely baked without the lift element. There can be little benfit to lifting the car, as the lift would obstruct access to most of the underside.
-- Twizz, Jul 03 2009


twizz, widely baked WITH the lift element. Post lifts used to be the standard for service shops. This just adds a motor for turning the car. It's a cheap car turning device with the bonus, for us technical people, that it shows off the suspension and drive train as well as the exterior of the vehicle.
-- WcW, Jul 03 2009


Widely baked as described you say? Doesn't that make it M-F-D: widely known to exist? Why then would you have posted it?
-- ye_river_xiv, Jul 04 2009


no, it's an improvement, and a re-imagining. nobody makes a car lift that can be rotated.
-- WcW, Jul 04 2009


So not in fact widely baked with the lift element... Single post lifts don't rotate.

Why do you need a motor for rotation? The whole point of supporting the vehicle on a bearing is that you can easily rotate it by hand. Motorised turntables are OK for showrooms, but not required at home.

How would a single post rotating lift allow useful access to the exhaust and powertrain (the parts under the car most often in need of attention)? There would have to be some substantial radial arms to support the car's weight and they need to connect to the central post.

I guess if your purpose is only to show off, it might be OK, but I would want it to be practical.
-- Twizz, Jul 06 2009


If you bought a London taxi (ideally, a 1996 FX4 "Fairway Driver") you wouldn't need a separate device to spin your car around, it would just do it itself.
-- zen_tom, Jul 06 2009


they have arms that splay out to the corners of the vehicle inside the wheel base. admittedly this interferes with a few exhaust and transmissions operations, but this is the reason why many shops have both wheel and post lifts.
-- WcW, Jul 06 2009


Okay, you win on my scoreboard but only because I want one of those to work on the car with... needs to be in a garage though as I'm pretty sure being outdoors is going to void the warranty.
-- FlyingToaster, Jul 06 2009



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