Buying a 2 Post Car Lift in Southwest Iowa? Check Freight First

Before you spend a dollar on a 2 post car lift, figure out how it’s actually going to get from the truck into your garage. We’ve watched more southwest Iowa hobbyists get tripped up by freight and unloading logistics than by anything to do with the lift itself. You can pick the right columns, the right arms, the right weight rating, and still end up with a lift sitting on a flatbed in your driveway because nobody planned for a forklift. Auto Lift Services installs and ships these units all over the state, from Red Oak to Indianola to the Des Moines metro, and we’d rather walk you through the freight side now than have you find out the hard way on delivery day.

Do You Have a Forklift, Or Do We Need to Bring One

This is the very first question we ask every southwest Iowa hobbyist who calls us about a 2 post car lift, and it’s the one people underestimate the most. A packaged lift with columns, arms, hydraulic unit, and hardware easily weighs a couple thousand pounds, split across a few crates. Freight companies drop the truck at the curb and that’s it — they are not carrying crates into your garage. If you don’t have a forklift, skid steer, or engine hoist setup capable of moving those crates, we need to know before the truck shows up, not after.

We’ve had customers with a tractor on site who could handle it themselves, and we’ve had customers who needed our crew to bring equipment. Either way is fine, but it has to be planned. If your shop is rural and the delivery truck can’t get down your driveway, that changes the whole game plan too. Tell us up front whether you’ve got equipment on site, and we’ll build the install date around it instead of guessing.

Ceiling Height, Floor Space, and Where the Lift Actually Goes

Before freight even matters, you need to know the 2 post car lift will fit where you want it. We generally like to see at least 12 feet of clear ceiling for a full-rise two-post, and we want a good sense of your floor plan — roughly 1,000 to 1,500 square feet of usable garage space gives you comfortable room to work around the vehicle once it’s up. Southwest Iowa garages run the gamut from old pole barns to newer detached shops, and both can work fine as long as the numbers check out.

We also ask about obstructions overhead — ductwork, lighting, garage door tracks — because a two-post lift needs a straight shot up. Measure twice before you order. A lift that’s perfect on paper but two inches too tall for your rafters is a headache nobody wants to deal with after it’s already been delivered and uncrated.

Concrete Readiness Matters More Than People Think

Anchoring a 2 post car lift means drilling into concrete, and the slab has to be able to handle it. We typically want at least 4 inches of solid, crack-free concrete, and we ask that anchor points stay a few inches away from any expansion joints or edges — six inches is the rule of thumb we work from. If your pad is old, cracked, or has a noticeable slope, that’s not automatically a dealbreaker, but we need pictures ahead of time so we’re not surprised on install day.

We’ve dealt with pads that were three or four inches off from one end to the other, and while that’s not ideal, it’s workable with the right shimming and planning. What isn’t workable is finding out about it after the freight truck has already dropped the lift on your property. Send photos of your slab when you request a quote, and it saves everyone a wasted trip.

Lead Time: Order the Lift Before You Need It

Freight for a 2 post car lift isn’t instant. Between manufacturer lead time and the truck route actually reaching rural southwest Iowa, you should plan on ordering weeks ahead of when you actually want the lift running in your garage. We’ve had customers perfectly happy to wait until warmer weather for an outdoor install, and that patience usually pays off with smoother scheduling on our end too.

If you’re doing general daily maintenance work — oil changes, brake jobs, seasonal tire swaps — and you’re trying to time the install around your own schedule, tell us that early. We’ll work backward from your target date and let you know when the order needs to go in. Waiting until the last minute is the number one reason people end up doing maintenance on jack stands for another month.

New Versus Used: Freight and Condition Both Count

We field plenty of calls about used 2 post lifts, sometimes priced attractively because a hobbyist upgraded shops or a business closed one location. A used lift can be a smart way to save money, but freight and condition both need a hard look. We’ve assembled used lifts that were nearly complete — hoses, chains, pump all present — and others missing a hydraulic gauge or an airline, needing real work before they’re safe to run.

If you’re buying used, ask the seller exactly what’s included, get photos, and have us look them over before you commit to hauling it home. A lift that’s

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