When an RV and trailer service shop in the Des Moines metro called us about getting a 2 post car lift installed, the owner wasn’t thinking about resale value or long-term equipment planning — he just needed a faster way to get under tow vehicles and smaller trailers to do engine oil pan gasket work without crawling around on a creeper all day. A year later, that same lift has become one of the most-used pieces of equipment in the building, and the story of how it went from install day to a shop staple is worth telling for anyone in central Iowa weighing the same decision.
Browse Rotary and Challenger two post lifts sized for RV service bays, tow vehicle work, and daily commercial use across the Des Moines metro and all of Iowa.
Why an RV Shop Wanted a 2 Post Car Lift Installed in the First Place
Most RV and trailer shops in Iowa run a mix of equipment — maybe a portable frame jack, a scissor lift for tongue-height work, and a lot of floor jacks. What this shop was missing was something that could get a full-size pickup or tow vehicle up to a comfortable working height quickly, safely, and repeatedly. Oil pan gasket jobs on diesel tow rigs are miserable from underneath at ground level; you need clearance to pull skid plates, drop crossmembers, and work without fighting gravity and drips in your face.
The owner had priced out asymmetric two post lifts before but kept putting it off because he assumed installation would be a bigger disruption than it turned out to be. Once we walked the bay, checked ceiling height and slab thickness, and confirmed the lift would clear his overhead doors, the decision moved fast. We’s seen this pattern across Iowa: shops delay a lift purchase for a year or two out of installation anxiety, then wonder why they waited once it’s running.
The Installation Day Itself in the Des Moines Metro
Getting a 2 post car lift installed correctly starts well before the lift touches the floor. We confirmed the slab thickness and rebar placement, checked for adequate spacing from the overhead door track and adjacent equipment, and made sure the electrical drop for the power unit was in a sensible spot that wouldn’t create a trip hazard. In this shop’s case the concrete was solid enough for a standard anchor pattern, which kept the job on schedule.
From there it was a matter of setting the columns plumb, running cables or chains depending on the lift’s configuration, and cycling it empty multiple times before ever putting a vehicle on it. We also walked the technicians through daily safety checks — arm restraint engagement, lock bar operation, and load limits — because a lift is only as safe as the people using it every day. The whole process took less time than the shop expected, and by the next morning they had a tow vehicle up in the air for its first real oil pan gasket job.
First Service Job: Oil Pan Gasket Work Under Real Conditions
The first real test of any newly installed lift is a real job, not a demo. For this shop, that meant a diesel tow vehicle with a leaking oil pan gasket, a job that used to eat half a day of awkward under-vehicle work. With the vehicle raised to chest height on the two post lift, the technician pulled the skid plate, dropped the pan, cleaned the mating surfaces, and reinstalled everything in a fraction of the time it used to take.
That’s the real value of getting a 2 post car lift installed for this kind of work — it’s not just about doing the job, it’s about doing it faster and with less physical strain on the technician. Multiply that time savings across every oil pan gasket, brake job, and undercarriage inspection over a year, and the labor hours recovered start to add up in a way that’s easy to underestimate before you have the lift.
How the Lift Changed Daily Shop Workflow
Beyond the first job, the shop noticed a shift in how they scheduled work. Jobs that used to get pushed to the end of the day because nobody wanted to deal with floor-level access now got scheduled first thing in the morning. The lift became the default station for anything involving the underside of a vehicle, and the shop’s older creeper-and-jack setup got relegated to quick fluid checks.
We hear this from a lot of Des Moines metro shops after a two post lift goes in: the equipment doesn’t just add capacity, it changes behavior. Technicians stop avoiding certain jobs. Estimators start quoting jobs they used to subcontract out because now they have the equipment to do it in-house. A shop that once shied away from bigger diesel tow vehicle work because of the physical hassle started taking on more of it once the lift was part of the daily rotation.
Sub-Topic: Trade-In and Resale Value Considerations
One thing this shop didn’t anticipate was how a properly installed two post lift affects the resale value of the shop itself, not just the vehicles passing through it. When a shop owner eventually sells the business or the building, a documented, professionally installed lift with service records is a real asset on the balance sheet — buyers pay attention to equipment condition and installation history, not just square footage.
We recommend every shop keep a simple file: the installation date, who performed the install, anchor and inspection records, and any service or recertification history. A 2 post car lift installed by a documented, licensed installer and maintained on a regular schedule holds its value far better than one installed informally with no paper trail. If you ever plan to sell equipment separately from the building — say, upgrading to a four post or adding a second bay — that same documentation makes the used lift market easier to navigate too.
Maintenance That Keeps the Lift Worth Owning
A year in, the shop’s maintenance routine is simple but consistent: monthly visual inspections of the cables or hydraulic lines, periodic lubrication of moving points, and an annual professional inspection. None of this is complicated, but skipping it is exactly how lifts end up needing expensive repairs or, worse, becoming a safety liability.
We’ve talked with shops around Iowa who bought a lift, used it hard for two years, and never had it inspected — and by the time something failed, it cost more to fix than a few years of routine maintenance would have. Our advice to this RV shop, and to every shop we install for, is the same: treat the annual inspection like an oil change for the lift itself. It’s cheap insurance against downtime and against a much bigger repair bill down the road.
Would They Do It Again? What Other Iowa Shops Should Take Away
Ask the shop owner today and he’ll tell you the only regret is not doing it sooner. The lift paid for itself in labor efficiency well within the first year, and the oil pan gasket work that used to be a dreaded task is now routine. For any RV or trailer shop in the Des Moines metro considering the same move, the lesson from this first-year story is straightforward: don’t overthink the installation logistics, get an honest assessment of your slab and ceiling clearance, and plan for the lift to become the busiest station in your shop.
If you’re weighing a 2 post car lift installed for your own bay, we’d rather walk your space and give you a real answer than have you guess from a spec sheet. Every shop’s concrete, ceiling height, and workflow are different, and that’s exactly what a site visit is for.
Our Clients Include: