How I got here
I started my career as a lift mechanic. Before I ever sold a 2 post car lift, I was underneath them — installing new ones, servicing tired ones, diagnosing the ones that had started making noises the owner wanted to pretend they hadn't heard. Over the years I've been hands-on with equipment from every major manufacturer in the space and a lot of the minor ones, and that's the background I bring to every product page on this site.
Somewhere along the way I noticed a pattern: the 2 post car lift market online is broken in a specific, painful way. The top Google results for a phrase like "2 post car lift" aren't necessarily the safest lifts. They're the sites with the biggest ad budgets and the flashiest home-storage-lift photos. A lot of them are primarily four-post storage lift stores that added a couple of cheap 2 post car lifts on the side because someone typed the search into Google. And the 2 post car lifts they sell are usually chosen for price, not for how well they perform under a real vehicle for a real service cycle.
I saw the fallout of that market up close — new 2 post car lifts I was called out to look at that had structural problems out of the box, or arm restraint mechanisms that had already worn out, or column welds that never should have left the factory. Every one of those was bought by someone who thought they'd done their homework. They'd read reviews. They'd compared prices. They just hadn't been able to find a site that told them the truth about which lifts were actually safe and which ones were priced to look like a deal because the bill of materials had been cut down to nothing.
Why this site is different
I built 2postcarlift.com because I got tired of watching people make expensive mistakes with equipment that could hurt them. The rules I set for the site are simple:
- Only 2 post car lifts. No four-post storage lifts, no scissor lifts, no mid-rise. Just the one thing, done right.
- Only brands I would personally trust to be underneath. Rotary, Forward, Challenger, BendPak — the four manufacturers with actual engineering, actual warranties, and actual parts availability. Every 2 post car lift on this site is one I would install for my own family.
- Real specs. Every product page pulls its numbers from the manufacturer's install manual — ceiling clearance, concrete thickness, concrete PSI, electrical draw, ALI certification, warranty terms. Not the marketing brochure.
- Three legitimately safe tiers — value, commercial, and made-in-USA lifetime — with plain-English guidance on which tier matches how you'll actually use the 2 post car lift. Because "safe for a race-car hobbyist doing brake jobs on weekends" is not the same spec as "safe for a lube shop cycling 30 vehicles a day."
What I'll actually help you with
Every product page has a text-a-photo concierge offer for pre-purchase bay verification. If you're not sure whether your ceiling clears a specific 2 post car lift, or your slab is thick enough, or your electrical panel can handle the load — text me a photo. I'll cross-reference the install manual and get back to you, usually same day. That's free. It's the single biggest reason people return lifts, and it's the easiest problem to prevent.
I'll also give you an honest read on which lift is right for you, even if it's the cheapest one on the page — and even if it means talking you out of a bigger sale. If you're a home hobbyist doing brake jobs and oil changes, you don't need the 20,000-lb commercial lift. If you're a commercial shop cycling vehicles all day, the value-tier lift is not the right pick no matter how tempting the price is. Getting the pairing right saves you money on the wrong end of the transaction — which is the end that hurts more.
Service work
I don't turn wrenches on 2 post car lifts anymore — the site takes up my days now — but I've spent enough time in enough service bays across this industry to know who does good work and who doesn't. If you already own a 2 post car lift and need service, call the number above and tell me where you're located. I'll point you toward the shop I'd send my own family to. No charge for the referral, no upsell.
Where I'm reachable
The best way to get me is text or a call to (833) 736-7290, Mon–Fri 8a–6p Central. Email works too: sales@2postcarlift.com. I try to respond within one business day, and usually a lot faster than that. The operating entity is Ragsdale LLC dba 2 Post Car Lift, based at 210 Freel Dr, Ames, Iowa 50010 — the same address that appears on your invoice and your warranty registration.
If you got this far in the bio, thanks for the trust. Whatever 2 post car lift you're shopping for, I hope the site helps you land on the right one. And if it doesn't, call me and we'll figure it out.
What I read, and where I source my numbers
Every install manual for every 2 post car lift on this site sits on my drive. That's how the spec tables on the product pages stay accurate — I read the current revision of the ALI-certified install and operation manual for each SKU, and pull ceiling clearance, concrete PSI, minimum concrete thickness, rise height, electrical requirements, and warranty terms straight from the manufacturer document. If a spec on this site ever disagrees with the current install manual, the manual wins. Text me and I'll fix the site.
The four brands I stock — Rotary, Forward, Challenger, and BendPak — each have engineering teams whose work I've watched hold up over ten- and fifteen-year service intervals in real shops. That's why they're the only brands on the site. There are other 2 post car lift manufacturers with clever marketing, but there's a reason my personal shortlist has stayed at four for years, and the reason is what I've seen out in the field. If a fifth brand ever earns its way onto the site, it'll be because it deserved to, not because someone offered better dealer margins.
— Josiah Ragsdale, Founder, 2 Post Car Lift Specialists