Atlas 9KBPX: a 9,000 lb two-post that goes under a 9 feet 6 inches ceiling

This lift exists to solve one problem, and it solves it by giving something up. A clear-floor overhead two-post carries its hydraulics and its equalisation across a beam above the vehicle, and that beam is what stops most residential garages from having a lift at all. The 9KBPX moves that plumbing down to a baseplate across the floor instead. The result is an open top and a column height of 9 feet 3 1/2 inches — low enough to install under a 9 feet 6 inches ceiling, which is the ceiling a great many two-car garages and older commercial units actually have.

What you give up is the clear floor. There is a plate between the columns, so the bay is no longer a flat surface you can roll a jack across in a straight line, and a vehicle drives over it going in. That is the entire trade. For a garage that cannot take an overhead lift, it is not much of a trade at all.

Will It Fit?

Take these measurements before you order, in this order, because two of them are expensive to discover late.

• Ceiling. The columns stand 9 feet 3 1/2 inches. Atlas states this allows installation in almost any professional or home garage with a ceiling as low as 9 feet 6 inches. Measure to the lowest thing on your roof, not the highest — a garage door track, an opener, a light or a beam is what the column actually has to clear.
• Concrete. A minimum of 4 inches of concrete rated at 3000 psi. This is the specification the anchors are designed against, and it is not negotiable by hope. A slab that is thinner, cracked or poured over fill does not become adequate because the lift is rated for it. If you do not know what is under your floor, core it or have a concrete contractor look before you buy a lift.
• Floor width and drive-through. Inside the columns is 110 inches. Drive-through between the carriages is 101 inches — that is the hard limit on how wide a vehicle can be driven in, and it catches people more often than capacity ever does.
• Reach. Maximum lift height is 74 inches without adapters and 81 inches with them; minimum arm height is 4 inches. The minimum is the one that decides whether the arms go under a low car; the maximum is the one that decides whether you can stand upright underneath.
• Power. 220 volt single phase with a 30 amp breaker recommended. Price that circuit before ordering.
• Oil. 3 to 5 gallons of AW32 or AW46, not included.
• Column steel is 5mm, on a column section of 7 1/4 by 11 inches.

Confirming ceiling, slab and circuit is the buyer's responsibility — a lift that does not fit the building is not a warranty matter. Send us your ceiling height and slab thickness and we will check them against these figures in writing before you order.

The secondary lock is the part you are really buying

The 9KBPX is a chain-over-roller design running dual hydraulic chain-drive cylinders, and it carries a spring-loaded Secondary Lock System that engages by itself the moment a chain goes slack or breaks. Chains are the component people worry about on this style of lift, and reasonably so. The point of a secondary lock is that a chain failure becomes a stopped lift rather than a dropped car, and it does so without anyone reacting to it. Alongside that sit automatic arm restraints, which stop an arm swinging out from under a lifting point once the vehicle is up, and a dual-point lock release so lowering takes a deliberate action.

Symmetric arms, and being honest about the range

This lift has symmetric arms — equal reach front and rear, vehicle centred between the columns. That is a simple, predictable geometry for cars, SUVs and light-duty trucks, which is exactly what Atlas positions it for. It is worth repeating the manufacturer's own caution rather than burying it: this lift is not recommended for diesel duallies or other large trucks. A 9,000 lbs rating is a rating for a vehicle that fits between these columns and sits on these arms, not a licence to put a one-ton crew cab on it.

Perfect For

• A home garage with a low ceiling — the case this lift was designed around.
• A small commercial shop in an older unit where the roof height rules out an overhead lift.
• Cars, SUVs and light-duty trucks. Not duallies, not large commercial trucks.
• Anyone weighing a lift against a lifetime of jack stands who has the slab and the circuit but not the headroom.

What is in the box

Per this page's feature list: an 8-piece truck adapter set, automatic arm restraints, dual-point lock release, and the mounting hardware. Adapter heights supplied are four each at 1.5 inches and 5 inches, and the arm hole and peg size is 1.5 inches. Not included: the hydraulic oil, the electrical work, and the concrete.

Certification, stated plainly

No independent third-party lift safety listing is claimed for the 9KBPX anywhere in our product data, and we are not going to imply one. On a two-post lift this is a question worth resolving before purchase rather than at an inspection: some insurers, some fleet contracts and some local jurisdictions require a commercially used lift to carry a specific independent listing. If that is your situation, ask us in writing before ordering and we will put it to Atlas directly rather than answer for them.

Shipping and delivery

This is a freight shipment inside the lower 48 states, quoted live at checkout rather than printed here, because freight rates move. Two things decide whether delivery day goes well. First, unloading is yours to arrange: a freight truck will not lift the crate off the trailer for you, so you need a forklift, a skid steer or a comparable machine at the delivery address, or you take the shipment at the carrier terminal instead. Tell us which before it ships. Second, inspect before you sign. Walk the crate, look for crushed corners, punctures, shifted banding and oil marks, and write anything you find on the delivery receipt before the driver leaves. A signed clean receipt is the carrier's proof that the freight arrived undamaged, and a concealed-damage claim raised afterwards is a far harder argument than three words written on the paperwork. Residential delivery is available and carries a residential fee. Warehouse pickup is available at our stocking locations if you would rather collect it.

Warranty

2 year structural, 1 year hydraulic, parts only, as published in this page's own feature list. Contact us before disassembling a cylinder, a power unit or a carriage — a unit that has already been taken apart is the most common reason a legitimate claim is turned down.

The reliable dual chain-drive cylinders, symmetric arms, and automatic arm restraints make this the perfect choice for “Mr. Homeowner” or small commercial shop looking to service cars, SUV’s, and light duty trucks (not recommended to lift Diesel Dually or other large trucks).