APEX8 with RJ35 jacks — and the two things Atlas says out loud
Most lift listings tell you only what the equipment can do. This one comes with two manufacturer statements that cut the other way, and they are the most useful sentences on the page.
The first: only the APEX8 lift is ALI certified. The RJ35 jacks are not. The certification applies to the four-post structure, not to everything in the carton. If you are buying because a policy or an inspector asks for a listed lift, that distinction is the one that will be examined, and it is better read here than discovered later.
The second: Atlas positions the APEX8 for homeowners and restoration shops, and states it is not recommended for daily use in a commercial repair shop. That is a manufacturer declining a sale. Take it at face value. If your lift will go up and down thirty times a day for money, this is not the model — ask us about the commercial four-posts instead. If it will hold a project car for six months and take a wheel off now and then, it is exactly right.
What you get for the extra steel
The APEX8 is the certified version of the Garage PRO8000, the most popular four-post hobbyist lift Atlas builds, and Atlas rates it at close to 200 lb more mass than comparable lifts in the class. On a free-standing lift that is not bolted to the floor, weight is not a shipping statistic — it is what keeps the structure from flexing under an off-centre load and what keeps it planted when a car rolls up the ramps. Shipping weight is 2,000 lb.
Capacity is 8,000 lb. The caster kit with polyurethane wheels is included, not an extra, so the lift is portable out of the crate: fit the casters in minutes, roll it to another bay or out of the way of a car you are not working on, take them off again. Anchor bolts are optional if you decide you would rather fix it down.
Will It Fit Your Garage?
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Ceiling. Our sheet puts the columns at 85" — a disputed figure; read the short note that follows this list before you measure anything. The runways rise to 72", leaving 67" of clearance underneath — enough to park a second car below, which is what most APEX8 buyers want it for. This is a lower lift than the heavier-capacity four-posts in the range, which is precisely why it suits a standard domestic garage.
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Width. 104" across without the motor, 114" with it, and 94" of clearance between the columns. The runways sit 38" apart, or 33" between the rails.
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Power. 110 volt on a 30 amp breaker. No panel work, no electrician’s quote before you can plug it in.
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Oil. 3–5 gallons of AW32 or AW46, which is not supplied.
Measure your building before ordering — ceiling height to the lowest obstruction, floor length including room to drive off the ramp, and the condition of the slab. That check is the customer’s responsibility and it takes ten minutes.
How tall are the columns? Two answers are in circulation
The column figure in the list above is ours. Atlas publishes a taller one, taken over the nuts that cap the columns rather than over the steel beneath them, so what separates the two is hardware. Neither party is quoting a wrong measurement. They are quoting different points on the same post, we cannot settle which applies from the data we hold, and we are not going to pretend otherwise on a page trying to sell you something.
The consequence lands on the car you meant to park underneath. Stacking is the whole reason a four-post goes into a home garage, and the arithmetic that decides it starts at the top of the posts rather than at the roof of the vehicle you put up there: the lift has to stand in the building before anything is driven onto it, and the roof of the car below sets what you gain afterwards. Where headroom is close, a cap nut is exactly the sort of detail that turns a comfortable fit into a lift you cannot raise to full travel.
Have us confirm the factory column height in writing, and put a tape on your own ceiling — to the lowest thing hanging over the spot a post will occupy — before this order goes in. That is a message and ten minutes of your afternoon, against a crate going back on a truck.
The jacks: hand pumped, adjustable, and included
Two RJ35 sliding bridge jacks come with the package, each rated at 3,500 lb. They are manual, worked by hand pump, so no compressor and no air line are needed anywhere in this setup. That matters more in a home garage than anywhere else: an air-operated jack is only as available as the compressor feeding it, and a lot of domestic buildings do not have one.
They slide on the tracks between the runways and lift the vehicle by its frame so the wheels hang free for brake and tire work — something a four-post cannot do on its own, since it carries the car on its tires. Width and lift arms both adjust, which is what lets one jack reach the lifting points on a modified or restored vehicle rather than only the points a factory assumed. Maximum rise is 11" without adapters, and adapters are supplied at 1.5" and 5" on a 1.5" peg. There are multiple safety lock positions, and each jack ships at 350 lb.
Perfect For
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The homeowner with more cars than floor — 67" underneath turns one bay into two parking spaces.
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Restoration shops holding a long project up while working on something else.
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Buyers who need a certified lift for an insurance or code requirement but do not want to anchor a building they may not keep.
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Garages with no compressor, since nothing in this package needs air.
It is not for a commercial repair bay in daily service. Atlas says so, and so do we.
What’s in the Box
The caster kit, steel approach ramps, wheel stops and two wheel chocks come with the lift. Each RJ35 includes a four-piece truck adapter set. Anchor bolts and hydraulic oil are separate. Shipping weight is 2,000 lb for the lift and 350 lb per jack.
Specifications
| Lift capacity |
8,000 lb |
| Jack capacity |
3,500 lb each, two supplied, manual hand pump |
| Rise / clearance |
72" lifting height; 67" under the runways |
| Column height (our figure — disputed, see the note above)
|
85" |
| Width |
104" without motor, 114" with; 94" between columns |
| Power |
110 volt, 30 amp breaker |
| Shipping weight |
2,000 lb lift, 350 lb per jack |
Certification, precisely
The APEX8 lift is ALI certified — an independent body has tested and listed it against the North American standard, rather than the manufacturer declaring its own compliance. The RJ35 jacks that come with it are not certified, and no dealer should imply otherwise. Read your requirement carefully if you have one: some policies and jurisdictions name the lift, some name all lifting equipment in the bay. If yours is the second kind, this package will not satisfy it on its own and you should talk to us before ordering.
Shipping and delivery
Freight only, lower 48 states, quoted live at checkout against your address so the figure is current rather than historical. The lift and two jacks are heavy freight and you must be able to unload: a forklift, a loading dock, or terminal pickup where you collect the crates yourself. Residential delivery carries a residential fee. Inspect everything while the driver is still there and write any damage onto the bill of lading before you sign — a clean signature is taken as agreement that the shipment arrived sound.
Warranty
The lift carries 5 years structural and 2 years hydraulic. The RJ35 jacks carry 1 year, parts only. Parts only means the component is supplied and fitting it is your cost. If something fails, open the claim before anything comes apart — a dismantled cylinder or pump cannot be assessed, and that is the ordinary way a straightforward claim becomes a slow one.
