Lift Terminology: Drive-Thru Measurement

When shopping for a new lift, it is very easy for someone to get confused when looking at all of the various terms and figures in the specification tables.  While some measurements, such as minimum and maximum heights or width are fairly straightforward, other terms – like “drive-thru” – can get a bit more complicated.  This is especially true when the measurement changes depending on whether the lift is in the “up” or “down” position.

Drive-Thru Measurement for 2-Post Lifts

For a two post lift, the “drive-thru” measurement is the shortest distance between the arms when in the lowered position. To determine the “drive-thru” width of your vehicle, measure the outside distance of the widest wheel assembly that will need to “drive-thru” the arms.

Most wheel assemblies are narrower than the body of the vehicle. Width between columns is important when you are working with wide vehicles.  A dual-wheel truck does not need to completely “drive-thru” the lowered lift arms to be properly positioned for lifting. Only the front wheels of the dual-wheel truck need to “drive-thru” the arms for the truck to be raised.

“Drive-thru” measurement is important when you want to drive through the lift (arms in the lowered position) to store a vehicle behind the lift.

With the arms in the raised position, the “drive-thru” measurement is the width between the columns – assuming the widest (top) part of the vehicle will not contact the arms in the narrower raised position.

Drive-Thru Measurement for 4-Post Lifts

The “drive-thru” measurement of a four post lift is measured from the inside of both the cross beam lock covers. This “drive-thru” measurement should be used when determining the maximum side to side outside vehicle wheel dimensions that can be safely positioned on the runways of the lift.

The “drive-thru” measurement of the lift with the ramps in the full “up” position would be the distance between the columns. This is an important measurement when determining the maximum width of a vehicle that can be stored under a four post lift in the raised position.