Start thinking outside the bay.

“I need to spend more time indoors under fluorescent lighting.”

Chances are, you didn’t make that particular resolution for the New Year’s back in January. But you probably did resolve to add incremental growth to your business. Well, this summer is the perfect time to fulfill your growth goals while also increasing your fresh air and sunshine consumption—by installing an open air lift outside the bay doors of your shop.

Outside? Are we serious? Absolutely. There’s no better way to maximize your floor plan than breaking through the limitations of your floor plan. Also, you probably have at least one tech who prefers the outdoors to the indoors. So not only will you increase your shop’s productivity. You could increase your techs’ productivity, too.

If this sounds attractive—and it should—let’s run down the things you need to know before you place an order.

“Open Air” Lift = Good. “Outdoor” Lift = Not So Good. What’s the difference? An “outdoor lift” has no cover, no overhang and no protection from the weather. An “open air lift” has an overhead cover and has protection from the elements. This is important when it comes to your warranty, because Rotary’s warranty covers open air lifts, but not outdoor lifts. In other words, covered is covered. Uncovered is not.

You need a concrete pad. There’s a good chance you have asphalt in your lot where you’d install your open air lift. But asphalt doesn’t cut it. It doesn’t meet our lifts’ pounds per square inch (psi) requirements. It also softens with heat, which threatens to allow the anchors to disengage. So if you don’t already have a concrete pad, you’ll need to remove some of your asphalt and have one installed.

Have a maintenance plan before installation. Your open air lift will probably require a little more maintenance than the lifts installed behind your bay doors. A lot of that depends on your geography. Dry climates won’t cause cable rust like more humid parts of the country. And inland sites obviously won’t be affected by salt like shops on the coast. No matter where you live, you’ll need to increase your cable maintenance on two and four post lifts when it comes to the chains or hydraulics.