Came across this car lift affair yesterday on a stand up at the NEC & wondered what anyone else thought..?
It's drawback is a 125mm lowered height, but I'm thinking of it being kept in situ in the centre of the garage and driving the car in over two scaffold planks or similar to miss the lift.
The other drawback for me is the fact that the wheel rollers would mash the floor up, but thats easily sorted with the use of a couple of steel channels.
That's pretty much the same as mine, Steve - I have the Strongman Tamar. I do exactly as you describe, I have a scaffold plank either side to ensure clearance under the car. The rollers run direct on the concrete rather than on the floor tiles, and I've not observed any damage - but as you say, a sheet of steel would spread the load if one had a slightly dodgy floor.
One thing to consider is the release mechanism for the safety locks. Some have mechanical releases, others (like mine) require a compressed air supply. I chose the compressed air option as it is completely fail-safe, there is absolutely no way the safeties can be disconnected accidentally.
