I have had a direct lift for about 2 years. I drove to Delaware and picked it up along with a sliding hydraulic jack that can lift up the front or back tires off the lift for brake work, changing tires, etc. When I bought it I managed to get 10% or better off the jack and
oil drain. I am very happy with it. I have 6' 8" under the bottom ramp when in the top locked position.
I put it together with the help of my Dad and it took about 6 hours most of which was just figuring out the instructions and correcting some rerouting of cables that I did not need to touch in the first place. I will say this. The guy at the Greg Smith told me that 2 people could put it together without mechanical assistance. When I found out the ramp with the cylinder weighs 400lbs, I decided to rent a forklift for the day. It was a great decision. 200lbs for each person to lift and wrangle into position would be quite difficult. 400 lbs can do a lot of damage to you if it gets moving in the wrong way and gets dropped. If you install it yourself, spend the $200 and get a forklift.
The rental company picked up the forklift by accident without us noticing while we took a brief break after getting the lift assembled. Without the forklift, I was forced to move the 350lb sliding jack into position manually. I managed to accidentally get my fingers caught between it and the floor and bruised the bones. Hurt like hell for several days.
Anyway overall very satisfied. Lift the 4 runner all the time with no issues and no visible stain whatsoever. Attached a pic of the setup.
JB