Ceiling height in a new pole barn with a lift

[UpstateNY]

Guys,

Background: the specs for my 30w x 40d pole barn include a 12' floor to the bottom of the truss height (12' at side walls and center). These are "flat" trusses (i.e. not scissor type), so it'll be 12' over the entire expanse. I want to install a lift (not sure if 2 or 4 post) but am leaning towards a 2 post I think.

I only own a passenger car (Ford Taurus) and a chopped 1933 Ford at the moment and both are less than a 60" height. Down the road the most I forsee owning would be a F150 type pickup truck.

The ceiling will have a soffit type material screwed to the bottom of the trusseson it so I might lose about 3/4" of height.

Dumb question: is 12' sufficient to accomodate a F150 pickup on a lift ? Are pole barns typically built with "flat" trussess or would you recommend I spec a different truss ? Thank you in advance for your assistance.

 

[NHBandit]

My garage is also a 30x40x12 pole barn but I went with scissor trusses just to make absolutely sure I had plenty of room. I do with room to spare. Unless you're planning on having overhead storage space in the "attic" I would go that route. Check out mine here.. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=188161 Something else to consider. Are you pouring your slab first & then building on top of it or having the floor poured after the building is up ? On top of the slab gets you true 12' walls. Pouring the slab after maybe not..

 

[Ray916MN]

12' is tight.

76" height for a F150 4x4, without roof rack or topper.

Allow 4" ceiling clearance, 4" lift clearance and lift runway thickness of 4" and 4" of travel to get the lift high enough to drop down on the mechanical locks and you are left with 52" for something under or over the truck. This height is a bit of a PITA as you can not walk under the lift when something tall is on the lift, without ducking unless you are pretty short, If you have anything overhead (eg. light, EGDO) that will take away even more clearance. Finally, wall specs generally are off grade and do not include slab thickness, so if you plan on having a 4" concrete floor in the building, you're down to 48" for the other vehicle.

 

[cyamaha2007]

I have a bendpak xpr10a the lift usually runs out of carriage travel before the vehicle gets to the top bar on the lift. Why not just go with 12ft ceilings and set the lift up between the trusses? Then frame out a ceiling pocket for the.

 

[SteveU]

Guys,

Background: the specs for my 30w x 40d pole barn include a 12' floor to the bottom of the truss height (12' at side walls and center). These are "flat" trusses (i.e. not scissor type), so it'll be 12' over the entire expanse. I want to install a lift (not sure if 2 or 4 post) but am leaning towards a 2 post I think.

I only own a passenger car (Ford Taurus) and a chopped 1933 Ford at the moment and both are less than a 60" height. Down the road the most I forsee owning would be a F150 type pickup truck.

The ceiling will have a soffit type material screwed to the bottom of the trusseson it so I might lose about 3/4" of height.

Dumb question: is 12' sufficient to accomodate a F150 pickup on a lift ? Are pole barns typically built with "flat" trussess or would you recommend I spec a different truss ? Thank you in advance for your assistance.

One thing you need to do is look at the different 2 post lifts available & check out what the post height is on the ones you might be interested in, most are over 12' with one notable exception being the Mohawk which are 8'6" if I remember right. As far as the ceiling height with the vehicles lifted it should be close but alright, I have a 14' ceiling in my shop & always have at least a couple foot between the top of the vehicle & the ceiling so I think the post height is your main concern.

 

[SteveU]

12' is tight.

76" height for a F150 4x4, without roof rack or topper.

Allow 4" ceiling clearance, 4" lift clearance and lift runway thickness of 4" and 4" of travel to get the lift high enough to drop down on the mechanical locks and you are left with 52" for something under or over the truck. This height is a bit of a PITA as you can not walk under the lift when something tall is on the lift, without ducking unless you are pretty short, If you have anything overhead (eg. light, EGDO) that will take away even more clearance. Finally, wall specs generally are off grade and do not include slab thickness, so if you plan on having a 4" concrete floor in the building, you're down to 48" for the other vehicle.

Ray,
You can actually get it higher than that with a 2 post lift since you can subtract the ground clearance & only have to measure the height from the lift points of the vehicle to the top of the roof. With a 4 post you would need to measure the entire vehicle height since it would be sitting on the tires

 

[joebiodiesel]

It depends on what lift you want to get. The bottom of my trusses are 14 feet, and my lift (an Atlas OH-10X) fits with several inches to spare. You may not want one that goes up that high, or may choose one without a cross bar on top....

Joe