New guy... Same old problem...

[Sethmark]

Due to considerations beyond my control, I've given up my 2 bay shop with 1 car garage for a typical 20x20 side loader garage. I need to accomplish a couple of things.

First, I need to keep my 53 Chevy pickup inside. 2nd, I have a small machine shop that needs to live in the garage too. MIG, TIG, 2 work benches, a welding table, drill press, refrigerator sized tool box and a fairly sizable utility trailer.

I want a lift and had been actively leaning towards a maxjaxusa. But based on my requirements, I'm thinking a 4 post with the trailer kept in the rafters.

Anyone have any pics of a well organized, double bay working garage? I need some layout ideas and some ideas of creative storage.

Thanks!

 

[fury9]

The trailer might need to go outside to be able to work in there without creating a clusterfu** of spread out tools and such. How high are the ceilings? The 5 drawer horizontal file cabinets work good for keeping stuff organized and they don't take up that much space, I bolted mine to the wall just in case.

 

[Sethmark]

I've got a 10' ceiling and the truck is 5'8" tall. Trailer deck height is about 3' so it would work well on a 4 post. I think.

But the organization is going to be a challenge.

 

[Strouty]

That will be tight, but anything is possible. Take a look at Jack Olsen's 12 Gauge Garage.

Hours of your time gone, click here.

You can make a winch setup to pick your trailer up as well. It could hang from the rafters or ceiling.

Are you in an HOA with no outside storage?

The four post lift is going to eat a lot of space, but the ability to stack things will help offset the wasted floor space.

How big is the tailer?

 

[Sethmark]

Wow. That guy KILLED It. That's what I need to duplicate.

The trailer is big. I built it last year with a totally different lifestyle in mind.



The truck fits nice, but it's snug.

 

[crewchief888]

i have a 19x22 garage
i keep my riding mower and utility trailer parked outside,
s-10 blazer trail truck stays inside( no registration) , as well as my harley. nearly 1/2 the garage is filled with tools, toolboxes and equipment, with more boxes stored in the basement reloading/hobby room.

during nicer weather the wifes '07 saturn stays outside, i rearrange things for the winter so she has room to park. my '00 sierra and my '06 service truck stay outside.

neither truck will clear my overhead door anyway

 

[zkling]

What is your garage door setup like, individual doors or one large door? Will you be doing your welding and grinding inside the garage or outside?

 

[Sethmark]

Overhead door which I'll have moved to the ceiling for the lift. All fab work in then garage. Door down.

 

[dhubbard422]

Wow. That guy KILLED It. That's what I need to duplicate.

Jack's garage is quite inspirational. He has done a wonderful job with a modest sized space; I hope to do as well with my slightly larger workshop... I really appreciate some of his design guides, including these two: everything has a place, so clean up is easy and the place for most every thing is usually out-of-sight, i.e. inside a cabinet. He also built a shed in order to have a place for the stuff that he didn't want in the garage. If you have space for one, I think that a shed might be a better place for the utility trailer. A 4-post lift in a small space, especially one that you also plan to weld and fabricate in, may make the space feel even smaller.

 

[keelan]

The trailer is big. I built it last year with a totally different lifestyle in mind.

My garage is similar in size to yours, so I feel your pain. I am constantly juggling for square feet, or the rare element 'Floorium' as some call it.

I would sell the trailer. It has taken me years of working in cramped spaces to come to the understanding that money takes up less space than things. Sell your things if you don't need them or use them. That trailer will easily net good money -- nice build BTW! If you need a utility trailer again in the future, buy one.

If the things that you aren't using are causing you heartache, then get rig of 'em. If it is something that you need very infrequently, rent or borrow one when the need arises.