I was 6” short in height and did the inverted box thing between trusses. I’m 5’10” and have plenty of headroom under my Tundra. Cars I can max out the cylinder stroke.
The ability to do this is uncommon. Typically the joists or trusses above would run the short dimension of the building and one would not be able to notch into the ceiling in this direction.
Has anyone erected a 145” 2 post in a shop with 144” ceiling? I’ve got a few options.
One thing to double check is the measurement of the ceiling at the exact point where you want to put the lift. Garage floors are typically sloped so the measurement will be higher near the doors and much shorter on the end furthest away from the doors. (If you took your measurement away from your doors, you might just get lucky... and find that you have more room in the middle of the garage.)
Pour two piers an inch less than surrounding floor.
This may pose a problem with bottom of lift arm clearance to the floor. I’m not sure. The other option is to place it evenly between two trusses and raise that portion of the ceiling above the truss level; basically an inverted box.
This is not possible. If you check the instructions for the lift, it sits on a slab. (Either a new flat slab or a repair slab keyed into an older slab.) Pouring a recess into concrete would promote cracking which creates larger issues for lifts. The arm locks also automatically release when the pins hit the floor. If the post were to be recessed, the arm locks might never release.
2 post lifts come in different sizes. If you've bought this thing, can't get out of it and have no other choices, you might be best off to find a competent steel shop that can cut two inches off the posts, one lock distance, or whatever works and re-weld (with a certified welder) the base plates back on.
Keep in mind that you need extra room on top of the lift to stand it up. (As the post tilts up, it will be momentarily taller as the thing pivots on the base plate.) I have less than 1" to spare between my posts and ceiling. Fortunately, I have a sloped floor and was able to stand the posts by the doors and then walk them over to the final positions.
