building a shop at a whole different scale

[kbs2244]

Some guys have a good excuse for building big.

http://www.agriculture.com/videos/video-embed/101445670/top-shops-future-proof-shop.htm

But still........
Indoor parking for your semis??

 

[Stuart in MN]

If you can afford it and have the space, why not? It's a lot better to store vehicles inside and out of the elements, remember they are a pretty big investment themselves.

 

[ADSR]

wow! She's big!

 

[jkwilson]

Why would you not park them indoors? They are big ticket and their use is very seasonal. Weather probably damages them faster than use.

 

[Catadj78]

I could almost fit my entire yard in that building

 

[fnieto]

Wow! thats cool.

 

[larry_g]

But still........
Indoor parking for your semis??

Many here worry about leaving a few thousand dollar car out in the weather, why would you expect a farmer to leave a few million dollars of equipment out?

lg
no neat sig line

 

[LEVE]

Nice, very nice. Thanks for sharing that...

 

[Crazy_Pilot]

I could almost fit my entire yard in that building

I could fit my whole property in there 7 times.

 

[sberry]

The cost of the building covering it is less than the depreciation due to weather damage from storage.

 

[why worry]

sberry has nailed it! There is a lot of money ******* in the equipment and the weather sure takes a toll on it along with the farming. Lots of horsepower required to move it through the ground and when it stops suddenly something usually breaks. Then that shop pays for it self in a hurry.
Dave

 

[RivennHewn]

No interior post.

Wish they would have shown the trusses.

The clear span is impressive.

 

[sberry]

Some dealers were poking at guys without storage, a combine stored out lost way more value at trade in time than a building cost.
Most of their machines cost more than all my equipment put together but I have a storage and shop. It allows me to use old and it was getting to be a real hassle with old buildings and storage. Now once I paint something it lasts if I want it to, don't have to dig things I use out of the snow, park all but one DD inside.

 

[sberry]

Most expensive thing I own has a book value of under 20K but,,, it lasts a long time. I wash outside though, I can see that if you have constant wash in cold weather. In the winter I don't want to bring salty road grime in.

 

[LB-1911]

No interior post.

Wish they would have shown the trusses.

The clear span is impressive.

Shown several times in the video @

go back to 0.09

 

[PAToyota]

I could fit my whole property in there 7 times.

I could fit my property and two and a half of my neighbor’s properties in there…

The other thing along with the cost of the equipment is that it is in North Dakota - so being able to work inside in the winter (or summer heat) and not having to dig it out from under four feet of snow to use it is an advantage too.

 

[sberry]

The cost of clear starts to rocket over 80 ft. I am not sure of the math but bet its substantial. This is obviously a pretty disciplined operation with good men working for it. It may reclaim its cost in short order. Some of the features are hi, they may be able to use wash bay for big paint and heated parking which could offset some.
Its got a wide wash bay, could get side by side and pull out with light cars and trucks.
If a guy is in the big trucks daily it would super rduce the maint, uncovering snow and simple service under roof. Reduces a lot of labor and hazards. Stuff doesn't get ice packed for weeks.

 

[boiler7904]

Some guys have a good excuse for building big.

http://www.agriculture.com/videos/video-embed/101445670/top-shops-future-proof-shop.htm

But still........
Indoor parking for your semis??

Grain hauling can be a year round full time job depending on how they've marketed the grain, where it is stored, and what the market is doing. Who wants to dig a semi (or two or three) out of a snow bank all winter?

While I can see the advantage of one large open space, I think I would want two or more buildings instead of one just to reduce risk of damage if a fire breaks out. Truck and equipment storage wouldn't have to be heated as much as work space either which would lower operating costs.

 

[buffaloguy89]

This is funny, I actually go to school with one of the sons, Verlin. We just did a group project together a couple months ago. Good hardworking people.

 

[G McKay]

Pretty awesome. I wouldn't mind having one of those big boys!!

 

[kbs2244]

I am sure the wash bay is as big as it is so that they can wash down any equipment before working on it.
Farming means dirt, but that planter they were working on seemed pretty clean.

I, too, would like to see the trusses.
I think the ones you can see in the y-tube are in the storage shed you can see in the background in the outside view of the new shop.
The walls under them look traditional pole construction.

I would not be suprised if Morton is keeping them under wraps for competive reasons.
They say this is an "overbuilt, proof of concept" building.
But, if my math is right, it is over 8 tenths on a acre.
That is getting into airliner hanger size.

 

[NUTTSGT]

This is funny, I actually go to school with one of the sons, Verlin. We just did a group project together a couple months ago. Good hardworking people.

That's great to hear, as are most farmers. How about giving Verlin a shout out and maybe he can post up some pics and talk more about that big *** shop ?

 

[CGT80]

That is an amazing shop.

If.............a massive if..........I ever had a huge shop, I would break it up into smaller sections. The height and size of the building is great for big equipment, but that is a lot of cubic feet of air to keep at a decent temperature. For an average shop, an 8-10 foot ceiling would be nice for a general work area and then maybe another closed off section for a lift and taller work. The comment about storing trucks in a climate controlled building not being cost effective makes sense at first, but then if you consider that the temperature could get below freezing in an unheated shop, it makes sense to have the equipment at a temperature that is ready to be started up and used, without needing engine heaters.

I wonder if they used in floor heat, and if anyone with that setup has different zones so that vehicle storage can be kept just above freezing, but the work area can be kept at a nice working temp.

 

[zollster]

Why?.... Why?.....would they not have put in an overhead bridge crane?????

 

[Charles (in GA)]

"lightweight metal rafters (sic)" meaning trusses, possibly of the style like the old Miracle Truss. I used to work in a conventional steel building that was 100 ft across and 120 long which we later added 25 additional feet on. So I don't see 125 ft of clear span truss as being that difficult.

Why?.... Why?.....would they not have put in an overhead bridge crane?????

A bridge to span 125 ft would have been a tremendous huge, heavy piece of steel. The building itself is in no way capable of supporting the bridge or rails, that is clearly evident from the design and construction. It takes a lot of structure to support a bridge crane system. I work in a building full of bridge cranes. The roof they are hung from is fully cantilevered meaning one side is open and unsupported (but closed by rolling doors that provide no support to the roof.) (in acreage it is the largest cantilever roofed structure in the world) as a result the bridge cranes are limited to 6,000 lbs. These folks probably don't often need to hoist something and I'll bet they either have a mobile crane or have one readily available in the area they can call on.

Charles

 

[sberry]

I agree, a crane in that shop would be a problem and as I recall I may have seen a glimpse of a post for something. l stuck with an Aframe because mine is wide and in the end it sits idle most of the time. Used it yesterday for the first time in months. Its something we need to have but we use it little. I use a heavy duty cherry picker a lot, a floor jack a lot and a forklift some. We have a knuckle boom on a truck and it would have been costly to cover the area.

 

[kbs2244]

I believe a combine would be the tallest modern farm machine.
The engine would be about 6 feet off the ground.
I would guess total machine height would be under 15 feet.
So heavy lifting at height is not a big need.
And they have a lift truck that you could use to hang a chain fall from a fork.
That said, I would not be surprised to see a gantry crane in the corner.

But the “head” on a combine can be 40 odd feet left to right.
So you need a door that wide to get it into the shop without dis-mounting it.
So the 42Wx20H doors with 32 foot vaulted ceiling gives them lots of room.

I would guess we can get some idea of the geometry of the trusses by looking at the ceiling.
It would be a good guess that the ceiling follows the bottom chord of the truss.
And the roof line looks to be the standard 4/12 pitch.

I would expect in floor heat.
They show and talk about a boiler.