Truss mod for lift

[cartunes]

Afternoon,
I've read several posts here with people asking about modifying trusses. The usual answer was telling them to have an engineer approve the work.
So I actually had the truss company do a design mod so I could raise the middle of the bottom chord from the current 10' ceiling height up to a 12'-6" ceiling height so a lift will fit. Looks like I'll need to modify 6 trusses to do this.
So I'll end up with a 12' long x 14'-6" wide area with a 12'-6" ceiling height. The remainer has 10' ceiling ht.

Question for folks with lifts:
Will this give me a big enough area to lift a car or pickup all the way up? The vehicle's roof area will stay inside the 12'6" area with some body probably sticking into the 10'area.

See attachments.

And yes, I should have thought of this when I was building, but I had no plans for a lift then due to other circumstances.

Thanks much, Ron

 

[Possum]

I assume two post lift? Will the lift be perpendicular or parallel to the trusses? Centered in the 12' width? I am guessing you would be fine. My fathers two post is installed in a 10'6" area, the top of the lift is over the bottom chord of the trusses. Works fine. You might have to watch SUV roofs with that notch.....

 

[cartunes]

Sorry, 2-post lift.
Car's length will be running with the trusses.

 

[ezover]

interesting lay out. if you don't mind telling what did they charge you to
come out, look at the job and design the new lay out?

prices i got where, 100 to 150 to come and look at the job and 400 to a 1000
to draw up new design.

 

[pattenp]

You most likely won't be able to do a full lift on a vehicle such as a Van. Also are you putting in a symmetricial or asymmetrical two post lift? This will make a difference of the center placement of the vehicle to line up with your higher section of ceiling.

 

[cartunes]

Pattenp -
Not interested in lifting vans, but did think about that.
Not set on symmetrical vs assymetrical yet. Leaning towards Bendpak
XPR-10AC. Thoughts?

Ezover -
Cost me just $100 for the engineering work via email. They already had the paperwork from the original trusses. I just said I needed to raise the bottom chord 27 inches. They treat it as a repair job. I'll do the work myself.

Thanks all...

 

[t. jones]

I had a similar setup and managed to scratch fresh paint on the trunk lid. That said if 12' is all you can do it will be a lot better than nothing.
Thanx Trevor

 

[krooser]

When I rebuilt my pole building on my lot I had an "extra" truss that I installed. When it came time to install my lift I cut off the bottom cord of that truss so I had enough room to raise a vehicle... my trusses run east/west... my lift is north/south.

 

[pattenp]

The Bendpak XPR10AC is asymmetrical so I assume you'll need to be place the columns forward of center of the 12' high ceiling area so the car roof will be cented in the high ceilng area.

 

[porschedude996TT]

Lift height of lift pads plus the of the vehicle, minus the ground clearance of the vehicle. That will give you the height that you need to build to. If you use a 2-post with an overhead lines then there is a limit switch that will prevent the vehicle from hitting the ceiling.

 

[Markgyver]

You may not be able to install a 2 post lift in that bay of your garage. I have the same situation as you. Give me some time and I will draw you up a picture.

 

[cartunes]

markgyver,
Please do. I haven't done the truss mods yet.
Thanks

 

[Markgyver]

I drew it up in CAD you should not have any problems with a full size truck as long as you dont have a topper on the back. Also what is the distance from your garage door to the side of the garage I have this drawn at 3'-6"? Your sketch seems out of scale.

PM me your Email and I can send you the drawings they are to big to post.

Im planning on doing a similar Mod to my trusses except my garage is only about 22' deep. I have a friend that is a structural engineer an is going to do the design for me.

 

[Markgyver]

Here you go

 

[autoist]

Anyway to enlarge that image more than when I click on it now?

 

[69CHARGERMD]

Cartunes,,,,
do you have any pictures of the finished ceiling you did ?
diagrams above you posted area very helpful,,,,,,,
thank you,
Doug

 

[cartunes]

Here's 3 more pics of the ceiling with the truss mods...

 

[Speed-Racer]

Very nice mod to the ceiling, have you had any problems or tips for the next garage? Considering doing this to my garage ceiling and would be interested in hearing about any updates on how this worked out.

 

[nate379]

Ouch! It's free here.

interesting lay out. if you don't mind telling what did they charge you to
come out, look at the job and design the new lay out?

prices i got where, 100 to 150 to come and look at the job and 400 to a 1000
to draw up new design.

 

[01Supercrew]

I'm in the process of doing a similar ceiling mod in my garage. just purchased a Forward BP9 lift, and I have 10' ceiling. I'm removing a section of the lower chord, in each truss, after replacing it first with a new chord, 12" higher. nice part is the new chord also acts as a nailer for sheetrock. 2 1/2 : torx - drive screws are used to attach the new chord. ( 2 x 4 X 12 hem / fir )

 

[stuatkinson]

Lots of great information here. I found your forum looking up this exact thread. So thanks for that.
My garage is a lean too type. In other words the garage roof is connected to the side of the house on a single angle and not a peak. Anyone have modified trusses based on this design? My garage is a tandom in depth and the back reduced to only 9 feet tall. I only need 2 feet to get two cars stacked.

Thanks in advance.

 

[wcp0611]

Here's 3 more pics of the ceiling with the truss mods...

That's awesome. I really wish I had done something like that when I built mine to accommodate a lift.

 

[gungatim]

Lots of great information here. I found your forum looking up this exact thread. So thanks for that.
My garage is a lean too type. In other words the garage roof is connected to the side of the house on a single angle and not a peak. Anyone have modified trusses based on this design? My garage is a tandom in depth and the back reduced to only 9 feet tall. I only need 2 feet to get two cars stacked.

Thanks in advance.

maybe start your own thread with pics. from what I am envisioning, it may be easier to add a ridge beam and rafter it, since it's only "half" a truss and you can go up against the house. guys in other threads have done it that way but it is much more difficult in a full truss building than what you describe, if I am understanding correctly.