Pole Barns and lifts

[Gren71]

Im going to closing on my old home this week and will finally have funds available to work towards a pole barn on my new property.

At my old house I had an XL two car garage where I started out repairing old motorcycles and reselling them as a hobby before moving into jeep and eventually general vehicle work on my own stuff. Sadly I currently only have a detached single car garage so it pretty much just houses my tools and motorcycle. I know basically only what I have been able glean from google searches so im hoping to get some more insight here.

im hoping to get a 30x50x10 or 30x50x12, but cost may have me with a 30x40x10 or a 30x40x12.

im hoping maybe some of yall have similarly sized pole barns and are willing to thow some picures up to give me a sense of the scale of it.

I am also considering getting a lift. I know that I need, at minimum, 6" of concrete for a lift and probably 12-14' of height before the trusses. But i just dont know enough about lifts to know for sure if its worth it. Ive seen a couple scissor lifts that seem like they may do the trick for me, but I havent met anyone who has use one before so they make me nervous.

any and all info would be appreciate. Im probably looking at a 30-60 day lead time before I fully engage a builder and then likely 6 months before its all said and done...not including electric which I will be doing my self.

 

[2025 Ram Limited]

I believe the lift supports require a lot more than 6" of concrete and I'm sure you know that. Consider them a footer and go deeper. Would love to see what you end up with tho. Good luck!

 

[LaxDfns15]

Don't have a pole barn like you're looking for, but I do have a QuickJack lift system big enough for the truck. It's nice for large work/repairs/maintenance, but the jacks are so heavy they're not great for everyday stuff. You don't want to drive over them, so you have to get them out of the way when done working. Each lift is 100 pounds and over 6 feet long, so fairly tough to move around. If you're thinking of ones you can just sit on the ground, I'd definitely recommend ones you can drive over.

 

[Gren71]

found this video this afternoon and it was really helpful, and made me hopeful that I wont have to get a crazy tall structure.

 

[HSKR R/T]

I'd recommend a minimum of 12' ceiling for a lift if you want to work comfortably under the vehicle. You can find all sorts of different lifts depending on what you want from them.

A 2-post lift is most popular for general automotive maintenance, because it leaves the center of vehicle accessible and allows work on wheels and suspension. You can lift a vehicle as high as your ceiling allows. There are shorter "portable" two post lifts that you can move out of the way when not in use . If you have space to store them.

4-post lifts are nice and dont usually require as much overhead clearance, for the lift itself, as most 2-post lifts, and also don't require as thick of concrete for support . Downfall to a 4-post lift is if you want to take wheels off, or do suspension work you would need to spend the extra money for the accessory jacks that slide between the two sides. And then you are still working around the tracks that your drive up on.

The low profile scissor lifts that you drive over don't lift as high, and then if doing work under the vehicle you have to deal with the lift itself. They would be good for wheel/tire, brake, and suspension work though .

I would figure out what type of lift you intend to use then build the pole barn that will work with that lift.

 

[MarPar]

 

[Rock Crawler]

35 x 45 x 14 red iron steel building. Bendpak recommended a minimum 4.25” 3K psi slab for my 10K lb. 2-Post lift, but I went with 5” 4K psi slab during the build. There is no question that a lift is worth it. I use mine quite often just tinkering on my own vehicles. I cannot be crawling around on cold concrete floors anymore and the lift makes working on my vehicles enjoyable. No question that it was one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.

 

[Gren71]

35 x 45 x 14 red iron steel building. Bendpak recommended a minimum 4.25” 3K psi slab for my 10K lb. 2-Post lift, but I went with 5” 4K psi slab during the build. There is no question that a lift is worth it. I use mine quite often just tinkering on my own vehicles. I cannot be crawling around on cold concrete floors anymore and the lift makes working on my vehicles enjoyable. No question that it was one of the best purchases I’ve ever View attachment 209637View attachment 209632View attachment 209631View attachment 209633View attachment 209634View attachment 209636View attachment 209635View attachment 209628View attachment 209630

Thanks! Love the steel building. Ive considered them because they dont have traditional trusses so theres a ton of ceiling height/space. Only draw back is that id end up having to frame up walls around a lot of it to be able to hang stuff and mount odds and ends. Not a huge issue, but a concern. Im still looking for a decent steel building company that services my area to at least get a quote.

 

[Rock Crawler]

Thanks! Love the steel building. Ive considered them because they dont have traditional trusses so theres a ton of ceiling height/space. Only draw back is that id end up having to frame up walls around a lot of it to be able to hang stuff and mount odds and ends. Not a huge issue, but a concern. Im still looking for a decent steel building company that services my area to at least get a quote.

Walls are definitely in my future, but it’s not going to be easy for sure. Spray foam insulation, insulated doors, jack shaft openers, and mini splits took priority. One thing I didn’t do, that I really wished I had, was seal the concrete. Not that epoxy crap, just a sealer to cut down on the dust.

 

[LaxDfns15]

35 x 45 x 14 red iron steel building. Bendpak recommended a minimum 4.25” 3K psi slab for my 10K lb. 2-Post lift, but I went with 5” 4K psi slab during the build. There is no question that a lift is worth it. I use mine quite often just tinkering on my own vehicles. I cannot be crawling around on cold concrete floors anymore and the lift makes working on my vehicles enjoyable. No question that it was one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.



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Extremely jealous... If it's going to hail I have to move crap out of my garage just to cram the truck in there. Otherwise it's in the driveway 24/7 whether I'm working on it or not.

 

[Gren71]

Walls are definitely in my future, but it’s not going to be easy for sure. Spray foam insulation, insulated doors, jack shaft openers, and mini splits took priority. One thing I didn’t do, that I really wished I had, was seal the concrete. Not that epoxy crap, just a sealer to cut down on the dust.

I did the epoxy on the garage floor of the house I’m selling. I really liked it honestly and it lasted for 10 years with minimal problems. The only spot that actually gave me a problem was where there was an oil spill on the floor that I used a oil spell treatment on before laying the epoxy down. I don’t think I gave the treatment enough time to work because after two or three years the epoxy started a bubble over it and eventually exposed the oil stain again.But it is going to be crazy expensive to do 1200 to 1600 square feet of floor space so I will probably end up doing a regular sealer like you said.

 

[Rock Crawler]

Extremely jealous... If it's going to hail I have to move crap out of my garage just to cram the truck in there. Otherwise it's in the driveway 24/7 whether I'm working on it or not.

When we had our new house built, I had my previous truck which was a 2006 Ram 2500 CTD MegaCab (God, I miss that truck), and it was really long. I told the architect that my truck WILL fit in the garage, so he made it happen. The last house we lived in had a “normal” size garage and was about 3 feet too short, so the truck stayed outside all the time. I hated it. I ended up buying a Hail Protector, which worked pretty well.

 

[scottmoyer]

I don't have a pole barn, but I do have a lift. There are benefits/drawbacks to all lift types. The 2 post is mainly a service only lift. The 4 post can be used as a storage lift for stacking cars. Most quality 4 post lifts come with a rolling jack tray. You only need to buy the scissor jack option, or you can use bottle jacks to do tire/wheel/brake work.

I have the Advantage Lift in my garage. Definitely get 12' ceilings. I have 10' and it worked for storing 2 older Camaros. The newer cars are so tall that I couldn't stack two in a 10' ceiling. Also, spend the extra money to get the XL models as they are wider and longer. I can't pull my truck on my lift as the tires will overhang the sides.