2 post lift placement in a 30x40x12' Pole barn
 

I'm struggling with the the decision on placement of a 2 post lift. It will go in my 30Wx40Lx12H pole barn with 2/12 pitch ceiling and a single 8x18' garage door on 30' gable end. I'm likely buying the Atlas PV-10P https://www.atlasautoequipment.com/p...st-lifts/pv10p

Part of me wants to put the lift closer to back wall, deep into the garage to be out of the way but wonder if I will regret "losing" the space between the lift and garage door as I will have to leave it free for lift access.

If I place the lift closer to the garage door I wonder if it will feel like it's in the way when storing vehicles in garage? This option would allow more access in front of the lift if I pull an engine. But if I have a long term project on the lift it will create dead space between it and the back wall. I'm sure others have gone through this - what am I overlooking.

I put my 2 post closer to the garage door. I wanted plenty of room between the car and back wall for a workbench and hoist etc. Haven’t regretted the decision, but my space is different than what you’re working with 72w x36d.

Place it where the tools are going to be stored.
No sense in walking 80 ft round trip to get tools.

A 2 post is more for service not storage I would want it closer to door 4 post just the opposite.

I've been thinking of a 2 post for my shop as well. Best advice a guy told me is plan it. Also to dummy it up , place large pylons where your posts will be ..park a car between the posts..see how that works for room.

I have the same size shop. I chose to put mine in the front left corner. No regrets. It's up by the tools and the work bench. Leaves plenty of room to pull even large vehicles in the right rear.

Now with insulated tin ceiling. That was a lot of work! It's a 9k Rotary asymmetrical. Craigslist $800. :D

Nice score on the Rotary! Mine is getting insulated soon - R38 ceiling and R21 walls. Ceiling will be white metal like yours and walls will eventually be 1/2” OSB

What setback distances did you use from front and side walls?

Thanks! The guy was asking a grand which was already a deal. Lol!

That's serious insulation. I just did R13 above the tin. I need to do the garage door next. Then the walls. I'm doing white tin walls too. Reflects the light. Gonna put in a 125k btu propane ceiling hung furnace here soon.

My lift is 12' back and 6' from the left wall. But, I have 2' shelves. So you could say 10' back and 4' in.

Thanks for the measurements- I’ll be installing a 24K minisplit HVAC and will use a kerosene heater as auxiliary heat in the winter. Cooling will be no issue and I have 2 60” ceiling fans ready for install. They are two directional with variable speed control.

Just looking at the frontage elevation pic with the conventional style double garage door, & not knowing what your largest vehicle is. Few things I noticed.

1)the most obvious, the garage door tracks are going to extend at least 7 feet into your shop. That leaves a little under 33 feet in front of the overhead door area to the back wall. With a 2 Post lift positioned too close to the garage door track area, it could be a challenge if you want to lift a tow vehicle with a minimal campers shell or a long wheelbase full size van

2) Against the back wall of your shop, lets say you have a 30" deep workbench, that would leave the workspace you desire between the workbench & the front of the vehicle along with the length of the vehicle. In a 2 Post work zone, personally I like a minimum of 4 feet in front of the bumper & a workbench.Thats actually a little on the tight side. I've been in smaller home shops where 4ft was the just the distance between the front bumper and the back wall & a long rolling tool cabinet (with a worktop) was able to be rolled out & to the side of the 2 Post bay. Also have a good friend who's been in a wheelchair for the last 8 years. In his shop a 4 ft wide swath would not be enough for his needs.

3) Straight shots are typically best to get vehicles in and on a lift. By putting the 2 Post lift on the rh side up closer to the front, any vehicle will have to be driven in the shop at an angle, straightened, then backed up. Or, it would have to be backed in at an angle, straightened up, & driven forward. Either way, a lot of floor space is used up in the vehicle positioning. Some of that needed floor space is in the far back, & may have who knows what stored on the floor & will have to be moved. The longer & heavier the vehicle the more "fun" the task. In my shop, the heavy line (2 Post) bay works great with a 190-210" long Pontiac traversing in/out even though it requires a slight jog to the right & then a straightening of the front wheels to the left. With my extended cab 8 ft bed diesel tow rig, it will be more of a challenge as that particular bay is slightly offset to the right from the south entry door/large bay that feeds the 2 Post bay.

4) Just looking at the few pics, & not knowing what storage features are planned (shelving all the way up to pallet rack), I'd most likely be inclined to install the 2 Post lift towards the back of the LH side of the shop. With adequate room in the front & at least 6 ft margin down the LH side. That would result in a lot of extra room for other vehicles, equipment & storage features,

5) Have witnessed a few times home shop owners positioning a lift too far towards the middle of a 30x40 or 30x50 floor area. Each time it restricted room for other vehicles one could get into the shop, ESP important in an emergency like an impending hail storm.

Love the mini-split feature. I really need a clean room in my shop which is air conditioned. Eventually that will be addressed.

Holy Asterisks! I got dizzy reading that!

Sorry, all from a cut-n-paste

ol Pinion head - thanks for the in depth post. I forgot to mention if I decide to put the lift closer to the garage door, I will have the tracks raised up to 11'. Right now they are 10' up so I suppose at 11' the door will go laterally about 6' into the bay when raised? Not visible in the picture is a double man door centered on the right wall leading to the area under the lean-to. There are two windows on that wall as well.

I figured my work bench would likely be around 24" on the back wall under the window. Then a row of cabinets on the right side wall. One additional benefit of being near the garage doors is I plan to leave that wall open with no cabinets or shelving so spacing the side of the lift would be less of an issue. The back wall to the left will have a loft storage area - about 4'x16', and up about 6' so a vehicle can fit under it partially. None of this is etched in stone yet.

Your post and those from others makes it clear to me I need to do measurements with my quad cab Tacoma in the two potential lift areas to get a better idea of spacing.

What ceiling material

It's barn tin with R13 on top.