If you’re building out a restoration bay in a pole barn or farm shop anywhere in the Des Moines metro, above ground lifts are almost always the right call over an inground pit, and getting the layout right before you order one will save you months of frustration. We’ve walked through plenty of Iowa shops where a lift got bolted down in the wrong spot on day one, and the owner spent the next five years working around it. This checklist is built from those visits — the stuff we wish every farm shop owner asked before signing a quote.
Browse asymmetric and symmetric 2-post models built for restoration and metal work, sized to fit a farm shop bay layout without crowding your workflow.
Why Above Ground Lifts Fit a Restoration Bay Better Than a Pit
Restoration and metal work involves a lot more than an oil change — you’re pulling fenders, dropping subframes, welding underneath a body shell for hours at a time, and rolling carts of parts in and out constantly. Above ground lifts give you that access without the drainage, moisture, and code headaches that come with an inground hoist, which matters a lot in a converted pole building where the concrete was poured for cattle equipment, not a lift pit. We’ve seen more than one Iowa farm shop try to retrofit a pit into an old outbuilding and run straight into groundwater problems.
The other advantage is flexibility. An above ground lift can be relocated if you ever reconfigure the shop, sell the building, or want to add a second bay later. A pit is permanent. For a restoration hobbyist or side business that might grow into something bigger, that flexibility alone is worth the decision. We generally point farm shop customers toward a two post or four post setup depending on how much of the work is frame-off versus panel and trim, and we walk through that with every quote.
Measure the Bay Before You Fall in Love With a Model
The single biggest mistake we see with above ground lifts going into farm shops is measuring the floor space but not the usable envelope. You need the ceiling height, including any lighting, ductwork, or truss gusset that hangs down lower than the rest of the roofline. A 12-foot sidewall sounds like plenty until you realize the lift’s overall height plus a raised vehicle plus your own head clearance eats most of that. Column-to-column width matters just as much — restoration work often means the doors are open and parts carts are parked alongside the vehicle, so give yourself more side clearance than the spec sheet’s bare minimum.
We also ask farm shop owners to walk the actual door swing and overhead door track before ordering. A lift centered three feet too close to an overhead door track will clip the door chain every time it opens. Sketch the bay on paper first — door location, support posts, floor drains, electrical panel — then place the lift on that sketch before you place the order.
Weight Capacity: Buy for the Project, Not Just the Truck
Most farm shop restoration projects involve trucks, tractors’ attached implements, or old iron that weighs more than people expect once you add a full frame, fuel, and whatever’s still bolted to it. We regularly get inquiries for lifts in the 9,000 to 12,000 lb range for exactly this reason — a customer underestimates the actual curb weight of a project truck or grain truck cab and chassis, and ends up needing a heavier rated lift than the passenger car unit they originally priced out. Buy one capacity class above what you think you need if the shop’s project mix includes anything larger than a half-ton.
This is also where the concrete question comes back around. Above ground lifts anchor into the slab, and anchor bolt pull-out ratings assume a minimum slab thickness and cure time. Farm shop slabs poured years ago for equipment storage aren’t always to the same spec as a purpose-built automotive floor. We check slab thickness and condition on every install quote before we commit to a capacity and anchor pattern.
Plan the Lift-Bay Workflow Around the Lift, Not the Other Way Around
Restoration work is a workflow business even when it’s a one-person hobby shop. Body panels come off and need somewhere to go. A frame gets media blasted in one corner and painted in another. If the lift sits in the middle of that traffic pattern, every task takes longer because you’re walking around it constantly. We recommend positioning above ground lifts along a side wall with a clear straight-line path to your workbench, parts washer, and welding area, rather than dead center in the bay.
Think about the sequence of a typical restoration job in your shop — disassembly, media blasting or stripping, metal work, paint, reassembly — and place the lift where it serves the disassembly and reassembly stages without forcing you to drag heavy panels across the whole floor. Farm shops that get this right end up using the lift far more often, because it’s not a hassle to get to.
Two Post vs. Four Post for Metal Work
Two post lifts give you full underbody access, which is what most restoration and metal work actually needs — frame repair, floor pan replacement, exhaust and suspension work. Four post lifts are better suited to long-term storage or when you need a stable, drive-on platform for alignment-adjacent work, but they block off the undercarriage somewhat with the runways in place. For a farm shop where the primary use case is disassembly and fabrication, we lean toward two post asymmetric lifts because the offset arms clear the doors for full access.
That said, if your shop also doubles as storage for a second vehicle or a project that sits for months at a time, a four post can serve double duty. Some of the farm shop owners we quote actually end up wanting one of each — a two post for active work and a four post or portable storage lift to free up floor space for a project that’s on hold. We size that combination based on total bay footprint, not just what fits on paper.
Electrical, Air, and Anchoring — The Details That Get Skipped
Above ground lifts need dedicated circuits sized to the power unit, and a lot of farm shops were wired decades ago for lighting and maybe a welder outlet, not a 220V hydraulic power unit. Check your panel capacity before you order, because running new circuit runs through a pole barn’s walls or trusses is a different job than running them through drywall. Air-actuated locks also need a compressor with enough capacity and a drop line run to the lift location — plan that into your layout sketch alongside the electrical.
Anchoring is the last detail, and it’s the one that actually determines whether the lift is legal and safe to use, not just convenient. We test the slab, confirm rebar or mesh reinforcement where possible, and set anchor depth and torque to the manufacturer’s spec on every install. Skipping this step to save time is the most common way we see farm shop lifts fail an inspection or, worse, come loose under load.
Get the Pre-Purchase Checklist Right the First Time
Before you buy, walk through this list: ceiling height and truss clearance, door swing and overhead door tracks, actual project weight (not just the lightest vehicle you own), slab thickness and condition, workflow path through the bay, two post versus four post for your primary use case, and electrical and air capacity. Above ground lifts are a long-term investment in a farm shop, and getting the layout right before delivery means you’re not re-anchoring or repositioning six months later.
We quote and install above ground lifts across the Des Moines metro and the rest of Iowa, and we’ll walk your bay with you — virtually or in person — before you commit to a model. That conversation up front is free, and it’s saved plenty of farm shop owners from an expensive mistake.
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