height question - Diesel Forum

Holmstead · 03-15-2006, 08:46 AM

I'm having a Morton bldg put up to house toys and some farm equipment. I need to decide on the height of the doors and was wondering if anyone knows the height of a 40 foot enclosed gooseneck
car hauler sitting on the back of a stock 05 dually with the FX4 option?

Thanks Jim

drbond · 03-15-2006, 09:20 AM

Not sure about the exact height of that trailer, but when I had my building put up I went with 14' to the bottom of the trusses. I can get all my hay wagons in loaded and the hay elevator along with my trailers without any problems.

Bondo©

twobit · 03-15-2006, 09:21 AM

Get a 14 foot high door. No vehicle may be over 14 feet in height. Getting a 14 foot door will assure that any future vehicles you may get (motor home, fifth wheel, cement truck, 18 wheeler...) will fit through the door.

ralderman · 03-15-2006, 11:30 AM

I know that most 5th wheel RV's seem to be around the 13' mark. I would go with 14' doors and as wide as you can get them.

Rick

Holmstead · 03-15-2006, 12:11 PM

Thanks folks. I had already decided on (2)14 foot wide doors but was really at a loss for the height. Sounds like I'm going for the 14 foot sidewalls on the building. That should give me a door height of close to 14 feet. The doors will be lined up on front and back so I can easily drive thru. thanks again - Jim

paddlefoot · 03-15-2006, 02:53 PM

Max legal height w/o permits (over ht type) is 13'6" on all inter-states. Given that - as long as your approach to your door is level for the length of whatever you are putting in it. A 14' clearance door will do you fine. (be a good place to work on your KW). [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/warmsmile.gif[/img]
Regards
Paddlefoot

Big Boy w/ Big Toys · 03-15-2006, 11:00 PM

14 foot walls will not get you a 14 foot door opening. more like 12'6" maybe 13'.

SmokeyWren · 03-16-2006, 08:32 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Sounds like I'm going for the 14 foot sidewalls on the building. That should give me a door height of close to 14 feet.

[/ QUOTE ]

Depending on construction method, 14-foot walls probably won't give you more than about 12.5-foot high door clearance. Or maybe less, depending on the type of door you install.

If it's stick-built, you need a header made out of 2x12s and plywood sandwich, plus a top plate and 2x6 framing lumber under the header. That's about 14 inches below the ceiling. Then finish the opening with nice lumber, and you're down to a lot less than 13' clearance. Plus, a 14-foot roll-up door will need a lot more than 14" below the ceiling.

So in a nutshell, plan on 16' high walls, with the roof trusses on top of the walls. Get the specs on the door you plan to install so see how much room above the door opening it will need. A roll-up will probably need every bit of the room between the 16' ceiling and the top of a 13'6" door opening to leave you at least a 13'6" high clearance at the bottom of the roll inside the door. And yes, you want a roll-up door for any door taller than about 10'.

drbond · 03-16-2006, 11:47 AM

I agree with everyone on the wall height. If you are having Morton build it, just tell them you need 14' to the bottom of the trusses. That's what I told the builders of my pole barn, and I had 2 sliders put on each end giving me 20' opening so I could drive through as well as get all the farming equipment in to work on them too. Someone mentioned just be careful of your approach to the opening if you are close to the height as that will make a difference too. Good luck with the building, sounds nice and I'm sure you will love it.

Bondo©

barrelhorses · 03-16-2006, 08:14 PM

Morton knows their stuff. Just let them know what your specs/needs are. They will take care of you. I am very lucky to have sole use of my uncle's 60' x 120' Morton pole barn now for my horses. It has 16' sidewalls and doors. It is a nice barn.

Holmstead · 03-17-2006, 07:13 AM

Thanks all for the additional comments and suggestions. After reading the replies, I'm ready to send my revised wish list to Morton and they will work up a building for us. As soon as they complete the design, they are coming out to help us decide exactly where to put it, see everything that is going in the building (except the car hauler as that is still a few months away)and finalize the specs.

Thanks Jim

twobit · 03-30-2006, 09:36 AM

If you have anything with slideouts (RV trailers or motorhomes) make sure the door is far enough away from the sidewalls that you can open the slides when you are parked inside the building.

RLDSL · 04-01-2006, 12:17 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I'm having a Morton bldg put up to house toys and some farm equipment. I need to decide on the height of the doors and was wondering if anyone knows the height of a 40 foot enclosed gooseneck
car hauler sitting on the back of a stock 05 dually with the FX4 option?

Thanks Jim

[/ QUOTE ]

14' should do it, .....but, don't forget to take into account how high you have to crank that thing up to unload the truck suspension and get it clear of the gooseneck ball. That may have you needing another 6" or???
Get the thing on a flat surface and crank it off the truck and measure at the very front top to ground.
also keep in mind that you may want to jack the thing up sometime to work on suspension or change bearings etc. You'll want plenty of room to be able to get under it if needed.
----------Robert