TXRubicon
Well-Known Member
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- #1
A cautionary tale for anyone switching from a JK to a JL with a Lange Hoist-A-Top hardtop lift. I had the Lange on my JK for 3 years and it worked really well. No issues and always felt comfortable with how it hung with the JK top.
Fast forward to October when I purchased my current JL and wanted to use the lift with the new Jeep. I spent the $100 to buy the JL conversion kit and couldn’t believe the garbage setup they sent over. The rear hook is now massive and has to be unscrewed from the lifting blade every single time you want to use it. The hook also crimps the rear window seal really badly and pushes against the inside of the hardtop with such force that it was messing up the hardtop liner and digging into the hardtop. The front hooks never sat squarely inside the hardtop either. They were basically clamping onto the outside instead of lifting from the inside. The rear glass also had to be kept open as the hook pushed up against the rear glass if it was closed. Looked like an accident waiting to happen. For $100, it was a complete joke. A horrible hook and a couple pieces of foam.
I spoke with the folks at Topsy back in October and they told me they were working on an adapter bar to be able to use their awesome hard top brackets with the Lange. The hooks basically install over the rear hinge bolts on the hardtop and don't put any stress on the glass. The hardtop can be left closed.
The Topsy Lange T-Bar adapter basically takes the place of the single rear hook on the Lange lifting blade and gives it two rear lift points to be used with the Topsy straps. These straps clip into the Topsy brackets.
This took care of the rear nicely, but up front, I still wasn't happy with how the Lange hooks sat inside the hardtop. I ended up buying some stainless eyebolts and replaced the hooks with those. The Topsy front strap now just clips into the eyebolts and lifts across the entire hardtop instead of pinch points with the Lange hooks. The other nice thing is since I'm using the straps rather than hooks, I was able to adjust the width of the front bar to the narrowest setting making the arms much more stable.
This is how it sits in the garage - These pics were taken before I swapped the front eyebolts out, but its MUCH MUCH more stable and so much better on the rear of the hardtop.
Long story short, don’t waste your money on upgrading your existing Lange with the Lange kit. It’s junk. Even if you do buy the Lange (the lifting blade and hoist are GREAT!) replace the hooks with the Topsy products! Get the Topsy bar adapter and strap kit for about the same amount of $ (slightly less) and call it a day.
http://topsyproducts.com/products/hinge_hook_hoist_bracket
Cheers.
Fast forward to October when I purchased my current JL and wanted to use the lift with the new Jeep. I spent the $100 to buy the JL conversion kit and couldn’t believe the garbage setup they sent over. The rear hook is now massive and has to be unscrewed from the lifting blade every single time you want to use it. The hook also crimps the rear window seal really badly and pushes against the inside of the hardtop with such force that it was messing up the hardtop liner and digging into the hardtop. The front hooks never sat squarely inside the hardtop either. They were basically clamping onto the outside instead of lifting from the inside. The rear glass also had to be kept open as the hook pushed up against the rear glass if it was closed. Looked like an accident waiting to happen. For $100, it was a complete joke. A horrible hook and a couple pieces of foam.
I spoke with the folks at Topsy back in October and they told me they were working on an adapter bar to be able to use their awesome hard top brackets with the Lange. The hooks basically install over the rear hinge bolts on the hardtop and don't put any stress on the glass. The hardtop can be left closed.
The Topsy Lange T-Bar adapter basically takes the place of the single rear hook on the Lange lifting blade and gives it two rear lift points to be used with the Topsy straps. These straps clip into the Topsy brackets.
This took care of the rear nicely, but up front, I still wasn't happy with how the Lange hooks sat inside the hardtop. I ended up buying some stainless eyebolts and replaced the hooks with those. The Topsy front strap now just clips into the eyebolts and lifts across the entire hardtop instead of pinch points with the Lange hooks. The other nice thing is since I'm using the straps rather than hooks, I was able to adjust the width of the front bar to the narrowest setting making the arms much more stable.
This is how it sits in the garage - These pics were taken before I swapped the front eyebolts out, but its MUCH MUCH more stable and so much better on the rear of the hardtop.
Long story short, don’t waste your money on upgrading your existing Lange with the Lange kit. It’s junk. Even if you do buy the Lange (the lifting blade and hoist are GREAT!) replace the hooks with the Topsy products! Get the Topsy bar adapter and strap kit for about the same amount of $ (slightly less) and call it a day.
http://topsyproducts.com/products/hinge_hook_hoist_bracket
Cheers.
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