DIY Hardtop hoist ideas - brainstorming

[MACCTM]

Nice. Did I miss the plans you used to build it or did you just wing it?

My own design so no plans. Consisted of hitch hoist, a 4"x4" bumper hitch, 2 dollies and screws, bolts, and lumber holding it all together. Added a few pieces to heighten and lengthen the boom.

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[UCF Knights]

My own design so no plans. Consisted of hitch hoist, a 4"x4" bumper hitch, 2 dollies and screws, bolts, and lumber holding it all together. Added a few pieces to heighten and lengthen the boom.

Good job. If I still lived in DC Ranch in North Scottsdale I’d come check it out!

 

[Shots]

...... If someone could measure their top for height, I would appreciate it.

The top is slightly curved so it's hard to get an exact measurements, but I'm coming up with roughly 26".

 

[Shots]

I finally got my hoist and frame made. I need to fine tune it a bit, but I was able to remove the top yesterday.
In total I've got just under $200 into it. I did have some scraps that saved me a little money, but you can easily do this with no initial supplies for under $250. That includes the two most expensive parts, which are the electric hoist and Topsy kit.

I made a frame using 2 x 4's and black iron pipes. I cut the 2 x 4's into 3 pieces roughly 4' long to make runners. I then cut the black iron into a pair of 4' long bars. Using some scrap osb I made an area on top of the frame that can hold the freedom panels.
I then covered the 2 x 4's with carpet (less than $20 for a 10' x 6' piece), to protect the top from the wood.
I then used some eye bolts to hook the front strap of the Topsy to the frame, and to hook the frame to the hoist (they tie into a ring which clips onto the hoist's hook).
The rear Topsy hooks are attached to the rear bar on the frame.
I have the hoist attached to a piece of black iron bar (doubled up) which are fastened to the top of the rafters. This allows the hoist to hang just below the ceiling.

A few things I'm going to change:
I don't have the frame entirely wrapped yet (the photos are from the test), but I'll eventually wrap the whole frame and platform in carpet.
I'm going to replace the rope with chains. I used rope because I didn't want to risk anything hard hitting the roof, but I didn't like the way that "felt". The top lifted off just fine, and the rope I used is rated for much higher load than the roof actually is, but I don't like that it flexes when the hoist stops/starts. It's minor but I want something more solid, so I'm going to switch to coated wire cable, or chains. I think I can run the chain so it can't hit the roof, or I'll wrap the chain in cloth.
I need to put some trim around the hole in the ceiling that the hoist is mounted in, but that's a 5 minute job that will cost $10 or less.

All in all, it turned out well. I think with this set up, I should be able to have the top off with zero exertion, and maybe 5 minutes. I'm very happy with this compared to spending $200 on the Racor hoist, which requires manually raising and lowering. Besides that, I can use the hoist for other heavy lifting in the garage now too, not just for the roof.

PS, yes it hangs level (it took a little adjusting to dial it in), and no it's not that low. I have 10' ceilings in the garage, the door is a few steps up. The angle of the photo makes it look like the top is low and very close to the door, which it isn't.

 

[Movingday]

Nice work

 

[Shots]

Thanks.

 

[JeepJets]

Very well done @Shots . Hope it was a fun project. Looks that way. Congrats.

 

[Shots]

Yeah it wasn't too bad. I was pretty nervous taking the top off for the test run. Between having never taken one of these tops off, and reading about the member who's rear glass broke during removal, I was on edge. Turns out it was a lot easier than I was expecting and by using this method I can do it with the glass open or closed.

On a side note. I went to the local hardware store last night and picked up some chain and quick links. The chain is rated 880 lbs, and the quick links are rated 660 lbs. I could technically hang this thing off 1 chain and not have a problem, so having it linked to all 4 corners should be super secure. The chain cost $0.73 per foot, and the links were $0.98 each. After tax it was something like $14 to use chain instead of rope, so it's certainly not a budget killer.

 

[MarkL]

Very nice!

 

[El Duderino]

Yeah it wasn't too bad. I was pretty nervous taking the top off for the test run. Between having never taken one of these tops off, and reading about the member who's rear glass broke during removal, I was on edge. Turns out it was a lot easier than I was expecting and by using this method I can do it with the glass open or closed.

On a side note. I went to the local hardware store last night and picked up some chain and quick links. The chain is rated 880 lbs, and the quick links are rated 660 lbs. I could technically hang this thing off 1 chain and not have a problem, so having it linked to all 4 corners should be super secure. The chain cost $0.73 per foot, and the links were $0.98 each. After tax it was something like $14 to use chain instead of rope, so it's certainly not a budget killer.

Would like to see the finished product once you complete all the final upgrades. Great job!

 

[Shots]

I'll go snap a few more photos and put them up soon. The chains are a lot more stable than the rope was. Certainly the way to go. I'm going to cut the excess length off the chain this weekend, and finally finish the trim on the hole. I got a little side tracked with adding overhead storage to the garage using more chains and with some metal racks I found at a yard sale, so the hoist is still partly unfinished. Hopefully I'll be done this weekend, and I can post up the finished product.

 

[Shots]

I cut the chains to length, so now there's not a lot of extra hanging. I also got the trim up around the hole for the hoist. As it turns out it's not the easiest thing to take a picture of but here it is.

I've got the front strap which goes under the front of the hardtop, laying across the front of the platform. That's what the black strap is that you see hanging on the front.
I guess if you also look in the background you can see one of the storage racks I installed in the garage too. It's got my wife's MySky bag and my Freedom Panel bag laying on it.

Next time I have the top off I'll get more photos of the hoist/rack and post them up.

 

[Sean L]

I don't have a garage or carport to mount a hoist for the Hardtop, but here is what I've put together.

We put together a temporary shed that I will keep my motorcycle under primarily, but I've put four eye-bolts in and hook two ratchet straps through the hard top to lift it from the Jeep. The whole thing cost less than $350 in materials... Plus lunch for Mom and Dad for helping me out.

 

[jeremyjeep]

I don't have a garage or carport to mount a hoist for the Hardtop, but here is what I've put together.

We put together a temporary shed that I will keep my motorcycle under primarily, but I've put four eye-bolts in and hook two ratchet straps through the hard top to lift it from the Jeep. The whole thing cost less than $350 in materials... Plus lunch for Mom and Dad for helping me out.

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

 

[Sean L]

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

I'm glad I had people with the know how to help me out.

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