Morbo
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3 second intro - Hey there, first post here, new to Jeeps, picked up our Rubi just over a month ago... loving it so far!
Sorry in advance for the extremely long post.
Picked up a Racor hoist and Topsy brackets/straps. I'm a bit of rube when it comes to these types of tasks, ironically, I still over-think these things because of aforementioned ignorance. I end up going around in circles thinking about how best to perform a task I really don't know is the right way to do in the first place. Hence the reason I'm posting here...
On to my dilemma. Looking to mount the Racor in my garage and have a peculiar predicament. It's a 3-car garage (2-car bay and a 1-car bay). For the 2-car bay, it can't go in one spot because the entryway to the house is elevated. Even though we're short, we'd still be ducking to walk in and out of the garage. The other spot can handle it but I have my tools, workbench, etc. in a cubbyhole there. Want to avoid tying up this space so I'm not worried about smacking stuff into the roof while it's suspended. The plan is to leave the roof suspended all summer long and also for the occasional warm Fall/Winter day as well.
Mounting in the 1-car bay is preferred but has its challenges. I added the picture below to help illustrate. I have the opening to my attic space there. I never go up there but for this to work at all, I need to use the framed opening to mount the Racor brackets. The light, and possibly extension cord, will need to be relocated. Sucks, but not a showstopper. In doing some trial and error, I believe the configuration illustrated in my picture may work but looking for input from others who have installed the Racor or have a good understanding of mounting things to walls/ceilings/etc.
Challenges:
Would this way be safe? Am I overcomplicating things? Worst case, I move it to the 2-car bay and just be extra cautious when working in my cubbyhole.
Thanks in advance for any help/guidance anyone can offer.
Sorry in advance for the extremely long post.
Picked up a Racor hoist and Topsy brackets/straps. I'm a bit of rube when it comes to these types of tasks, ironically, I still over-think these things because of aforementioned ignorance. I end up going around in circles thinking about how best to perform a task I really don't know is the right way to do in the first place. Hence the reason I'm posting here...
On to my dilemma. Looking to mount the Racor in my garage and have a peculiar predicament. It's a 3-car garage (2-car bay and a 1-car bay). For the 2-car bay, it can't go in one spot because the entryway to the house is elevated. Even though we're short, we'd still be ducking to walk in and out of the garage. The other spot can handle it but I have my tools, workbench, etc. in a cubbyhole there. Want to avoid tying up this space so I'm not worried about smacking stuff into the roof while it's suspended. The plan is to leave the roof suspended all summer long and also for the occasional warm Fall/Winter day as well.
Mounting in the 1-car bay is preferred but has its challenges. I added the picture below to help illustrate. I have the opening to my attic space there. I never go up there but for this to work at all, I need to use the framed opening to mount the Racor brackets. The light, and possibly extension cord, will need to be relocated. Sucks, but not a showstopper. In doing some trial and error, I believe the configuration illustrated in my picture may work but looking for input from others who have installed the Racor or have a good understanding of mounting things to walls/ceilings/etc.
Challenges:
- Couldn't find any measurements as to how far from the side/back walls anyone mounted the hoist so I'm not sure how close to the back wall I could go safely. Keeping 14" behind the spare tire gives me enough room to slide around behind the Jeep and it's really the minimum I can go without concerns over clearing the garage-door opener. I'd prefer to go back a few more inches if at all possible. Is there any downside or reasons to not have the Jeep so close to the back wall when removing the top? I figured I'd remove the 6 bolts in the cargo area and disconnect the rear wiper hose and wiring harness prior to backing in the Jeep, then remove the front 2 bolts prior to removing the top.
- Joists/unnecessarily using 2x4s - This is my main concern. The joists in this area run front-to-back and, per the instructions, you should only use 2x4s if the joists run perpendicular. I cannot rotate the hoist to be perpendicular and mount behind the attic opening because I will not have enough room to back the Jeep in far enough. There's no way I can mount the hoist without using the frame around the attic opening. I would need to mount 2x4s to basically be shims for the hoist brackets (the rectangles in picture below). Everything running parallel and bolting to the joists. Is this a safe method to do? I would want to bolt the 2x4s to the joists and then get extra long lag bolts for the brackets to pass through the 2x4s and also tap into the joists as well (at least half of them if not all of them).
- Assuming using 2x4s as shims and bolting everything up to the joists is suitable, any suggestions how long the lag bolts should be? I was already planning to replace the supplied screws with bolts since screws can strip out easily. If I'm mounting 2x4s to the joists, would 6" bolts be enough? If I'm going to mount the Racor hoist brackets to the 2x4s, would 6" long bolts work too or should they be longer? Keeping in mind I would think it'd be beneficial to still try and bolt the Racor brackets "directly" to the joist by going through the 2x4 and into the joist.
Would this way be safe? Am I overcomplicating things? Worst case, I move it to the 2-car bay and just be extra cautious when working in my cubbyhole.
Thanks in advance for any help/guidance anyone can offer.
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