Topsy Lift thread

[Ryp11]

Just heard from them. They did faster that they thought. Should be doing out early next week. With a free gift!!

Just got mine in the mail but no free gift. The metal bushings to replace the plastic ones from racor were not included. Anyone else missing their gift?

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[Ryp11]

Just got mine in the mail but no free gift. The metal bushings to replace the plastic ones from racor were not included. Anyone else missing their gift?

They just emailed back. Hoping to send them out today.

 

[Movingday]

They just emailed back. Hoping to send them out today.

Mine is supposed to arrive tomorrow. Sucks they sent them out separate. Guess I’ll get my gift next week

 

[Shots]

Got mine yesterday. Replacement plates for the Racor were in the box too.

 

[Movingday]

Mine showed up today, free gift and all!

 

[Movingday]

Installed and top off

 

[Tfom]

I've got everything here finally (as of yesterday) and of course I irritated my back on the same day. So much for my plan of installing this weekend.

 

[Movingday]

Put my top back on last night for the 1st time. I didn’t time it, but I’d say 15ish min from the time I backed into the garage I had the top, doors, and freedom panels on. I couldn’t be happier with this setup

 

[Shots]

I've got mine on and my frame for the hoist made, so I was able to take the top off for the first time ever yesterday. The Topsy brackets worked great, I can't imagine taking the top on/off any other way. Talk about a breeze.

 

[Tfom]

I had a fit trying to find ceiling joists yesterday. The stud finder I had was worthless. I'm getting a magnetic one. Anyone have any tips?

 

[Shots]

You mean tips for installing the hoist in regards to locating the rafters?
If you have stud finder that didn't do so well, there are a few options. First I have a question. Is your ceiling smooth? If not, you're not likely to find a stud finder that will work well. They don't seem to like texture, designed, or popcorn. If they're smooth and you had no luck, I would assume you either have lath & plaster, thick drywall, fresh paint or a paint intended for waterproofing or cover-up. Any of these will affect the stud finder's ability to penetrate well enough to locate the studs (or in this case rafters). They do make stud finders that have "deep scan" settings to account for things like lath & plaster, so all hope is not lost.
Assuming you can't find a stud finder that works, you still have an option. It's a bit hillbilly but it works. Take a small nail such as a brad nail, and make a hole in the general area of where you think the stud is. If it punches through without resistance you missed. Move over and try again. Yes this leaves you with some tiny holes, but if you use a small nail they'll be hard to see, and I've got a tip to fill them. Once you push the nail in and hit resistance you've likely hit a stud. Move in line with the stud and try again to see if you hit resistance again.
A tip for finding the first stud without making a bunch of holes. Look for an outlet. The box will be attached to a stud, so you know the stud will be touching one side of the outlet box. The rafters are frequently in line with the wall studs so follow that potential location to the ceiling and look there. This also works by using a stud finder on a wall (if you have textured ceilings that the stud finder didn't like), and then checking the ceiling in line with that stud.
Now that you know where the stud is and you have a bunch of holes, it's time to fix the holes. If you have a white ceiling like most people this is super easy. It sounds crazy, but grab a tube of toothpaste (white, not that blue gel stuff) and put a little dab on your finger. Smear the toothpaste into/over the hole. Wipe away the excess and the hole is gone. The toothpaste dries hard, and stays white. You'll never be able to tell where the holes were if you wiped away the excess toothpaste. If you have painted ceilings you can actually use a dab of paint to cover a tiny hole too, but this will some times show little spots of fresh paint applied on an old painted surface.
Last step. Now that you know where one stud/rafter is you should be able to find the next one pretty easy. take a tape measure and move over 16 inches and check for the next stud. In some cases this spacing will be different, but the standard is 16" centers, though depending on the construction they may also use 24" centers.

Good luck.

 

[Tfom]

You mean tips for installing the hoist in regards to locating the rafters?
If you have stud finder that didn't do so well, there are a few options. First I have a question. Is your ceiling smooth? If not, you're not likely to find a stud finder that will work well. They don't seem to like texture, designed, or popcorn. If they're smooth and you had no luck, I would assume you either have lath & plaster, thick drywall, fresh paint or a paint intended for waterproofing or cover-up. Any of these will affect the stud finder's ability to penetrate well enough to locate the studs (or in this case rafters). They do make stud finders that have "deep scan" settings to account for things like lath & plaster, so all hope is not lost.
Assuming you can't find a stud finder that works, you still have an option. It's a bit hillbilly but it works. Take a small nail such as a brad nail, and make a hole in the general area of where you think the stud is. If it punches through without resistance you missed. Move over and try again. Yes this leaves you with some tiny holes, but if you use a small nail they'll be hard to see, and I've got a tip to fill them. Once you push the nail in and hit resistance you've likely hit a stud. Move in line with the stud and try again to see if you hit resistance again.
A tip for finding the first stud without making a bunch of holes. Look for an outlet. The box will be attached to a stud, so you know the stud will be touching one side of the outlet box. The rafters are frequently in line with the wall studs so follow that potential location to the ceiling and look there. This also works by using a stud finder on a wall (if you have textured ceilings that the stud finder didn't like), and then checking the ceiling in line with that stud.
Now that you know where the stud is and you have a bunch of holes, it's time to fix the holes. If you have a white ceiling like most people this is super easy. It sounds crazy, but grab a tube of toothpaste (white, not that blue gel stuff) and put a little dab on your finger. Smear the toothpaste into/over the hole. Wipe away the excess and the hole is gone. The toothpaste dries hard, and stays white. You'll never be able to tell where the holes were if you wiped away the excess toothpaste. If you have painted ceilings you can actually use a dab of paint to cover a tiny hole too, but this will some times show little spots of fresh paint applied on an old painted surface.
Last step. Now that you know where one stud/rafter is you should be able to find the next one pretty easy. take a tape measure and move over 16 inches and check for the next stud. In some cases this spacing will be different, but the standard is 16" centers, though depending on the construction they may also use 24" centers.

Good luck.

It's a textured surface so maybe that was the issue. I was pretty sure I had the first one based on an outlet and the anchors for the garage door track. Half the problem is most of my tools are at my business. I'll have to try again next week as we are headed out of town tomorrow. I'll definitely try the Brad nails as I was using something bigger. Never heard the toothpaste trick before. It didn't help that it's 110 degrees in my garage, so my patience ran thin.

 

[Shots]

Holy cow that's hot!! I may grumble about our snow in the winter, but I'll take it over the heat you all get.

 

[Brew211]

Installed mine last weekend. So easy and it is AWESOME!
I installed a secondary safety chain just in case. Not only does it hold the hard top, but it also holds the entire soft top setup when not in use.

 

[BWWJL]

Installed mine last weekend. So easy and it is AWESOME!
I installed a secondary safety chain just in case. Not only does it hold the hard top, but it also holds the entire soft top setup when not in use.

On the secondary, you jump on a ladder to connect? Also, you “long term” store your HT because you put the soft top on?

I’d like to do something similar but only have a HT so I want to make it very easy to connect without a ladder.

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