I'm thinking about building a
manual hoist in my garage for the
hardtop on my Bird so I can pull it up & hang it from the garage ceiling. I can buy one for $189.00 from
ebay but when looking at the system, it seems like one can be built from scratch using Home Depot materials.
Anyone built one? If so, I'd appreciate any advice, plans, pictures, etc.
Thanks
Dan
Dan,
Was looking at that SAME
HOIST and thought the SAME THING! Please tell me how it goes, keep me up to date on how you build it, okay?
The few things that I had concerns about - one, making sure that you use some sort of very soft covering for the chains and a way to minimize pressure points resulting from covered chains being in contact w/ the rubber water gasket system that is lining most of the areas around the
hardtop. I just had to replace some of these gaskets on my 2003 from silly used car salesmen simply shoving and placing lots of pressure on my
hardtop in an attempt to get the
hardtop hooks to securely lock in place so that my top didn't fly off or rattle when driving - they chose to shove the
hardtop back/forth and place hundreds of pounds of pressure on
hard top rather than simply adjusting the lock down mechanism w/ the dealership shop - and they totally compressed and deflated most of the rubber rain drainage system on my
hardtop - and it is a very painful and somewhat pricey repair that is very hard to get completed because so few people are actually trained in repairing these cars anymore (most are retired, etc)... so being very careful of doing anything that presses and compresses this rubber lining and rain drainage system is of utmost importance. I'm concerned that leaving the roof hanging in the ceiling of the garage for 5-6 months of the year, every year, may cause damage to the drainage system even if the chains are well padded. Anybody have experience w/well padded chains causes problems with the gaskets on the
hardtop, please do tell.
Also, my other concern is ensuring that the chain locks, so that I don't find the roof on the garage floor, shattered, one day - didn't quite understand the locking system on the ones that a couple of people recommended on this site just last month (or so) ago - I was also referred to a system on
Amazon, too. But, similar materials that look like we can just purchase and make ourselves for pennies on the dollar at any hardware and fabric store.
Please keep me abreast on how it works out for you!
lmc
This is a pic of my lift before I re-made it. The most important
parts to this configuration is the blue straps & the two
parts front & rear that grab the HT edge. The blue straps have a sew in loop that go around the HT latching pins. These 2 straps, one on each side, do most of the lifting at the heavy end so they should be well made & either a non scratching material or padded because they do touch & can rub on the HT. They also must be long enough to extend above the roof. I eliminated the metal frame cross pieces.
The second most important
part of the lift is to devise a method of keeping the HT from tilting either backwards or forwards, pivoting on the blue straps. This can be done by making a clip of sorts to securely hold onto the lead edge of the HT & the rear edge with out smashing the rubber seals. I use a strap that goes under the HT & pulled tight to pull these two clips into or towards the underside of the HT preventing the clips from pulling outward as the force of lifting the HT up pulls on these clips.
An adjustable strap or rope from these two fore & aft clips then go to the center of the HT & join the blue side straps all attached to a large steel ring (3 inches dia.) From the pulley system attached to the garage roof comes the rope which is also attached the the steel ring. As the lift whether it is a motor driven or hand crank begins to take up the slack the HT will lift straight up but does like to begin to swing or turn. To prevent this I have attached a second rope to the blue strap nearest to me that I hold onto while cranking or lifting the HT.
This has worked well for me for over 13 yrs. and I keep my HT suspended from the garage ceiling. It is covered and completely out of the way not taking up floor space. In November I just back in under the HT slowly lower it down until it is just ready to be into place, then I slip the blue straps off the latch pins. I place a rolled up bath towel on the windshield header & one on the rear panel. Then bring the HT down the remaining few inches to the rolled up bath towels insuring that the latch pins are into their holes. Undoing the strap or rope that goes from front clip to rear clip I pull those two clips out from under the edge of the HT. The HT is now resting on the rolled up bath towels. Lift the HT by hand up slightly to pull out the rear towel, then the front towel. Done! Takes about 10 minutes once you get the hang of it.
Any questions or comments, don't hesitate to ask.
you MADE that entire system? Please tell where you bought the
parts, the measurements, etc... What was your total cost to create it?
One last question and it's actually a request - can you take current pics of your updated creation? Along with that close up, possible from various angles, a longshot showing how it is all working together - also, the wall attachment if you don't mind. It would be so helpful.
Purchase or make my own, I'm a but stumped on how to connect it my garage walls, since the backend wall of my garage is lined w/ cabinets and the side wall, except for one small section on one side, is covered with shelving that is packed w/ gardening tools, pots, etc... Concerned about where/how to connect to wall so that it works even if I may need to connect to different sections. Oh, yes, there is also the garage door opener right smack in the middle of the garage ceiling, too - which makes it impossible for me to move a pulley system over to middle so that I can latch
part of the hoisting system to
part of backwall that is not covered by cabinets.
Thank you, again,
BluByeU
Thank you,
BluByeU
