Gladiator Hardtop Hoist

[mazeppa]

Modified my Harken hoist to be powered by a worm-drive hand winch, use a drill to power the winch. Also modified the Harken's block and tackle to free spool (not lock).

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[mnhillyer]

I bought a Racor rack off Amazon and just made my hangers out of 1/4” steel bar wrapped in fuel line. Works great!! I like being able to place the freedom panels on top of the rack.

 

[ATLTiger]

Works like a charm.

You must me some sort of wizard or I’m just not good at this sort of stuff b/c I don’t trust mine at all.

 

[steveale]

I put a strap at front not hook straight to it. I also just hitch it off on the cleat and don’t lower to the floor.

 

[kayakmike]

Here's my roof hanger setup. I used existing HF pulleys I had on our garage ceiling from old kayaks, and hung the JT roof from the Yakima roof rack I installed. Solves the hook/attachment problem.

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...al-metallic-le-build.22811/page-3#post-375058

 

[Twizzler]

I have two questions:

1) I have roughly 15.5 inches between my roof and garage roof...is that enough?

2) I have this concrete like coating on my garage roof. What is that? I assume the usual drywall is behind it.

 

[JT-S-Maxi-IND]

I took the flimsy hooks off and mounted the pulleys direct. I had some c channel aluminum stock and bolted the pulley to it and the hooks to the channel. Have not tried it yet. More to follow.

@steveale
what size “C” channel did you use for the back lift?

 

[Jdyowa]

But it's so light and easy to take off. Why complicate it? Good job though

 

[jjmstang]

I have two questions:

1) I have roughly 15.5 inches between my roof and garage roof...is that enough?

2) I have this concrete like coating on my garage roof. What is that? I assume the usual drywall is behind it.

That's just drywall mud they used for design purposes covering the drywall

 

[BrntWS6]

I have dual tops so wanted a platform for soft and hardtop storage. Vendor kits were way too expensive so I built my own electric hoist for around $225.00. My ceilings are 10.5'.

 

[JT-S-Maxi-IND]

I have dual tops so wanted a platform for soft and hardtop storage. Vendor kits were way too expensive so I built my own electric hoist for around $225.00. My ceilings are 10.5'.

I’m in the process of building a raising platform in a separate part of my garage to hold the soft top and/or hard top and other seasonal Jeep accessories. I’m building a simple pulley lift to remove the hard top when no one is available, to the lift it, pull out the Gladiator, then loser it on a dolly to take over to the lifting platform. Not planning on any electric hoist, since this top is light. We’ll see if I’ll need an electric hoist, but really doubt it.

 

[lobelsteve]

Lobelsteve version of Gladiator hardtop hoist.

Parts:

Lag eye bolts x6. 175lb rated. 5/16 x4"
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbil...-Plated-Lag-Thread-Screw-Eye-806926/204273852

Eye bolts x4 with 2 washers, 2 nuts for each 3/8 x4
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-3-8-in-x-4-in-Zinc-Plated-Eye-Bolt-with-Nut-807206/204273498

Pulleys x4
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-1-2-in-Zinc-Plated-Swivel-Single-Pulley-44154/205882606

Double pulley x2
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-1-2-in-Nickel-Plated-Swivel-Double-Pulley-42604/205887572

Rope
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbil...ypropylene-Diamond-Braid-Rope-72465/206094275

1x6 or 2x4 cut to 6'
Carpet or padding for the top.

Hand winch. I modified mine by welding a 3/4" socket to the end so I can use a power impact with 3/8" driver to raise and lower the top.
https://www.harborfreight.com/autom...nches/2000-lb-capacity-geared-winch-5798.html

Things to do differently: gO with 2x4 instead of 1x6. Better to go heavy duty. Get some angle iron and lag bolt it into 2 joists to center the front pulleys over the roof bolt holes. There is not much weight on the front and there is no rubbing or stress I can feel on the front of the roof, but it would look better if it was a straight vertical load.

 

[Gladiator Joe]

It’s so cool to see all the ingenuity in this post. I repurposed some old bicycle pulleys. Total cost like $30. Worked like a charm.

 

[Twizzler]

I wanted to get my hardtop off for a headliner install and I don't have a hoist yet, my wife is too short to help me lift, and lifting myself would not be ideal given my hernias.

So I unscrewed the top, flipped it over onto my Mopar soft, tri-fold bed cover, slid it down to the end of the bed, rotated the glass end to face the rear.. Then I angled the glass end onto the tailgate, and slid the top off the tailgate onto a blanket on the driveway. Reversed the process when I got it back on. Not the most elegant solution and I did not damage the bed cover.

I think I might buy a 4x8 sheet of wood (1/2 in thick), cut it in half, and use that to cover the bed cover. I could then staple blanket over the wood to protect the top and make it easier to slide. Storing the top would be easy, just place it at the end of my garage, upright against the wall.

A hoist might be easier but, this way is cheaper and in the end might add maybe 5 mins tops to the removal process. Not a big deal.

 

[Trauma PA]

I removed and replaced my hard top by myself for the second time yesterday using my Racon hoist. I also marked my tire spots on the garage floor so I know where to line up in the future. Because the hard top is back-heavy, I wanted to get a few straps on the back to hold it level in-place (making it easier to put back on as well).

Once all the 8 screws are out and I’m lined up, I simply run the straps under the hardtop and cinch them down to the rack after lowering it about 2” above the top (pool noodles help protect roof from getting scratched). Then I’ll raise the hoist about 4” just enough to run the two straps under the back of the top and hook the rubber-coated S-hooks into 2 of the mounting holes.

I made sure these 2 straps have very little weight or tension on them and do not appear to be adding any unnecessary stress to the mounting holes. It’s pretty fun getting everything lined up and just lowering the top back on...as one person, the top is light enough where you can pick up each side and pull the loose straps out.

*I plan on purchasing some strap protectors to replace the strips of towels I ran under them temporarily to keep the paint from getting marked up but other than that it works great and enables me to do this solo in under 10 minutes!

**somehow I’ve managed to accumulate over 20 tarps, all varying in sizes, colors and conditions over the past 13 years as a homeowner...the Racon hoist is a great place to store them

@Sperron - you can see I have that exact pulley system suspending my bike but definitely wouldn’t trust it for the hard top!

Is the Racor hoist still working out well for you?

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