Hoist to Lift Off Bed Rack and RTT

[Zebago]

My JT is my daily driver, so I wanted to be able to lift my tent and rack off together when I didn’t need it. I built a hoist in my garage to lift it off and still be able to lower it back on by myself. I had about 4 designs I was throwing around, but this was quick and cheap. I used the 880lb electric hoist from Harbor Freight. They have a cheaper 440lb hoist, but I don’t think it would be enough capacity.

https://www.harborfreight.com/880-lb-electric-hoist-with-remote-control-62854.html

The 880lb capacity is with the line doubled (using a snatch block). I wanted to use a single line so that limits me at 440lbs. The rack weighs in at 77lbs, the tent is about 160lbs with some gear in it, 2 Rotopax gas cans are 4lbs each (8lbs), 2gal of gas each at 6lbs a gal (24lbs), Hi-lift jack (30lbs), 2X Traction Mats 7lbs each (14lbs), Misc. lights and accessories 5lbs.. About 320lbs total. With more to come later.

I’m not crazy about them, but I used ratchet straps. They give up some height because they go down at an angle from a center lifting point. They also are hard to get even/level. I have the ceiling height, so it is ok for now. But in the future, I may build an “H” frame with a center lift point and 4 cables that go down at each corner.

I anchored the eye bolt by putting a metal plate in the attic and drilling a hole through the plate and floor. I could have put a board or pipe across the rafters, but I wanted to get the pulley as high as possible because of the ratchet straps.

The black plastic piece is fixed to the cable, so I put a piece of wood on the cable to activate the over travel switch.

I hang it by chains with hooks so I can let it back down a little to get the pressure off of the ratchet straps and hoist. I hung the snatch block from a pipe where it clears the tent and then I could use the hoist for something else.

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[Zebago]

I made threaded plates for my rack. The current design uses carriage bolts that stick out of plates that slide into the rail. I wanted to be able to lift the rack straight up and off with the tent on it. The slots would not allow for this with the bolts sticking out. I had to cut the bolts to lift it off. I could have loosened some of the bolts on the rack and pushed the legs in, but this is something I will be doing every few weeks and that would be a pain.

I used 1” x ¼” steel stock (Lowes). I cut them about 3” long. I plan on painting them later. I drilled and tapped two M8 holes for the rack and an M6 center hole for a set screw to hold the plates in place while the rack is off. I used metric hardware because I had the bolts and they were stainless. I found that a M6 x 25 low head screw would tighten against the plate and not stick out beyond the rail surface, so I used them instead. I have not actually used the plates yet so I can’t tell you how well they work.

 

[OneTraveler]

Great job....really wish I had space for solutions like this.

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