Piecing together the perfect, for me, hardtop hoist

[abbaflabbajacks]

So I’ve overthought and over-planned this project for about a month. I wanted a hoist for my hardtop, and I needed to make one that was on a track. Lifting the hardtop and leaving it hanging in the center of my garage isn’t an option. I’ve got a power hoist, on a track/trolley, with custom straps, for less than anything available on the market.

Parts list. Everything but the straps and hoist can be gotten from Lowe’s.

• A bunch of 3/8 bolts, nuts, washers
• Some 3/8 lags
• A 10’ stick of unistrut
• 2-3 hangers
• 2 trolleys
• 440# hoist from harbor freight or comparable
• 4 1/2” bolts, nuts, washers
• 4 4” angle iron
• 2 6’ custom made straps
• 1 4’ (I think) custom strap

If you need specifics, ask away. The hardest part was making the brackets out of the angle iron. Good thing I had some help from the old man.

Photos show all parts and some in progress shots.

Not done quite yet I’m going to get some c clamps and place them under the o-ring and the 2 d rings to shorten those straps some to get some more height.

I’m open to suggestions for improvement if you’ve got any!

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[FLUndertaker]

Looks good sir, wish I had that kind of clearance. Mine just fits and hold the top about 2“ above the tailgate. If I got rid of the electric hoist and used a simple manual pulley I could gain a foot of additional room but what fun would that be?

 

[abbaflabbajacks]

Looks good sir, wish I had that kind of clearance. Mine just fits and hold the top about 2“ above the tailgate. If I got rid of the electric hoist and used a simple manual pulley I could gain a foot of additional room but what fun would that be?

Thanks!
After looking it over, I wonder if the hoist could be turned 90 degrees with some creative mounting for more space.

 

[jeepers29]

I did the same thing in my barn. Works great.

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