Hardtop hoist/storage write-up
04-24-2008, 07:18 PM
#81
JK Freak
Strength of screws for top hoist
Hard to say...I built a little bit at a time as I found the parts I needed. I would say you should be able to put it all together and get the top hoisted in a weekend. Some of the longer steps were mounting the double angles up into the ceiling joists. I used 3.5" lags and I remember that being a lot of work. Like I said in the first post it may have been overkill but I feel good about how solid it is. It's a real solid system and you should get years of easy removal and storage for the top so it's worth the effort. Just take your time and do it right, that's a lot of weight hanging overhead 
When I was trying to hang my hardware I kept twisting the 1/4 inch lags, even pre-drilling. I guess the lumber was very dry and hard.
So, I ran the calculations for #10 screws. A 1.5 inch screw has a rated load of about 150lbs. (assuming you pre-drill the holes), using a factor of safety of 5. So, the channel I installed (I put in a roller channel so I can slide it back onto a shelf) has at least 2 screws supporting at all times.
04-25-2008, 03:02 AM
#82
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When I was trying to hang my hardware I kept twisting the 1/4 inch lags, even pre-drilling. I guess the lumber was very dry and hard.
So, I ran the calculations for #10 screws. A 1.5 inch screw has a rated load of about 150lbs. (assuming you pre-drill the holes), using a factor of safety of 5. So, the channel I installed (I put in a roller channel so I can slide it back onto a shelf) has at least 2 screws supporting at all times.
So, I ran the calculations for #10 screws. A 1.5 inch screw has a rated load of about 150lbs. (assuming you pre-drill the holes), using a factor of safety of 5. So, the channel I installed (I put in a roller channel so I can slide it back onto a shelf) has at least 2 screws supporting at all times.
Thanks!!
04-26-2008, 11:07 AM
#83
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Thanks to our excellent inventor and correspondent from Pottstown, who unfailingly replied to my questions asking for more detail of his channel strut hoist, I finished mine last weekend. Unlike most of the others in this thread, my JK is a 2-door with a Freedom Top, so it doesn't extend forward of the soundbar with the panels removed. This requires the top to be lifted a few inches manually before the hooks (or any lifting device, for that matter) to be inserted.
The good news, hoever, is that there is a lovely wide lip molded into the top for the front hooks to grab -- the perfect width, in fact. I employed a couple of modifications from the original, notably the use of a turnbuckle for mounting the rear hook to the bar. This allows additional length while enabling the hook to be easily turned to either side for inserting or removing it.
To save weight, I eliminated the plywood and went to 2x4s from 2x3s to return the rigidity. (I think that saved weight.) My garage ceiling trusses are heavy but are mounted 24" on center rather than 16", so the 5' angles that hold the shelf are held in only by 3 lag screws each.
The design of my garage allowed me to mount my winch to stairs leading to the storage area and through-bolt it to the stringer. The winch housing is more than strong enough to accept this adaption given the fact that the weight of the hardtop is well below its rated capability.
Finally, I adapted the same essential design for a soft-top hoist. I find the soft top much more difficult and aggravating to install and remove than the hardtop because the bow-ends wander all over creation looking for painted surfaces to scratch until they are fastened to the bar. The hoist holds the top at the correct height for installation and removal.
Again, my gratitude to Howie, who not only generously helped me with this, but also with his take on the tailgate strut -- one of the best and most sensible mods for a JK owner.
The good news, hoever, is that there is a lovely wide lip molded into the top for the front hooks to grab -- the perfect width, in fact. I employed a couple of modifications from the original, notably the use of a turnbuckle for mounting the rear hook to the bar. This allows additional length while enabling the hook to be easily turned to either side for inserting or removing it.
To save weight, I eliminated the plywood and went to 2x4s from 2x3s to return the rigidity. (I think that saved weight.) My garage ceiling trusses are heavy but are mounted 24" on center rather than 16", so the 5' angles that hold the shelf are held in only by 3 lag screws each.
The design of my garage allowed me to mount my winch to stairs leading to the storage area and through-bolt it to the stringer. The winch housing is more than strong enough to accept this adaption given the fact that the weight of the hardtop is well below its rated capability.
Finally, I adapted the same essential design for a soft-top hoist. I find the soft top much more difficult and aggravating to install and remove than the hardtop because the bow-ends wander all over creation looking for painted surfaces to scratch until they are fastened to the bar. The hoist holds the top at the correct height for installation and removal.
Again, my gratitude to Howie, who not only generously helped me with this, but also with his take on the tailgate strut -- one of the best and most sensible mods for a JK owner.
04-26-2008, 12:41 PM
#84
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Thanks to our excellent inventor and correspondent from Pottstown, who unfailingly replied to my questions asking for more detail of his channel strut hoist, I finished mine last weekend. Unlike most of the others in this thread, my JK is a 2-door with a Freedom Top, so it doesn't extend forward of the soundbar with the panels removed. This requires the top to be lifted a few inches manually before the hooks (or any lifting device, for that matter) to be inserted.
The good news, hoever, is that there is a lovely wide lip molded into the top for the front hooks to grab -- the perfect width, in fact. I employed a couple of modifications from the original, notably the use of a turnbuckle for mounting the rear hook to the bar. This allows additional length while enabling the hook to be easily turned to either side for inserting or removing it.
To save weight, I eliminated the plywood and went to 2x4s from 2x3s to return the rigidity. (I think that saved weight.) My garage ceiling trusses are heavy but are mounted 24" on center rather than 16", so the 5' angles that hold the shelf are held in only by 3 lag screws each.
The design of my garage allowed me to mount my winch to stairs leading to the storage area and through-bolt it to the stringer. The winch housing is more than strong enough to accept this adaption given the fact that the weight of the hardtop is well below its rated capability.
Finally, I adapted the same essential design for a soft-top hoist. I find the soft top much more difficult and aggravating to install and remove than the hardtop because the bow-ends wander all over creation looking for painted surfaces to scratch until they are fastened to the bar. The hoist holds the top at the correct height for installation and removal.
Again, my gratitude to Howie, who not only generously helped me with this, but also with his take on the tailgate strut -- one of the best and most sensible mods for a JK owner.
The good news, hoever, is that there is a lovely wide lip molded into the top for the front hooks to grab -- the perfect width, in fact. I employed a couple of modifications from the original, notably the use of a turnbuckle for mounting the rear hook to the bar. This allows additional length while enabling the hook to be easily turned to either side for inserting or removing it.
To save weight, I eliminated the plywood and went to 2x4s from 2x3s to return the rigidity. (I think that saved weight.) My garage ceiling trusses are heavy but are mounted 24" on center rather than 16", so the 5' angles that hold the shelf are held in only by 3 lag screws each.
The design of my garage allowed me to mount my winch to stairs leading to the storage area and through-bolt it to the stringer. The winch housing is more than strong enough to accept this adaption given the fact that the weight of the hardtop is well below its rated capability.
Finally, I adapted the same essential design for a soft-top hoist. I find the soft top much more difficult and aggravating to install and remove than the hardtop because the bow-ends wander all over creation looking for painted surfaces to scratch until they are fastened to the bar. The hoist holds the top at the correct height for installation and removal.
Again, my gratitude to Howie, who not only generously helped me with this, but also with his take on the tailgate strut -- one of the best and most sensible mods for a JK owner.
Please post some pics of your modifications and the installed hoist in your garage... We all know "a Picture is worth..."
04-26-2008, 04:01 PM
#85
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Shame on me, but I want to make this right, so if you pay close attention to the following, you may be able to comprehend it, even if like me, you lack an advanced engineering background:
A 2x4 is a board that is wider than a 2x3 board.
Stairs are things you climb up if you want to go upstairs, or walk down if you want to go downstairs, and stringers are the things that you see from the side that the stair treads and sometimes a handrail (so called because it it is long and straight like a rail and you grasp it with your hand) are attached to.
A soft top is like a hardtop only, well, it's softer.
Ironically, I attached three photos to my post. I can't account for what happened to them. But at this point, I'll challenge you to re-read the "technical jargon" and if you still feel it's "worthless" to you, read it over as many times as it takes for you to understand it.
But if you only understand the part about how I'm thanking the guy who started this whole thing, then you understand the most important part.
Last edited by Huklbery; 04-26-2008 at 04:10 PM.
04-28-2008, 09:27 AM
#86
JK Newbie
When I was trying to hang my hardware I kept twisting the 1/4 inch lags, even pre-drilling. I guess the lumber was very dry and hard.
So, I ran the calculations for #10 screws. A 1.5 inch screw has a rated load of about 150lbs. (assuming you pre-drill the holes), using a factor of safety of 5. So, the channel I installed (I put in a roller channel so I can slide it back onto a shelf) has at least 2 screws supporting at all times.
So, I ran the calculations for #10 screws. A 1.5 inch screw has a rated load of about 150lbs. (assuming you pre-drill the holes), using a factor of safety of 5. So, the channel I installed (I put in a roller channel so I can slide it back onto a shelf) has at least 2 screws supporting at all times.
04-28-2008, 11:45 AM
#87
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nice write up. One of the best things about owning a Jeep is the ability to take the top off. I just took mine off yesterday and have a similar storage solution.
04-28-2008, 03:46 PM
#88
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Thanks for the nice words Huklbery. I'm glad it worked out for you. I'd be interested to see pictures of how you made it work for the 2-door top.
04-29-2008, 05:50 AM
#89
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I THINK I've attached a photo showing one of the front hooks in position under the wide lip that's molded into the 2-door hardtop. I'm having trouble getting my photos compressed enough to meet this forum's requirements -- I even emailed them to myself so that Outlook Express would compress them, then tried to upload those versions. I'll keep looking for a workaround on that issue. I don't have any photo processing software on my PC these days.
04-29-2008, 07:08 AM
#90
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my wife and I love this setup but she wants a 4-dr Rubi...so now we're trying to figure out how we'll hang these and pull into the garage, side by side....