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I've finally completed my pulley hoist! *New system started 8/1/09! More pics!

New Plans

Well I just bought a new house with a larger garage. In a month this pulley system will be dismantled. I'm going to re-engineer it to work with my new garage. The new garage has rafters that run perpendicular to the side of the truck, which is the opposite of the longways-running rafters that run parallel to the truck in my current garage, so I think it may end up being easier to set up. If you look at the pics at the beginning of this thread you'll see that I had to add cross-beams up in the rafters to mount the eye bolts to.

The new garage has a finished ceiling, but all I need from the ceiling is 4 strong mounting points for my eye bolts. So it shouldn't be a big problem.

And if anyone has a good way to design this system so that I only have to use one pulley, I'm all ears. I'm trying to picture it in my head but nothing is clicking.

Progress and pics will be posted.
 
Looks like BobbyK (BobK here on CK5) has a pretty good setup. I'd have to have someone weld me up an I-frame since I'm no welder, but he's got it tied into one lift point. I could still use my hand crank in place of the electric winch he uses, and I'd also need to go with steel cable instead of the nylon rope I've been using for my current system.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=159221
 
And Greg72's setup is pretty good as well. Look like it would require some precise measuring for pulley placement, but looks like a good setup. I like the side-mounted winch. Greg didn't you move since these pics were taken? Do you have pics of your current system?

http://www.norcalbigdawgs.net/Gallery/album70

Decisions, decisions...
 
BAD ASS MANG! Congrats on the new house. Pics when your done ofcourse. :wink1:
 
Craig Artzner said:
And Greg72's setup is pretty good as well. Look like it would require some precise measuring for pulley placement, but looks like a good setup. I like the side-mounted winch. Greg didn't you move since these pics were taken? Do you have pics of your current system?

http://www.norcalbigdawgs.net/Gallery/album70

Decisions, decisions...
Click to expand...


Craig,

Yep, that shop space is a distant memory (almost 5 years now), but I couldn't bring myself to leave that pulley setup behind for the new buyer. I still have it up in the attic of my new shop (never installed). About a month ago, I gave away my hardtop so there's no need to do a "Pulleys From Hell v3"...

My suggestions would be to use about 12" of chain at the end of each rope so that you have options to attach the caribeaners. Sometimes, the top will sit a little crooked, and moving up one link can square things up again. I used a 3-rope system because the front bolts of the hardtop are basically centered near the rearview mirror anyway, and a 3-point setup tends to be more stable than a 4-point system.....you always have tension on all 3 ropes.

Also, when I'd get the top off and against the ceiling, I'd always use additional sections of chain to secure the large eyebolts on the 2X4s directly to the ceiling mounts. I didn't want to rely on the rope for the long-term storage of the top....it just made me too nervous to work underneath it that way.


:usaflag:
 
Greg72 said:
Also, when I'd get the top off and against the ceiling, I'd always use additional sections of chain to secure the large eyebolts on the 2X4s directly to the ceiling mounts. I didn't want to rely on the rope for the long-term storage of the top....it just made me too nervous to work underneath it that way.
Click to expand...
Absolutely. That's what my yellow tie straps do, they provide additional support to hold the top up there all summer. :)
ToponHoist3.jpg


I know what you mean about the tilting of the top, on my system, the rear of the top raises faster than the front and I'm always pulling down on the back to get it to sit level. I think it has something to do with the spacing of the pulleys in the "W" configuration (I just kind of eyeballed it when I installed them), or the fact that the 2x4s don't contact the underside of the top in the exact same spot every time.

But with the horizontal joists in the new garage, I should be able to nail down a perfectly-spaced "W" formation if I decide to rebuild it that way, and hopefully I can get the top to raise in a more level fashion. I also think I may be able to bring the two ropes together into one winch by using more pulleys to bring them together at the back of the garage.
 
Another stupid question. What's the best way to find the rafters since my garage ceiling is finished? When it comes to carpentry, I tend to be the guy who just drills holes until he feels the drill bit contact wood.

One weird thing about our new house, the garage ceiling was finished with no trapdoor access to the rafters (?). I'm probably going to cut one out anyway and then I can go up there and poke something through next to the joist so I know where to drill my pilot holes.
 
Craig Artzner said:
Another stupid question. What's the best way to find the rafters since my garage ceiling is finished? When it comes to carpentry, I tend to be the guy who just drills holes until he feels the drill bit contact wood.

One weird thing about our new house, the garage ceiling was finished with no trapdoor access to the rafters (?). I'm probably going to cut one out anyway and then I can go up there and poke something through next to the joist so I know where to drill my pilot holes.
Click to expand...

Pick yourself up a stud finder (insert dumb joke here) less than $20 at Lowes and useful for hanging heavy **** through out the house.
 
you could make a small hole on either side of the rafter and run small chain around the rafter, then you'll never have to worry about the threads eventually pulling out of the wood!, then just hook the ends of each chain together w/ carabiner. I'm not sure what the weight rating is on the screw in eye bolts, if you know for a fact they are designed for such a load, just disregard the chain idea.

i don't know if i would trust those eye bolts screwed into a stud, i had a punching bag on 1 & it ripped out, that's when i wrapped the rafter w/a chain, just a small hole in sheet rock either side of the rafter. you want be punching and swinging your top like the punching bag, but I'd keep an eye on all the eye bolts over time b/c the top is alot heavier than my punching bag!
 
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Well I'm now at the point where I'll be re-installing the pulley system. All the parts from the old system are laying on the floor in the new garage. I think I'm going to go for a one-winch system this time. Stay tuned...
 
blazin_blazer said:
you could make a small hole on either side of the rafter and run small chain around the rafter, then you'll never have to worry about the threads eventually pulling out of the wood!, then just hook the ends of each chain together w/ carabiner. I'm not sure what the weight rating is on the screw in eye bolts, if you know for a fact they are designed for such a load, just disregard the chain idea.

i don't know if i would trust those eye bolts screwed into a stud, i had a punching bag on 1 & it ripped out, that's when i wrapped the rafter w/a chain, just a small hole in sheet rock either side of the rafter. you want be punching and swinging your top like the punching bag, but I'd keep an eye on all the eye bolts over time b/c the top is alot heavier than my punching bag!
Click to expand...

he is onto something, I would use a small piece of cable though, keeps the hole small as well.

the other option is to go up there and add in a stud between the others. ( H) with your eyebolt in the middle of the H
 
Finally started on it...

Here are some pictures. I'm doing a similar system as in the old garage, but this time I'm going to try and tie the lift into one winch on the back wall.

Here's some pics...

NewPulleySystem-8-1-09.jpg


NewPulleySystem-8-1-092.jpg


Each of the six eye bolts on the ceiling is bolted into a piece of 2x6 laid across the rafters and nailed down. I wanted to have no worries about these things coming down. :)
NewPulleySystem-8-1-093.jpg


NewPulleySystem-8-1-094.jpg


NewPulleySystem-8-1-095.jpg
 
Craig Artzner said:
I'm doing a similar system as in the old garage, but this time I'm going to try and tie the lift into one winch on the back wall.
Click to expand...
That's basically what I did with mine. I tied all the lines to a come-along since I had it sitting around. An electric winch would be much cooler and I may do that upgrade some day. I built mine so that I can lower the top all the way to the floor if I want. The key to this is mounting the winch a long ways away from the pulleys.

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=240634
 
I'm still trying to figure out how to tie this thing together at the back of the garage. I'm still going to use the ropes in a "W" formation at the sides (see pictures of my first pulley system at the beginning of this thread).

I'm thinking I'll use two wall-mounted pullies at the back wall mounted perpendicular to the already-pictured ceiling pullies. This will direct the ropes into the center point behind the truck on the back wall, where two more pullies will direct the ropes down, I'll then join the two ropes just below those pullies into one rope wich will feed down into the hand winch, which will be mounted towards the lower part of the wall.
 
I hadn't thought about that too much, I figure most of the weight will be downforce from the top itself. That and the multiple (6) hanging points will spread the weight enough to not be an issue. But I could be wrong.
 
I figure most of the weight will be downforce from the top itself.
Click to expand...

I did a similar setup, and I think there might be an issue there.

On the two pulleys that change the ropes direction by 90 degrees (at the back), half the force is pulling down and the other half is pulling horizontal. This will force your pulley into a 45 degree angle. You might put some blocking under those two pulleys to help.

If you check out the closest pulley on mine in this thread, you can see the pulley rotates 45 degrees. You have an advantage with the "W" setup since your lines don't drop straight down, the angle might end up being ok.
http://coloradok5.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2382737&postcount=4
 
Yeah it might be a good idea to put some extra wood braces up to better stabilize those two back-end eye bolts since they might have some sideways force on them. It'd be easy enough to do no matter what.
 
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