kp texan
1/2 ton status
I just finished building my hardtop garage hoist and figured that it might give some of you guys ideas (my step ladder is on the hoist in the pics). The frame boards are constructed of 2x6s and are mounted via lag bolts. The pulleys (Grainger item #4JX66) were given to me but they seemed to work out just fine. As you can see, most of them were mounted using U-bolts with the exception of the four center pulleys which are mounted with regular bolts. The cable going to the lifting boards is 1/8" and they tie into the 3/16" cable that came with the winch. I decided to go with a 2000 lb. worm gear winch since I wouldn't have to worry about dropping the top and it only cost about $30 at Harbor Freight (although I think that same winch is on sale for $20 right now
). The only draw back is that with its ratio it takes forever to use the hand crank. To make that work more quickly, I took the handle off and double nutted some nuts on there so I could use my cordless drill and a socket to do much of the winding. I actually designed this lift on AutoCAD just so I could see how the measurements would fit and get an idea of how it could be oriented in my garage. I've taken that file and converted it to PDF so you can take a look at the dimensions if you want to. If you guyas have any other questions just let me know.
-Wes
). The only draw back is that with its ratio it takes forever to use the hand crank. To make that work more quickly, I took the handle off and double nutted some nuts on there so I could use my cordless drill and a socket to do much of the winding. I actually designed this lift on AutoCAD just so I could see how the measurements would fit and get an idea of how it could be oriented in my garage. I've taken that file and converted it to PDF so you can take a look at the dimensions if you want to. If you guyas have any other questions just let me know.-Wes
