I am sick of lifting my hardtop on and off ,so I am going to make a 12v powered lift for my garage. I have seen some jeep ones but they are pricey and will not work for our Toyota hardtops. So I am making one . I started with sch40 1 1/2" pipe that I had laying around . You can use any steel like angle steel ect.. The cross steel is 50" across and the rear of the " t" is 56" long. I cut some flat steel and drilled a 1/2" hole in the center of each and welded a nut to it. Then I welded these to each end and flap disked them smooth.

 

I bent some flat stock into hooks. Then drilled 1/2" holes for the bolts to thread into the ends of the " t"

 

This is how the assembly sits . I will use some roll bar padding to keep from scratching the top.



I cut a 2x12 to bolt into the rafters and mounted a cheap 12 v winch I had from my jet ski trailer to it. I am mounting a pulley to the rafters after I find the balance point of the top.

El cheapo winch

 

That is all I have for today . I plan on finishing this up this week. I think this will make my life a lot easier.

 

brilliant. will be making one just like this. please post up pictures of where you find the balance point.

 

I would love to see the balance point also. Thanks for the measurements. For the padding you could use pool noodles. They are hollow in the middle and they now sell a "jumbo" version thats about $3.

 

[QUOTE=Nervo19;52071812]I would love to see the balance point also. Thanks for the measurements. For the padding you could use pool noodles. They are hollow in the middle and they now sell a "jumbo" version thats about $3.[/QU

That's a great idea ! I am going to try tonight to mount the winch and pulley . Then I'm going to take a large washer and tack it to the assembly and lift it then keep moving it till I get the balance point. Once I find it I will weld angle steel to the top of the "t" and drill a hole .

 

Cool!!

 

that is badass!!

 

Looks good, nice and simple. If you were to lift it at 3 points instead of just one it would be a lot more stable and the balance point would be less of an issue. I would lift it at both ends of the piece of pipe going across and at the back end of the piece of pipe going to the back then just center the hoist over the top...if that makes any sense, I can see it in my head, but I'm not the best at describing what's going on in there . I have done a lot of rigging at work and you want things to be as stable as you can get them just in case.

 

That makes sense to me too . But the ones that are pre made for a jeep are usually just one mounting point. I'm going to try it with one . If it fails then I will do a 3 point lift . That does seem like a very stable way to rig it.

 

The other thing I was thinking is to put 4 eyebolts in the ceiling about 6 inches in from the four corners of the top and once the top is lifted all the way run two ratchet straps across the bottom of the top. These "keepers would be protection in case the winch lets go. I have a Harbor Freight electric winch I bought for $49 for making a lift. I've had it over a year but don't have a ladder tall enough to mount it. My ceiling is 13 1/2'.