Does anyone use a camper shell hoist?

[Martinjmpr]

Just wondering if anyone here uses a camper shell hoist in their garage. What I'm talking about is something like this:

Reason I ask is there are lots of times when I think I'd like to run without a shell but putting it on and taking it off is a PITA. My fiancee hurt her hand helping me put my old shell back on and that pretty much means she won't get near the new one (it's bigger & heavier.)

This seems like a good solution, if it works.

FYI, here's what my garage looks like with the truck in it:

Seems I could attach that hoist to the horizontal boards on the garage frame, assuming it could hold the weight (probably around 150 lbs.)

Just interested in knowing if anyone's done this and what their experience was.

 

[Sportsman Matt]

I don't use a hoist, but I do use the bucket on my tractor with a short chain and 4 points connected with ratchet straps to the corners of the roof rack. Only problem I have with removing and putting the cap on is you still have to get inside and line everything up, which becomes a PITA. Plus you need one person on the tractor and one to steady the cap as when it moves it wants to turn and swing.

I don't see why it wouldn't work, other than when you go to remove it from the truck where do you store the cap after it's off? I know space is at a premium in my yard, so the cap gets set on top of either a set of sawhorses or old truck that is in process of being rebuilt.

Good Luck

 

[Martinjmpr]

I don't see why it wouldn't work, other than when you go to remove it from the truck where do you store the cap after it's off? I know space is at a premium in my yard, so the cap gets set on top of either a set of sawhorses or old truck that is in process of being rebuilt.

Good Luck

I would leave it hanging from the garage ceiling. It wouldn't really be in the way after all. And if it was in the way, I could always put it back on the truck and put the truck in the driveway.

 

[HMR]

Checkout my homebuilt version here.

I can install/uninstall the ~125lb RTT by myself in minutes.
Many cycles later, it continues to work perfectly.

 

[ntsqd]

I built one from a bunch of HF pulleys and some heavy nylon cord. Not hard to do, if my truck fit in my current garage I might still have it. Since my shell has four bolt-on "gutters" for mounting a Yakima or similar rack I used those as the pick-up points.

I would encourage that the design include some sort of winch, be it power or hand cranked. Holding the single ~5/16" rope that was supporting the shell in my hand was a cause for concern.

 

[DaktariEd]

Mine's a little different...see below.
It's a small winch from an old Suzuki Samurai, mounted on a crane of sorts.
The "crane" was made by my nephew, and hangs on the parapet wall of my garage. I don't use it much anymore now that the RTT is mounted full-time on the AT.
Still, it worked great for hoisting the 150 lb Maggiolina RTT on & off my vehicles.

 

[Willman]

Great thread!

I did a pulley system with ropes at my old house in WA. It didn't work to well....my pulleys were too small for the job....

Winch seems like the way to go!

A cheap winch from Habor Freight just like HMR has looks to be pretty sweet for the $$$$...


Keep the idea's coming!

 

[TCM]

I purchased an electric hoist from harbor freight and use it to lift the hardtop on my Jeep Wrangler. It works great and holds the top during 6+ months of the year while I have the soft top installed. The ceiling height of my garage is about 16 feet so it is completely out of the way and mostly out of sight too. I sometimes forget it is actually hanging up there.

 

[Jacket]

Another good place to research is in the FJ40 section on IH8MUD - lots of creativity for removing and storing the hardtop. I think the harbor freight hoist is probably the cheapest and easiest way to go.

For my 40, I actually used the winch on my Tacoma. I ran the rope up to the ceiling joists, and then through a snatch block anchored to the joists to reroute the rope downward. I hooked two ratchet straps to the winch and raised it up that way. Not ideal, but it worked...