I picked up a Powered Lange Hard Top Hoist on Craigslist for a great price. I have a tall garage ceiling so I thought I'd like to have a way to safely take the hard top off myself. The Lange system is pretty cool but I'm customizing it for my house doing a wall mount and a pulley system off of the joists in the ceiling.
So I found the studs and mounted the winch to the wall. Sorry for the crappy picture.
Then I cut some square tube and mounted it to my joists using 5" lag bolts in the center of the joists, 16" on center. I was glad the holes in the square tube matched up.
This is just a test to see where the hook would drop, and to look at the angles. The pulley is actually bolted loosely to the outside of the square tube temporarily. In the final install, you have a pulley and an anchor relatively close together to make less work for the winch.
Maybe a better view from the side:
Then I unbolted the pully, drilled out a hole in the bottom of the square tube inserting the pully mount inside the square tube where I bolted it in place. Then I added an eye bolt to the opposite side and a pulley in the middle to come down and grab the crossbar that will pick up the top.
Finally, I added 200 pounds of dead weight to the hook and ran the lift up and down a few times to test the wall mounts and the joist mount. Mine didn't even creak!
That's all I have done up to this point. Next I'll have to attach and adjust the t-hook that lowers and attaches to the top with the freedom panels removed. Looks a bit like this. Hopefully I can get some of that done this weekend. The hook looks like this:
Do you need that whole frame to lift the roof?
Could you do it with an assortment of straps? Also, are you leaving it like that all summer?
That "whole frame" isn't really that big and maybe weights 10 pounds. It also serves a key function of making the hook point at the balance point with the rear of the hard top a bit lower for easier installation. You certainly could try it with a bunch of straps with some level of success. The hook securely grabs the top, and gives you a single point of lift. Also, the freedom panels fit right onto the frame (hence all the foam) for storage too.Originally Posted by JeepLab
I talked to a guy today who says once the top is lifted, he bungees the top to separate eye hooks for storage..to take some of the weight off the winch and pulley.
we are going to need a pic of the roof attached to this frame. My brain cant figure out how its going to work.
You certainly do NOT want to drop that roof. it will shatter.
I don't have a soft top yet, but when I get one, I"ll post plenty of picture up to jeeplab!
Finally finished this up a few days. I've been busy with work travel but I was excited to get this done now that the weather is nicer. Once the pollen count dies down, I'll be topless till the summer makes me not stand it!
And from the inside.
Super happy with this whole setup. I'll add some eye hooks to the ceiling and support the weight of the top with some bungees or light ratchet straps when I drive off for the day. A pretty solid investment I think for the $150 I have in the setup. I marked the floor up with tape so i know exactly where to position the jeep for an easy lift-off. Easy one-person operation.
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