DIY Harbor Freight LADDER HOIST? 

I’ve used this same technique installing a ductless condenser on the side of a building. Attached the hoist directly to the ladder. The carpenter on the job with me was very impressed 😊.

Omg, we have a few installs coming up and this is a game changer. Some of these units we work on here in Buffalo NY were not thought out as to where they should be put for the person who actually works on it

I installed signs for many years and used similar method when the space was too small for our equipment. The man at bottom of ladder is very important. Great info, thanks.

Being a roofer, sliding stuff down over the shingles will probably damage the shingles. Should lay plywood on the roof. If you damage the shingles you won't be able to repair the damage shingles, you will have to replace the whole section and that will be a lot more than what you are saving on a crain.

I made a ladder hoist years ago out of tube steel and a hand crank winch. Frame locks into ladder rungs and I built it for hoisting compressors to the roof. Also some ductless outdoor units. Nothing over 250-300 pounds. No power required, can pop handle off and use a 5/8 socket and a drill on low speed.

Your narrative was very clear and logical. Well done!

The simplest engineering is the best and you are a genius engineer great job thank you I shared it with my HV AC guy and I'm going to remember this for a long time

Great setup! Thank you for sharing it.

Like your idea! Thanks for sharing and be safe!

Awesome dude! Now I'm scheming in my mind how to do this with other stuff.

Genus man this is cool now I got to check your other vids

Nice work-around. I may have to give it a try. At least I know it could work. Thank you for sharing.

if under 450 lbs, a 12' or 15' material lift can be rented from a nearby rental yard for not much as well. very clever technique that you use. (edit: 450 lb, not 250 lb)

My man did it again. Thank you for this video!

We've hauled thousands of gallons of tar with a pulley & rope attached to a ladder. The ground assistant attaches the pail to the rope & pulls the rope as the roof help holds the ladder away from the building until the bucket is above the edge, then pulls the ladder to the edge & removes or empties it into a cart. Your idea takes the labor away.

I need this for Sunday side job

You can make the bracket by running allthread through two rungs and bolting a couple of pieces of plywood to each side of the ladder. A piece of pipe with another piece of allthred through it for your attachment point.

I want this for carrying our Duralast rolls to the roof this looks like a practical solution

Pretty cool 🤘🏽 had that in mind just never put one together

Cool video. Thanks for posting in the comments that the condenser only weighs about 150#...I was concerned that the ladder rating wouldn't measure up.

Amazing system. Job well done.

Bad ass man...MUCH RESPECT from Baltimore

For over 50 years the urban search-and-rescue teams have used similar techniques, however your attachment point leaves to a vulnerability. The rungs of a ladder or only designed to support a limited amount of weight typically 300 lbs. The correct way to employ such a device is too attached to the rails of the ladder not the rungs. This is referred to as a lean-to Derick.

Thanks for showing.

Nicely done

We use one all the time, though ours isn't Harbor Freight. Works great for residential and light commercial condensers and compressors

That is an awesome tool. Thanks

What a great idea!

A good idea.....very sketchy though. Also....the whole sliding of anything across shingles is a very bad idea....all it takes is one damaged shingle and the job ends up being free. Careful. Very careful.

Hell yeah that’s awesome. I have that hoist thank you found a new use for it now

Worked out great guys, Ladder rigs have been used for centuries.

Crane operator here looking at making a career change. Love running cranes but need a trade that keeps me home every night with my family!

Very creative idea man👍

Nice work man.

Really cool video!

Great Work! Greetings from Germany

I am impressed!

Sweet thank you welding video of how to make brackets and measurements please .

Great idea

I had my doubts, there has to be a safer way , nice work

Excellent !!! 👍

Nice diy. Good job

That’s awesome. I was thinking a good alternative for a DIYer would be to use a pulley system that reduces the weight so that whoever is lowering, or raising the item is only pulling a fraction of the full weight.

Only thing that might make it safer, would be to add a way to extend that T bar being used to move the ladder away from the house/ roof, possibly use a pin to make that T bar longer and at a different angle relative to the roof, otherwise great idea

Friendlier than tumbling it over the edge of the roof like all of the HVAC guys around here do. : )

Gracias muchas gracias. Muy buena idea, ten tu like y un nuevo subscriptor.

Pretty cool man 👍

Looks like a laddervator commonly used in roofing. Nice job and improved design, although a chain hoist or cumalong or two pulleys or hand crank winch could be cheaper and just as effective?

important contribution......

Pretty clever, though I would have a liability disclaimer at the beginning of the video.

dam that was some cool thinking dude

You should attach a pole to the hoist bracket that would make it possible to push the ladder away from the building.

Looks good. Looks like the hoist bracket could (under extreme influence) shift to the right and off of the cross member.

Carefully a good idea.

An even easier way, would be to have a second ladder attached to the first, perpendicular to it. With the hoist riding on rollers in the channels on the side of the perpendicular ladder. You would be able to lift the AC unit and slide it from peak to gutter without touching the shingles/roofing at all, and you wouldn't have to do that awkward thing where you tilt the ladder away from the eaves, with someone else holding the bottom.

Way cool!

Very cool

That's an elegant solution using a ladder, I like it, although it looks a little dangerous! As others have stated, I would avoid sliding across the shingles. What do you think about my ladder involved solution?

Great !

Do you have a video on the construction and material list?

Genius!

Very smart way ever nerver See any one in Here do that way.

I use a duct jack for situations like that

If you had to lift something even heavier than this AC unit and really wanted to make this whole setup work as smooth as butter, use a long ratchet strap on each side of the ladder to keep it from sliding left or right, anchoring them down in a straight line with the feet of the ladder so as allow the ladder to be tilted upward without tightening or loosening those straps. Anchor the feet of the ladder in place with stakes or with something very heavy just in case. Then use another very long strap or a strong rope attatched to the very top of the ladder to lift the top of the ladder back away from the edge of the roof. Once all that is done, you will have a very sturdy makeshift crane in place that won't tip or fall on you all of a sudden.

verry cool

It would Be Safer to just Push it off the roof

Good video, and I know you made one using aluminum, good idea. Do you have any measurements, and adjustments. Like maybe a longer lever handle, I saw you were having problems trying to push up and stand the ladder? Thanx, GOD Bless !!!

What size is your power station and how many lifts and lowers do you think you could get off of one charge?

i knew that could be done but how? Now i know😊

I admire your ingenuity but a 16’ genie lift would be much safer

Great job man, seriously! Do you have the plan or rendering of size and parts needed to build this life changing apparatus lol?

Aye that’s pretty cool

Show us a plan to build this.

That looks dangerous AF! 😱

Nice and sketchy 👌

I pushed my 5 ton up the ladder with one helper got it dun very strong ladder

Good idea for a Compressor not a Whole unit. Get a Crane. That ladder was shaking pretty good. ( Max ladder load/ Rung - Probably exceeded ! ) That Looked Like You were shaking pretty good too. That Looked Pretty Sketchy. I'd rather spend a Few Hundred dollars for crane. $350.00 for a Crane around Here. 1 up & 1 Down 5 ton unit. Money Well spent.

Oh man deleted..😮. That's ok....you know I am a fan and am always looking out for you sir! 😊

100% OSHA Approved!

What do you think of some sort of telescoping leg that rests against the roof? Step one would be extend and lock the leg out (resting on the roof) and then lower the load to the ground.

Smart way of removing that unit

Do you worry about bending the gutter without a stand off on the ladder ?

Dave, Love your videos man. Id like some advice. This is a long story but im gonna cut it super short. We bought a new house..it has one hvac unit in the attic that serves the master bedroom and one for the rest of the house. Both units should be replaced but the main house unit is working currently. Anyway, we got a quote to replace one and both. its 35k to replace both, which, we can afford easily, but dont want to pay that for these units. A light went on in my head...why not use a mini split in the bedroom. What are your thoughts on that?

I had to google this... TIL: 3 ton condenser does not weigh 3 tons :)

Dude how I can get the crane

lol and so if the unit is just being removed and a new one not being put in, you put a lot of extra work and time into that when could just easily shove the thing off of the edge and let it drop. Its not like it would damage the concrete from a mere 10-12 foot drop

Where did you get the ladder bracket the winch connects to??

🫢 Sketchy. Pretty sure that is not OSHA approved. I’d have demo’d that unit in place or just rolled it off the roof. Ladders are not designed for that kind of loading.

The weak point is the bit that holds the ladder extension, extended. Personally, I'd just have shoved the thing off the roof and let gravity take care of it.

Is disassembling the unit an option? Or just tossing it off?

Clever !

Dude you exceeded the weight limit of that cheap aluminum ladder by 100s of pounds. Try explaining that to your insurance company. Also, you owe that customer a new roof for "shimmying" a massive block across their roof.

Quisiera trabajar algún día allá en the united states of América, amo mi trabajo de técnico en climatización y refrigeración acá en mi lindo Ecuador

now lets see how its done alone. I need to move 20 50 pound solar panels on the roof.

Why the hell do they put a/c units on the roof? You need special equipment to hoist. You can damage the roof and cause leaks. It’s hot on the roof and therefore less thermal efficiency. You risk injury to installers. It complicates maintenance. Etc. Why not just have a ground level installation , surrounded by chain-link fence or concrete blocks?

Something tells me the homeowner will be looking for a roofer by winter.

When i was on a 2 story building i just throw it down, forget the hoist.

its good idea but if only you want to take it down you could dismantle it and send it down by a road but I know now how to take it up 😂

If you're not putting a new one back up there. Just put down a couple sheets of plywood and shove it.

Can you make me one?