You are 3 for 3 in my book. - Project is well explained, detailing the parts and even where to get them. - You did not edit out your short falls but instead explained how to fix them. - The video is clear and well edited. Thank you for taking the time to do this. Now I'm off to the hardware store.
You are very observant. My dad came over after making the video and pointed out that I needed to add the extra support you mentioned. I did so thanks to him. That was a definite week point.
Texas, Nice job on this hoist. I took most of your ideas and added an 800 pound electric hoist from Menards as my lifting mechanism (my garage ceiling is 15 feet, so plenty of room). I also have an improvement to share with you all. Instead of your "flexible straps" to steady the top, I mounted lift straps with rings, adjusted to the right length, and then slipped the rings over the 3 ends of the tubes. Then you can let the winch down, and top is supported at 3 points, no movement. Thanks again!
Nice Job, and appreciate the video! That winch set up is as good as I've seen; simple and effective. I set the hardtop on a wheeled scaffold from Home depot after it's removed from the Jeep (so it does not have to be suspended for extended periods), and that lets me easily move the top to any convenient place in the garage and store it safely out of the way. Love my Wrangler 392.... and its so much better with the top off!
The brake winch was a GREAT idea. I didn't want to go the route of the ratchet straps. Too time consuming and tedious. I'm going design my hoist starting with that. Thanks. -Fellow Texan
4 pulleys would probably be more stable but since I have gotten better at using the lift, the one pulley has worked fine. My son uses it too for his TJ so we are always fighting over it. Good luck on building one.
13:35 We got us a screamer!! Nice job. Great video; good attention to detail. If you put a couple of spring clamps on the back, and then tie a rope to them and the back wall of the garage, you may be able to keep the top more steady when pulling out. Just an idea ...
I set out to just make a hoist and did not take the time to shop first on internet for a hoist setup. I did not expect to spend as much money as I did so in hindsight I could have ordered a hoist and had shipped for cheaper. I still don't know what the cost of a hoist set up would be but I would think much less as you alluded. All in all having the homemade hoist was fun to make and the video has been viewed more than I ever thought it would. Good luck to you. Enjoy, Tom
Wow, I never thought much about German attention. Thanks for the compliment. You are definetely the furthest viewer to comment. I will mention to my wife and friends. The hardtop was off the wrangler all spring long hanging up on the reliable lift until last week when the temps started reaching 95 degrees. The wife and I sadly lowered the top back to keep us cooler. We've had no rain in Texas all spring so going topless was ideal. Stay safe in your plane and on your cycle if those r yours.
@juaneluco Glad you find the lift video helpful. The lift has given us no problems after the first year of use. My 17 year old son also uses it for his TJ and it works good for that. My wife wants me to build a second lift. Anyway, keep brainstorming on ideas and good luck constructing your hoist. It will be fun to build.
Nice Job! Thanks for sharing the idea. I have an electric winch that I have been looking for an excuse to use :) But could not come up via a viable trolley to marry the hardtop up to the winch. This just steered me in the direction I needed, steel square tube it is...So thanks again!
never thought about that till you mentioned, It makes sense. I can add loctite to the long hook in back that has the coupler. I've always worried about that connection coming undone. Thanks
My balance point seemed to be at the 19.5 inch point when measuring from the T joint. Our hoist has been so great to have the past year. My son even uses it for his TJ. Good luck with yours.
I love it all except the single pulley, I think 3 or four pulleys leading to one eyelet then to the winch would have kept your lift much more stable. The beefiness of your build is great, I have and old winch I'm thinking of using for a similar set up, thanks for sharing.
I've been brainstorming on how to do something similar to this, but utilizing the winch mounted on the front bumper of my CJ as the hoist. hmmm. I'd have to secure the top with clips of some kind once it's hoisted so that I can disconnect the winch cable from the contraption I think. You got me thinking. Good vid.
Yes, My son has a TJ and uses the hoist all the time. We are always fighting for it. The TJ hardtop center of gravity is slightly different that the JK. If we had just the TJ, I would adjust the carriage bolt on the t-frame.
Thanks Vvajk. Seems like I saw a video a few years ago of someone using their bumper winch as a hoist for hardtop. Keep thinking and you will hopefully get it engineered.
Yes Def Leppard rules. All of there unknown songs are great too. Make sure you add to your playlist, their newer albums called "Songs from the Sparkle Lounge" and "Yeah".
It look like you did a good job on building the hoist, and is probably beefier than the kit ones. The only thing I would add is some blocks of 2x4 on the top of your hoist plates to the studs so all the load is not pulling on just the plate screws. jeep topless.
Just looking to create my own hardtop hoister and yours seems to be really good working. I may copy yours, thank you for the very helpful video even if the video is 6 yrs. old is
Awesome video, thanks. wish I had watched it a few days ago. tried to use straps instead of the T-bar it works but very unbalanced and too much slack will build the T today. Thanks
Dang $263 is a lot of money. I would think Australia has less taxes and regulations than US so as to make things cheaper but apparently not. Good luck finding an affordable winch. It always amazes me when I hear from someone abroad like you who watched my video.
@Mastersonics Thanks for the compliment. I have managed to obtain all Def Leppard albums. I enjoy their unknown songs instead of the overplayed hits. Many are even better. If you love Def Leppard, you should treat yourself to buying all their albums used off of amazon.com or something.
@SCTnSAT Enjoy your new jeep to the fullest. The lift has worked great for my wife and I thus far. The hardtop was just too awkward to lift off by ourselves, hence the lift was born. The lift was surprisingly easy to build, would have gone much faster without the filming but I wanted to help my fellow jeep lovers. Happy modyfying your new wrangler.
@frankduckit Our automatic works better during rock climbs. Our previous 2 door wrangler was a manual trans and I did not like it. It was harder to text and drive too. Anyway, the 4-door works better for the family. Good luck on your hoist build.
$48 for a brake winch, you guys are lucky! The cheapest I can find here in Australia is $263 online with no cable. Guess I'll have to ship one out from the US!
Thanks Bizup for the compliment. I am curious how your hoist works with the stabilizing lift straps. Let me know if you post a video of your completed project. Sounds like you are on to something. Happy hoisting!
@CptPajamas Although I am bad about keeping receipts, my estimate is that I spent around $140 for all the parts. I wanted to keep it under $100 so I was way off. If you build one, don't spend extra money on an electic wench as there is such little cranking to do. The lift has worked better than the inaugural lift since I know better how to secure before pulling out plus I lift top up higher. Good luck if you decide to build.
Where did you get the wrangler hood decal? And if you look on the quadratec website they have hardtop hoists for $150-300 I think, depending on what options you get. But then that wouldn't be as fun as making one
@1533ramsay I wish trampolines sold seperately the unwanted safety net enclosure so it could have me cost less. Let me know if you decide to build a lift. I can't wait for fall to start removing hardtop again.
that's a really good idea. I just need a garage, two hundred dollars, and some tools. lol. nah its a really good idea. the only thing i don't like is the way the window stays up
@ajcramer15 Good luck and have fun. I'll be curious how the lift turns out. I don't think you will sleep much this weekend due to the excitement of the project.
way overthinking it. Four ratchet straps and four O rings screwed into studs in the ceiling of the garage and you are golden. Took me less than twenty minutes and I have been doing it this way for years.....never had a problem. More complex does not always equate to more efficient or effective. Certainly took much more of your time and my time is my most valuable asset. I can go from fully covered to free as a bird in under ten minutes all by myself.
craig79792000 Did that at my old house, as the garage had exposed rafters. New one, different ceiling, too much of a pain to align the anchors for the ratchet straps. Hoist is the way to go.
Dude, you really need a grinder and a cheap welder from Harbor Freight! But what can I expect from a J##per?! Just kidding, much respect - I enjoy wheeling with you guys. Pete (IH Scout)
chef.sr.egor@gmail.com Between this video and others, you all gave me good ideas to build mine - always wanted to do so. The old Scout II travel top is just SLIGHTLY heavier than your guys' stuff!
texasflusher got up to 40 a couple weeks ago here in North Dakota, and all of a sudden people were biking, and the snow bank melted exposing months of dog terds (most people don't even walk the dog to the mail box when the wind chill below -50). Then it froze again over night, the roads were glaze ice that day. Anyway enjoy you brutally hot summer you deserve it.
It was not lifted 3 years ago when this video was made. Now it has a 2.5" level lift (3" up front/2" in rear). The tires and wheels have also changed since video. I can't recall what those wheels were. Maybe Pro Comp was the brand.
@CnRDirt I purchased the hood decal from w e b x t re m e s . c o m I had to space out the website because of youtube filters not allowing me to post. Good luck hopefully appyling two to your jeep hood. Yeah the making of the lift became sort of a hobby, mainly the filming.
