Ceiling winch

[albaran]

I want to mount a winch (prferably electric) to my ceiling so that I can remove the top from my daughter's jeep. The ceiling is about 15' high and is sheetrock over joists.
Does anyone have anything like that?

 

[Zeke]

Light weight winch. I've seen block and tackle setups for this that work great. No wiring either.

 

[y2knole]

I used a cheapo HF ceiling hoist for this purpose for a few years (till I sold my hardtop for cash to put a detroit locker in the rear end).

worked like a charm.

its still hanging there, useless today. I'd offer it to you, but would cost more to ship to you than you could buy a new one for.

 

[ScaldedDog]

I have a HF winch mounted on ceiling rails so I can load things into the loft. It works great, but you have to know what's on the other side of the drywall that you're bolting the thing to. Truss crossmembers generally aren't built to handle much weight. In my case I was able to brace the rails to a side wall, and can brace them against the loft floor - which is designed to carry weight - if necessary. The heaviest thing I lift is a large tire, so it hasn't been an issue yet.

Mark

 

[y2knole]

a wrangler hard top is like 140-160 pounds.

hanging it from a truss or ceiling joist isnt gonna be the same issue as hanging a big block motor from one...

Its just BARELY too heavy and bulky to have my wife help me take it off/put it on. for the sake of my marriage, I rigged up the hf hoist

biggest problem with those tops isnt the weight, its the way its awkwardly balanced.

check quadratec.com and other sites for rigging that is made to lift those things too... they are $$$ but might give you some ideas on how to home-brew your own.

 

[KyleQ]

It's not a Jeep top, but you get the idea... I'm guessing this top is a bit heavier too...

 

[darcyh]

I have an electric one suspended from the ceiling to lift heavy lawnmowers to my workbench.

 

[TheShrine]

Yup...here ya go. I hang a full size Chevy camper w/ a Wrangler Soft Top at the same time. If the camper is on the truck the "sling" is designed to support the truck bed's tool box. I can install the camper by myself in about 20 minutes.

 

[Ign]

Light weight winch. I've seen block and tackle setups for this that work great. No wiring either.

Likewise you can just use one of the HF hand winches. Anchor to the wall so you can crank it, then run it up over a couple pulleys and down. Most come with more than enough cable for this. Main drawback is no self-braking when lowering, so don't let go of that handle. Advantage is cheap $.

 

[Ign]

Yup...here ya go. I hang a full size Chevy camper w/ a Wrangler Soft Top at the same time. If the camper is on the truck the "sling" is designed to support the truck bed's tool box. I can install the camper by myself in about 20 minutes.

Did you extend the remote wire? I assume that was pretty straightforward, just a couple wires in there? I need to do this myself for a different application.

 

[bstein]

There are a bunch of various options if you google hard top hoists. To tie up a winch so simply hang a hard top I would question. 4 ratchet straps with ceiling anchors and the use of 2- 2x4's is a cheap way to go and works just fine. With 15' of ceiling toss the winch on a barn door track system and side the hard top out of the way and hang it and you would still have use of the winch for other needs. Just food for thought is all.

 

[SGKent]

wait until the motor dies and you get stuck 1/2 way. Use a small block and tackle. Used one on my CJ7 all the time and tied off to a pair of boat cleats on the wall. Make a frame, lay a piece of plywood on it with some quarter round on the top sides. Put casters on it and you can lower the top onto it and roll it anywhere. My dogs used it for a dog house when it rained. It reminded them of our many travels. A CJ7 top has 3 large pieces of tempered glass so it was closer to 250 lbs.