Garage hoist

[matt_i]

I would keep this simple and get a 2x12 that would span 4 trusses. Lay flat and drill a hole for an actual cast eyebolt in it with a locknut and the biggest thickest washer you can find on the backside. They are in MCmaster Carr if you have no local sources. Not the "formed" or bent eyebolt. If its truly a deer you intend to hang my belief is its OK, but only the OP knows whether this will get pushed to more serious duty or not. The truss can hold more than 100 lbs (distributed) otherwise there would be issues like roofers collapsing the building and 60mph wind loads turning it to a pile of sticks. The truss is best designed for tension on the bottom chord but it can handle a small bending load also as the upper members also help support the bottom chord, usually in multiple places if its a "W" design.

 

[kelpaso1]

Here is my set up. I used 2 ten foot 4X4's spanning 11 trusses. I used 2 ten foot pieces of uni-strut with hangers every two feet. This is very strong for lifting 500 lbs or less with no issues at all. I set up a laser level pointing at the uni-strut and lifted a 900 lb ATV and had less than 1/4 inch of deflection downward with that much weight and not a creak or any other noise. Now I know trusses are not made to support that much weight and I rarely if ever lift more than about 300 lbs, but I wanted to see what it would do. I think the uni strut being very rigid allows the weight to be distributed over many more trusses than just having an eye bolt just through the 4X4. Also with the trolleys on the uni-strut I can move a 500 lb load suspended very easily and smoothly.

The hoist was fairly cheap at $200. But the uni-strut, hangers, trolleys, 4X4's, and hardware added another $400. So about $600 in total.


No more working on the concrete floor for me anymore My knees and back thank me now

 

[kelpaso1]

More pics. Can someone turn the sideways pics upright? Not sure how to do that.

 

[Dragoonmc]

Kelpaso1: where are the 4x4s in your setup?

 

[kelpaso1]

Kelpaso1: where are the 4x4s in your setup?

Right above the uni-strut, on top of the bottom chords, spanning 11 trusses.

 

[rjmarks]

Nicely done! I have a similar arrangement in my shop at home. When I was building my shop it was originally planned to be a single story, but when I saw how much attic space there was, I made it a two story shop. Sounds great right, until you start bringing things upstairs like a Sawstop table saw and Jointers etc. So I made a 4'x4' trap door in the floor above my roll up door. I fastened a 2"x8"x12' piece of wood across the 6" rafters above the door. Then went to Home Depot and bought a barn door hanger with two trolleys and bolted them to the plate of same hoist you have. Now I can back my truck into the shop and hoist things up to the second floor straight out of the truck. I just don't stand on the bottom floor when lifting heavy objects though because I don't really know the capacity of the barn door railing. It is risky but it allowed me to put all of my woodworking tools upstairs and my metal working tools downstairs which is really nice. At the top of my stairs, I built a door with a rope and pulley to open it and installed two A/C filters in it then built a cabinet over the roll up door frame and put two A/C filters in it as well so the A/C could still work on both floor without recirculating sawdust back to the return downstairs. Works well but could have never done it without the hoist. I would have preferred to do it like yours but because of the angle of my rafters, the barn door trolley was the only thing I could come up with at the time. You did well buddy!


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[wssix99]

Okay after looking in my shed today it will be hard to work around lateral posts even if they are removable.. So my question is.. Is there any way I can just use my beam and my trusses and have it sturdy enough to do what I need? I could so extra bracing or something. That's all I can ask at this point I need to get working on this project but I want to do it right.. Somewhat.. I don't want a tri pod or posts or anything like that. All I want is an eyebolt mounted to the ceiling in some way that I can hook my chain hoist to during deer season when I cut up and skin deer.. That will hold more than enough weight. Please help me on this I am becoming very frustrated. Please help!!!

Sure. But you'll need to call (and pay) a truss or structural engineer to do the math.

Not doing so would be like accidentally shooting yourself in the foot and deciding to remove the bullet and stitch things up yourself. Might it work out? It could. Is it worth the risK? That probably varies - but the doctor is educated and practiced to do the work safely. (You'll also hear the stories where this worked out well for people - but rarely the stories where it didn't.)

Doctors treat your health problems, Lawyers solve your legal problems, certified massage therapists give you happy endings, etc. You can try to do all these things yourself, but the outcomes are almost always better in the hands of professionals and the internet is usually not an equal substitute. Seeing a proper architect or engineer for your house/structural problems is no different.

 

[Dustin Pahl]

Here is my set up. I used 2 ten foot 4X4's spanning 11 trusses. I used 2 ten foot pieces of uni-strut with hangers every two feet. This is very strong for lifting 500 lbs or less with no issues at all. I set up a laser level pointing at the uni-strut and lifted a 900 lb ATV and had less than 1/4 inch of deflection downward with that much weight and not a creak or any other noise. Now I know trusses are not made to support that much weight and I rarely if ever lift more than about 300 lbs, but I wanted to see what it would do. I think the uni strut being very rigid allows the weight to be distributed over many more trusses than just having an eye bolt just through the 4X4. Also with the trolleys on the uni-strut I can move a 500 lb load suspended very easily and smoothly.

The hoist was fairly cheap at $200. But the uni-strut, hangers, trolleys, 4X4's, and hardware added another $400. So about $600 in total.


No more working on the concrete floor for me anymore My knees and back thank me now

Is there any way to see exactly what you did with the 4x4s and how you mounted everything?

 

[pattenp]

The design as presented will put the whole thing in tension, not compression, with the weight pulling down over open unsupported space. The truss design works by compression and in this situation, the weight will compromise the bottom stringer by pulling it out of line and actively breaking the compression of the triangle.

Will it work? For such a light weight, probably. Is it safe? Maybe. Will it damage the roof? Possibly. You won't know until it is too late.

Gantry or tripod made out of wood would be very easy to quickly build and set up where you need it. It could also easily be knocked down and stored. That would be my choice for this type of lift requirement.

If you absolutely need / want to do a truss, then build a separate one that fits into the space that is built to stand the needs of the design. Sheathed in plywood would be an excellent choice as well.

The bottom cord on truss are in tension, not compression.

 

[kelpaso1]

Is there any way to see exactly what you did with the 4x4s and how you mounted everything?

Well I'm not good at computer drawing but this should give you an idea.

Black- Ceiling joists/chords.
Red- 4X4 laying on top of ceiling joists/chords.
Blue- 1/2 inch 10" long bolts through the 4X4-drywall-uni-strut hangers.

 

[BD1]

We hang heavy pipe from wood truss construction frequently . As per the structural engineer and his drawings the top chord is the ONLY approved hanger point location. In your case it is the angled part of truss that the roof sheeting is fastened too.
You could add collar ties and then hang from them . Those are the horizontals that tie the angled roof rafters together.

 

[Supermag]

Get an engine hoist. You can roll it around to wherever to need it, it will lift a bunch of weight even when fully extended, and it already has the powered lifting capability so you save money on the chain hoist. I have used one of these for skinning deer before and it works great since we can roll it right to the truck and hook one up and then put it wherever we need it for skinning. I have also used one for removing heavy stuff from the bed and then can roll and set it down pretty much wherever I want it to go.

 

[Dustin Pahl]

Okay so I have decided that I am going to make a beam with 3 2x6s laminated together I am going to reinforce the bottom chords with ply wood across the metal brackets. What I need help with now is how I will mount my eye bolt and how I will secure the beam so it doesn't move on me. The reason I decided on just the beam and reinforced bottom chords is because this will be strictly for deer so I will not be lifting extreme amounts of weight. My question is would it be smarter to make my bracket attach say 4 feet apart and come together in the middle to spread the weight more or if i should just mount it in the middle. I need some drawings or plans or something how I should do the mount. Also how to secure my beam! Thank you! Pictures help alot I am a visual person! Any advice would be great!!

 

[matt_i]

For a deer I would use 4pc 2x6, with a 1/2" spacer plywood in between. Reason is then you can use a 1/2" diameter U-bolt or eyebolt as a hoist hanger without any drilling or weakening of the wood beams. Just not a formed eyebolt which is just bent and not permanently closed. Sitting on top of the 2x6 beams, Id either double up a 3/4" plywood or a 1/4" steel plate (min thickness) to use nuts and washers on the eye.

Check up on McMaster Carr for pieces parts to make this all come together.

 

[Leoruiz]

Build a gantry bolted together so you can stash it somewhere out of the way.Perhaps up in the rafters. The steel supply can spec an I beam for say, 800 lbs...just in case.

 

[matt_i]

A gantry is OK but it will sit 99% of the time. So one had better design its size and span to fit around/over other things stored in the garage. Its not a trivial design and build exercise either, its best to copy an existing engineered model as closely as possible. You need some good stick welding skills as well.

 

[jimbob_racing]

Here is my set up. I used 2 ten foot 4X4's spanning 11 trusses. I used 2 ten foot pieces of uni-strut with hangers every two feet. This is very strong for lifting 500 lbs or less with no issues at all. I set up a laser level pointing at the uni-strut and lifted a 900 lb ATV and had less than 1/4 inch of deflection downward with that much weight and not a creak or any other noise. Now I know trusses are not made to support that much weight and I rarely if ever lift more than about 300 lbs, but I wanted to see what it would do. I think the uni strut being very rigid allows the weight to be distributed over many more trusses than just having an eye bolt just through the 4X4. Also with the trolleys on the uni-strut I can move a 500 lb load suspended very easily and smoothly.

The hoist was fairly cheap at $200. But the uni-strut, hangers, trolleys, 4X4's, and hardware added another $400. So about $600 in total.


No more working on the concrete floor for me anymore My knees and back thank me now

That's exactly what I've been thinking about doing in my garage. I just want some help picking up the front of my lawn tractor when I service it. Nice write up!

 

[Dustin Pahl]

Okay I drew out my final plan for this project. The only thing is my beam will go across more joists because it will be a 10 foot. But otherwise this is what I plan to do. Extend my mount 4 feet so it doesn't take all the weight to the middle and I will have 4x4s on hand incase I need to lift something super heavy (rare) and I am going to be putting 3/4 inch ply wood on both side of the 2x4 bottom chords over the metal brackets on every one the beam will be touching. Any objections so far?? Anything that is not right in your mind? The last thing I need help with is attaching the beam.. What kind of brackets could I use to mount it? By the way the mount for the eye bolt hangs a couple inches below the bottom of the 2x4s.

 

[Olafur]

If you are interested - the green dot indicates the sweet spot for loading these trusses. Ties from there down to your beam (adjustable steel rods) would allow you to utilize the load carrying capacity of the trusses. Red arrows give an idea about how the load is transferred to the walls.

 

[earth_grinder]

When I added a second car garage, I installed two 2x10 above the bottom cord of the truss and toward the back of the garage, against a 2x4 running diagonally from the roof to ceiling 2x4. Then I nailed a 2x4 to the diagonal 2x4 and the 2x10 at each truss. The 2x10s go from wall to wall. I made a U bracket from 1/4" X 2" and the ends stick through the drywall ceiling. I probably would not pull a car engine just because the engine jacks are so much nicer to work with.

 

[iagsxr]

Why not build a beam that spans the entire width of the garage, runs parallel to the lower truss chords and ties into the side walls so the load is carried down to the foundation?

 

[Dustin Pahl]

Because I don't have a 35 foot beam and I would have no way of getting it up there.

 

[Dustin Pahl]

If you are interested - the green dot indicates the sweet spot for loading these trusses. Ties from there down to your beam (adjustable steel rods) would allow you to utilize the load carrying capacity of the trusses. Red arrows give an idea about how the load is transferred to the walls.

How do you suggest I do that exactly?

 

[Olafur]

For cheap and simple solution up to 500 kg load I would use 12mm eye bolt through the metal plate in the top with large shims. Assuming there are metal plates on both sides and the plates are decent thickness. 1,5mm or more.

Green spot indicates eye bolt:



Then I suggest using 1/4" steel cable/wire rope from the top to eye bolts in your beam (and back up). This configuration should load the trusses evenly provided the load (red box) is in centre between the loaded trusses. Turn-buckles to adjust both cables, once the beam and hoist are in place, so the cables are carrying all the load.

 

[earth_grinder]

When I added a second car garage, I installed two 2x10 above the bottom cord of the truss and toward the back of the garage, against a 2x4 running diagonally from the roof to ceiling 2x4. Then I nailed a 2x4 to the diagonal 2x4 and the 2x10 at each truss. The 2x10s go from wall to wall. I made a U bracket from 1/4" X 2" and the ends stick through the drywall ceiling. I probably would not pull a car engine just because the engine jacks are so much nicer to work with.

A photo is always better than an explanation.