Truck canopy lift

[jonesy16]

I am looking to outfit my garage with some sort of contraption that will allow me to lift the canopy off of my truck by myself, and allow it to hang from the ceiling when not in use. Has anyone else had any experience with a similar project? Pictures would be of real value to me. Thank you!

 

[ffjosh]

Cheap electric 1500lb winch from TSC.
attach winch to very top of ceiling near the roof.
Hoist it up to the ceiling with straps.
climp up ladder.
Un hook and drop into attic.

Also works for hanging your deer

 

[metaleltr]

They make lifts for the jeep hardtops.

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You could make a cradle that lifts from the rear glass and the sliding window openings if you have them. Other wise a thin plate that would slide between the bed rail and the canopy could work.

 

[Bender78]

Check out member "The Shrine"s garage build thread. I seem to recall that he had such a set up in his garage.

 

[jonesy16]

Excellent posts by the three of you so far. I hope to see more ideas and pics from others as well. NEVER too many ideas!

 

[R6 Racer]

It's not a truck top but I have a rope & pulley system for the roof top box that we use on our car.

Steve

 

[Matt M PA]

My Dad and I had something similar rigged up to lift a hardtop off his car.

We had it mounted all the way at the top of the garage...then had a partial floor so that once it was lifted we would just pull it onto the "floor".

 

[denis4x4]

Here's the HF winch installation I used to lift the cover off my "pond". Bolted the winch to a couple of 2X4's and then I used 3/8" threaded rod to hold the winch in place with two more 2x4's in the attic.

 

[daveroy]

Hope your garage is deep or high. Otherwise the Canopy against the cieling is going to be in the way of the garage door...maybe back in to take it off?

 

[On1Wheel]

I know guys who just use ratchet straps on the four corners to lift their tops off their Jeeps. Bolt four eye hooks into ceiling rafters, attach the straps and slowly ratchet them up in small increments until it's out of the way. Cheap, easy and assuming you aren't doing it every weekend, not too big a pain in the ****.

If you fab up a hoist like the Jeep lift posted earlier, the main concern would be to get the balance point exactly right.

 

[On1Wheel]

Here's a link to a guy's DIY Jeep hardtop hoist project. You could do this.

http://lsjc.org/board/showthread.php?t=47919&highlight=hard+top+removal

 

[Stuart in MN]

I know guys who just use ratchet straps on the four corners to lift their tops off their Jeeps. Bolt four eye hooks into ceiling rafters, attach the straps and slowly ratchet them up in small increments until it's out of the way. Cheap, easy and assuming you aren't doing it every weekend, not too big a pain in the ****.

When I had a topper on my truck this is what I did. It was a little slow as you have to go around and around, lifting each corner a little at a time, but it works.

 

[metaleltr]

Two people can lift one off so unless you make a habit out of removing and installing it it shouldn't be a big deal.