I finally got around to rigging up a hoist. Very simple. Some of the hardware I had lying around, some of it I got in the hardware aisle at Lowes. Here's a list:
4 single axle swivel pulleys
2 single axle wall-mount pulleys
2 light-duty cargo straps
4 lag hooks
scrap lumber
boat trailer hand crank
I basically just made it look like the hoists available for purchase online, but instead of a come along for mechanical advantage I had a hand winch from an old boat trailer that I used instead. I pulled the Jeep in the garage, marked the corners of the hard top on the ceiling and found the closest joists. I lagged in a hook on each corner and hung a swivel pulley. Then I screwed in a wall-mount pulley next to the corners closest to the walls. This kept the rope from the front corners flush with the ceiling and allowed all four ropes to meet the winch at the same angle. Then I rigged up a scrap lumber contraption to allow the winch to sit far enough away from the wall to use the hand crank and I lagged it into a stud. Pulled the TJ in, lined it up, ran two cargo straps from corner to corner and tied the cargo strap hooks to the rope. Up she went, couldn't have been easier. Total time was about 3 hours.
Cost wise the hardware would set you back about $30 from Lowes... The hand crank winch can be had a marine store for somewhere around $50. If my hardtop ends up falling on my '77 Mercury I will come back and let everyone know what not to do.
4 single axle swivel pulleys
2 single axle wall-mount pulleys
2 light-duty cargo straps
4 lag hooks
scrap lumber
boat trailer hand crank
I basically just made it look like the hoists available for purchase online, but instead of a come along for mechanical advantage I had a hand winch from an old boat trailer that I used instead. I pulled the Jeep in the garage, marked the corners of the hard top on the ceiling and found the closest joists. I lagged in a hook on each corner and hung a swivel pulley. Then I screwed in a wall-mount pulley next to the corners closest to the walls. This kept the rope from the front corners flush with the ceiling and allowed all four ropes to meet the winch at the same angle. Then I rigged up a scrap lumber contraption to allow the winch to sit far enough away from the wall to use the hand crank and I lagged it into a stud. Pulled the TJ in, lined it up, ran two cargo straps from corner to corner and tied the cargo strap hooks to the rope. Up she went, couldn't have been easier. Total time was about 3 hours.
Cost wise the hardware would set you back about $30 from Lowes... The hand crank winch can be had a marine store for somewhere around $50. If my hardtop ends up falling on my '77 Mercury I will come back and let everyone know what not to do.
Last edited:
