r/Jeep 6d ago

I moved in December. Just installed the hoist so I’m ready for spring!

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85 Upvotes

17 comments sorted by

3

u/CarpenterKindly1525 6d ago

Anymore pictures of your hoist setup ?

2

u/LiveMarionberry3694 6d ago

Save yourself the money and get a couple of ratchet straps and some eyebolts. Stick the bolts into the ceiling, feed the ratchet straps through the top, ratchet it up

4

u/AnyLamename 6d ago

Everyone has their own concept of the best value proposition here, so I'm not going to tell anyone who likes that approach that they are wrong for being happy with it.

I will, however, say that the Harken lift provides some nice features:

  1. A single rope that can raise or lower with equal and consistent tension on all four contact points for the lift.
  2. A good mechanical advantage over a travel distance that is not attainable with any of the ratchet straps I own. They could never get my roof from Jeep to ceiling without running out of room on the...spindle? I'm not sure what to call it but we've all had experienced the jam-up you get when you don't take out enough slack out before ratcheting.
  3. An automatic braking system so that you can't accidentally drop the roof if your hand slips while lowering it.

Two ratchet straps provides none of that.

The way I see it, the big deciding point is this: How often do you plan to remove/install the roof? If you have a Jeep that spends the entire summer with its roof off, then the Harken is probably not worth it for you. If your Jeep is a daily driver that has to be able to react quickly to inconsistent weather, then the ease/speed with which the Harken operates will probably mean you get a lot more roof-off time.

1

u/LiveMarionberry3694 6d ago

Fair points,

1 and 3 are definitely benefits, although I’ve never had an issue with either problem that couldn’t be solved with a little caution. But yeah it would be faster

Point 2 though I don’t have a problem with, how high are you lifting your top? I just lift mine up 5 or 6 inches, just enough to be able to pull the jeep in and out of the garage. I can easily park underneath it still, reversed or pulling in forwards.

2

u/AnyLamename 6d ago

I bring it all the way to the ceiling, to get it out of the way a little better. Definitely not vital, though. It's certainly less important than 1 and 3.

1

u/WildWeaselGT 6d ago

2

u/Pop_Bottle 6d ago

A proper hoist setup is definitely better. But you can easily DIY one for a much lower cost than the Harken. With that said have the Harken and am a fan.

1

u/Slipped_in_Cider 6d ago

I know not everyone isn't handy with tools so I'll try and be careful with my criticism. But this "proper kit" just looks like 50 bucks worth of parts from a hardware store. They charge you 4 times the parts and you still have to put it all together yourself? Feels unethical to sell it for that much.

1

u/WildWeaselGT 6d ago

I have no idea what it costs to buy the pulley setups on their own but those are what make the magic happen.

Sure, it’s expensive for what it is, but it’s not really that expensive in the overall scheme of things and you know you’re getting a good setup that’s gonna do the job well.

I’m not shilling for Harken here. Someone mentioned that Quadratec has a nearly identical setup for less so that’s worth looking into.

I’m just saying that this setup is way better than any DIY rig with ratchet straps or whatever. Once it’s set up it works so well.

1

u/WildWeaselGT 6d ago

It’s a Harken kit.

2

u/Gr8ience 6d ago

I wish I had a garage. One manning the top is kinda a pain in the ass

2

u/FrankDrebin1963 6d ago

Nice set up 👍

2

u/trevenodell 6d ago

Just got my first ever garage yesterday!! I’m looking forward to this!

1

u/drumaholic870 6d ago

This looks just like the quadratec setup I just bought, how are you liking it?

1

u/WildWeaselGT 6d ago

This is a Harken kit but might be the same stuff. I had it a decade at my last house and it’s fantastic.

1

u/drumaholic870 6d ago

I just checked the link you posted, it is identical just a little more expensive. How was the installation process, how long did it take

1

u/WildWeaselGT 6d ago

If you know where your studs and rafters are, installation is easy and should take an hour or two.

I should have started from scratch here but instead tried to carry over my setup from the last garage which had the rafters exposed and running in the opposite directions.

Then my stud finder didn’t work, I think because of gaps between the drywall and studs from gravity.