Trailrax half-rack used for hoisting 2-door hardtop roof (w/ remote electric hoist)

[Poppavein]

I think this is a great idea and something I may consider.

The loading is no different on the top as one of those lift jacks:
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[Mtea]

@rws I was also concerned about balancing the roof as it is hoisted by only one contact point. It took some trial and error moving strap attachments back and forward again to find an acceptable balance point. I also didn’t want the cam straps to slip or move on the half-rack so they are wound around a few times. See photo below.

@Wraithracing I thought quite a bit about how to attach the hoist to the half-rack. First considered using just cam or ratchet straps. I was concerned that lifting force would both up and toward the center plus I would lose valuable vertical distance. I landed on the frame I built as it adds only 2 or three inches and also allows the lifting force to be straight up.

 

[Mtea]

@Poppavein Agreed as to loading. I considered the lift jacks but didn’t like that 1) lifting from underneath would likely leave marks or indents on sound insulation, 2) I’d have to use floor space to store when the top is off, 3) I’d have to find somewhere to store the lift jack when not in use, and 4) it costs about $1,000 compared to about $300 I spent on my setup.

 

[nolimits]

Huh, interesting.

That is a level of sketchiness I don't know if I personally would be comfortable with. Maybe to help lift the hard top off the Bronco, sure, but I don't know if I would leave it like that personally.

Though I also admit I'm far from an expert, and the extensive research I did before making this post involved looking at my oversized gut and asking it what it felt like. Curious what others think.

I saw a homemade system where they used some lifting straps with custom made buckles to go in the slots to do the initial lift (they didn’t have the rack, but essentially loads it the same way).

Once lifted they had used rails (think it was unistrut with a 2x4 attached on top) to set the hard top on. The rails were connected to separate eyelets in the ceiling at each end (2 per rail, 4 total).

So essentially you did the initial lift and sucked it up as high as possible. Then put the rails in place at slightly lower height and hoisted the top down so weight was carried by the rails.

It took load off the points you were concerned about and also served as redundancy since both the rails and straps are still in place should something fail.

 

[cbrenthus]

Didn’t read the whole thread, but my hardtop has been hanging by ratchet straps through a hook road half rack. It’s been 2 months and no issues. We’ll see what happens when I try to put it back on someday.

 

[Ramble_Offroad]

@rws I was also concerned about balancing the roof as it is hoisted by only one contact point. It took some trial and error moving strap attachments back and forward again to find an acceptable balance point. I also didn’t want the cam straps to slip or move on the half-rack so they are wound around a few times. See photo below.

@Wraithracing I thought quite a bit about how to attach the hoist to the half-rack. First considered using just cam or ratchet straps. I was concerned that lifting force would both up and toward the center plus I would lose valuable vertical distance. I landed on the frame I built as it adds only 2 or three inches and also allows the lifting force to be straight up.

OP - how in the world did you get the front outer clamp into the seam on the hardtop? For the life of me I can’t figure it out. The seam on my hardtop is so narrow the steel clamp barely fits in there without the foam. With the foam installed I’m at a loss how to install without the adhesive foam peeling back / off. Cheers.

 

[Mibuckeye]

Just got mine done. Frankly had not seen your setup until today but came up with a very similar design. My rack has T slots on the top so i just used bolts and threaded handles in the slots to keep the unistrut tight to the top. I am still trying to figure out why my sliding unistrut brackets will not glide easily with the top on. Do you have that problem too? My plan is to have a shelf built that i can simply slide the top to and lower down on a setup that mimics the mounting points on the Bronco (holes same distance/depth) to avoid any unecessary warping or delam that may occur with long term storage.

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