Garage Hard-Top Hoist Kit Suggestions, HELP???

Take pics and email them to the manufacturer. Might get some compensation if it was installed correctly per their instructions. Was this a self tapping eyebolt, or was there a washer and nut on the other end? What brand was it?

GK wrote:

GK did pass the time by typing:

Personally I don't trust screw in eyebolts and hooks unless the threads are deep and the hole drilled properly.

If you don't drill they split the wood, if you drill too much you don't get enough bite.

If you can get to the other side I'd use a thru hole threaded eye, backed up with a large fender washer, a nut and a locknut (nylock or similar).

or similar may work butI'm not terribly trusting of open loop eyebolts. Another thing to think of is putting in some safety straps at each corner then using them to take some load off the whole assembly. Four eyebolts and a couple ratchet straps would probably be enough.

Well, it was supposed to be the better one (Not SteelHorse crap). Bought if from

. It comes in two versions, manual with a come-a-long or you can get one with what amounts to a small ATV winch attached to it for lifting. The kit used a very large (Looks larger than .5") self tapping eyebolt. I drilled and installed it properly in a 2x6 rafter over my garage. I even went out and bought a cheap stud finder at Home Depot to make sure I was right on the money. It definitely felt solid. I am 280 Lbs and could hang from it easily. I think the whole problem may have had to do with how the wall mounted come-a-long exerts a pretty high amount of lateral leverage to the eyebolt, thus popping it out the side of the rafter.

Thanks,

GK

Bill

I have already taken the same approach today and went up in the attic and cross braced over 3 rafters with a piece of 2x6. I bought a 12" x .5" threaded end eyebolt that I extended up through my ceiling then through the cross over 2x6. It is secured on both sides of the 2x6 with fender washers, lockwashers, a nut, then a jam nut to keep everything from moving any. I have also installed several backup eyebolts in the ceiling where all four corners of the hard top would roughly hang. I then put 16 foot ratcheting straps through them and hooked them under the edges of my hardtop. Even if the pulley unit gives way now, the ratchet straps will save the day. BTW, I found a good link at

.Stu must think of absolutely everything. Thank God. Regards,

GK

Thanks man, I took some of your advice and what I found at

and got everything fixed.I have even got redundant ratchet straps to hold things up if thecome-a-long gave way again. Luckily, once I got the hardtop up off my TJtoday, the damage was not as bad as I thought. However, it could have beenreal nasty if my Jeep had not been exactly in place under it for it to fallon.

Thanks,

GK

GK did pass the time by typing:

no problem, glad to hear there wasn't too much damage.

I did't take my camera into the roof to document my rafter reinforcement, but it looks very similar to what was done in the link to stu-offroad.

The eye bolt has to withstand 2 times the weight applied to the lift cable. I don't know what a top weighs, but guessing 150 pounds, then the load on the top pulley is 300 pounds.

Dean

Now that's a setup. Kinda looked like you had some medieval torture chamber thing going in a few of those pictures. ;)

Thanks for the ideas,

GK