- City
- Brentwood
- State
- TN
Howdy. I searched here a couple months ago for advice on doing a homemade Harken Hoister. I read a few threads that were also looking for advice but didn't see any that had successfully done it. I really wanted to build one so I just figured it out on my own and want to share here in case anyone wants to do the same.
My problem with hoist-a-tops is that they require the back window to raise. Neither the GR8top on my Scrambler nor the top on my Brute has this ability.
So I bought (7) eye-bolt lag screws, a $25 boat hoist, 90' of steel cable, (12) terminal clips for the steel cable, (2) carribeaners, (1) stick of 1/2" conduit, (2) 8' oak 1x4s, and (6) eye-bolts with washers & nuts. I mounted the boat-hoist and eyebolt lag screws to the wall & ceiling joists and ran a piece of string to measure the longest point from the boat hoist to the far-back corner of the top. That piece of string happened to be 24' long. I subtracted 2' for the far-front corner. Then I ran the string to the closest back corner and found that I needed 18'. I subtracted 2' for the closest front corner. I also wanted to run a cable from the front corners to the back corners to keep them from accidentally spreading apart. So I bought (2) 5' pieces of cable, a 24', a 22', an 18', and a 16'. It all depends on the height of the ceiling.
Once I mounted the boat hoist to the wall and attached the crank handle, I realized the handle wouldn't turn so I had to use a 6" piece of steel with 4" sides to mount the hoist. I ran the cables from the end of the strap through the eye-bolts to the 1X4s. I cut the conduit into (2) 40" pieces and ran the cable through a piece of conduit from the front 1x4 to the back 1x4 and I put a carribeaner on the back side of each so I can quickly disconnect if needed. I drilled holes in the back 1x4 corresponding to the holes in the back of the top so that I could run a bolt through the 1x4 and keep the top securely mounted to the 1x4. I used a strap to hold the front of the top to the 1x4 at the front. I hooked it all up, raised the top, and it's been hanging for at least 24 hours so I think it's going to work.
My problem with hoist-a-tops is that they require the back window to raise. Neither the GR8top on my Scrambler nor the top on my Brute has this ability.
So I bought (7) eye-bolt lag screws, a $25 boat hoist, 90' of steel cable, (12) terminal clips for the steel cable, (2) carribeaners, (1) stick of 1/2" conduit, (2) 8' oak 1x4s, and (6) eye-bolts with washers & nuts. I mounted the boat-hoist and eyebolt lag screws to the wall & ceiling joists and ran a piece of string to measure the longest point from the boat hoist to the far-back corner of the top. That piece of string happened to be 24' long. I subtracted 2' for the far-front corner. Then I ran the string to the closest back corner and found that I needed 18'. I subtracted 2' for the closest front corner. I also wanted to run a cable from the front corners to the back corners to keep them from accidentally spreading apart. So I bought (2) 5' pieces of cable, a 24', a 22', an 18', and a 16'. It all depends on the height of the ceiling.
Once I mounted the boat hoist to the wall and attached the crank handle, I realized the handle wouldn't turn so I had to use a 6" piece of steel with 4" sides to mount the hoist. I ran the cables from the end of the strap through the eye-bolts to the 1X4s. I cut the conduit into (2) 40" pieces and ran the cable through a piece of conduit from the front 1x4 to the back 1x4 and I put a carribeaner on the back side of each so I can quickly disconnect if needed. I drilled holes in the back 1x4 corresponding to the holes in the back of the top so that I could run a bolt through the 1x4 and keep the top securely mounted to the 1x4. I used a strap to hold the front of the top to the 1x4 at the front. I hooked it all up, raised the top, and it's been hanging for at least 24 hours so I think it's going to work.