DIY Roof Top Tent Hoist

[AdamK]

I just built one similar to the one in the first post of this thread. I had a roof eave to deal with and used it for lateral support of the post.


I clipped the top of the post to the tail of a roof truss to prevent it from moving side to side but it <could> move toward the driveway. There's a space between the post and the facia board to prevent the possibility of it push out on it.


The back span is bolted to the header of the door opening to prevent any rotation around the axis of the post.


Two double sheave pulleys, a trailer winch and some rope from amazon reduce the line tension 50 lbs for my 200 lbs tent.



Thanks to the OP for the idea. I used my structural engineering degree to make sure the member sizes were adequate. 200 lbs tent so there is 200 lbs compression in the post. The back span is 3' and the boom is 6' so there will be 400 lbs of upward force on the door header. I dangled my 202 lbs frame on the end of the boom to load test it. :) Not even a creak from the framing of my house.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

I just built one similar to the one in the first post of this thread. I had a roof eave to deal with and used it for lateral support of the post.
View attachment 184902

I clipped the top of the post to the tail of a roof truss to prevent it from moving side to side but it <could> move toward the driveway. There's a space between the post and the facia board to prevent the possibility of it push out on it.
View attachment 184905

The back span is bolted to the header of the door opening to prevent any rotation around the axis of the post.
View attachment 184906

Two double sheave pulleys, a trailer winch and some rope from amazon reduce the line tension 50 lbs for my 200 lbs tent.
View attachment 184907
View attachment 184908

Thanks to the OP for the idea. I used my structural engineering degree to make sure the member sizes were adequate. 200 lbs tent so there is 200 lbs compression in the post. The back span is 3' and the boom is 6' so there will be 400 lbs of upward force on the door header. I dangled my 202 lbs frame on the end of the boom to load test it. :) Not even a creak from the framing of my house.

You did a good job of engineering. I'd hire you. The rope hanging off the bolt kinda threw me for awhile. I thought it was a small wheel until I enlarged the photo. Very good pictures too. I hope someone dosent try to pull an engine with it but it probably could.

 

[AdamK]

You did a good job of engineering. I'd hire you. The rope hanging off the bolt kinda threw me for awhile. I thought it was a small wheel until I enlarged the photo. Very good pictures too. I hope someone dosent try to pull an engine with it but it probably could.

I'm going to use one of my snatch blocks on that bolt when I actually lift the tent. :) These photos are from my test of the rigging.

Looks like the Pentastar weighs about 350 lbs?? That might be pushing the capacity of the boom. They are at 835 psi bending stress with the 200 lbs tent. That's fine for your run of the mill Home Depot lumber. You'd have to check the specs on the rope, sheaves, etc, too. You'd definitely want to run some numbers before trying it with an engine.

 

[AdamK]

Success!

 

[Pskhaat]

Brilliant. Must find a way for this myself.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Success!
View attachment 185049View attachment 185050

I could use one of these for putting my spare tire on my rack. Not kidding ! :-)

 

[DRAX]

This was something I tackled a few weeks back, I ended up re-installing the Lange power hoist-a-top that I had from when I owned a JKUR. Removed the donut stopper and now I can run 2 straps corner to corner to make an X over the top of the RTT, then hook the hoist to the straps and up (or down) she goes, all the way to the ceiling or all the way to the floor. No more asking neighbors to help lift it on/off (wife and daughters are too short to be effective), can have the RTT moved from where it's stored and on the truck in like 5-10 minutes start to finish, same when taking it off.

Jeep Top Hoist | Hoist-A-Top from Lange Originals

Lange Originals, maker of the Hoist-A-Top and Hoist-A-Cart. Our Jeep Top Hoist products are designed to help you remove and store your Jeep Wrangler hard top.

langeoriginals.com

 

[oldmate95]

I decided to use the receiver hitch and make my hoist attach to the Jeep. I basically used 2" square tubing with 1/8" walls, a couple of pulleys, and a hand crank winch to accomplish this. I used a 1 3/4" OD round tube inserted in the vertical part of the lower receiver portion to allow the crane to pivot around. The crane comes apart so it's easy to install/remove/store.

Thanks for the design & inspiration, I've been looking for something like this as I don't have a carport etc to hoist from. This'll give me a good excuse to buy a mig welder and practice!
Next step is to figure out some quick release brackets that'll work on my 3x rhino vortex bars. Fiddling with the ubolts with not a lot of hand space isn't fun! I want something a little more low profile than the Frontrunner quickrelease brackets, and half the price or less.
Perhaps some alloy angle or C channel bolted to the racks with some clevis pins & over-centre latches?
Similar to:

Great designs right here! But if you can lift 125 pounds, there is a much simpler way. A couple aluminum tracks and a strong back. I'm nearly 70 and I do this all the time.
check out the video

Video: LOADING THE SMITTYBILT ROOFTOP TENT | Smittybilt Rooftop Tent album | Rbertalotto

Rbertalotto photos: LOADING THE SMITTYBILT ROOFTOP TENT

public.fotki.com

Cheers

 

[Jayt4white]

So after a lot of online searching, I couldn't find a compact solution to hoisting my RTT on to my truck. My garage is too low so I can't lower it off the ceiling and drive away unfortunately. After a lot of brainstorming and about 3 trips to Lowes, below is my working hoist. I tested it with my weight (185lbs) first to be sure it would hold, and it didn't budge at all. My tent weighs about 135lbs so this solution works great.

I have 3 pulleys on it so the pull weight is down to 1/3 of the weight of the tent. It breaks down into two main pieces, the hoist arm, and the a-frame. The a-frame folds up so both pieces fit nicely in a small corner in the garage. If anyone is interested in further details let me know.

This is awesome! This will be perfect for me since my garage is too small for my truck. Would you mind sharing all the parts you bought for this set up? I really appreciate it.

 

[RoyB]

I'd just use the helicopter!

 

[RoyB]

69 years old......125 pounds.....no sweat!

 

[Coreymol]

I just built one similar to the one in the first post of this thread. I had a roof eave to deal with and used it for lateral support of the post.
View attachment 184902

I clipped the top of the post to the tail of a roof truss to prevent it from moving side to side but it <could> move toward the driveway. There's a space between the post and the facia board to prevent the possibility of it push out on it.
View attachment 184905

The back span is bolted to the header of the door opening to prevent any rotation around the axis of the post.
View attachment 184906

Two double sheave pulleys, a trailer winch and some rope from amazon reduce the line tension 50 lbs for my 200 lbs tent.
View attachment 184907
View attachment 184908

Thanks to the OP for the idea. I used my structural engineering degree to make sure the member sizes were adequate. 200 lbs tent so there is 200 lbs compression in the post. The back span is 3' and the boom is 6' so there will be 400 lbs of upward force on the door header. I dangled my 202 lbs frame on the end of the boom to load test it. :) Not even a creak from the framing of my house.

Nice rig set up.

 

[Smasho]

So after a lot of online searching, I couldn't find a compact solution to hoisting my RTT on to my truck. My garage is too low so I can't lower it off the ceiling and drive away unfortunately. After a lot of brainstorming and about 3 trips to Lowes, below is my working hoist. I tested it with my weight (185lbs) first to be sure it would hold, and it didn't budge at all. My tent weighs about 135lbs so this solution works great.

I have 3 pulleys on it so the pull weight is down to 1/3 of the weight of the tent. It breaks down into two main pieces, the hoist arm, and the a-frame. The a-frame folds up so both pieces fit nicely in a small corner in the garage. If anyone is interested in further details let me know.

That looks like the same thing I will need to fabricate. If you have the specs I would greatly appreciate it. You can email me at markottaviano@hotmail.com.
Thanks!

 

[OcoeeG]

These hoists are nothing short of engineering marvels. But I have to wonder if it wouldn't just be easier to ask a neighbor and have a buddy over for a beer and ask him to help. Seems like a lot of work setting these hoists up.

 

[Tatankaroo]

My solution...a Harbor Freight drywall lift. I move the RTT to the side of my Jeep, raise it up, and slide the RTT onto my Gobi roof rack. I did some tweaks to the lift to make it a safe solo job.

View attachment 44736

I would love to see this in action.

 

[PapaDave]

I moved a year ago to the frozen north and disassembled my hoist and put it all in a POD and brought it with me. I set it all back up again here but with a metal roof this time now that we get snow. I upped to the larger HF winch and I can lift the rack, rack cargo slide, iKamper, 3 Rotopax’s, 270 awning and newly added heater box all as one unit to bring the truck underneath. I estimate it’s about 450lbs. Works amazingly well, but it definitely requires a carport side access.

A side benefit has been that I can lift the rack in the air if I need to work on it from an angle I can’t get to when stored or on the truck.

 

[socal66]

Since I already had a 2 ton Harbor Freight hoist for lifting engines I just fabricated an arm extension for it to lift the load higher. The extension is just a 6 foot long section of square steel tubing with a 40 degree kink in the middle and a series of holes to bolt the extension in the existing arm at various lengths. It actually works surprisingly well and makes installation and removal of the tent pretty easy even with just myself.

 

[Fast.Eddie.76]

So after a lot of online searching, I couldn't find a compact solution to hoisting my RTT on to my truck. My garage is too low so I can't lower it off the ceiling and drive away unfortunately. After a lot of brainstorming and about 3 trips to Lowes, below is my working hoist. I tested it with my weight (185lbs) first to be sure it would hold, and it didn't budge at all. My tent weighs about 135lbs so this solution works great.

I have 3 pulleys on it so the pull weight is down to 1/3 of the weight of the tent. It breaks down into two main pieces, the hoist arm, and the a-frame. The a-frame folds up so both pieces fit nicely in a small corner in the garage. If anyone is interested in further details let me know.

Can you send me the details and plans

 

[Ebbs]

I just built one similar to the one in the first post of this thread. I had a roof eave to deal with and used it for lateral support of the post.
View attachment 184902

I clipped the top of the post to the tail of a roof truss to prevent it from moving side to side but it <could> move toward the driveway. There's a space between the post and the facia board to prevent the possibility of it push out on it.
View attachment 184905

The back span is bolted to the header of the door opening to prevent any rotation around the axis of the post.
View attachment 184906

Two double sheave pulleys, a trailer winch and some rope from amazon reduce the line tension 50 lbs for my 200 lbs tent.
View attachment 184907
View attachment 184908

Thanks to the OP for the idea. I used my structural engineering degree to make sure the member sizes were adequate. 200 lbs tent so there is 200 lbs compression in the post. The back span is 3' and the boom is 6' so there will be 400 lbs of upward force on the door header. I dangled my 202 lbs frame on the end of the boom to load test it. :) Not even a creak from the framing of my house.

Definitely liking this idea... I can barely walk into my garage without hitting my head (6'4 opening) let alone dream of getting my GX in there (it barely fit stock if I pushed up on the garage door while going in/out)

Curious if you had measurements, I know mine will probably be different but since you are educated at this stuff at least it'll give me a starting point.

 

[Gadgetech]

Hey everyone. I was searching the web to find a solution for installing my rooftop tent by myself, and I came across this thread of ideas. I liked some of the ideas on here, but they weren't quite exactly what I was looking for - so I made my own version!
Like many of you, my garage roof is tall enough for the tent to be installed on the Jeep on the inside, but the garage door is too low to be able to drive in or out of the garage with it on top. The garage door opening is only about 7' tall, and I need at least 8' to clear. So I needed a way to install it on my driveway.
I decided to use the receiver hitch and make my hoist attach to the Jeep. I basically used 2" square tubing with 1/8" walls, a couple of pulleys, and a hand crank winch to accomplish this. I used a 1 3/4" OD round tube inserted in the vertical part of the lower receiver portion to allow the crane to pivot around. The crane comes apart so it's easy to install/remove/store.
To test it initially, I hung off the end of the crane and it held me just fine (I weigh 220 lbs), so I knew it would hold my 116 lb tent.
I have about $100 in this project, and it works great! Yes, I realize knowing how to weld helps, but this could also be made by bolting it all together with some modifications. If you have any questions, I would be more than glad to answer them.

Curious if this is still working out or not? I am installing a 4X4 Colorado Alto Elite on a bed rack in my Ram 2500. The tent is heavy at 272 pounds and it’ll sit about 77 inches up in the air. The tent is just over 10 inches tall.

My other thought is mounting a winch to the wall above the garage door and I could either lower the air pressure in my rear tires enough to back into the garage a few feet and just winch it off the rack. Or one of these other set ups I’ve seen where people have a winch hooked up to some boards and they slide the roof rack onto the boards and then lower one end of the board and lower the roof rack down the ground by sliding down the boards.

Something similar to what this fella did: