I've been thinking about adding an overhead hoist in my garage. I can't say I would use it often but I could use one right now to pull the engine out of a boat and I'm sure I could come up with some other uses for it conjoined with my lift. I literally haven't done any research yet because the wealth of knowledge here proves greater than google sometimes.
Does anyone have one? Did you install it yourself? Have you helped your buddy ziptie one to the door header and know what you're doing? Did you stay at a Holiday Inn express last night?
For information on the garage; it feels like RV height. 16 foot ceiling maybe? I'll have to recheck, I forget. The garage is the ground floor and there are two stories above it. The living room, guest room, bathroom, kitchen, laundry room are all over the garage so I don't have a lot of access to between floor joist. It's also finished. Sheet rocked/painted with the A/C/furnace ceiling mounted on one side and a slight step down in the ceiling.
Is this possible? Dumb? Genius? A waste of time?
I had a Harbor Freight chainfall on a trolley cantilevered out of my old garage loft. I used a 4" super I-beam (thick flange and webbing, wider flanges. Super Handy. I hauled a slate pool table up into that loft with it. Tons of wood screws and u shaped hangers attached it to the joists.
All that said, I believe two columns near the walls spanned by an I beam would be the way to go. Like a shop width gantry. I have a plan to do this to my current garage, as it has a berking column dead venter I'd like to remove.
$62.99
60 some odd bucks.
As long as you stay with manual chain falls its hard to get into trouble other than undersizing the beam for the span.
If you decide to go with a powered hoist be very careful because the hoist rating can be lower than its stalled pulling force and you can pull everything down. Most have some kind of pressure relief valve or other method to stop at the rated limit but not all and it doesn't always work.
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Based on the picture and your stated needs, a gantry set up would probably be the easiest solution. With wheels it can be moved out of the way and positioned where you need it for a specific job.
Gantry is good and you can pick them up used pretty inexpensively. If you want something very versatile you essentially build a square inside your shop. Four columns, two I-Beams running the length, then another beam running crossways on separate trolleys. That way you get all points covered and you have essentially infinite width and are not stucking working around a gantry.
I wouldnt anchor anything to the ceiling, thats asking for trouble. Anchor to the floor, do your beam calcs, and dont forget the weight of the steel, gantry, and chain hoist in your beam calculations. Common sense and safety says make the critical connections bolted unless you are a real deal certified weldor, oversize the fasteners and you will be just fine. 3/4" grade 8 bolts are remarkably strong.
For drilling through beams, a mag drill with a slugger bit is worth its weight in gold and they damn near better be made of gold for what they cost.
This is one of those "good isnt cheap, and cheap isnt good" sort of situations.
This is a timely thread. My garage is only 8 feet to the roof trusses and I would like to be able to run a trolley over a project car so I can pull an engine , or put it back in. I had considered running an I-beam or round tube and hanging it from every joist to distribute the load. Anyone done anything like that?
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
Yep, but two columns at the walls is way better. Most trusses explicitly say no screws or nails, outside drywall screws. How big an engine?
In reply to wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) (Forum Supporter) :
Aluminum LS with a TH350 attached, so 550 lb maybe.
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
You could get away with it in my non-engineer opinion, but why risk it?
That said, Tie in to multiple trusses, make brackets that go over the top of several, and hang the I beam below?
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
550 lbs is a lot for a typical garage w/2x4's for the bottom truss chord. Added columns and deeper sister beams screwed to the existing 2x4's are needed.
I would do some internet research and also figure a 3 times factor of safety minimum.
You may not be lifting just 550 lbs if the engine/transmission gets stuck and the chassis starts lifting with it.
So there's this: https://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-telescoping-gantry-crane-41188.html
I haven't used one myself, but it seems like it would be alright, and mobile. Takes up a lot of space though.
Don49 (Forum Supporter) said:
Based on the picture and your stated needs, a gantry set up would probably be the easiest solution. With wheels it can be moved out of the way and positioned where you need it for a specific job.
You're probably right. Easiest yes, but the least ideal.
AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter) said:
So there's this: https://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-telescoping-gantry-crane-41188.html
I haven't used one myself, but it seems like it would be alright, and mobile. Takes up a lot of space though.
I saw that and it looks great but not wide enough for my first use. IIRC, the boat trailer was something like 95" wide.
I was also trying to avoid having a rollaround unit. I had hoped I could run across the bottom of the joist and be okay. There really isn't a good spot to have legs come down. There is a window in the way on one side and shelving/reznor heater/furnace on the other. (At least in the area where an engine would be on the lift.)
My dad has two, well-engineered and built into the garage during construction. They get occasional use, but the cherry picker gets used more often.
After a tornado, I bet this section of his garage will still be standing.
I enjoy the wood paneling walls. It makes me think old basement rec room, but for big kids.
How are those secured in the walls? Like a drop header or something?
There is no effing way I would lift off the trusses in any garage that wasnt explicitly built for that purpose from the get. Trusses are plenty strong with a distributed load and garbage with a point load. They are also made to have the load coming from the top down, not pulling from the bottom.
But go ahead. Take pics.
