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Lange Hoist-a-CART writeup

30K views 92 replies 45 participants last post by  Old Dogger 
#1 ·
Hi all,

I just put together my Lange Hoist-a-Cart (not Hoist-a-Top) yesterday and took the hard top off with it so I figured I'd share my experience for any considering this relatively new product.

--I purchased from Quadratec with the forum discount. Just PM Rick. Shipped via Fed Ex. It is heavy, about 105lbs. It was just laying in the middle of my driveway when I got home. LMAO...FedEx guy was probably pissed.

--Packed well and each part is individually wrapped in bubble wrap

--Instructions: This is a sore spot. Frustrating when you spend hundreds of dollars on a product and get instructions that are simply comical. In fact, the instructions in my box only had step 5 listed...no 1-4. Fortunately, I found some online, which were marginal at best. Get ready to play a game of "guess which bolt you're supposed to use in this step!" and "I bet you can't tell which part this diagram is supposed to represent!". Really....just a shoddy effort. You'll guess on which bolt etc, occasionally guess wrong which will require you to backtrack, etc. The parts list, has the wrong count for some parts which adds to the difficulty in identifying parts. That being said, if you spread everything out, look at the picture of the completed product, and have some general fix-it know how, you'll be fine. It simply SHOULD be much easier. There is also a video that you MUST watch as the instruction online simply stop partway through the assembly.

--Build: It's damn solid....really solid. Don't worry yourself about that any further.

--Rolling it: it actually has fairly large casters on it. I used it in my storage facility with an asphalt parking lot and it rolled fine. Two swivel, but it's still tricky to navigate. Going over a lip required me to lean the cart back and then lift, but I managed to do so by myself.

--Height: It telescopes, very tall when removing the top obviously, but after you lower the top, it collapses back down to where the tallest part of the rack is below the semi-vertical hard top. Should fit in any garage if it fit in my storage unit

--Function: Pretty dern nice. It lifts the top right off, by using two pulley cables. One cable goes to a strap that goes around the front of the hard top, and the other to a hook that goes between the rear glass and the top itself. I strongly recommend using a drill to lower and raise the top instead of the handle as it will be much much faster with the drill. (Note: Sliding the end of strap under the top while it is still on the Jeep is a little tricky and takes some strength and is just a bit awkward. I think most guys could do it, but small statured ladies, like my wife, would not be able to do that part alone.)

Overall, I must say, I was pretty irritated when installing it. I think companies have to provide reasonable install instructions. I'd say the instructions that come with Ikea furniture, would run circles around these. The function however, was served. The engineering that went into it is pretty impressive if you ask me. It allowed me to remove my top, solo which is the whole point. It also serves as a nice storage cart. At this point, I am glad I bought it. I would buy again.

Mike
 
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#2 ·
Yeah, your review pretty much says what I and another poster said.
I will add that mine came with 2 bad cables and spooled in knots on the system. Lange already sent a new winch to replace mine. Easy warranty via quadratec.

Miserable instructions and video explaining how to put together. Mine was missing a bolt and came with 6 extra long ones that were not needed.

Very sturdy but hard to steer IMO. Casters roll ok, but part of my asphalt driveway is old, so its a rough ride.

Yes, lifting the top to add the strap to support the top is tough, but doable. I guess only way to make sure your top stays secured.

If I had someone to easily help me, I might have not bought this. But since I need to get this off twice a year by myself, I am happy with it.
 
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#4 ·
Taking the freedom panels and bolts out=10 mins. Taking the tip off with Cart=10-15 minutes including installing the strap. So about 25 mins start to finish.
 
#9 ·
2 questions on this (sorry semi thread necro) how tall is it when removing the top and also same time-frame to place the top back on? Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
The arm is adjustable in height. They recommend placing it at least 17" above the top on the jeep to give enough clearance.

I would say it's probably around 15-20 minutes to put the top back on.
 
#10 ·
Can't wait to get mine! Can you use it inside the garage or will it hit the garage door when open? I have the xtreme hi lift jack on a RR mount and I have to remove it backing up, fits when parked though. Just wondering how much space it need overhead to be able t9 remove and place the hard top.
 
#11 ·
I would be most concerned about the height. You have to have about 1.5 feet above the Jeep. Doubt most garages would have that clearance. Easier to do it in driveway and then roll back into garage.
 
#12 ·
Hi fellas (and ladies),
This is Sam from Lange Originals! Glad you liked (for the most part) the Hoist-A-Cart. We are still hard at work making improvements to the Hoist a Cart.
I'm in charge of the instructions, so your criticism doesn't fall on deaf ears. In fact after this review I'm at work looking over them on my files. Per your suggestions, I'm going to make the bolts real pictures so they are easily IDed and increase the size of the diagrams on the written instructions. The dvd was included because there are some things that are easier to show than diagram.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated on how we can make this easier to install for our other customers.
Thanks!
Sam at Lange Originals
 
#42 ·
As a technical/procedure writer for the world's largest energy company, I was shocked at the instructions.
A) Majority of people do not have laptop in shed/garage to watch DVD and if like me, by the time I came in and watched DVD I did had forgotten when I came back outside.
B) Pictures with bolts/parts and labeling of such will help. I could not differentiate the 3/8" bolts from 1/2" seems like you all went with all 1/2" bolts.
C) All wheels should be swivel for easier maneuverability.
D) If not for the video, I would have never known what the wing nuts and nylon strap was used for.

Good luck with updating the procedure for installing this hoist!
 
#13 ·
I too bought one of these from Quadratec too. Got to say, it's really nice to be able to remove the JKUR's top by myself and have a convenient way to store the top and doors. I had an issue with missing parts. Called the Lange people, told them what was missing. They shipped them out no questions asked. Overall the Hoist-A-Cart scores an A, if the instructions had been a little clearer and all the parts had been in the box I'd have given it an A+.
 
#16 ·
My son and I just bought this hoist for our Jeep. Put it together on Monday, only complaint are the directions, tough to follow. Went on YouTube and watched a few videos to complete the hoist. It works well on the hardtop and slides just under our 7' garage door when top arm is in lowest position. I do recommend using a power drill to raise and lower the cables, hand crank takes forever. Small adjustment on cable length was needed when lifting the top but easy to level out. Rolls ok, I think swivel casters on front and back would help. Wheels on front extension arms are fixed and only roll straight. Overall a good investment and saves me some back aches.
 
#17 ·
Just put mine together yesterday... I watched the Lange you tube video(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAa2DoGkCNI) a couple times before I started... Got to say it went pretty smooth. It was 3" to tall to go through our garage doorway, but a hacksaw and drill took care of that...Only PITA was adjusting the cables, but after 4 tries I had it adjusted to level, and it worked great. Very happy with it, and would recommend it in a heartbeat. It stores just as good as the Best*** , but having the actual ability to remove the top alone, blows the other out of the water. And KUDOS to Sam for paying attention to what people say... Nice to see a company that gives a crap about their customers..
 
#18 ·
So my wife ordered one for me/us for Father's Day. It's taking a while to get shipped but am pretty excited to not have to use my cobbled together solution in the garage any longer.

I couldn't even use the garage any longer as I got a rack and roof top tent not too long ago. And thus my question: do you think I could kinda rig the hoist a cart to pull off the rack and tent together? Together they weigh about what the top does, and it would make things way easier if I could.

The reason is, I don't want to leave the rack and tent on there unless I'm going camping. Driving around looking like adventure dork all the time is a bit silly, but manually removing the tent, then the rack makes it to where I'd leave it on more, but wouldn't get to enjoy the soft top much.
 
#89 ·
So my wife ordered one for me/us for Father's Day. It's taking a while to get shipped but am pretty excited to not have to use my cobbled together solution in the garage any longer.

I couldn't even use the garage any longer as I got a rack and roof top tent not too long ago. And thus my question: do you think I could kinda rig the hoist a cart to pull off the rack and tent together? Together they weigh about what the top does, and it would make things way easier if I could.

The reason is, I don't want to leave the rack and tent on there unless I'm going camping. Driving around looking like adventure dork all the time is a bit silly, but manually removing the tent, then the rack makes it to where I'd leave it on more, but wouldn't get to enjoy the soft top much.
Were you able to use this for your rooftop tent? If so, was it easy?
 
#19 ·
do you guys think it would be possible to replace the wheels with something that could roll over grass and would it be easy to take apart.I travel construction so no place to keep the top.i would have to keep it outside and when i move need to be able to take apart
 
#21 ·
I bought one and used it in April to remove the hardtop from my unlimited. It's been stored on the cart in the garage ever since. My only complaint (beside the need for 4 swiveling castors) is that the foam that it rests on compresses over time with the weight of the hardtop constantly on it. As a result, the pulleys on the lift arm contact the top and will scratch it when the arm is stored in the down position. I had to stuff some rags in between the top and the pulleys.
Other than that it is a useful easy to use product
 
#24 ·
I agree and why I got a storage cover for mine.

Thats and always make sure ALL the parts come with your. Mine was pissing bolts, pulleys and had damaged/badly spooled cables.

I ordered extra swiveling casters from. price was good, but they killed my on shipping. Basically doubled my shipping costs.

If this was not the only game in town and option for me, would have shipped back to Quadratec and told both of them to keep it.
 
#22 ·
Thought I would put this here as I've had this question a couple of times.
Teasip said:
Hi Sam,

Thanks for your participation at the Wrangler Forum. One question that I haven't seen asked is is the lift designed as a full-time storage tool without putting the top down and on the base of the lift itself? In other words, can the lift keep it suspended like ceiling ratchet straps do?

Michael
, Texas
I'm going post this up on the thread, as others may want to know this as well I've answered this> the short answer is no, it's not intended to store on the fulcrum arm. Although it probably could, it's not recommended for a number of safety reasons. f If this is what you want, the hoist a top will work in any garage and do this (lifts and stores and has been around for ages) Lange Originals, Your source for Jeep hardtop lifts and other Jeep Wrangler accessories..

-Sam
 
#26 ·
For those of you that used this on your unlimited, do you recall what the final length of your crimped wire was? In other words, the video says "as a starting point" crimp the wire at 12 inches for 4 door.... well I did that, then adjusted, and adjusted and adjusted... never getting the right lengths so the top lifted off level (or even close). It was really tilted forward.
 
#36 ·
Put mine together today and had the same issue. Re-crimped the rear window hook wire MANY times over, must have crimped up to 2 feet before the rooftop would come off almost level. After lowering to the ground though, more wire let out as it was a tangled mess when I got it. As I lifted the top, the back end was WAY too low. Gonna crimp even more tomorrow. Problem now is the left spool for the rear window has a great deal less wire than the right spool for the straps so it just about touches ground level and almost runs out of wire. The right spool has a great deal more.
 
#28 ·
My life is insane right now, so I've not had time to post or reply much, but as I have a few minutes between conference calls and screaming children, I'll mention my experiences to date and such.

Overall, I will say that the solution ROCKS. I have to disagree with many statements of bad instructions and the like. I honestly did 90% from the written ones alone and only had one correction to make based on not paying close enough attention to the correct cross bar to use with the rear casters (hole diameter).

Since no one has really posted any pics in use (although the on line video is exceptionally helpful and accurate), here are some of mine from construction to use. Excuse the totally out of control garage as we are headlong into a kitchen renovation (read: absolute HELL).





















Some additional thoughts:

- I forgot to mention, the winch is kinda crappy in how it spools. The cable binds, feeds incorrectly, and wire will go all over the place. Think of it as a micro size winch like on a big boy with a steel cable. Solution? Yep, just like a big boy, some type of synthetic line. I probably will just deal and the choice to use steel I'm sure has to do with cost.

- Once the load comes off, it is just as manageable as everyone says. I am always terrified messing with taking off the hard top, and this is incredible easy. I did it 100% solo, and was amazed. Pay close attention to the video where they provide measurements on what length to get the cable to- I didn't have to make any adjustments and got it first time out of the box.

- BE CAREFUL with your rear window. To lift , IT MUST BE CLOSED, and make sure it is seated. This get a bit tricky with opening and closing the tailgate and getting everything out.

- The cart for storage itself is great. It looks like the padding isn't sufficient, but it is. I go back and forth on the rotating casters in the rear. It's a tight fit to get the cart in between the wheels on the Jeep when sliding it under and actually the stationary rear ones help a bit. The casters themselves are great going over some inconsistent surfaces- just be cautious and it will be fine. Gravel and such I'm sure would suck, but I wouldn't try it on that surface and they did fine on the paver section of our driveway and over seams.

- This is something I was really excited about: I used the hoist to pull off the roof top tent. I just used some ratchet straps and pulled it off. Easy peasy- didn't even adjust the cables. My goal was to get the rack and the tent together, but I couldn't figure a way to grab the load in a balanced manner (the hoist can go quite far enough under the Jeep). I figured out how to get the rack off with very minimal effort (like 10 minutes), so it's not that big of a deal. Damn tent weighs 100 lbs, so it was nice to not have to put it up there on my own like I did during install.

- Drill usage. You'll need one with some sack, so keep that in mind and I can see how folks say it is a must as the crank would take a while. You will have to really tighten the nut used a good bit to make sure it works.

As a whole, it really is a good solution. I would buy again at the same price. This is coming from a sleep deprived dad of young kids in the midst of home renovations, so that has to say something...
 
#32 ·
Sorry take so long to respond but I'd have to say as tall as you need. I ran into the opposite problem with our short garage in that the hoist won't make it in there without some finagling.

I've got the stock 32s but a 2" lift and then the rack and there was at east 6" or more above the tent when I removed it.
 
#31 ·
We have a Mopar 2" lift and Duratrac 315/70-17 (34.5") and the lift works perfectly. I can have the top off in a matter of minutes by myself. Really happy with the purchase.
 
#33 ·
Thanks for the response on lift and tires. I have one more question. What kind of drill bit accessory works best? Size , Deep socket? So that I can attach a drill to raise and lower the lift faster? I have ordered one and wanted to be sure I have everything I will need when it comes in.
 
#34 ·
BUMP. I'm interested in responses to this as well. As I understand it, you need a 19mm deep socket drill bit, that fits around the nut (after you remove the handle). Will a regular cordless drill work? I have a 7.2v Ryobe cordless with torque settings from 1 to 24 (24 being the highest). Will this have enough torque to turn the nut and lift/lower the top?
 
#35 ·
I just put the hard top on yesterday using the hoist. Pretty much as easy as it was to remove. Anyway, a 199mm socket, but I didn't use a deep well. In terms of juice, mine is a Dewalt 18v hammer cordless and it works the trick. Ironically, though, the battery died and I had to use the crank. It's really not that bad to do the crank.
 
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