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New Idea For One-Man Hardtop Removal & Install

6K views 31 replies 15 participants last post by  Neil F. 
#1 ·
When not using your hardtop, a lot of folks put it vertical (on a hardtop stand). Whereas, others like to hang theirs from the garage ceiling. Unless you have a helper, it is very hard to rotate the hardtop 90 degrees, without damaging the top.

I have an idea for a hardtop removal & installation process, that, if it works, one person would be able to EASILY remove the hardtop, rotate it 90 degrees, then move it around. No help needed.

I drew up a basic plan for this idea.
Basically, you roll the contraption up to the rear of your jeep. (Notice that the "lift table" is in the UP position.)
Lock the caster wheels.
Unbolt & unlatch the hardtop from the jeep.
The 2 horizontal arms (pre-drilled to match the 3 holes on each side of your hardtop) slide up under your hardtop, from the rear.
Using the 6 bolts, fasten the hardtop to these 2 arms.
Then, from the inside of the jeep, you just lift up on the hardtop, from the front of the hardtop.
The hardtop would rotate 90 degrees, resting on the table.
Climb out of the jeep.
Place a retaining pin into the lifting table, so that the hardtop can not rotate down, prematurely.
Lower the "lift table".
Unlock the caster wheels.
Roll the contraption to wherever in the garage you would want to store it.
Finally, lock the caster wheels.

Installation would be the reverse of the above instructions.
 
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#2 ·
I designed the 2 horizontal arms so that they slide inward & outward, so that they can come in from the sides of the jeep, instead of having to come in all the way from the back.

The contraption would roll up to the jeep, having each arm resting just a few inches outside of the 2 sides of the hardtop.

You would simply slide an arm under that side of the hardtop, bolt it to the hardtop, then do the other side.
 
#6 ·
I like where you are headed with your idea, after reading the operational description you provided I cannot visualize how the loads are being carried and distributed when transitioning from horizontal to vertical because that is going to be the tricky part.

an animation would be great.
 
#16 ·
Well its neat and fancy but if you have a garage just hook some ratchet straps to the roof. I built one outside out of 4x4s and a winch that works great
 

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#18 ·
I do not see how your "forks" are going to slide between the top and tub, there is a lip at that junction, you'd have to lift the top up an inch or so then slide the forks under, so wouldn't that make this a two-person operation?

neat concept though.
 
#19 ·
I do not see how your "forks" are going to slide between the top and tub, there is a lip at that junction, you'd have to lift the top up an inch or so then slide the forks under, so wouldn't that make this a two-person operation? neat concept though.
I don't have all of the bugs figured out yet.
It's still a work in progress. :)
 
#20 ·
I like the idea, although I see two possible issues. If you are going from horizontal to vertical with the table still in the up position (as the pictures indicate), it would require a garage with an extremely high ceiling. Even if the transition was made after lowering, unless the table base had some serious weight to it, the weight of the top would likely tip the table over. How about some kind of quick clamp feature instead of having to rebolt the top to the fixture?
 
#22 ·
be easier to build a cherry picker with hardtop harness that lifts it then flips it to rest on the picker legs..........then the boom could fold down securing the top.........add a badass all weather cover with a locking cable at the bottom, then you have hardtop storage anywhere

oh crap I just gave away a million dollar idea lol
 
#25 ·
Don't let the naysayers get you down. Listen to the inputs and keep evolving the idea.
How many attempts did it take before Edison got the light bulb to work.....?
 
#26 ·
your idea is essentially an un-powered fork lift. as was already suggested, you will have to overcome how the forks will attach to and hold the top, you cannot just "slide" the forks between the top and tub without first lifting the tub up, and, you will have to overcome the change in center of gravity and the momentum that will occur as the top transitions from horizontal to vertical, you will need one heck of a heavy/wide base to prevent the whole thing from tipping over.

if you didn't have the back glass you could use a similar device to just grab and lift the top from the bottom of the top's roof. but, that back glass is always a problem.

but I agree keep trying.
 
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