Attaching HF 440/880lb hoist to garage ceiling?

[Anil Kalagatla]

Has anyone attached one of these things to a garage ceiling (assuming it's bolted to the joists above the ceiling). Can regular residential attached garage ceilings handle such loads when suspended from them?

I was thinking about this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=44006

or its 440lb sibling.

I'm thinking of the clever installation with a barn door track on this page (he uses it for lifting/moving massive turning blocks to the lathe):

http://www.neowta.com/stubbylathe.htm

Thanks
Anil

[Sonny Edmonds]

I would do it, Anil, but I know my shop and also am very experienced in hoisting and rigging.
For example, I have used my rafters to move and raise a 500 pound drill press with a bar and eye and cable tugger. The bar I use gets purchase on 3 rafters, and my roof is a truss system that spreads load to the walls.
And the barn door roller track does look like it would work for about anything I would ever want to mount on a lathe.
None of this would ever pass OSHA, but they haven't begun invading our homes..... yet. :rolleyes:

[David G Baker]

Anil,
I have a friend that put a 4x6x12' in his rafters prior to capping the end of his pole building. He has the 800 pound HF hoist and has used it several times to lift a 500 pound weight that he keeps in the back of his pickup truck for traction while driving on snow/ice covered Michigan back roads, he has never had a problem. The weight is spread out over 6 rafters. It also comes in handy for skinning deer.

[Chip Lindley]

Check this out! http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=96964&highlight=hoist+ceiling

Its all been covered, and plenty of warnings of what NOT to do, as well as what TO DO!
Good Luck!

[Anil Kalagatla]

Thanks Chip! That is a very good thread. Given the absolute lack of experience I have with roof trusses and their loading characteristics, I will probably pass on this idea. Seemed like a good idea initially though :).

I do have a few floor bound lifting machines (folding shop crane, pallet jack and scissors lift), but they take too much space or are too limited. But at least they are very stable (for the most part).

Thanks again! I will be bookmarking this thread.

Anil


Check this out! http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=96964&highlight=hoist+ceiling

Its all been covered, and plenty of warnings of what NOT to do, as well as what TO DO!
Good Luck!

[Josiah Bartlett]

My trusses have 2x8 bottoms, but the rafter portions of them are considerably more substantial for the roof deck. I bridged two of them up at the peak and mounted my hoist there so I could also use it to haul stuff in and out of the attic. It shows absolutely no deflection that I could measure with my Unisaw suspended from the hoist.

[Chip Lindley]

Lucky YOU Josiah! Some pre-fab roof trusses are only 2x4 construction. An unknowing person may suddenly have a new *skylight* in his shop, hoisting heavy stuff hangs from his ceiling! One must do his homework before using one of these *convenient* hoists @ home!

[Steven DeMars]

Check this out! http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=96964&highlight=hoist+ceiling

Its all been covered, and plenty of warnings of what NOT to do, as well as what TO DO!
Good Luck!


Be careful when buying UNISTRUT . . Do not use the consumer grade stuff that "LOOKS" like Unistrut. Go to an electrical supply and buy real P1000 12 gauge Unistrut. I learned the difference recently . . . I work in PetroChem and always thought they were all the same . . . . Remember, 600 pound limit . . .

Steve:)