Hard Top Lifting Frame

[Stagless Steve]

I lifted the hard top off the Stag at the weekend using a winch. The hard top was suspended under the winch cook using tie down straps and it took me ages to get the centre of gravity correct so that it didn't tip forwards or backwards quite alarmingly. I am thing of making a frame to attach to the hard top with a hooking point so that the winch will lift at the COG every time. Does anyone have any drawings/measurements they could share to take out the guess work please?

Steve

[DJT]

Steve,
I use a roof rack which I attach to the hardtop gutters. Centre it towards the rear of centre and it lifts perfectly. An alternative would be roof bars that can be located so that it lifts horizontally.

[mole42]

Excellent idea! I've had mine hanging about on a tie-down strap for ages, using bungee on the rear fastening to stop it swinging about. The roof bars will be much better.

Thanks!

[Essex Stag]

I use a Davidson Lift ( my son ) he does weight lifting why buy a dog and bark yourself. I do help him of course he does not have that longer arms.
Derek

[DJT]

Now I'm at my desktop I can post a picture, taken in 2002, of the roof rack in use on my old Stag. I'm still using the same hard top, winch and roof rack with my current Stag.

HardTop19.jpg

[Jim]

Hi Steve,
I've got some photos of what I did for my hardtop in my album Hardtop Hoist
It works well for me. Has the advantage that when hoisted it locks against the roof beam so is very stable & safe.

Jim.

[jleyton]

Hi Steve,

Mine's not dissimilar to Jim's - even using a Halfords roofbar - but it can be made to work with just one roofbar thus making it even quicker to mount and dismount. I can have it off in about two or three minutes (ooh err )

I've fitted a couple of vertical wooden 'guides' to help locate and stabilise the roof and I only use the safety strap in the summer months for additional peace of mind.

Cheers

Julian

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Roof lift.jpg

[Essex Stag]

Very clever Jim and Julian Unfortunately I do not have power in my privately rented garage so very envious . I just lift mine off with the help of very strong son and hook it into a rack built hanging from the ceiling . It must be easy to lift them off but it must be a work of art to lower them down onto the car or do you have another ingenious way of doing that? Or is that why my Stag has a tiny dink in the boot lid were the rear pin must have made contact. As they say necessity is the mother of invention
Derek

[jleyton]

Hi Derek,

You don't have to have power. You can also do it with a simple block and pulley arrangement.

As for refitting it, it's just a case of driving the car into a similar position to where it was when you lifted the hardtop and guiding it down into place - not too difficult. However I would always advise removing the centre rear pin of the hardtop. It doesn't do much to help and, as you've seen, it can easily dent the boot, however you refit the hardtop.

Cheers

Julian

[Ian Durrant]

I copied Julians arrangement......

[richardthestag]

How many times have you cracked your head on that Ian?

Thinking about a similar arrangement for mine

[Ian Durrant]

How many times have you cracked your head on that Ian?

Thinking about a similar arrangement for mine

LOL, not once yet, I am 5' 7" if I stretch really hard

[Stagless Steve]

Thanks for all the replies. The roof bar solution looks the best because I have to have a low profile frame. My garage roof is flat and is only about 9 feet high so I need as little slack from lifting ropes etc as possible. Using the tie straps to suspend the hard top from the winch hook got it most of the way up there but I then had to manually lift it the rest of the way into the wooden frame I had build because I really didn't want something that heavy just dangling from the roof over my precious Stag!