Outdoor Hoist System for Roof Top Tent

Wanting to see if anyone has a good outdoor hoist setup that's relatively inexpensive. I have the ARE-Z topper on my truck with the Prinsu rack on top, so it's a little taller than most setups @ 6.75ft to the top of the rack.



Because I have the topper...I don't have enough garage entry height to use an indoor hoist system mounted to my ceiling...my tent would hit the garage entry. I'm trying to figure out a way to do this outside without a permanent eyesore in my front yard. Ideally I want to build something that can be easily removed and stored inside the garage.

I've spitballed some ideas with family and friends and here's what I've come up with:

Option 1) Pole and Hoist Frame option:

- Dig a post hole and cement a 2ft sleeve (1.5" galvanized steel pipe). Top of the pipe will be at grade, so it doesn't stick out much if at all from the ground.
- slip in a 12 ft tall ; 1.25" galvanized steel pipe, so it's snug against the 1.5" sleeve
-Attach Hoist Frame Arm to the pole - Hoist frame works on up to 1.89" pipe
-Attach


Option 2: Viking Solutions Rack Jack II Hoist
-My neighbor has one that's very similar, but it really does not work that well at all from the hitch due to the limitations of the swivel. The reason why I like this Viking model is that there is an attachable floor mount. With the floor mount, I could in theory hoist the tent up, then back the truck up and drop the tent on the roof rack.


Any other ideas would be appreciated

 

How about a rolling gantry? You can get a one ton for about $600. What does the tent weigh? Check harbor freight. You can roll it into the garage when not in use.

 

tent weighs 190lbs. Was trying to avoid paying more than $200-$300

 

I’d be afraid of a 1 1/4” pipe bending. You’re tent and hoist by themselves don’t weigh that much. But put them out far enough to clear your truck and I think that pipe will fail.
I like the gantry idea. You could probably fab that out of some smaller pipe. Raise tent, move truck, then lower it onto a cart. Make the gantry collapsible then you can store it easily.

 

I'd have to hire someone to fab that. would probably cost a decent amount I'd imagine

Only other cheaper option I could think of is a wood version:

 

Friend of mine came up with a great idea and worked pretty well...chain fall hoist from my tree.

Kind of need a second person involved to help guide and push the tent to the center of the rack as you lower it down, but overall pretty satisfied and only spent $60 at Freight Harbor

 

with a stand that you can drive the wheel onto your possibilities are endless as to where you want to remove the tent at. make the frame to where you can easily collapse it and haul it around with you.

 

Cool design, but that’s going to cost way more than I’m willing to spend. I probably don’t need another thing to carry around with me either. $60 chain fall will do for now

 

Use your vehicle's receiver hitch as your mount. Build a simply crane hoist that swivels 180 degrees. design it so the crane's boom arm folds flat against the vertical mast for compactness when not in use.

 

You have a link?

 

No link. Just brainstorming. I thought the vehicle makes a stable base and the receiver hitch is a sturdy mounting point. I'd start with square tubing with an o.d. that fits into your receiver and cut it to a length that clears the rear of your vehicle, weld onto it vertically the same diameter tubing with a length long enough to clear your roof rack while hoisting the RTT. I'd make my boom arm long enough to pick up the center of the RTT plus 24". Weld a 12" round tube 24" from the non lifting end of the boom with an o.d. to fit into the vertical mast. This is the boom pivot on top the vertical mast and makes the unit break into two pieces for storage. The extra 24" boom length is for counter weight equal to your RTT.
Sorry for the wordy description. A scaled down version of a tower crane.

 

Deer or game hitch hoist like this
https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/183567148854

 

http://www.2040-parts.com/500-lb-pi...engine-hoist-crane-hitch-mount-lift-i1112038/

 

If I only knew how to weld or had the equipment. Seems fun. I've only observed someone welding a few times.

 

Boom arm on these designs aren't long enough. My neighbor had one exactly like this except it swings 360 degrees too. we could never get the tent properly aligned since that arm is pretty short. then when we got it high enough to clear my topper + rack the steel was compromised and popped loose on one joint due to the top heavy weight. 8ft in the air.

 

This wouldn't clear the topper + rack. max height on this one is 56 inches. I need to go ~7ft

 

Wondering if anyone has come up with anything concrete yet... Bought a RTT last week and I'm trying to determine how to get it on and off my truck. Can't do a garage ceiling hoist bc my truck w/ tent will be too tall for my garage door.

Right now, my inclination is to build something like this:


I'd use dual 2x4's for each of the legs (one perpendicular to the other to form a "T" for support on both planes) and maybe a 2x6 for the top. The top part would be hinged using saw-horse brackets (rated to 400lbs) so I can fold it up for storage. The lifting would be accomplished using 2 pulley systems I saw at Harbor Freight:



The pulley system is a 4:1, so only 25lbs of force needed to lift 100lb loads. The only issue I potentially see is that I may need some extra braces to keep the lift system from from side-side movement.


Thoughts?

 

I like your idea better than others on here, but I think wood strength will be insufficient to handle the height and weight, and dynamic sway, of an RTT. A bigger commitment ($ and space, as well as time to construct) would probably work: build it of steel-- essentially a heavy duty swing set. Be even better if you secure it into the ground with concrete....

But I suppose this isn't the cheap solution OP is looking for....

 

I ended up with a different design than the one I posted above...
This one makes use of the existing framework of my house for extra strength, but is still quite mobile. I can lift it easily, and the "arm" pivots down to make it fairly compact when storing.
Notice the red line I inserted in the image. There is a piece of wood sandwiched between the two uprights that slots in with roof joists. This is what keeps the rig from tilting forward when under load and keeps it from moving side to side. As you can see from the second pic, the lift was easily able to support my weight, and my scrawny 8yr old can support my fat azz. If it can keep me up, it should easily be able to support a RTT (or two).

 

This was my inspiration btw...

 

When you need to lift your 120# tent 6 feet onto your rack and all your friends are working or out of town:

 

Yeah, I have the 200 year old oak tree. Have used it for years.

 

I'd just do it like this, but then again I'm just stubborn.

 

Why not use a trailer hitch mount welded to a tall enough pipe, and put an arm off of that pipe just long enough to reach the middle of your tent. Use a chain fall off arm. Spin the arm to the other side and lower to the ground.

 

I have a 4 step solution:

1. Join a gym
2. Get those gainz bro!! Deadlifts and overhead press especially.
3. Lift tent onto truck by yourself with ease
4. Find a stick to fend off the women who throw themselves at you after this outrageous display of manliness.

 

why no body use engine hoist

 

Not tall enough. My bed rack is 18” up from sides of the bed.

Check out @DividedSky his thread! Also pg. 8 of my build thread has my own take of this hoist...

https://www.tundras.com/threads/one-person-rtt-install-technique.50117/

 

A Garage door is only 7’ height, the hoist max lift is 7’10”, of course when you extend the arm, load will be lower, I think Max load with the arm fully extended will be ¼ ton. May be a 2ton hoist is a better choice, with arm fully extend it should be ½ ton max load.

 

Thanks for the props!!
I'm actually about to make some significant changes (although the general premise will remain the same).
Instead of moving the tent from the garage and then onto the "lift", Im going to integrate a furniture dolly into the base so that I can just wheel it over to the truck, hook onto the rack and then lift w/ the pulley.