One Hoist, Two Tops

[ctaylor738]

I am blessed with the need to store three hardtops now.  One thing I have learned is that they take up a lot of room, and the best place to store them is hanging from the ceiling.  So I needed a solution that would allow me to remove and store two tops, but I didn't want to spend $400 for a second hoist.  Here is what I came up with.

The hoist has a close-able link.  I put a 5" length of chain and a close-able link on each ceiling hook where I hang the pulley for the hoist.  I chose the length so that I could lift the top slightly higher than than the chain, attach the sling to the chain and slacken the hoist and move it to the other hook.

Then I re-located the hoist crank to a place where it could serve both lifting points.  Finally, I bought a "universal" top harness from Performance Products ($50 and shipping), which arrived today.  So tonight, I lifted the 113's top up and attached it to the chain, moved the hoist pulleys, and lifted the 129's top.

If I need to lower the 113 top, I will attach the 129 top to the chain and move the hoist.  But for now, it can just hang with the hoist.

Hopefully, the pictures will illustrate.

[reggie]

thats just great - beats a load of washing hanging up. anybody know where i can buy a hardtop sling and a stand also in the uk ? thanx
Reg

[RickM]

Sweet!

To make it more interesting how about installing some W4 I beam (Cheap @ salvage yard?) with Poly-Wheel Overhead Brackets (2 halves)? Then you can slide the hoist from one location to the next.
(I might have an extra bracket assembly laying around)

[JamesL]

reggie

http://www.sls-hh-shop.de/index.php/cat/c3_Mercedes-Benz-230SL-250SL-280SL-Pagoda--R113-W113-.html/XTCsid/5c7ff7522fa5eb83892412f75ea2425c#cat_128

[reggie]

hey thanks tosh -
reg

[J. Huber]

Chuck, I have a hoist (just a single) that resembles your right hand one. Not to strike the fear of God in you, but I had a nearly disastrous moment when the plastic buckles on the straps gave out. I was in the process of bringing top down to the ground for some off the car detailing... about three feet up, the buckles just exploded and the top dropped like a lead balloon. I was lucky that it kind of tethered as it fell and I only had minimal damage to one corner. Had it happened above the car, though, it would have been ugly. I was stunned.

I contacted the company and they immediately sent me new straps and said it had happened before but was rare. I asked if they could change to metal buckles -- they said it would be too expensive to change production...    Anyway, I have reinstalled new straps, added my own metal buckles, even duct-taped the heck out of the buckle area -- but still refuse to store top above the car. In fact, I am still leary of hoisting it even with my mods. I doubt lightening would strike twice in my case but I am a woos... So it sits upright next to the car like the old days...

I think there are some pics and thread about this somewhere -- I didn't link it because I am just now starting to sleep through the night again...

PS I felt compelled to mention my experience only because I care. One idea for those who store overhead is some kind of secondary strap when the top is suspended to reduce the load on the buckles?

[ctaylor738]

I've got a fairly healthy fear of God and other things, so here is another to add.  Thank you for the heads-up.  I called Performance Products and they said that they were "not aware" of any problems, but to check the buckles for any sign of cracking. 

So I went out and lowered the top and everything seems OK.  I did some adjusting to better balance the top and noticed that if you are not careful it is possible to have slack between the two buckles, which would mean that all the stress would be on the outside attachments.  So I fixed that and added a couple of tie-downs as backup. 

I think what I will do is see if Performcance will trade me for a 129 harness, or if not, eliminate the buckles and have it sized for the 129 top.

Here is a link to the original post.

http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=8106.0

[Witt]

....but I had a nearly disastrous moment when the plastic buckles on the straps gave out.

......we discussed this once before, but this could not happen with my home made hoist not relying on any clamps or buckles, but a bar that goes clear across the inside of the HT. Just recently I had to use the hoist several times while waiting to get the car into the bodyshop for some followup work. Works like a dream.......please refere to my post some where on this site...

CHEERS !
WITT