Hanging a canopy from the rafters

[SignWave]

Hey Guys & Gals,

Some of you may already know that Ive got a boat on the way. Well With the coming of this project, I need to create some space to store it. I have a canopy for my truck that I need to be able to store along side the boat when its not on the truck (which is most of the time) The best solution is to hang the canopy from the rafters. Ive thought of pulleys and cable , but I think this is too complicated. All I want to do is be able to drive up, unbolt, hang and drive away. My back isnt what it used to be and the stress of doing it the "normal" way is getting old in a hurry.

Any good ideas? Any photos? your help and imagination stimulation is greatly appreciated...

Thanks SW

[k.a.m.]

signwave could you post some pics of where you are thinking the canopy will be? also a pic of the canopy might help stir our imagination.

[HMW]

You mean like a fiberglass top or cap for the bed??

[SignWave]

posting some would make sence now would'nt it... Duh.. Sometimes I leave my head on the dresser and I have a hard time finding it...

This is part of my challenge, As you can see I have a corrogated Aluminum roof. Its about ten feet wide and there really isnt much to strap to on the out side edge. I figured I could bolt a couple of 2x4's (one at each end) and then make some sort of grapple that would catch the canopy rails. maybe one of you guys has a better idea...oh yeah, its angled to one side too.

here are some pics:

[Corey74]

My first thought would be a set of rope tie downs like these

http://www.ropetiedowns.com/

or a simple motorcycle tie down (up?) at each corner. Just cinch them up and go.

Just a thought, but I'm not sure how high you would want to lift them?

[welder_one]

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200185974_200185974

try this one out, why not use some square tubing, and tie it into the corner posts of your carport. hang this hoist from it and...drive in, lift it up, and drive off

[84ZMike]

Here is a link to one on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/CAMPER-SHELL-PIC...QQcmdZViewItem
You can also get some wood 2x4's and get inside the truck pick up the shell on one end from the inside place the board under it then the back side tie it up under the shed and drive off.....
Here are some other ideas as well

http://www.mypickup.com/

[SignWave]

A couple of good ideas there guys. I think that the "tie up" would be the easiest. Got me thinking of a way to do some sort of "swing up system".
on one side you put two steel eyelets and a bar that runs between the canopy and the rails. this then would get cinched up to the top and out of the way using tie downs..that are hooked into the eyelets.. or as Corey put it- tie ups...

Lets see waht you other guys out there are thinking about..
Thanks slot for the inputs so far.. Much appreciated.

[SkidSteerSteve]

I helped a friend build a similar system for the hard top on his Jeep Wrangler, for those of you that have never pulled one of those off, they are heavier than you might think. What we did was just use four 2in X 20 ft rachet straps. We'd feed the straps under the top and just wind up as much slack as the rachets would hold. It was connected to the ceiling in the garage where the jeep kept. He would just back in under it at night and park.

SSS

[SignWave]

Ironincally enough, the Missus has a jeep with a hard top. I know just how heavy that bloddy thing is... Uhg. or should I say ...Humph!

[HMW]

Thats funny, my mrs also has a jeep with a hard top, fortunatley I have grown boys but they won't be home forever. Where I keep the jeep has a drywall covered ceiling so I would have to make brackets to attach to trusses first. That would be the easy part Its a pretty high ceiling, like 10' so would be plenty of room in there. Oh well, clearing a lot for my oldest son, so not much time to work on that now

[SignWave]

Im going to have to post a pic of the electrical system i put in this one here.. Uhg.. fuses, swtiches, relays, more fuses, buss bars, batteries, I even fab'ed up a battery tray for the winch battery... Big cable everywhere... I'll post a pic...