easy on/off for truck camper cap
- Thread starter randy41
- Start date
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Mendonsy
Veteran Member
I recall seen a post somewhere about a guy who rigged up a hand crank boat trailer winch in his garage which split into four lines and four pulleys in the rafters. He just backed under the hoist, hooked up the cables, and lifted the cap off with the winch.
CobyRupert
Super Member
I need a system like that to take advantage of the head room in my machine shed that's over the top of a BIG pop up camper, so it would also need a rail to roll the pulleys on. I'm envisioning a old barn hayfork-pulley-rail system. Trouble, is they're hard to find and are considered antiques.
For now, I use the tractor and forks. I put some long 2" x 10" board across the forks, and hover the forks a few inches above the cap so that the board is running lengthwise above the cap. I then use 2 sections of rope that I slide between the cap and truck at each end and make a loop up and over each end of the board.
Proper rope placement, and each loop being the same length is key to get the right balance, especially if the cap tail gate is extra heavy like mine.
Having someone steady it you do the lift takes minimal effort prevents & prevents it from swinging or sliding in the ropes.
Shift4200
Gold Member
Not made for a truck cap, but I'm thinking this might give you some ideas to accomplish what you're trying to do.
Jeep Hardtop Hoists - Quadratec
Used to have one of these for my CJ7 years back. Hoist was attached to a tree branch, i'd lift and drive away, then drop the top onto a couple saw horses for storage.
-J
Jeep Hardtop Hoists - Quadratec
Used to have one of these for my CJ7 years back. Hoist was attached to a tree branch, i'd lift and drive away, then drop the top onto a couple saw horses for storage.
-J
Oaktree
Super Member
Many years ago when I had a cap on my truck I built a frame out of PT 2x4s wide enough so I could back the bed of the truck into it. It had shelf brackets mounted on the supports, mounted so they were parallel to the truck bed. I'd back the truck into the frame, unfasten the cap, then lift up on one end slide a 10' 2x4 across from one side to another...one at the front, the other at the back then lift all 4 sides onto the shelf brackets (which were set up to give ~6" of clearance to the bed sides). Worked like a champ. Sorry, no pictures.
this sounds like something i can build from crap i already got.
