Hot Rods Overhead Hoist...on second thought

There was a thread on here not too long ago about lifting stuff. I scored an exceptional deal at Princess Auto for a 440/880 electric hoist so I bought it. Was going to run 6.6’ of 1.5” X 1.5” tubing across the bottom on my garage trusses to hold the hoist. Found some online info on calculating load.

However, a little more research seems to indicate that loading the lower portion of the trusses is a big NO NO.

So does anyone know if there is a good way to do what I want?

 

pics would help...

 

Sent you a PM....

 

leftover jobsite material- LVL beam goalpost, pretty simple

 

I’d suggest visiting (don’t call) your local truss supplier/manufacturer. Bring photos of your existing trusses & the item you wish to suspend from the truss system. They can show you EXACTLY where & how to load the trusses.

 

Are you looking for a fixed position for the hoist, or movable? I/e in and out, side to side?

 

I built my own gantry setup.
Will lift 1+ ton, has an electric winch that traverses in two directions and has saved my back numerous times, plus reduced my beer requirements as I dont need to reward helpers so often any more...

I posted some of these pic's a couple of years ago, but you may not have seen them.
Winch and steel cost me less than $900.
Guys with access to the right junkyards could probably do it for half that...

 

Truss building is a science. They are engineered for load. Attic trusses are made different than others. I know nothing beyond that. I am not a carpenter, I just helped build a couple garages for friends over the years. That being said, I think as long as you spread the load over enough area and do not leave it hanging for weeks you could pull an engine if needed.

 

Hello,

@BrerHair has the right idea. Usually, the wooden beam across the the garage is supported by the main frame surrounding the whole garage. But, the runners going up on the roof structure are the attachment points for more support from above. A triangle pattern keeps the roof from collapsing.

But, the simple beam running sideways across the garage is supported by the attachments to the roof as part of the strength of the triangle, for most cases. Adding extra weight to those cross beams, usually 2x4 or 2x6 wooden lumber isn’t enough to hold up the whole structure.

The weight of the pulley hoist is heavy enough to warrant a down pole, like a 4x4 or 6x6 vertical at the closest place for maximum support. A pipe across will just make more weight on the beam. You will need a down support that attaches to the cross beam and to the floor.

Jnaki

Our constructed backyard garage had the triangle roof supports, but was not high enough to support any kind of weight on a downforce. We could move our Willys Coupe into the backyard garage, but could not do any transfer of motors or other uses for the pulley system.

So, it was back to our original two car garage that had high enough cross beams to mount a pulley system. But, the crossbeams needed some down force supports. so, we rolled the Impala into its parking space and measured what was needed for width and support.
Narrow entrance to the small two car garage.
We used additional 2x4 cross beams added to the original cross beams, sideways for strength. But, then we attached a 4x4 post to the cross beams. We had to make it removable after we finished our work because, two cars would not fit in the small two car garage. Our dad’s big Buicks took up a lot of space. The wide Impala fit nicely and because it was wide enough, the 40 Willys Coupe slid right in with plenty of clearance.

So, when we were ready to work with the chain pulley system, we installed/bolted the 4x4 support to the cross beams. The floor had a plate drilled into the concrete. The plate took additional brackets for the 4x4 support post. When we were finished, we had to clear out the garage of all paraphernalia, so the two cars could go back into place. The 4x4 post was removed and the garage was like new.

It was a hassle as we worked on other cars and motors, but that was all we had and it made things easier. YRMV

 

Years ago i had a small 24x32 shop with a 8 foot ceiling,i used to pull motors from the rafters,it had truss style rafters that were built onsite by the carpenters that built the building.They were nothing fancy,they spanned the 24 feet wide section.I used a piece of heavy pipe between 2 of them and hung the chainfalls off the pipe.I had lots of big block mopars hanging there for 2 days at a time,nothing ever moved,but thinking back i dont know what i was thinking,dont think id try it today,but it most likely would work. harvey

 

I wouldn't hang anything on the bottom cord of the truss . If you have open walls and enough height from floor to ceiling I would install a post on each end (in wall if possible) and the lay my beam across the top . You can use LVL's or build yourself a beam out of 2 x 12's with 3/4 plywood between glued and screwed together. Good Luck

 

I suspect that a call to the truss manufacturer is going to end up with ...Don't do it! Those structural engineers always like to rain on your party with their big safety factors.
I never could justify using space in my shop for storing an engine picker hoist, so I never had one. When I built my shop with 30 foot trusses@ 2' on center, I beefed up the middle of the lower chord of 6 trusses with 16' 2x4's. I laid a 11' 4x4 on top of the bottom chord over those 6 trusses right at the V of the truss. Then added a vertical 2x4 from bottom chord to top chord right next to the 4x4 at those 6 trusses. Chain around the 4x4 and hoist hung from that.
The first project was pulling an engine from a 1978 Camaro. Being a little hesitant to trust it, I hooked onto the motor before unbolting it and lifted the whole front of the car off the ground. I have been using that hoist for almost 40 years now and my roof is still straight and not sagging.
I am not advocating this method for everyone, but it works for me.

 

My garage trusses are on 2 foot centers like most others I've seen. Until I built my gantry, if I needed to pull an engine, I'd throw a 10 foot long 4x4 up in the bottom of the trusses, hang a chain fall off of that and go to work. Spreading the load over 4 trusses is a lot safer than hanging it off one. I did build a gantry just tall enough to miss the overhead lights. I guess it's hefty enough as I can pick the entire front end of my '46 Merc with no deflection in the legs.

 

Chain hoist hangs under 4 trussers,,lift about 1 ton.
electric hoist maybe 200Kg

 

I built a roll around over head crane 12 foot tall in my shop and store it at the entrance of the shop. And it works great! In your case if this won’t work for you I would buy a about 10/12 foot pice of six/eight inch I-beam and secure it in your rafters/ trusses . Then when you needed to lift something you would add removable pipe upright supports. This is for cross the car lift, if you are wanting to go with the length of the car a longer heavier piece of I beam.you would just then be using the rafter/ trusses for stability.

Here is a pic of my hoist with my 2 moveable hoist and two stationary chain falls.

I would never trust the vertical additional loading of any modern wood truss/ rafter.




Bones

 

...apparently you have never had to buy Professional Liability insurance. Structural designs are based on some sensible guidelines that keep you as safe as practical. No, we cannot protect you from yourself.
The bottom chord of an average house/garage truss is not designed to support any load other than the sheetrock. Yes, if you have an 'attic storage truss' package then some 'floor' loading is built in but, at what psf?
Most certainly truss design is not a topic for a hokey-ass-message-board.......

 

Thanks for all the replies guys. Lots to think about now. I primarily want to be able to lift a ‘32 coupe body off its frame along with a ‘56 hardtop body. More later...

 

Nice rigging, you a Boy Scout?

 

With respect, I'd venture to say that a lot of us on here do things that may seem sketchy to others because that's what we have to work with. I'd guess you've never hung an engine from a tree limb. We might wish to do it a "better" way but don't have the space or the means. If hanging an engine from the trusses is the only way we have, then information about adding to the strength of those truss designs is most definitely a topic for a "hokey-ass-message-board".

 

Ha Ha,,,Yes I was,,nowadays it is BDSM

 

I have pulled many engines under a tree, but I also lived on a ranch and saw big tree limbs fall off a tree under their own weight! So… me being me….I would alway run a chain from the limb past the load point and attach it back higher up on the tree trunk! With that rigging you could probably lift the whole car! Lol






Bones

 

Planting a tree in the right place ,fore hooking the chain too big limb later my take too long for some ?
Lucky someone did a few times !!! , I used a few.
And then there was the time,we had too tie 5 limbs together an make our own rope spiderweb,having found out the biggest limb could not lift a Fire Dome Hami. LOL

 

Since you are in BC, your trusses are no doubt designed for snow load. Snow typically weighs about 20 lbs per cubic foot, so if you lift your body off the frame during the 6 day window in July when there is no snow on your roof, you will probably be just fine....

 

Yikes, glad I can’t see that

 

Your choice and your life. Please do not involve/injure innocents standing near-by or, God help you, that they would be under some 'sketchy' arrangement you concoct because you don't have some 'means' to do it right.

 

With proper reinforcement of the truss(es) it's doable....

 

Here in Arkansas we'd just hook her up and see what happens.

 

You should always start with - here hold my beer …

 

Damn... ya beat me to it!

 

I have 50 foot long trusses in my shop with a trolly system hung from them that I have been using for over 30 years. The roof has not caved in yet. And the trusses are on 4 foot centers