Trailer storage

[geoff2664]

Looking for a system that will allow me to suspend a single axle utility trailer from the rafters in my garage -- and a way to hoist it up there myself no doubt. I have plenty of overhead space and the rafters are exposed which should make installation easy. I'm sure I've seen systems like this in the past but can't recall if they were homemade or manufactured for consumer distribution. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

 

[Ebag333]

I've considered the same, and there's some things that you would need to consider.

1) Weight is a big key. Is your trailer a couple hundred pounds...or a couple thousand?

2) Support is a problem. Not only do you have to have a beam to support it (I wouldn't want to hang a couple thousand pounds off of 2x4's or even 2x6's), but you have to make sure it's not going to go anywhere. If I was doing this myself I'd be looking at steel I-Beams that were anchored by cement in the floor.

3) Getting it up and down safely, and keeping it there. You'd probably need an electric winch or a pulley system to get it up and down, and have it designed in such a way that you can do it by yourself. And once you get it up there you'll need a braking system to keep it there. If a bike falls on someones head, it'd be real bad but most likely not lethal. If a 1k lb trailer fell on someones head.....


Some quick Google searching doesn't turn up much, likely because of liability.


If the trailer is empty just stand it up on end or side and leave it against the wall. If it's not, save hoisting things up to the ceiling for light stuff, like bikes.

Found on another forum:

Chuck, think hard about this wish to elevate anything heavier than a canoe, and place a huge value on
everyone's safety.

First, when you find out the weight of the trailer, you then use a simple formula to calculate the lift
required. Divide the weight by the number of pulleys, and you have the pull in pounds needed to
raise. A two hundred pound trailer hoisted on ten combined vertical pulleys, would, in theory,
need only a twenty pound pull. On a single pulley, you would need a two hundred pound pull,
because all you are doing is changing the direction of the rope/cable. Think of a deer hoist,
but go beyond that in some really important ways.

Each pulley, or sheave as I call them, has by nature, friction losses, so your effort is higher than
the simple math. Plus, with each 'turn', you have to double the lenghth of rope used to make
the pull geometry happen.

Second, and most important, is the integrity of the anchor from the ceiling that will have to suffer
the dead load continuously. It should be spread over several trusses to allow more of the ceiling
to absorb the stress, preferably with a grid arrangement.

Third is the rigging itself. I have built a wide number of pulling and hoisting combinations, and
it can take significant time to get a balanced pull. A triangle is the most stable shape, but if the
vertical angle of pull is too flat, the strength of the rope is seriously reduced. If the vertical angle
is gradual and strong, you lose most of your usable floor-to-ceiling height.

All this, including the wall sheaves, tie-offs, and child-proof safety measures can certainly be
done, and it is a prideful accomplilshment when done well.

But an acquaintance attempted just such a project without real forethought, and when standing
under the finished product, and wiggling the trailer from beneath to check it out, a rope let go,
the trailer knocked him down, the u-bolt from the spring hanger pierced his heart, and his wife
came home to a dead husband.

THINK, THINK, THINK. We want you around.

 

[NorCal Cruiser]

My dad has a hoist system set up in his shop to store my sandrail (weighs about 800 lbs). We use a harbor freight electric hoist mounted on two 12' 2"x6"s that are on edge to spread the load out onto six trusses to lift the sandrail. Once we have the rail up to the trusses we secure it with two additional 2" ratchet straps on the front and rear of the rail. The shop has 14' walls so even with the rail hanging down 4' we still have tons of room underneath for storage.

 

[Bakounine]

Panofish Blog » Garage Trailer Lift