Installing an Electric Hoist from Harbor Freight in my Garage using Unistrut, Shop Crane Gantry!

For More Information watch the first video: • Installing an Electric...
Materials I used:
Rollers - amzn.to/3VZDlUk
Unitstrut Hangers - amzn.to/3W3BRIS
Hoist - www.harborfrei...
The Unistrut was from Menards - www.menards.co...
Tools used:
20 Ton HF Shop Press - www.harborfrei...
Swag Off Road Finger Press - www.swagoffroa...
Eastwood Metal Cutting Saw - www.eastwood.c...
Amazon Links are Affiliate links.
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[@bpdrk1]

You made a standard bridge crane, just like every large factory. Brilliant!!

[@jerbear7952]

its hard to tell if you are being sarcastic but this is brilliant for small garages.

[@davidswanson5669]

@@jerbear7952I don’t think he’s being sarcastic, but on a side note, is it a bridge crane or a gantry crane? I always thought these things are called “gantrys”.

[@pyromaniac354]

A domed hex head cap screw should give enough clearance between rollers and slot in base of unistrut so you dont need the uni strut brackets to save more

[@garyszewc3339]

I built a setup like this 3 or 4 years ago. I actually put it up in the attic though. I attached my unistrut right to the ridge board. I doubled 2 ceiling joists so I could cut one out, and made a 30 by 60 opening. I covered the entire attic floor, and reinforced my rafters. I can lift an engine up into the attic, and then roll it sideways to where I want it.

[@916senna]

For what its worth, they make a strut thats 60mm tall rather than 40, if you use that you dont need all the mount brackets, the mount bolts fit inside, it makes the overall profile more compact and the install less expensive.

[@1D10CRACY]

That is very good to know!! The struts in the video are 1-5/8" (41mm). Sadly for me there still wasn't enough room for the bolts and the hardware I was using. But I'm sure there are many options like smaller trolley wheels or even shallow bolt heads. But 60mm would be plenty of room to avoid the brackets! Good to know for sure!

[@kickford]

Wouldn't that be structurally stronger being taller unistrut, maybe enough to overcome the sag of the 40mm you welded back to back. Just a thought

[@miami3863]

I just ordered a hoist from Amazon and it actually had the parallel tracks as example. Definitely a cool idea.

[@hydrocarbon82]

One tip if you worry about maxing out the joist before the hoist: reinforce the joists with a 2x6 and add a floating stud that gets jammed under the side farthest from the wall. A 2x4 can add ~1000lbs of support as a secured post. I lift 500lb engines frequently on/off my truck with all weight on single 2x8 that's reinforced with a 2x6, braced by a 2x6 stud at the wall and 2x4 post 8ft from the wall. To test I hung one engine up and lifted another with zero measurable deflection. My garage alternates 2x4 to 2x8 so I can't spread the load via unistrut in any useful way.

[@RickRose]

That's genius! Every time I've thought about a shop gantry, I've thought in terms of massive I-beams. Unistrut never entered my mind. Great job.

[@lanceopperude5868]

I'm doing this exact thing at my place and you just gave me a whole different direction to go with mine. Awesome post thank you!!!

[@bigpermsgarage6290]

That is a cool build, that guys idea gave you so much more utilization.

[@nv1493]

We added a 440 lb hoist above our attic stair, its a big area up there that you can stand in. Also use a cargo net to secure stuff, wish I had done it years ago. And yes, its properly secured to rafters above.

[@joeheilm]

Unistrut is amazing stuff! The H design really looks like a great design....well done and thanks for sharing. Cheers

[@tridad_8910]

Awesome job! Looking to replicate this in my shop. Thanks for the video

[@NNKH2]

Great job on this install! I might do something similar. Thanks for the ideas. Whats the span between your tracks mounted to the ceiling?

[@Castleknight]

Wow, you got skills.

[@ScoutCrafter]

Outstanding project! I love unistrut but it’s so darn cost prohibitive! The accessories cost even more! I never understood how some company never offered a cheaper alternative. 😃👍

[@jim4556]

look at 80/20 Aluminum. its stupid expensive. The answer is the time it saves you over using angle iron. And in the commercial space you don't hire an electrician and a mill right when the electrician can do it in half the time with some Unistrut. but yeah.. I'm surprised more manufacturers haven't started making almost identical stuff its probably patented

[@DeadFlanders]

I agree.. I've had some luck dumpster diving near my work whenever I see them remodeling a building. When they do demo unistrut, its not like its bad or anything, so I grab up all the pieces I can get.. The little hangers that he has on his are STUPID expensive, I can't believe they charge so much for those. So instead of those, I just cut up some angle iron and weld it on the side to make little "L" shaped tabs.

[@danburch9989]

That's how they make their money. The unistruts are probably sold at slightly higher than the cost to make them - called loss leaders in some circles. Unistruts are useless until you pay extortoion money to mount the things. The profile of the hangers are not much different that the profile of the unistrut - they appear to be just cutoffs from a deeper unistrut forming manufacturing line.

[@DoctorShaunB]

​​@@DeadFlanders it's very important to keep in mind the hangers don't just have the lag bolt going into the joist. It's hard to see on the video, but there is also a through bolt that prevents the hanger (and the unistrut) from spreading open under load. The last thing you want is the unistrut opening up and allowing the trolley/hoist to fall through the failure point under load. Could lead to fatal injuries. The hangers are thicker gauge, to handle not only the vertical load, hut also resist the lateral spreading forces that can occur under load. If you look up something like the P1834 trolley hanger for example, you can see the holes for the through bolt. I agree the hangers unfortunately are expensive. Edit: I suppose it's possible if the L brackets you use have a welded gusset, and you use the brackets as a pair on both sides in direct opposition to each other, that design could prevent the unistrut track from opening under load.

[@tonymontana897]

Wow ! That's an amazing idea. Uni strut is so underrated. It is quite strong too. I once used it over a circular mechanical riser to chain block a 100+ KG axial fan assembly. It didn't flinch. Thanks for the video !

[@buzzsah]

Great idea. Looks good.

[@cottinghamr]

Nice! Love this solution.

[@brycereimschiissel1129]

You went from 1D to 2D🤩

[@pibblesnbits]

That was a brilliant idea. I would of just continued with more track to the right of the attic access and put a pulley on it. That way I could just keep the winch to left of the access door and run the cable through the pulley on the right of the access door if I needed to lift something over there.

[@jsilverssilvers9107]

It would be nice if you would post the building of the tagline that powers the hoist

[@1D10CRACY]

If I build something I'll be sure to do a video. Right now I've just been using a retractable extension cord and plugging it in as needed.

[@cedaroakfarm8596]

Good idea, and I presume you used the brackets to add length to each side track, putting the pieces together.

[@stevehoover16]

Excellent job

[@tchads_57]

The trusses are designed to support the roof and whatever load is on top, usually snow. I’m not sure how a load hanging from the bottom would affect the truss. Spreading the load across all the trusses was the safe thing to do.

[@Everythings_Adjustable]

That looks brilliant! I love unistrut, I will be putting some up in my new workshop for hanging lighter stuff, lights, cameras etc 🛠👍😊

[@eugene5438]

Genius! Thank you for sharing. I’ve been trying to figure out how to solve this same problem.

[@DeadFlanders]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing this video! I've been wanting to do this exact thing in my garage for a while now. I really like some of your fixes/solutions, I hadn't thought about a few of these things.

[@kentuckycornbread8502]

I’ve still got my brand new lift hoist in the box on my shelf for over a year now. I really want to put it up but I’m not sure about the ceiling support. It’s going to be a big job & im not sure I’m ready for it. Yours turned out great.

[@ranger178]

you can get taller Unistrut then you could mount it with bolts right to the ceiling but not sure if it would save money over standard Unistrut and the brackets all Unistrut parts are expensive. the strut is not too expensive but they get you on all the accessories.

[@Olympic99]

I wonder how did you connect those parallel tracks to each other so solid on both ends ?

[@BeckyDarder]

I like what you did, trying to copy, just need more info on how you fastened the spacer pieces on each end of the track.

[@Duck4Evers]

For my particular trusses in my shop, I called the distributor and they told me that the trusses they sold me could withstand 5 lb per square foot. I believe that is calculated for attaching plywood to the top and using it as storage. I don't know how you calculate downward pressure, but it seems like I could attach what you did without a problem. If anybody has any comments about what they think the downward pressure could be, it would be appreciated. Thanks for the great video!!

[@rupe53]

you could double up the wood on the trusses and cross brace to the roof for additional strength.

[@Duck4Evers]

Thanks!

[@cosmo7816]

Brilliant!

[@ke6bnl]

Great video

[@BenNawrath]

You basically made an upside down slab flattening router sled. Nice job.

[@TheSuperduke08]

This is brilliant

[@RIDGERUNNER3174]

Nicely done

[@igortretsnom]

cool gantry

[@JoseCruz-js8dp]

I didn’t see bolts going through your hangers to prevent hangers from spreading under weight? Just a thought

[@1D10CRACY]

They are there and very important. I think the footage doesn't do a very good job of showing them.

[@MrTapanes]

Love this setup, but around here (NYC area) unistrut (and unistrut accessories) is ridiculously expensive. Will try to figure out a more cost-friendly material.

[@pyromaniac354]

could try some U channel and weld a strip of steel on one edge and flip it on its side

[@michaelpatterson1238]

I have installed a very similar system. What did you do for the electrical for the hoist motor? I have been looking at spring coiled cords.

[@SomeGuysGarage]

How do you get the strut into the hangers? Did you mount the hangers to the ceiling first and then put the track in? Or do you have to bolt from that tiny space between the strut and the hanger?

[@randymartin2396]

Good job

[@klmcmaster1]

It’s funny as a photographer they use this same system to move lights around and keep them off the floor it’s called a sky track and costs a fortune 😂

[@aarondcmedia9585]

Perfect

[@garagemonkeysan]

Clever and useful! : )

[@ranger178]

this is how every crane in a warehouse or industrial place is set up on a set of tracks and a set of beams riding along with crane so you can reach entire room

[@CraftwerksMC]

I've been trying to figure out a way to have one that can go in both directions but not having it supported the way you have I think would make it too weak.

[@eddiecard]

Looks cool. I tried something similar and I believe it’s measured as even as I can but it does tend to bind quite a bit. I guess for what i use it; it’s ok

[@rupe53]

did you try using a block of wood as a spacer instead of just a tape measure to set the distance between rails?

[@eddiecard]

@@rupe53I didn’t try that but I feel there’s enough play regardless of how closely measured it is that it would still bind. It just seems the tolerances are a bit too loose. But then again; I’m not an expert and perhaps there is a way to make it work smoothly I just haven’t figured it out yet. But it wouldn’t be a bad idea to try your method. Might actually work

[@rupe53]

@@eddiecard also, the width of the *H* part pays a roll. If the rollers are too close together the *H* can cock, causing a bind.

[@eddiecard]

@@rupe53 yes. I can deff see that. I went ahead and watched the vid again and one of my mistakes was I just used one beam in between the two main beams leaving more room for a bind unlike the vid where he’s showing he used two and put the lift in between them. This helped reducing the binding chances on top of being more precise in his measurements.. which is where I think I must’ve screwed up lol. Good thing it’s easily correctable.

[@snowlothar45]

You have more invested in unistrut alone than the hoist cost.

[@MotoDeSoto]

Good idea.

[@bobhoward3989]

How many sets of rollers were used? Was it four or eight?

[@timeflysintheshop]

What an awesome upgrade to your shop! Well done making the most of your space with the limited structural support! I bet the worst part was working in the attic with the fiberglass! 😬😬😬😬. Makes me itchy just thinking about it! 😁👍

[@jonkwilloughby]

Awesome

[@snapfish89]

I have a similar set up, I am having an issue with my setup. You have to pull from the center to keep the sides from binding up. Do you have this problem?

[@MrS-sk1py]

I love it

[@spanky9042]

I can't get mine to track straight, rollers seen to have to much room to bind. I used a laser so i think they are as straight as i can get them. *Shrug*

[@fishinfever3577]

Nice. How did you attack the house to the roller bolt?

[@arom8438]

So. Cool

[@oddsman01]

I wouldn’t be surprised if the trusses would easily support something in the neighborhood of a half ton or more with the load spread out like that. We have any structural engineers watching the video? It would be easy to wedge a temporary 2 x4 or 4x4 under the tracks to increase load capacity if you ever decided to go with a larger electric hoist and needed to move something crazy like a Bridgeport or Monarch lathe. Okay, maybe nothing that crazy but you get the idea.

[@geraldseely2203]

Clever

[@johnnybananas751]

Did you replace the springs on your attic access? If so, with what exactly?

[@1D10CRACY]

Those are the springs that came with the attic ladder. I did not replace them.

[@jamessnow133]

Just installed the hoist, but cannot figure out how the pully is positioned versus the rope block. Nothing in the manual. Could be wrong, but in this video - like my own experience - the block doesn’t seem to do anything.

[@1D10CRACY]

If you are not using the pulley, the blocking disc will bump up against the cage and stop the motor if for some reason you fail to stop it. If you do use the pulley, then you really need to make sure to stop it before it binds up on itself.

[@hotratz69]

The strut is rated to 500 lbs so your hoist choice is just right.

[@SupercarSeany]

This is rad...I'm going to do this. Your double up rails, the ones holding the winch...it looks like you've welded something at the end of those parallels to keep it all square. Is that correct? Just sheet or did you use a piece of track?

[@1D10CRACY]

I did weld the end of the parallels, it's keeping it square as you suggested. :D

[@SupercarSeany]

@@1D10CRACY man my wheels are turning. Can't wait to execute this. My garage is a lower level with my living above it. I think I'll mount my channel hangers directly to the floor joists. Any red flags since you've done this?

[@1D10CRACY]

I may very soon be running up against a simular situation. I'm getting ready to tear off the roof and add a 2nd floor. I'm not sure how I'm going to address the hangers.

[@mwfeatherston]

I def have the height in my shop. Do you think 1 stick of unistrut in the middle with the 2 outside on the ceiling, but the 2 outside closer together would be enough strength? This is mainly for my Jeep hardtop…200lbs max.

[@1D10CRACY]

In my crude testing, I was able to stand on one 6 foot span of 1 5/8" uni-strut with a little flex. I weigh just under 250lbs. At 8 feet, there was a lot of flexing.

[@surf-rider3899]

One length of 3m unistrut should support 136kg of evenly distributed weight. Your top is just over 90kg, which should be fine. I'll add a pic of the load data. If you doubled up the unistrut back to back that would increase to 417kg over a 3m length.

[@mwfeatherston]

I just saw this reply. Thank you! That data would be great.

[@acadburn123]

How did you mount this to the studs?

[@1D10CRACY]

I laid more unuistrut across the top of the bottom cord of the trusses and bolted the track to that. kzbin.info/www/bejne/g2bFlpKoa9yAicUsi=7M1ozpIddQz3Wdsk

[@Fish-hunter365]

How did you set up the power supply and keep it mobile?

[@1D10CRACY]

I'm currently just using an extension cord as needed. I have some better ideas, but they are going to be put on hold for some shop renovations.

[@starswoodmetalcreations6539]

Yah man

[@brucethoel3636]

A manual chain hoist would be better. It's more precise and not as bouncy which causes stress on the celling..

[@cpaoutdoors9926]

Always have to lift yourself that is a requirement of any electric hoist

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

I've seen so many bad ideas implimented irl and online, that while I was thinking you did what you showed us, before I got to that part, I was also kinda expecting that you simply screwed the unistrut to the OSB or at least into the trusses.

[@zachary3777]

Just use drywall anchors 👍👍

[@questionablecommands9423]

...now turn into a giant CnC or 3D printer

[@NoferTrunions]

I have no headroom. The Unistrut hangers waste headroom.

[@johnr5252]

Move your attic. Problem solved. You’re welcome.

[@1D10CRACY]

And that is exactly what I am doing. New trusses were delivered Friday.

[@Mr69camaro69]

What's the length of the cradle you made?