Building a DIY Ladder Hoist using a Harbor Freight 'Badland' Winch. The Knee Saver 5000!!

Thanks for watching. I this video, I 'design on the fly' and build a ladder hoist to help the old knees out when I have to haul sheet goods up to the roof. For materials, I used scraps around the shop, and old Wagner fiberglass extension ladder (The top portion of the ladder had warped and made it unsafe,) and a $169 Harbor Freight winch. That's a little better than what they're charging for ladder hoists these days!

[@MontanaTom1965]

This is exactly what I'm doing today to get 4 x 8 x 16 concrete blocks on the roof! Thanks for the video and ideas!

[@JohannGambolputty22]

I just picked up a 2000lb Badland winch on sale for $50.99. Amazing how cheap these things are. Looking forward to building a ladder/Wheelbarrow hoist of my own. Thanks for the video!

[@lonniechartrand]

Not being one of "those" guys, but a modification that I might suggest is at the winch attachment point, where you drilled through the legs of the ladder. I would think you could have attached the winch "plate" assembly by using some hole clamps on the ladder's bottom rung into the backside of the wooden plate. Also, I would add some Teflon strips between the wood and ladder for an easier glide. Maybe use Teflon instead of wood spacer strips? It is always easier to be an "armchair quaterback" and commenting on something AFTER it has been built. I love this idea though, and am considering building one for getting things down into my basement!!! Thanks for the idea.

[@geoffmiller3491]

Re: Teflon strips. Cut some strips from an HDPE cutting board to use as a sliding surface. I got that tip from another diy project - it was a soil screener…basically a shallow box with a wire mesh bottom that had to slide back and forth on top of a wheelbarrow. I only needed small pieces where the box made contact with the “rails” of the wheelbarrow, so it was very low cost. There must be dozens of uses for this material. And - I like your intro: “I’m not one of ‘those’ guys.” 👍

[@thepubliceye]

I did mine with two guides on the inside of the ladder, less clearance issues

[@dewster1966]

I made one of these back in 2004. When Hurricaine Charlie & Francis blew thru Orlando. We couldn't get Shingles delivered to the roofs. Slow but saved the legs.

[@CaptK-py8rq]

Nice idea! That's what we do, we make tools we need for a fraction of the cost or many times a tool we need that doesn't yet exist. Might rub wax/paraffin on the wood members making contact with the ladder, you'll be shittin' in tall cotton! Keep up the good work! Tight lines always.

[@michaelcampbell1471]

Really enjoyed this video…your delivery and presentation…and this is exactly what I was looking to build myself. Subscribed

[@rosswitte]

You just gave me an idea for getting a heavy deer into the back of a tall pickup truck by myself. Thank you!

[@anonx63]

I'm totally going to build this one! I'm a single woman building my own house one half at a time and I wish I had thought of this a few years back when I started building. Back and knees saver!!!

[@damagdpets7559]

I built something similar to this some years ago. The only two extra things I did was to waterproof it and used thin nylon strips where it comes in contact with ladder. The platform and ladder won't wear.....I like your thinking...keep up the good work!!! My newest one has skate board bearings.

[@LanaPhillips]

Thank you for posting this. I need to replace my roof and the rentals were all unavailable

[@bubba6945]

cool that would be nice for bundles of shingles too

[@chadbreton4951]

As an experienced roofer, trust me when I say that this is not adequate for bundles of shingles

[@homemadetools]

Nice job; this is actually a fairly rare tool build. We shared this video on our homemade tools forum this week 😎

[@deliberatemainer]

Cool, thanks!

[@CMK-Security]

Great Idea for my Dolly Hoist Project! 👌

[@joewhatsup]

Excellent Sir, great video, thanks!

[@alanadale1945]

Thank You. This is a help. Gonna slide things up into my truck Thank You.

[@oldcodgerr]

Awesome work, this will come in handy for carrying things up ladders.

[@deliberatemainer]

I hope so!

[@randiegadberry5448]

I used an ATV winch to lift a hot rod body off it’s frame. Works great!

[@selfsameday7448]

I am going to copy this idea to build a stair lift to my second floor before the knees give in !

[@globyois]

Fantastic idea.

[@alt3241]

Thanks , seeing this project will help some people . It works which is good enough for some situations . It looks like this temporary device will be a wonderful assistant to your roofing project but there are issues with long term use. Now that I know how slow ( often an unrated feature ) one of these winches goes I will redesign some of my plans . Seeing some of your efforts will have me continue my use of thrift store rollerblading wheels as guides , there is a whole system for mounting to laminated or extruded fiberglass reenforced structures including mounting adaptation angle plates or pillow blocks to avoid localized stresses you almost completely avoided doing ( somone mentioned U-bolts ( perhaps with some durable hose ) to around ladder rung which would have a much better ( and slower thus detectable ) failure mode :) mounting some metals to aluminum also has issues especially in wet or humid environments .

[@SK8DOG100]

You know what the right pulley system You can do it by hand and rule out the motor altogether

[@railguy6639]

Nice little build. I think when I build mine, I won't worry so much getting the winch centered since only the pully at the top needs to be centered with the sled.

[@robertzalnis3162]

make a brace to the roof and attach it to the top of the ladder to get it away from the roofs edge, then you can run it all the way to the top. It will be much easier to unload. I cannot imagine the damage to your back leaning over the edge of the roof to get the shingles off the sled.

[@rickmcdonald1557]

Nice little hoist and great video but I see a minor problem when you get a 4X8 sheet standing on the base of the sled and hoist it up to the roof you have an over-hang sticking out looks to be a couple of inches of shingles so you can't go any higher than that or it will tear off part of the shingle so you need to build out something for the ladder to rest on below the overhang so it will clear it plus you can anchor the ladder so the wind won't catch the whole thing and slide it to one side or the other and it comes crashing down on what ever is below.

[@darkfactory8082]

Excelent work, Mr. Seems helpful a lot especially if you work on projects alone. Cheers! =)

[@daiiahi3403]

Works great on a regular ladder but can you think of a design for a 20 ft. extension ladder? Also, at the top of the ladder, the lift will contact the eave where the ladder is resting. Maybe a "spacer" so the lift can get to the very top of the roof eave. Nice project!

[@chasmarischen4459]

Good video. To conserve power you could wait and flush just one-time at the end of the day. Lol

[@robertfigueiredo2864]

Very good.

[@dinoprather1254]

Bar soap on the ladder sides, front and back

[@MarinosMysteries]

Great job. I hope there is a pully at the top or the cable is getting damaged and cutting through the rung at the top. Located in the Midcoast here.

[@selfsameday7448]

Great ideas! Thanks !😊

[@FATTONYKAUAI]

Thanks boss. My roof is 25 ft. This is the 💩

[@wendellwoodard5256]

The Harbor Freight furniture slides can cut friction by attaching with adhesive.

[@wmielke2]

Just a question on your build. With the winch on the bottom, what did you use for a pully at the top?

[@markb8954]

Yes. The pulley mechanism at the top rung. How was that attached?

[@markrainford1219]

Eh? What pulley? Lol

[@susanvaughn741]

Can you double the speed by tackle block, say an or the hook and put the block pulley on the carriage? I would triple the strength on the hook mount board. Also add plastic skids to carriage made from old cutting board. Very good job.

[@jerryf609]

Block and tackle are designed to make it shower. The work is spread over a longer distance

[@tradeherup]

You burn the wood using a hole saw when it spins counter clockwise, lol

[@pctatc66]

how did you do the winch line turn around up top? Did you use the turn buckle that was meant for the other half of the ladder?

[@richardkremer8313]

Small suggestion, May be instead of drilling holes in your ladder, use u-bolts an then off set the holes for them an fasten to the board. Or threaded rod.

[@brynjolfureinarsson6038]

I’m totally agree

[@stevesullivan2432]

Exactly, never drill holes in a ladder !!!!

[@jenniferj7588]

I would add a bar thru the rung of the ladder then add u clamps to that instead to install witch ... Or make box that fits around ladder tight then add lag screws in the middle were the rung is to hold it in place ... Should not drill thru ladder ..

[@johnjoesdeli]

I want to see a 2 story lift

[@TheWadetube]

Good Job, however two things bother me. If you ride up with your plywood you cannot step around it, if you make a simple four step ladder that fits up against the plywood you can climb over it before it passes the roof. This should hook on, if the wind catches a full sheet of plywood it could push it and you OFF of the ladder and become the knee crusher 5000, the leg breaker 5000, the "My Wife TOld Me SO 5000" So perhaps a second ladder to the side and secure this to the edge of the roof. THis is brilliant.

[@completelyswapcolbolt1965]

Do you think maybe ,possibly with you drilling through the ladder that they could contribute to creating stress area ?

[@rickmcdonald1557]

Yes indeed and I would have never drilled holes in that fiberglass and although he called the ladder junk I don't see it that way as it is a quality ladder section and quite expensive to buy.

[@mountainbiker44]

Awesome

[@kennethrini2932]

Nice plan, but??? Question? Do You believe a board with a knot is the best choice for using a load bearing pull point?

[@dwaynelejeune3508]

Great ideal, but I would not have drilled thru ladder, thinking if sled gets in bind or weights of sled will rip/crack/break fiberglass leg!! Should have made a hanger to wrap around both legs and let it grab set to keep it from moving!!!

[@thealien6900]

That wouldn’t work for me. I would need both half of the extension ladder and that wouldn’t make it past where they meet.

[@akbuilder7626]

You're over thinking it. It just needs enough room to not get stuck and big enough to handle what you put on it.

[@ericgriffinthefirst]

Yeah it does make it a lot weaker.just an eighth in, n fiberglass will spread andenlarg.ice build

[@paulmonk7820]

Mount winch at top of ladder to halve the time and cable needed to raise it.

[@user-hv6th4kp3t]

Do you have a written list of the hardware?

[@catsmeow5566]

Did you put the cable through some sort of pulley at the top? I couldn't see well enough.

[@peterhoffman2597]

mack shure you use fender washers to protecte fiberglass

[@MrJFoster1984]

Great build. May I suggest using some plastic chopping board cut into strips as glide rails that come into contact with the ladder Stiles. How did you have the cable at the top if the ladder mounted, did the cable run through a pulley mounted on the top rung? Cheers Jerry

[@markrainford1219]

Good idea with the HDPE.

[@Sctronic209]

Be careful the wind don’t blow the plywood off.

[@pctatc66]

Im building one of these this weekend. Id really love to know how you solved the turn around of the cable up top. I highly doubt the existing rope turnaround for raising and lowering the two halves of the ladder is any where near strong enough to withstand the forces of the winch and several sheets of plywood or shingle bundles

[@deliberatemainer]

Hi. I did actually end up using the existing ladder rope pulley. It’s still hanging in there after hauling shingle bundles (only one bundle at a time), though the pulley is definitely the weak point.

[@aerialrescuesolutions3277]

The rung that the top pulley is on will bend in the middle, thus pulling the ladder sides into each other. Put a 5/8" steel rod through the rung first, and two support plates on the outside of each side with the rod going through the middle. An aluminum ladder would be a better choice, drilling holes in a fiberglass ladder is not the best option.

[@jenniferj7588]

add wax to sled to make slide easier ...

[@crownmoldingbyspectaculart941]

How did you attach a pulley at the top?

[@brynjolfureinarsson6038]

Probably with a pully

[@mikemikesell7101]

I have the same design question. the ladder I’m using doesn’t have the factory pulley for the second set of steps.

[@yassirc3681]

you have a problem when reaching to top. The design wont allow you to easily remove the material easily.

[@MrNetnut]

Does Not Pass The Edge Of Roof ? Need To Go Higher For Shingles. Peace/;-))

[@robertschmidt9296]

This is the KS 5000 model. You need the KS 10000 model for that option.

[@jean-pierrest-louis2830]

you don't need the steel plate

[@paulfrost8952]

I don’t know if you’ve tripped over the tools and materials lying on the floor, but if you carry on working in that way sooner or later you’ll end up joining them on the floor!😮

[@leonardtaylor8394]

He's crazy

[@Goodellsam]

Add the load and let's see it in action.

[@oldbonesbushcraftrodjackso474]

Pretty cool

[@TimG...]

Okely-dokely, neighbor

[@michaelmounts1269]

👍👍👍👍

[@pomonabill220]

You got the cheaper model... the Knee Saver 5000. What happened to the KS 10K?

[@kathyparker8626]

you might want to run a rod through the ladder rung just below the eaves drip so your lift hits the rod instead of someone's eave. Just saying. Nice idea on the lift.

[@torowazup1]

👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👌🏼🎄😎

[@mikedevine1715]

Oh my God that was painful to watch to lift it 8'

[@stevesullivan2432]

Your standing platform should be angled outward so when standing on it your not leaning forward with your feet, very uncomfortable!!!

[@WApnj]

Way over-kill. Unnesassarily Heavy and Bulky. Could have made the whole thing out of plywood.

[@Soothsayer-rs5nb]

Never drill holes in your ladder !

[@markb8954]

Confucius say “Wise Man does not weaken ladder that supports him”

[@sajidrafique375]

My Roof guy brought a ladder which was soooooooo much faster than this but i dont remember what its design was

[@finders-keepers1518]

Too slow.

[@grdelawter4266]

Your drilling skills are not skills at all! After that blunder times 3!!! I gave up and couldn’t watch any more

[@edwarddoyle9231]

Too much time on your hands - live a bit !. Ed,

[@seymourwrasse3321]

you lost me at drilling holes in the ladder