Jeep Hardtop Hoist Harbor Freight [Everything You Should Know]

Having trouble hoisting your Jeep’s hardtop? Different harbor freight solutions can get your job done with ease and in less time, causing no damage. Harbor Freight offers automated electric hoists and manual hoists for your Jeep hardtop. 

Hoisting your Jeep hardtop could be back-breaking labor, and there come the Harbor Freight hoists to rescue you. Using these dedicated hardtop hoists or improvising chain hoists from Harbor Freight can make your life easier and keep your Jeep hardtop safer.

Stay tuned to learn all the effective, safer, and cheaper methodologies from Harbor Freight to hoist your Jeep hardtop in no time.

Overview Of Harbor Freight Hoist For Jeep Hardtop

If you’re a passionate Jeep owner, you probably know how difficult it can be to manually remove and store the hardtop. Harbor Freight’s collection of hoisting options created especially for Jeep hardtops can help in this situation.

Harbor Freight sells specialized hardtop hoists that have a strong winch mechanism, solid pulley system, and long-lasting braided cables. Besides, you no longer need to be concerned about hurting your back or running the risk of damaging your precious hardtop.

Harbor Freight has electric hoists that have robust motors and can easily lift heavy objects like Jeep hardtops. Moreover, these hoists allow you to easily lift and hoist the hardtop with the stroke of a button from wireless remotes, saving both time and energy.

Moreover, you can also get Harbor freight manual hoists with ratcheting gears or hand cranks providing a practical, affordable, more direct method. To improve the hoisting experience, Harbor Freight also provides a variety of hoist accessories.

These attachments range from lifting straps and hooks to pulleys and storage systems. This makes sure that your hardtop is safely raised, stored, and prepared for your next journey in the summer.

Different Types Of Harbor Freight Hoists For Jeep

Harbor Freight offers a variety of hoists and winches for lifting your Jeep hardtop safely. It depends upon a lot of variables about which hoist you would select for your Jeep.

Type 1: Electric Hoists For Jeep Hardtop

Harbor Freight offers sturdy electric hoists that can easily raise and hoist big objects, such as Jeep hardtops. This hoist may be a nice fit for your garage if you own a Jeep Wrangler JK or JKU.

Advantages of Electric Hoists

There are a lot of variations of Harbor Freight electrical hoists, depending on the capacity of the motors to lift the weight. Generally, electric hoists come with capacities of 440 lbs, 880 lbs, 1300 lbs, and 2000 lbs. Some pros you’ll get with electric hoists are stated below.

• Wireless Remote Control

You are capable of controlling these Harbor Freight electric hoists from a distance via the simple remote control that is included with them. It helps you effortlessly and accurately regulate the lifting operation.

Moreover, while putting the hardtop back on your Jeep, the remote comes in handy. Because you can precisely and softly land the hardtop on the mount of your Jeep.

• Strong Holding & Braking Mechanism

Some integrated safety features like overload prevention and automated braking systems come with these electric hoists. These security features guarantee that the hoist performs securely and safely, avoiding accidents or damage to your hardtop.

Disadvantages of Electric Hoists

The electric hoists come with some cons that you need to consider before buying one.

• Requires an electrical connection

As the name suggests, these hoists require a constant electric supply. You may need to reroute the electrical connection in your garage. 

• Not Budget Friendly

Installing the electric hoists requires a strong and stable ceiling. Apart from these, these hoists will cost you around $113-$319.

Type 2: Manual Chain Hoists For Jeep Hardtop

The chain hoists are manually driven by you to lift or lower your Jeep hardtop. Hardtops of any model of Jeep can be hoisted by these tools from Harbor Freight.

Two major types of chain hoists are lever-driven chain hoists and hand-driven chain hoists. Lever-driven chain hoists require comparatively less strength to operate while lifting or dropping. On the other hand, you would need quite a lot of strength to lift the hardtop.

Advantages of Chain Hoists

You’ll get the following benefits from using Harbor Freight manual chain hoists.

• Easy Installation

First of all, the manual chain hoists require a subtle installation in your garage ceiling. No special requirements exist for installing these hoists.

• Variations Available 

Similar to electrical hoists, chain hoists also come in different variants with different weight-lifting capacities.

• Electric Connection is not required

You do not need to set up additional electrical outlets or extensions for operating it. Most importantly, the chain hoists are very cost-effective and budget friendly.

Disadvantages of Chain Hoists

The cons you’ll experience with chain hoists are as follows.

• Tough Handling and storage

Controlling the Jeep hardtop using manual chain hoists could be tricky. Apart from that, you might need others’ assistance in lifting the hardtop or putting it back down. Moreover, unlike electric hoists, you cannot store the hardtop when not in use with chain hoists.

• Risk of Causing Damage

It takes practice and precision to maneuver the hardtop manually with your arm strength alone. There’s always a risk of your hardtop or Jeep roll cage getting damaged from sudden impacts. 

How To Use Harbor Freight Hoists For Jeep Hardtop?

It’s summer, and if you want to get your Jeep hardtop replaced by a soft top, all you need is a capable hoist from Harbor Freight to get the job done. Look into the following steps for quick and safe removal of hardtops using Harbor Freight hoists.

Step 1: Initial Preparation

Installing the hoist is a permanent setup. That is why, you need to find a suitable place in your garage on top of which you can install the hoist. Ensure, there is enough space on four sides so that you can park your Jeep right under the hoist.

Next, if you are up to installing an electrical hoist, there must be a power socket nearby the hoist power cord. The ceiling should be strong enough to support the weight of the hardtop.

Step 2: Installing The Hoist

Make necessary calculations of the area on your ceiling getting into the attic. Secure the hoist to the ceiling joists. A better way to install the hoist is to load it on parallel rails. 

For that, you need to install two parallel rails to which a third rail needs to be installed in which the electric hoist would be mounted. It gives more room for flexibility in controlling and maneuvering.

Step 3: Using The Hoist To Lift Hardtop

Park your Jeep in reverse, right under the hoist. Lower the hook and keep it stable slightly above the hardtop. Use the straps through the roll cage of your Jeep and hang them from the hook of the hoist. 

Now gently pull the hook above and detach the hardtop from the body of your Jeep. You can store the hardtop in the air if you have an electric hoist.

Things To Consider Before Getting A Harbor Freight Hoist

For better effectiveness and less hassle, you need to consider the following things before getting a Harbor Freight hoist for your Jeep.

• Quality of the cable, motor, and straps.
• Length of the cable
• The capacity of the hoist and weight of your Jeep hardtop
• Hoist usage and purpose of installation
• Availability of extendable electrical sockets (for electric hoists)
• Ceiling compatibility to lift the total weight.
• Height of the hoist from the ceiling

FAQs

The following answered questions from Jeep enthusiasts could be helpful to know more about using the Harbor freight hoists on Jeep hardtops.

Can you lift a Jeep hardtop by yourself?

You can lift the hardtop by yourself if you have a pre-installed electric hardtop hoist in your garage. Otherwise, it is better to ask for assistance to lift the hardtop from your Jeep’s frame to avoid accidental damage.

How do I make my Jeep hardtop hoist?

The easiest way is to bolt in two hooks in the ceiling. Now a wooden beam passed through the hardtop strapped by ratchet can be pulled through the hooks on the ceiling to lift the hardtop from the jeep.

What is the best hoist for Jeep hardtops?

Electric hoists from the Harbor freight are the best hoists for Jeep hardtops. These hoists have a powerful motor that is remotely controlled and can be installed in multiple ways to lift the hardtop in the easiest possible way.

Final Words

Jeep hardtop removal becomes much more convenient and easy using hardtop hoists from Harbor freight. 

If you have no budget issues then it would be better to install an electric hoist from Harbor freight in cross-parallel rails.

Otherwise, you can get the manual chain hoists which are cheaper yet sturdy and effective to lift the hardtop from the Jeep all by yourself.