After procrastinating for a while, I finally decided to get a hardtop hoist from handa now that the weather is nice.

Unfortunately, the brake winch version is out and they told me they are not expecting any (only what is on-hand).

Retrofitting the manual pulley one with a brake winch turns out to be not much of a problem, in fact, it probably would cost the same as if I bought the brake winch version in the first place or maybe slightly cheaper ($40-60, usually).

My issue is getting the proper winch, I'd prefer the same model as the one included with the kit. Anyone have one of these that can tell me the manufactuer and model # of the winch?

Or, if you are using an alternate solution, what winch (or other method) are you using to secure the HT for suspended storage? Using a rack is out of the question due to space contraints in the garage.

 

Damn, no comments?

 

I bought a hand winch from a boating supply place. Cost me about $25.

JonasM

 

have you tried hardtopguy.com

 

Just a typical brake winch? How does it secure the load, is there a manual lock?

 

It's one of those ratcheting types (ratchets up or down), so it's always 'locked'. If we could post pics, I'd take a shot and show you.

JonasM

 

Mine is tucked away in a corner of the den for the summer.

 

i just made my own hardtop stand out of PVC pipe. didn't take long at all, and i also use it to hold my veilside tonneau, and cost me about a total of $30 in parts. can't get much better than that for a sturdy stand. let me know if i should pull out the pics.

 

I saw that thread before... pretty impressive. Unfortunately, I have no storage space for the hardtop except for suspending it. The real irritating thing is that the only place with decent prices on these (handa) are out of the model I want. I ordered one and need to retrofit the pulley version.