FLEXIMOUNTS GL1 Overhead Garage Lifting Storage Rack, 4x4 Ft Heavy-Duty Metal Garage Ceiling Rack, Adjustable Organization System With 71''L Axle, 350lbs Weight, Black

While this may not be an approved usage I did a little measuring, weight checks, and validated ceiling material and screw usage, then installed to help remove my Bronco top. The top of the shelf is used to store my front 3 tops and a ratchet strap connects the back to the underside of the shelf. I use my drill to raise and lower the top into place. Works great for this and way less expensive than the options marketed directly to Wrangler/Bronco owners. I installed this on my own and it took a couple hours for full install. It would have been much faster if I had asked for help to mark ceiling joists, laser it out, then align the template using 2 points of reference instead is me just holding it. This made improper alignment a couple times before the actual drilling and mounting. Have 2 people and 2 ladders. When not using for my car, it’s perfect for organization and storing items above my golf cart. The only thing that I don’t like, the cable mechanism, where it winds across the shaft, seems to be a little finicky. Most times it wraps fine, but because there are no specific guides, it sometimes overlaps itself and doesn’t create a solid movement when lowering. I’m nitpicking, but worth noting. I’m thinking about getting a couple more, glad I got this one.

This item is really neat for storing items in your garage, provided you have sufficient height. Fortunately, I do and purchased this for my hardtop for my vintage sports car. It’s large enough to accommodate my hardtop and safely stores it out of the way, but is readily available for times I choose to place my hardtop on my car. It’s easy to use, raises and lowers by attaching my battery powered drill or using the crank that comes with it. Its mechanism appears very sturdy and is designed to raise and lower evenly so stored items don’t fall off and is convenient to use, not at all cumbersome. Comes with a template and directions, which make it easy to hang, once you locate the ceiling joists. So overall, a nice product and reasonably priced.

It's good enough, serves the purpose. Couple of things I wish were better. The wire spooling needs refinement. As others have also noted, the double-cable runs wind over themselves, which causes uneven lifting. You'll get a corner that's noticeably higher then the rest. Secondly, the wire grid platform is a large grid pattern, meaning big holes. If you have items without flat bottoms, you'll be better off putting some plywood down. The wire platform is also a little flimsy, bows a bit when you add some weight to it. Not worried about it's strength, but it could use perhaps a cross brace between the two ends. Lastly, I found the hardest part about doing this alone is trying to tape the template to the ceiling. It's big and flimsy, but does make for a good install if you can get it stuck. A kid helper with a broom handle makes a difference. Overall, recommended. Serves its purpose.

Like many review mentioned, the instructions aren't the best. If you're handy and have experience assembling modestly complicated projects, you should be able to get through it. This is one time I'd suggest actually reading the instructions all the way through at least once before beginning. Knowing a few of the warnings ahead of time can save you some frustration (like the requirement of locating the lift/lower controls). The template wasn't helpful in my case (exposed rafters, but running perpendicular to the direction I needed to mount the unit), but I was able to take measurements from the template and work out the mounting locations on my own. Once you get the four mounting brackets installed in the right locations, you're 90% of the way done. The remaining steps are pretty straightforward and easy to complete. Some reviews mentioned that the cables bunched up and didn't wrap onto the spindles smoothly. The instructions are oddly worded there, but if you pay attention to how the cables attach to the spindle, you should be able to get them in the proper initial position. I think it helps if you actually have some weight on the shelf to keep the cables under tension when raising the unit. If one cable is slightly longer than the others (as was the case with mine), it may help to hold tension on it with your hands while raising the unit in order to get it to wrap smoothly. After a few ups and downs, with little adjustments here and there, I was eventually able to get all cables to wrap smoothly. My hope is that they'll develop a little bit of "memory" in the wrapped position and will return to that orientation more easily on their own in the future. I'm using this as a system to remove and store the hard top for my classic Bronco, so they will spend the entire summer wrapped about the spindle in the hot garage, so we'll see. But the overall design of the unit is quite good. The manufacturing tolerances are also accurate - I didn't have any issues fitting the pieces together at all. The cable system is fully redundant, so more than one cable would need to break before there's any danger of the shelf falling (*extremely* unlikely). The shelf is strong and the system handles significant weight with no issues. The option to disconnect the spinning handle and attach a power drill to the actuating rod was an excellent bonus. All things considered, I'm glad I got this unit and look forward to many years of removing, storing, and reinstalling my hard top as a simple (single-person) operation.

Installation was pretty straightforward. I ended up using a staple gun to place the template on the ceiling which was much easier with one person. I bought this to lift my iKamper Skycamp 3.0 and it works very well. I have a couple other lifts, but like how this one can get it flush with the ceiling. Looks to be sturdy enough for the 300lb load rating. I did not use the grating though. I would say overall it looks to be a good value for the price and I would purchase again.

Works well for me. Have about 250lbs on it. Needs a drill to operate lift and lowering. Decent quality. Do not place weight over 100lbs in a 12"x12" area on wire rack. Bends immediately. I have 1/2" plywood on top of wire rack. Would recommend. Was very easy to install.

Poor manufacturing and quality control leading to poor experience. Install time is considerable and the mounting guide is useful but impossible to get in the correct position due to the flimsy material. After installing, wires where tangled which after a considerable about time I was able to untwist. After that the platform was uneven with little guidance on how to correct. After trying to correct with the 1st raise the gear box malfunctioned and is now stuck. Don’t buy. Save you time and money. Find a different product that is not so cheaply made

This is a great product. Really a thoughtful design. Definitely 5 stars and I may get another one for the other side of the garage. That said, it was a pain to install. A couple of notes here about my install process. Maybe it will help someone. - I agree with a previous reviewer that the 7/32 inch drill bet is the best size for the pilot holes--at least for the bolts that came with my kit. 0.2 inch (i.e. 13/64) would not be big enough. - I spent many hours on this project. More than I care to admit. The hardest thing by far was finding the ceiling joists and getting the template exactly in place. In the end, I never got it done in the normal way with the whole cardboard template intact. I ended up cutting off the long ends of the cardboard template and using them individually along the 2 joists that were 48 inches apart. That worked, but still took some extra effort. I had to redo the markings a couple times because they weren't lined up well enough. What worked best was measuring the edge of the template ends to the wall. It was just about 4' exactly for me, which allowed me to use a long leveler to get flush against the wall to come straight out from the wall. Not sure if that makes any sense, but maybe it will if you fight the battle. I'm not recommending you do it this way, it's just how I ended up doing it. - Putting up the template really should be a 2 person job (at least), but you need to get everyone on ladders or truck beds to be high enough to get it up there. - One thing I realized after-the-fact is how the cables come out in a triangular fashion from one side to the other. I didn't take that into consideration when mounting the ceiling brackets. So when the rack is fully let down, on of the cables goes right over one of my ceiling light fixtures such that I will need either a very low-profile lightbulb or maybe just replace it with a recessed fixture. That's a bummer and a project for another day, but I probably won't let it down all the way too often since I'm mainly using this as a Jeep hardtop hoist. So instead I may just remove the light bulb any time I need to let it down fully. Hope this helps. I found many of the other reviewers' comments helpful, so I wanted to provide some of my own. Good luck with installation. In the end, it's worth it!