Looking for building/engineering help

[leftyguns21]

do we have any smart people / engineers on here that can help me with a design.

i built this contraption so i can load my roof top tent by myself. it works, its sturdy and does what i wanted. problem is, it isn't as easy to set up alone as i had hoped. and it is huge. it takes up half of my garage, even if i try and stand it up on one side inside my garage it takes up a lot of room and blocks my garage door. taking it apart each time is a real pain cause its too many pieces.

i want to change it to 2 pieces. a base and one single vertical post connected to a horizontal post. this way i can take the two pieces out in to my driveway to put together and i can store inside my garage easier. my new design idea is to do something like a mailbox post/street light post. what i don't know is, how big does the base need to be to support the weight of the post and tent. tent is around 170lbs, electric hoist is around 20lbs and the lumber parts are easily 50lbs
right now the electric hoist is 4' in the center of the 8' horizontal 4x4. i am using joist hangers instead of resting it on top of vertical post. do i cut the 8' long down to 4' or do i need to move it on top of the post and have some hang off of one side of the up beam for counter balance? do i then add a 2-3' long angled bracket from up to cross beam for more added support.

for the base my hope is i can use the two existing feet and make a base out of those in a + shape. using 2 2x6's 4' in length with something like a concrete block in the middle and the same angled 2x4's. or do i do it more like a cherry picker with two V shaped feet.
i think i would also tie the up beam to two anchor points, in a V shape, inside my garage using carabiners and rope/ratchet straps. or even if i need to put sand bags on the base for extra weight


current design

crain idea

cherry picker idea

concrete block

 

[UrbanRunner651]

In my opinion you would be better off just modifying your existing design to be 2 or 3parts with some hinges and a bolt/pin to connect them if its proved successful. Maybe slap some casters on the bottom for mobility.
I assume you dont have the garage overhead to mount the winch up there? There is a reason they make crate hoists and cranes from steel, not wood. I dont think you would get the lasting success you are looking for by using the existing wood feet for a one-sided approach. Large cranes generally incorporate a counterbalance and pulleys, or can be fixed to a floor. Depending on your length & load rating, you might be able to rig up some pulleys to relocate the unit and save some overhead weight. However, your existing legs are not long engough for the hoist approach either, even with concrete and sand.. (& that would be a PITA to haul out..) Hanging ~200 lbs 8' off the ground & out 4' (or more..) is nothing to take lightly dangling over your ride. plus, it would require you to swing it over from the side rather than backing up unless you made it even longer or included a swing arm. I would look at using something like 8020 if you want to beef it up.
How/where do you store your RTT when not in use?

 

[leftyguns21]

dang. that's what i was afraid of. i wish my garage entrance way was taller and i could avoid all of this. the ceiling inside my garage is 9' and 10', the door however is only 7'. it is a 2.5 car garage, my car and this contraption both fit inside. i just don't like it taking up so much room. eventually ill get a new house with a taller door.
i have tried to think of ways to make this one on hinges or easy to pull apart. not sure if hinges or pins will be strong enough. i think ill just keep this setup then, and take it apart when not in use. when i know i am going camping ill put it back together a couple days ahead of time.

thank you!

 

[AntleredRuin]

I'd think you can simplify the overall design to make it easier to assemble, but I can't think of another design, especially with your space limitations.

I think you could narrow it down to 4 main pieces: 2 side braces, top beam, and bottom support.
Cut a notch in the tops of both the side pieces (like Lincoln logs) as well as the ends of the top piece so it'll fit. With that, I don't think you'd need the angle braces at all, as the weight will be on the side beams themselves, not on the attached beam braces (whole houses are braced like this [not with the notches, but same idea]).
You'd need no fasteners either; it'll just slide in place.

For the bottom support, just put a couple carriage bolts (for the flat head) sticking straight up from the bottoms of the side braces. Drill holes in the bottom support piece, and anchor it down with nuts. Get an attachment for your drill that accepts sockets, and this should only take a few seconds.

I'd second the movement for casters on the bottom (make sure they lock). Based on your picture, it looks like you have to lug all the material down your driveway. With casters, build it right outside your garage, and roll it the rest of the way.


Now for the smart-ass idea. If you have a front porch, attach a crane/winch to that ceiling instead.

 

[Inv4drZm]

Now I know what it feels like to be my boss critiquing my design... Here goes; my constructive criticism.

Why didn't you use a hand-crank style cable system to hold the cable, one with a rachet design to keep if from unspooling when you let go of the handle. I have seen these on ramps for trailers. Doesn't need electricity and is probably cheaper, you can put it on ground-level and use a couple pulleys to transfer the cable to the tent. I guess the pulley part is the difficult part.

To go to a single post, you will need to anchor it into the ground or add weight to its base, which doesn't make it portable unless you add wheels like luggage. Or, you could make the base flat enough that you can drive over it and rest your rear tire on it while you lift up your tent and swing it around the other side on top of your vehicle.

The less length you need on your upper arm the better so you will want to keep the vertical post as close to your vehicle as you can when loading/unloading.

 

[leftyguns21]

i have casters on one side, top of the side posts to slide it out of my garage on its back. i chose not to add casters to the feet so it wouldn't move while loading.

i had originally tried a similar idea [MENTION=129892]AntleredRuin[/MENTION] with the top beam. the problem is the height. it is 10' high, lifting a top beam up to 10' proved to be difficult. my ladder is only 6' high, carrying the beam with hoist up is pretty heavy. that's why i added the joist holders in hopes i could carry it up and drop in these holders. then drop the 5" carriage bolt through the 4x4 into the joist holders. other downfall of it sitting on top of side post, i worry about it shifting side to side. these joist hangers keep it from moving side to side.
the bottom cross piece i counter sinked the bolts, i use a socket now but great idea on the drill attachment. that would be much quicker.
i live in a townhome HOA community. i am not able to permanently mount anything to outside. the whole surrounding rafters to my garage area are made with cheap lumber too. i wouldn't trust them to hold any weight. i have looked and looked at it several times to try and think of a way.
[MENTION=130999]Inv4drZm[/MENTION] critique away please! i tried a pulley system, a 4 pulley setup, it was too difficult. this hoist pulls the tent up with ease and locks when not in motion. it is a lot easier to lift up/down to get it in place with the tent mounts. i wondered about using the car weight to keep it down, but i don't have an easy way to make it swing over the car. i would anchor a single post to a wall and use a wide base. it still worries me though tipping over, ruining my tent and car