I'm thinking of getting some roofracks for my ARE cap. Brand is not an issue, but strength is. I plan on using them to suspend my cap from the 2nd floor joists in my barn during the nicer months. At present, I rigged up some forklift thingy for the loader on my tractor to lift the cap off/on, sketchy to say the least.
Anyone have any ideas for a good set of racks I could accomplish this with? I'd be using a pulley system, so I could do it singlehanded. Rope would used to lift the cap by the rack.
The cap in question.

 

What about using eye bolts at all 4 corners, silicone to keep it sealed.

 

That would work, just worried about appearance.

 

How about chrome ones from a boat supply house?

 

LOL, chrome/polished? It's a good idea, and I can see how bolts could be fastened, but I'm not really fond of chrome.
My thoughts were to run 2 bolts through each mounting rail/track, one close to each end, through the roof, and into some 1X4 wood to spread the weight of the cap out a bit. Paint the wood black so it wouldn't be that noticeable when looking inside the cap. And just use the rack crossmembers to use to lift the cap.
I guess I could always find a decent looking rack, and adapt the fastening system to what I need. I'm thinking a black coloured rack wouldn't look bad, and by careful placement of the eyebolts, maybe they wouldn't be overly obvious. Thoughts?

 

If you're going to use a pulley system why not use two 2x4s a tad wider than the cap with eye bolts on each end.

Un-hook/bolt the cap, lift each end of the cap and side the 2x4s between the cap and the bed rails, and hoist away.

No un|sightly hardware at all that needs to be attached to the cap or any other part of the vehicle.

*If you're worried about the cap sliding around/off the 2x4s, hold it position on the 2x4s with (say) C-clamps or ......
.

 

YES! The biggest thing I was worried about was it sliding around. C clamps I've already got plenty. You just solved the problem. I could also run some 1 or 2X's alongside the cap, attached to the front and rear 2X's to keep them from possibly wanting to slide together. Or even run them under the cap rails and attach the C clamps to them.
Gold star Joe, thanks!! And the best part? The only things I don't already have are the eyebolts and pulleys.

 

we did that with my moms jeep top! it was super easy, and took no time to install, uninstall

 

Will be right behind ya come spring to take the cap off!!

 

mine never comes off, but if it did thats how id do it! haha