Stacking Storage

[scottjk]

I've run out of room! We are currently storing our Formula Ford on a 4 post stacker in our garage. I need to rent a storage unit and I'm wondering if there are any 'lift' products available that don't require 20 amp service to operate. I have a dedicated 20 amp service for my lift and I routinely blow the breaker when it first starts up so I'm sure the one I have won't work at the storage unit.

I'm open to any creative ideas or products that would allow me to stack two cars in the unit.

Thanks

Scott

[BeerBudgetRacing]

A 4 post lift is certainly overkill for most any OW car.

I use a gantry I built to lift the car onto a table with a 12v winch. Zero problems.

You could probably build some really tall saw horses to store it on.

[Lotus7]

A 4 post lift is certainly overkill for most any OW car.

I use a gantry I built to lift the car onto a table with a 12v winch. Zero problems.

You could probably build some really tall saw horses to store it on.

I concur, we use a 12v bumper winch to lift our FFord's every day.

[Extreme1]

My 4 post lift works on a 15amp receptacle in my garage. Maybe look into a different lift?

[10rmotor]

You may want to try swapping out the breaker, they do degrade over time. What size wire is between the breaker and lift, and how far apart are they?

[Charlie Schmidt]

I used to have a tilting rig in the trailer to carry my Royale over a Titan
2 12" wide ramps on a crossbar about 3 feet off the floor
pull the Royale up backwards with 12v winch until it just passes the balance point and tilts a bit
insert a couple of locking bars, and roll the Titan under

[Garey Guzman]

Posting pictures of some of these solutions might help the adventurous among get some ideas!

[Lotus7]

Posting pictures of some of these solutions might help the adventurous among get some ideas!

The black lift in the background easily lifts the Fords using a small winch and small 12v Lithium battery.
(ground level to tall stands height in just a few seconds).

[David Ferguson]

No electricity needed if you could use a chain fall hoist like this:

https://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-...hoist-996.html

[Steve Davis]

No electricity needed if you could use a chain fall hoist like this:

https://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-...hoist-996.html

Yes, the chain falls work well.. but do require some 18" of additional height at the lifting point.
SD,FV80

[Ben_Zlotkin]

Charlie,

I am looking to build or buy something like this now. Any chance you have photos of this setup?

My understanding is that what you describe would allow two FF cars (in my case) to fit in a trailer that is shorter than the total length of both cars. I want to put two cars in a 24' ideally.

Thank you - Ben

I used to have a tilting rig in the trailer to carry my Royale over a Titan
2 12" wide ramps on a crossbar about 3 feet off the floor
pull the Royale up backwards with 12v winch until it just passes the balance point and tilts a bit
insert a couple of locking bars, and roll the Titan under

[teamwisconsin]

Our setup might be a little tall for your space, but pallet racking is really cheap and available in lots of different sizes. We use a forklift to put the cars up.

[Charlie Schmidt]

Ben
sorry no photos---it was 20 years ago
but it did allow 2 cars in a 18 ft trailer
used it for 10 years

[Rick Kirchner]

Just putting on my thinking cap, but if you find the CG compared to the length of the car (should be easy with scales, or use a lift and an engine tilter), and then build a "teeter totter" platform with the pivot point slightly one side or the other from that balance point, you could pick the height to pivot at and in a sea-van, just attach the bearings directly to the walls. A trailer will probably need some kind of A-frame structure, perhaps made of thin wall 2x4 steel straddling the wheel wells. After the platform rotates you can just us hitch pins to lock it, but it does seem that you will need a winch to restrain it to bring it back down.

A friend of mine has a trailer for his FSV that works this way. Pretty freaky to watch him load.

[Charlie Schmidt]

Rick
that's pretty much what mine was. A teeter totter with the pivot a bit off center so that the back end was heavy when unloaded. When you pulled the car up, it got heavy on the front and tilted that way
When all loaded, the upper car had it's rear end to the front of the trailer, and the platform was inclined so that the nose was higher, to allow the lower car's roll bar had clearance.
Pivot was about 3ft off the floor, and ramp (at rear end of trailer) was maybe 4.5ft off the floor when secured
To unload, just put a foot of slack in the winch line and push the ramp down. Car would roll enough to get the CG behind the pivot, then let out winch line to roll it out of the trailer

[Ben_Zlotkin]

Thanks to both of you for replying.

I am thinking about fluid spills and other potential issues from having the engine at an angle for extended periods of time. Any special prep or consideration on the car side when using this type of system?

The teeter-totter does seem much better than building a short lift - given the low weight of our cars.

Thanks again,

Ben

[Charlie Schmidt]

only problem I ever had was a slight drip from the Hewland shifter
nobody has ever invented a perfect seal for those LOL

if I was building one purely for storage, I'd think about something similar to a 4 post lift. Pivot the ramps at one end and suck the other end up with a hoist could probably use 4x4s and a couple of HF 12v winches

[Gary_T]

if I was building one purely for storage, I'd think about something similar to a 4 post lift. Pivot the ramps at one end and suck the other end up with a hoist could probably use 4x4s and a couple of HF 12v winches

We built something like this in our trailer previously. Front had one cheapy tool box on each side (tall enough to clear the bottom car), ramps hinged at the top of the tool box. Car pushed/winched up so front tires on top of the tool boxes, and a square tube frame at the back of the ramps to lift. We used a single winch at the front of the trailer (5th wheel, so had the attic to mount it in). Once the car was in place, straps over the wheels held it in place while the same winch was used over a pulley on the lift frame to lift the rear of the ramps into place. Built some 'legs' under the rear, but always left the winch snug too. No issues for a lot of miles.

Gary