Racor PHL-1R Pro HeavyLift 4-by-4-Foot Cable-Lifted Storage Rack
by Racor
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List Price: Our Price: $127.00 You Save: $83.00 (40%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $118.00 (click here) Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Racor PHL-1R Pro HeavyLift 4-by-4-Foot Cable-Lifted Storage Rack
Customer Review: Fantastic storage unit!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Racor Lift is a well designed piece of equipment and an excellent space saving storage device. I highly recommend it for overhead storage in the garage, although I'm sure it could be used elsewhere. Even though I installed this by myself in 5 hours (including several beer breaks), an extra pair of hands will definitely make the job much safer, easier and probably faster. The instructions are easy to follow and the hardest part for me was squaring the assembly on the ceiling and getting the initial holes marked and drilled ... by myself. I offer the following pre-installation tips. First, make sure you have adequate space all the way around the unit, both above and below, not only for raising and lowering, but for any objects you might store on the lift that extend past the frame. Nothing worse than cranking it up fully loaded just to run into the furnance duct work or the ceiling light! Also, the hand crank mechanism requires a little space to properly engage and operate so make sure you position the crank assembly on a side where you can get to it and operate it. Secondly, if I had selected a better mounting location (I centered mine) I could have put up another one on the other side of the garage. Who knows, maybe some day I'll move it and add another one!! Lastly, and this may sound obvious, but keep in mind that your clearance underneath, after it's raised up, will be reduced by the height of whatever you store, plus a few inches for the assembly. (Pile them suitcases too high and you may be bumping your head on the bottom of the lift!) Also, since it uses a crank and gear box, it takes many, many, many (did I mention many?) turns and a few minutes to raise or lower. Having said all that, I think it's still a great storage device.Customer Review: Excellent garage space maker
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been desperate to increase the storage capability of my garage without losing the ability to park cars in it. I had overhead storage made of 2x4s and plywood, but it was difficult to access and I could never remember what was up there. I came across the Racor Heavy Lift storage rack and thought it was a great idea but the $199.99 list price was more than I wanted to spend, so I looked at designing my own solution. When I saw it on Amazon for $130 (including shipping!) I realized I probably couldn't build a half-baked copy myself for less and bought three.
The instructions were clear, the parts were all there (though metric), and it went together and mounted fairly easily. I only offer two cautions - if you don't have ceiling joists 4' apart you will need additional backing to provide needed support. And you will want an 11 mm driver on your drill to attach the 20 lag bolts included to attach the unit to the ceiling (there's nothing quite as irritating as having to reach overhead with a wrench or ratchet to screw in 2" lag bolts by hand).
Once installed it works great and does hold 250# of stuff. The only improvement I recommend is to include a 3/8 shaft option to the winding handle so you can raise and lower the unit with a drill rather than by hand. (They include a 2-piece handle with a crank at one end that at about 5' long is too long for an 8' mounting height - you wind up cranking at knee level. Since I bought 3 (and got 3 cranks) I shortened one so it would crank at chest level and fitted the other with a 3/8 steel rod in place of the crank section. Connect that to a 3/8 drill and let electricity do the work.
That said, the unit is well worth the cost and is highly recommended.
Customer Review: Great storage solution
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this to store a very large car top carrier, (92" long x 36" wide x 18" high), and it works great. The carrier only weighs 70 lbs, but it's bulky and I needed to get it up off the floor.
I put it up myself, but I am very handy. (However,I did use the services of my son to hold a tape measure for me when I measured 48" from the holes of the first arm I drilled).
Definitly use a template to mark the screw holes in the ceiling.
The lag screws do not have washers, so purchase 20 of them.
I used a slightly larger 9/64"Dia. drill to pre-drill the holes, instead of 1/8" Dia.
When you tighten the "J" hooks, if you tighten them too tight the cross beams will tilt. You can loosen off the nuts and the beam will straighten out, however the nuts can now vibrate loose and fall off. I bought 12 M6 nylok lock nuts. (Nuts with a nylon insert). These will allow you to tork the nuts snug enough to hold the grate, but not enough to cause a tilt, and they won't fall off.
Make sure you tighten all the nuts on the cable clamps, mine were all loose. I think the manufacturer leaves them loose so that you can adjust the height and level off the platform. I had a difference of 3" on one end and had to shorten the cable on that side. Final adjustment was done with the eye bolts in the corners.
To put the lag screws in the corners above the pulleys, I used a 10mm closed ratcheting wrench to screw them up close to the ceiling. I then used a 10mm socket with a swivel to tork them up. (No need to take the pulleys off).
You will need a 1/2" variable speed reversing drill to raise and lower the platform. The end of the crank would not fit in my 3/8" drill.
All in all a great product.
Customer Review: Need a 1/2 inch drill to operate without cranking
Summary: 5 Stars
I rarely review products but this garage platform is such a game-changer, and I am so happy with it, that I decided to write a review.
I installed six of these in my garage which relieved a massive amount of floor space to enable us to organize the garage. There are three points that I would like to make.
1. This platform is ideal for things that you only use once or twice a year, like luggage, a spare tire, extra fold up tables or chairs, a snow blower, etc. There is no reason for these items to sit on the garage floor as obstacles to everyday usage of your garage.
2. Instead of having to lift these items onto a high garage shelf, balancing on a step ladder, you can lower this platform to the garage floor, pile your items on it, and then raise the platform.
3. The platform comes with a hand crank attached to a long metal arm but you can also raise and lower the platform faster, and easier, with an electric drill attached to the arm instead of the hand crank. However, note that most home drills have 3/8 inch drill bits but the rod, that will go into your drill to raise or lower this platform, requires a 1/2 inch drill bit or an adapter for your 3/8 inch drill bit. I purchased a 1/2 inch drill on Amazon for about $70, without the battery, since it is a DeWalt drill and I already have other DeWalt drills on the same 18 volt rechargable interchangable battery system.
This is a great product. Remember that the height of your garage ceiling will determine how high you can stack the platform. Also don't forget to place it where your garage door will not swing open into it and have it clear any shelves that might be at the perimeter of your garage.
Customer Review: Cheaply made and wrong/missing parts included
Summary: 1 Stars
I was expecting a well built product from the Racor PHL-1R Pro HeavyLift model since it was supposed to be the heavier duty version of the lighter weight model Pro+. I bought two of these at once and was dissapointed at the cheap materials and construction when I opened the package. The wire grid sections were bent and fit terribly on the support beams. The J-hooks and nuts were of inferior quality with three of them having stripped out threads. The included lag screws for mounting the support rails to the ceiling rafters were cheap grade and I twisted off two of them upon installation into the joists after following the directions and pre-drilling 1/8" pilot holes for the lag screws. Do yourself a BIG favor and make a trip to the local hardware store and pick up some quality hardened lag screws and extra J-hooks to avoid the frustration I had trying to install this product.
Worst thing of all is that both of these units were shipped with the WRONG gear box assembly for the hoisting mechanism. They were packaged with the lightweight PRO+ gearbox which apparently has a much smaller drive shaft than what ships with the HeavyLift model. There was NO POSSIBLE WAY to continue the installation until the correct model gearbox can be shipped as replacements to what was obviously poor quality control during packaging of these units. I mean, BOTH kits had the WRONG part!! So, I'm stuck with partially installed units hung on the ceiling awaiting replacement parts.
Do yourself a favor and avoid this product. It's not worth it!