I know the season is not over for some of you, but for me it is ..........So, I saw this heavy cargo lift system at menards, so I purchased one ($125) and installed it yesterday. The maximum amount of weight it will handle is 250 pounds, but I have only put my voyager on it, so I only have about 170 pounds on it right now.....

Took me close to 4 hours by myself to install it, if I would have had an extra set of hands, less than 2 hours. So far, I would say this is a great way to store my ice house both off season and during season....basically it lifts like a basketball hoop does, takes me 1 minute to raise it up and less than 20 seconds to lower it.....I can slide it right into my truck or back on the platform.

Now that is a slick deal!

Very nice job man. Now that will clear up some extra floor space for ya.

Well all be darn that is pretty slick. I might have to look into that for my otter for the off season that is really neat.

AWESOME idea! I've seen similar homemade contraptions and wanted to try it, but could never figure out the whole pulley system. I would much rather spend a few bucks and get something like this - Thanks for the heads-up!

Couple questions - How does this raise and lower? Some sort of crank? It looks like one end of the unit has something that turns and rolls up the cables. You said it works like a basketball hoop...
Next, what is the measurement of the platform?

Thanks so much for your help - can't wait to try this.

Yeah, I am sorry, I mentioned it raised and lowered like a basketball hoop, I am PE teacher and that meant something to me, yes is does raise and lower with a crank arm that is not permanently attached to the mechanism.... the platform is 4'by 4', so part of my ice house hangs over the edge, I might get a sheet of plywood and cut it to size for my ice house but I loaded all the heavy ice fishing stuff in the middle so the majority of the weight was inside of 4 feet.

I ahve been very pleased with it so far, everything has been working great, I have raised and lowered it every night this week when I get home from work...

Follow the directions, think about where you want to crank it up from, and make sure you double check the cable clamps, most of mine were loose, and I had to crank down on them....

OK - I coach BB so I kind of figured that was what you meant, but just wanted to make sure. Thanks for answering my questions. Again, this is really cool!

What was the name of the retailer that sells this unit

Thanks

Menards.

That is way cool , last fall I did something similar with a game hoist (small block/tackle) for a clam 6800 and I thought that deal was cool but this is way better, does it crank the load right up to the ceiling?

Very nice!
I use a similar storage system but I just built the hangers out of 5/4 wood and L-shaped shelf brackets,
I have to lift my houses up by hand, but it works great to save room and to keep mice and squirrels out of them during storage!
Cliff

Yeah, it cranks right up to the ceiling. I'm 6'7", 9' ceiling in my garage, and I can stand under it when it cranked up....It is not tight to the ceiling, but within 5 inches....no lifting by hand, which is nice since I usually use my voyager as a solo unit until my sons get older (3 and 5 yrs. old)

TTT (for someone looking for help in ice fishing)

I started a simular post on this topic a few weeks ago and you picks really help out. I've seen this system before but have discounted it as it looked too wimpy. I've tried doing my own but have found that are some real challanges to getting it right and why re-invent the wheel.

My question is will the platform crank down to the floor? If so, I'll have one by tomorrow morning!