Reviews for Lange Originals 014-SIM Hoist-A-Top Simple 76-18 Jeep CJ7 & Wrangler

Works great. No problems here.

For the price, this hoist will do what it is marketed to do. Before you install it, I would highly recommend reading through the ENTIRE manual, watching the YouTube video, and read EVERY product review on this thread!

The installation manual is terrible. I've written and read countless owner's/installation manuals and this one has a lot of errors! It could have a lot more pictures and diagrams that would really help a person with average mechanical abilities. I found myself "backtracking" a lot when following the manual and then finally discovering "what they were trying to say"!

At least one of the upper pulleys will have to be installed MORE than 1/2" off-center as another reviewer said.

The strap hardware WILL have to be mounted in the FIRST hole of your hardtop, whether it is a 2-door or 4-door.

I suppose Lange wouldn't want the liability issues that may arise, but it would have been nice if they had provided instructions for drilling a dedicated hole for the strap hardware so it could just be left in there. We will be using this hoist for 2 different Jeeps (one 2-door and one 4-door) so I plan on figuring this out and mounting strap hardware semi-permanently into both of them.

You wouldn't go wrong to "beef up" the mounting hardware as other reviewers have said. A few extra lag screws wouldn't cost a lot of money for a lot of peace of mind!

Now waiting for some warmer weather...

I purchased this in April of 2017. Install wasn't too bad and the pulley system worked well to store my hard top for the summer. Spring of 2018...same story...worked fine to store the top all summer long. Spring of 2019 when I set the straps in place and tried the crank, the gears/teeth of the crank were slipping. It couldn't pull the weight up. I had to have someone get in the jeep and lift up on the top ( kind of like doing a press) as I turned the crank to get it to lift at all. It held for the summer but I need to replace it as I just don't trust it. I checked my warranty and it only lasts for one year. For as much money as this cost, I think this piece of equipment should last more than 2 uses. Maybe look into something else before purchasing this.

I have mixed feelings about this hoist. I chose this one as it has the crank handle and seemed like it would be much easier to use for a female. Well that is defiantly not the case. The crank is EXTREMELY slow which makes the process very long!
With following the directions of how to install the cable the rear was higher than the front making it hang uneven and caused it to be unstable. We even tried adjusting the straps to make it tighter but had to end up unwinding the cable and re-adjusting the lengths on the cable.
I cannot say how long this took as it was done over a course of a few days but defiantly several hours. My boyfriend has a similar style hoist but without the crank and never had any of these issues.
I probably wouldn't recommend this unless you have a lot of patience. In the end it does what I bought it to do, it just took a lot of effort to get there that could have been avoided with a different style hoist.

There are a lot of errors in: Lange's how-to video on YouTube and/or the Lange Originals instructions.
1. The instructions say that the 2nd (strap) pulley needs to be mounted 1/2" left of center. In the video, he says to mount the pulley 1" left of center. In reality the pulley needs to be mounted 1.5"-2" left of center. (to clear the 1st pulley)
2. The so called 'Smart Hook', the instructions say that the RED hook is for TJ 1997-2007 only, the BLACK hook is for the YJ 1987-1995 and JK 2007-Present. The video is incorrect, the instructions are correct, in this case.
3. The instructions say to use the 2nd bolt hole in the top for the 2 door Jeeps and the 1st bolt hole for the 4 doors. You HAVE TO use the 1st hole for the 2 doors too!! Otherwise the center of gravity will be way off, and the top will lift on an extreme and unsafe angle.
4. I found that the 34" measurement, between the pulleys worked well, for me. Others have had to spread the pulleys mounting apart to 37+ inches, for their application.

Also: ditch the 'wood screws' that are used to mount the pulleys into the wall and ceiling. They are essentially just drywall screws and not strong enough, in my opinion. Get yourself some 2" long, small diameter lags for much better strength and security. You should also ditch the small nuts, used for the cable clamps. Get yourself some nylok nuts or at least use some form of loctite on these tiny little bolts. My package came with 6 cable clamps, not 4, I used them all, 3 per cable. Finally, I wish that Lange would include an extra few more feet of cable. This would make a wider variety of installations possible, and allow for more of the cable to wrap around the pulley. For my application (14' ceiling and 4.5" lifted Jeep) the cable JUST BARELY reached, and I began lifting right on the cable's loops, with no extra wrap/windings. Lange could make this product much better with these upgrades. It would cost approximately $10 more per unit, and those are hardware store, retail prices. 3 stars for the hard to find pulleys and crank assembly, and entire package, which ended up working just fine, for me.

Set up was pretty simple. First time I used it it seemed like it was going to make the job a lot easier. The 2nd time I used it the back bracket that goes in between the top and the back window bent, causing the top to come down a little hard on the jeep itself scratching the paint and scuffing up the top itself. Not impressed. Not sure if I should try to get another bracket or just look for another hoist.

Can not be mounted with the winch off to the side despite what they say on their website. The winch must be directly behind the Jeep because the steel cable is not flexible enough to be pulled off to the side after it goes through the double pullies. If off to the side the cable binds on the pullies and gets stuck. Also the way the front strap works makes the roof unstable. Also the hook that goes under back squeezes the rear window gasket too much and if left in place for a long time would probably ruin the gasket and result in rear window leaks.

This hoist can be made to work, but it's not ideal. The steel cable it uses is difficult to tension, so it winds inconsistently and makes it difficult to keep the top level as it's raised/lowered. The hoist hardware only works with stock hardtops, not aftermarket hardtops. And after assembling and using the hoist, I'm convinced I could have done a better job with ordinary parts you could get at any decent hardware store.

The name is an oxymoron because installation was anything but simple. I do all the work on my cars & can pretty much put together anything but this took significantly longer than it should have. The written instructions that came with the hoist were horrible and incomplete. The online video wasn’t much better with the host giving the wrong size tools for install (9mm socket for the cable locks when they need an 8mm socket for example). The measurements for the length of 2x6’s needed was also off causing multiple trips to the home supply store for more wood. As indicated in the video you will need to use a drill with socket to raise/lower the top because the hand crank is completely useless (you’ll be winding for days to get it to move an inch). Additionally, the spools that came with my kit were different than the spools shown in the written instructions and online video so we had to figure out how to wind the cable through the spools correctly because ours didn’t have the same number or location of holes as the ones illustrated. Lastly, because the pulleys are offset, your top will lift off pulling to one side, it will take many adjustments to get level/straight. I recommend purchasing nylon locking nuts to use on the cable locks because the nuts provided will have tendency to back off on their own. That or use locktite when you finally get them adjusted to where they need to be. As others have stated, there is a warning on the package that says the lifting strap will stain your painted top, so be sure to put towels between it and your top. I also ran a couple ratchet straps under the top to ensure it doesn’t come loose as I don’t have full confidence in the cables holding it up with no locking mechanism on the hand crank or spools.

Came in one simple little box no straps no instructions just wire crank and screws in Runners that's it pretty simple operation but where the straps less you consider the wire straps oh and the hooks that go on the end of the wires for the straps I guess