Customer Reviews for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Racor built its first garage storage rack in 1985. Their ProStor array of products provides the broadest range of garage storage products for many specific uses. ProStor products are designed for maximum function while delivering the very best quality.
The Heavylift allows you to load and lift heavy items to the ceiling (up to 12 ft high) without using a ladder. Simply raise and lower the 4’ x 4’ storage platform with the hand crank provided.
It provides easy storage for file boxes, outdoor furniture, lawn mowers, big tools, snow throwers, large toys, canoes, kayaks, holiday ornaments, tires, ladders lumber, third row car seats and just about anything else you can imagine. You can also use the Heavylift to store lightweight truck canopies or convertible car tops.
Includes heavy-duty steel support beams, 4’ x 4’ platform, winding axle, vinyl coated steel cable, hand crank and all mounting hardware
Max Capacity: Up to 250 lbs. (of evenly distributed static weight)
For use with ceilings 8-12 ft. high, will lower 8 ft. from the ceiling
Tools required for installation: Stud finder, wrench, drill/driver, pencil and 4’ straight edge or chalk line
Assembly required
Dimensions: 4' x 4'
Weight: 66 lbs.
Warranty: 1-year on all parts
Model: PHL-1R
Average Customer Rating:
(17 Reviews) 17
(out of 17 reviews)
Rating Snapshot (17 reviews)
5 stars
6
4 stars
7
3 stars
2
2 stars
1
1 star
1
16 of 17(94%)customers would recommend this product to a friend.
Customer Reviews for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Review 1 for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Rating:
Cruiser57
Location:Arlington, TX
Date:January 22, 2013
A Great Addition For the Garage
Pros: it is well built and looks good., has easy to follow instructions
Cons: it is hard to manually crank up to the ceiling.
Model Number: PHL-1R
"In looking for a way to store our Christmas tree, ornaments and outdoor lighting in the garage I first looked at buying a storage rack I had seen in our local Costco. I went to the Costco website to find the dimensions, but found a new product instead. I saw the Racor Ceiling lift was large enough to hold everything and ordered one. It came with easy to follow instructions and was simple to install (1 1/2 hrs.)
This lift freed up garage floor space by not having a standing rack along a wall. I found using the provided hand crank to raise and lower the lift to be slow and troublesome. However, by using the provided adaptor and hooking up the crank to a 1/2" drill motor, it raised and lowered with ease."
This lift freed up garage floor space by not having a standing rack along a wall. I found using the provided hand crank to raise and lower the lift to be slow and troublesome. However, by using the provided adaptor and hooking up the crank to a 1/2" drill motor, it raised and lowered with ease."
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Review 2 for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Rating:
es3153
Date:September 7, 2012
Better Racks out there
Cons: limited warranty, limited weight cap, one size
"Costco carries good stuff and this is a good rack, but there are better ones out there that are bigger and hold more stuff and have lifetime warranties, not to mention made in the USA."
0 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Review 3 for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Rating:
Anonon
Location:CA
Date:August 29, 2012
Works like they said it would
"Very well made, good sturdy materials. Good instructions...I was able to assemble and install, even."
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 4 for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Rating:
recodie
Date:January 12, 2012
Works well
"This lift works very well and cleared a lot of floor space for my garage. Unfortunately, I did run into issues with instructions and some of the hardware. I would however buy it again if I had the space to mount another one."
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 5 for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Rating:
Diodex
Location:Auburn, WA
Date:January 7, 2012
Worked like a charm
Pros: puts things up and out of the way, perfect for those holiday decoration bins
Cons: instructions need a little work
"I bought two of these since our garage ceiling isn't too high and we own an SUV with a roof rack. I was able to install one of them in a couple of hours. The instructions were not very intuitive so I had to fill the "not too obvious" sections with lucky guesses. However after installing it we were very pleased. Strong suggestion: use a drill and if your drill has two speeds, use the low speed. It feels like you have better control when raising the rack. I am ordering one more after I finish this review."
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Review 6 for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Rating:
MCFARLMT
Location:Perry Hall, MD
Date:June 24, 2011
Great Idea, Needs Improvement
Pros: concept
Cons: manual video parts are poor quality
"I think the concept is great, especially for those of us who need every inch of space. When I first installed the item, the bar rectangular bar would rotate upward when you tighten the "J" bolts. I thought I was doing something wrong, however when I spoke to the company they said it was a common problem and to only hand tighten. The other problem was the J bolts with nuts would not fit with the washer in a lot of cases. Again the company said it was a common problem and that the J Bolts were cut to short. The instruction manual and video need a lot of work and I am only 1/2 way done. I wish Costco had someone to install."
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Review 7 for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Rating:
StorageQueen
Location:Frisco, TX
Date:April 20, 2011
Perfect Storage Rack
Pros: easy to use.
Cons: none
"It was exactly what I was looking for storage in the garage. I can lower and raise without having to get a ladder. I looked online and Costco had the best prices. Thank you."
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Review 8 for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Rating:
tornadogarage
Location:Seattle, Wa
Date:January 13, 2011
Nice for extra storage
Pros: great for extra storage.
Cons: very poor instructions, poor installation hardware
Model Number: Model PHL-1R
"This is a great idea for extra storage. Installation goes much better with 2 people and a little of your own hardware."
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 9 for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Rating:
GeorgeR
Location:Portland, OR
Date:December 30, 2010
Good storage after installation struggles
Pros: good storage in unused space, with power drill works great.
Cons: installation is not trivial
"I just installed 4 Racor Heavy Lifts above garage doors. My comments are related to product design, quality and installation:
I believe that overall design is very good. It works great after somehow experimental installation. At first I installed two 2”x6”x70” boards on the ceiling perpendicular to joists. For installation I used 5 of 3/8” x 3 ½” lag bolts / board. Lag bolts location must allow direct contact of arms assembly with the board. 9/32” pilot holes were drilled for lag bolts. To ease the installation I used laser cross projection level to assure good alignment.
I used all supplied lag bolts to mount arms assembly to 2" x 6" boards, 1/8” pilot holes and soap.
Contrary to installation manual I assembled wire grid platform at the end. Holes in the beam support did not align with wire grid so I found that it was best to start with the outer j-bolts and force the grid down in the middle section.
My judgment about quality of the sub-components in the scale 1 to 10 with 10 being perfect is:
Lag bolts – 9 if bolted directly to wood, with 5/8” sheetrock – 3
Arms assembly – 8, center bracket could be stronger.
Support beam, wire grid platform, j-bolts – 5, low due to holes misalignment, over tighten j-bolts caused beam rotation, design problem.
Winch – 10
Cables and clamps – 1, get ready to replace original clamps with 3/16” clamps at 25% rate.
Installation manual [-10]
Overall rating: design - 9, quality – 6 (clamps) overall – 8. It works and I added 64 SF of storage."
I believe that overall design is very good. It works great after somehow experimental installation. At first I installed two 2”x6”x70” boards on the ceiling perpendicular to joists. For installation I used 5 of 3/8” x 3 ½” lag bolts / board. Lag bolts location must allow direct contact of arms assembly with the board. 9/32” pilot holes were drilled for lag bolts. To ease the installation I used laser cross projection level to assure good alignment.
I used all supplied lag bolts to mount arms assembly to 2" x 6" boards, 1/8” pilot holes and soap.
Contrary to installation manual I assembled wire grid platform at the end. Holes in the beam support did not align with wire grid so I found that it was best to start with the outer j-bolts and force the grid down in the middle section.
My judgment about quality of the sub-components in the scale 1 to 10 with 10 being perfect is:
Lag bolts – 9 if bolted directly to wood, with 5/8” sheetrock – 3
Arms assembly – 8, center bracket could be stronger.
Support beam, wire grid platform, j-bolts – 5, low due to holes misalignment, over tighten j-bolts caused beam rotation, design problem.
Winch – 10
Cables and clamps – 1, get ready to replace original clamps with 3/16” clamps at 25% rate.
Installation manual [-10]
Overall rating: design - 9, quality – 6 (clamps) overall – 8. It works and I added 64 SF of storage."
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Review 10 for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Rating:
Northwoods
Location:Coeur d Alene, ID.
Date:August 20, 2010
GOOD could improve
"First I raise and lower my unit with a 14 volt battery drill. No need for a larger drill!!!
Yes the diagrams included with the unit can be improved. Watch the Video.
Only safety concern is the lack of Lock Washers or Nylock Nuts. I bought Nylock Nuts, with the load, you don't want anything coming loose.
I'm ordering another one, opens up more room in Garage."
Yes the diagrams included with the unit can be improved. Watch the Video.
Only safety concern is the lack of Lock Washers or Nylock Nuts. I bought Nylock Nuts, with the load, you don't want anything coming loose.
I'm ordering another one, opens up more room in Garage."
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 11 for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Rating:
MLELN
Location:California
Date:August 12, 2010
racaor proStor Heavylift
"This was a great addition to our garage storage. Eliminated trying to hoist items up onto the rafters. (Christmas deco, etc.)
It wasn't difficult to install; but be sure to check your joists; ours weren't equal distances from each other along the length of the rafters. We had to "jerry rig" it a bit, but it turned out fine. We're not expert handy people, but did muddle through and get it installed. (We're 75 yrs. old)
Our rafters aren't high; so we put bright ribbons on the corners, other wise we are apt to bump into the corners. It's a great storage system!"
It wasn't difficult to install; but be sure to check your joists; ours weren't equal distances from each other along the length of the rafters. We had to "jerry rig" it a bit, but it turned out fine. We're not expert handy people, but did muddle through and get it installed. (We're 75 yrs. old)
Our rafters aren't high; so we put bright ribbons on the corners, other wise we are apt to bump into the corners. It's a great storage system!"
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Review 12 for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Rating:
tubsandnuts
Location:albuquerque, nm
Date:August 10, 2010
Now I can park my car in the garage
Pros: professional quality, makes use of unused square footage
Cons: vague instructions, difficult to manually raise/lower
"Very useful product. Was able to store all of our christmas decorations up and out of the way. Finally, now able to park both of the cars in the garage. The instructions are quite vague and the most difficult part for me was identifying studs to anchor to."
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Review 13 for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Rating:
QBPro
Location:Simi Valley, CA
Date:August 6, 2010
It does what it says!
Model Number: PHL-1R HEAVYLIFT
"The Heavylift did in fact take a little effort to install since it is above your head. The actual parts are built with heavy gauge steel and contribute to making this storage system well worth the effort to install it. Overall it took about four hours to complete the job. The device can be raised with a standard drill which makes the lowering and raising simple. I give this one 4.5 stars."
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Review 14 for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Rating:
MeasureTwice
Location:Chicago, IL
Date:June 25, 2010
Works Well
"So it does take a little effort to get it mounted just like all things that mount to the ceiling-it is never easy working over your head. I have a 13 foot ceiling in my garage and the rack comes down to a great height for loading. With some added 2x4's I built a frame that sits on top of the shelf which allowed me to but 5 sets of bike hooks from the underside. Now I have 5 bikes hanging from the bottom with light tubs sitting on the platform. I am just under the load limit. Cranking up is a little difficult given my load. The crank handle is 2 pieces. The top part that attaches to the unit has a drill attachment in the bottom that will fit ANY DRILL motor. Or you connect the other part of the handle and crank it by hand. Unfortunately, given the height of my ceiling, the top part alone is not long enough and using a drill would require me to stand on a stool. I plan on making a longer handle specific for the drill. I wish they would have a motorized version. I also have the gator lift and pushing a button is a lot easier.
Bottom line is that I am very happy and all of its faults (I too had a cord that was longer) are easy to overcome)"
Bottom line is that I am very happy and all of its faults (I too had a cord that was longer) are easy to overcome)"
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Review 15 for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Rating:
carolina
Date:November 11, 2009
GREAT STORAGE
"This provided great storage - we bought 3 and are ordering another today! A bit time consuming and some figuring to install - but well worth it in the long run!"
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 16 for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Rating:
Kendro
Date:September 17, 2009
Nice storage option
Pros: lots of storage, fishing rod storage
"My wife and I installed one of these a few years back. We did it in about 1 hour, with no problems. Not sure what the earlier reviewers problems were.I'm just waiting for the sale price I got the last time ($99.99), then I'll buy one for the other side of the garage. As far as the manual drive and safety latch, yeah its a slight pain but certainly not a problem. After two years of use I never even think about it anymore."
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 17 for Racor Ceiling Storage Lift
Rating:
TomR4
Location:Long Island, NY
Date:September 1, 2009
Directions SUCK!!!
Pros: seems solid reliable
Cons: took me a full day to install, whoever wrote the directions should be shot!!!
"Now that I finally installed this, it works well, but the directions are a nightmare!!!
- Holes in the celing brackets do not line up to 16 inch ceiling studs, forcing you to mount a board to the ceiling first, and mounting the brackets to that. (Directions say you can do it either way)
- "Gear drive" instructions completely left out anything about the safety device - took me a half hour to figure it out. Picture showing it is useless.
One cable was 6 - 8 inches longer than the other, so the shelf was not level until I fixed it. (minor, but annoying).
Bracket needs at least 9 inches of wall clearance from where you drill the holes for mounting bracket - not mentioned.
- Directions say the hook to raise / lower the shelf can be mounted to a drill, but it takes a 3/4 inch drill (or some adapter) to use a drill. Manually raising / lowering takes about 100 revolutions."
- "Gear drive" instructions completely left out anything about the safety device - took me a half hour to figure it out. Picture showing it is useless.
One cable was 6 - 8 inches longer than the other, so the shelf was not level until I fixed it. (minor, but annoying).
Bracket needs at least 9 inches of wall clearance from where you drill the holes for mounting bracket - not mentioned.
- Directions say the hook to raise / lower the shelf can be mounted to a drill, but it takes a 3/4 inch drill (or some adapter) to use a drill. Manually raising / lowering takes about 100 revolutions."
6 of 8 people found this review helpful.
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