Finally, my um…frugal-when-it-comes-to-himself husband bought himself a fun car. It is a Jeep Wrangler and really is a blast to ride around in. (He has no desire to go “mudding,” I think…He was not looking for anything except the wind in his face. With a back seat.) Anyway, he got a great deal for a used car, and more importantly, he is one happy camper.
Even while he was negotiating, he knew we would have a storage problem. Where to put a hard top for at least six months of the year? We have a barely-two-car garage and all of the stuff, necessary and not-so-necessary, that comes with 21 years of marriage, two children, and a dog. His immediate thought [read “wish”] was to add another garage. This was not going to happen.
He began looking up. In prayer, you might think? No. Well, maybe…But definitely in problem-solving mode. Seeing our suspended bikes led him to the idea of suspending the hard top. He envisioned the contraption, then drew it up. He consulted “the Google,” and, lo-and-behold, some other idea-thieves had envisioned something similar first! I hate it when that happens.
He tweaked his own plan and improved on theirs (at least, I think so). And here it is:
Pure Genius.
The project required a little bit of creativity in the attic—2×4 bracing, some hooks, a 2×4 for support below, and four heavy-duty straps. It takes two or three people to raise and lower–not because of the 100 pound weight, but for stability and leveling. We will probably only do that a couple of times a year. Pretty cool—and cheap. Around $35 for the project. When “genius” is under $100, I am also a happy camper.
