Adsitco hardtop holder (stand)

[warren128]

Anyone out there own this particular brand of hardtop stand? If so, can you give your opinion/review of this stand regarding build quality, design, etc? How well does it work for you?

I'm considering this for my '90 500SL.

thanks,

Warren

[tecqboy]

Yes, I have the stand you are interested in. It's OK. Not great, but adaquate to the task. It comes with a cloth cover. My first impression was that anybody with a pipe bender and a few bolts could probably built it for 10 percent of the asking price, but then it wouldn't look as nice. My only complaint would be that the wheels are a bit too small. Rolling it over cracks in the driveway is a problem.

[Robert Mowbray]

My brother-in-law is a sheet metal fabricator, and he made me one, as you say, Warren128, for much less than the asking price. I don't use it much. It is kind of unwieldy to move around, but good if you don't plan on moving it much. The best thing, I think, would be one of those hoists, but I don't have a garage on my house. (I rent garage space for the car.)

[jjrodger]

I use the MB stand. I found it to be the cheapest available. It rolls on smallish locking castors. It has straps and a good cover. It requires care when moving over bumps and cracks and so on, but my driveway and stable (in which I keep the hardtop when not on the car) are very roughly surfaced. It has never really threatened to topple.

[warren128]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies. I've been thinking about it, and perhaps a folding rack would be better because it would be easier to store away when not in use. I was attracted to the Adsitco rack because it is currently on sale for $135, but it does not fold. Performance Products makes a folding one for $165.

JJ, is the Mercedes folding rack really the cheapest? I thought it was over $200?

Regards,

Warren

[jjrodger]

I paid GBP165 for my Mercedes rack. It is a folding rack. It was cheaper than others on the UK market, which were generally GBP200-400. However, at the time, that sum equated to about $210. The MB rack is a good one, and of course it is fitted for the roof so is guaranteed to balance &c. However, you can certainly get a better rack: in particular, bigger and sturdier wheels would be an improvement.

Have you tried e-bay? These things appear there sometimes.

[RickM]

Warren,

I have the rack shown in the auction link below. It looks to be $15-$20 worth of home depot hardware. If you'd like I'll take pics and measurments. Like the Hardtop hoist this is an afternoon project.

I also agree with the rest, the casters are too small. However I don't roll mine around too much.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6763&item=2455102487

[dmorrison]

I know you may not want to spend the $$ for this, but I have it and it is a one man operation. It stores the top well in a protected cover and does not marr or make permenent impressions on the rubber weatherstripping. I do like the units

http://home.earthlink.net/~garbiso/menu.htm

Dave

[ragtopper]

If you're still offering, I'd like some measurements for the 107 hardtop storage rack (roll-around type). I need to build something quick and simple. Thanks.

Ragtopper