Racor - LDL-1B Ceiling Ladder Lift - Up to 150 lbs

I always hated using up so much wall space for hanging my fiberglass 28' ladder. Moreover, while it could be lifted on and off solo, is was quite easier with two people. I wanted a better way. This storage system is the perfect solution. It took only about 20 minutes to install on the garage ceiling and allows simple, one-person storage and removal of the ladder - plus I get my walls back for more storage!! Watch the video - it doesn't over exaggerate the ease of use. My only advice is to carefully read the instructions about locating the pulley system in the correct place (it does matter) and be prepared to place cross member supports if your joists don't align with your installation location. As noted in another review, be sure check for clearance with your garage doors if you are installing over the garage door. Seriously though, this is pretty darn foolproof. The components are made of steel and seem very solid. Using the pulley system couldn't be any easier. Honestly, they could have charged double and it would still be worth the money. Wish I would have found this years ago. J.

This device offers a good way to get your ladder off the floor and out of the way. I have a very solid (read: relatively heavy) 24' type 1A ladder that I use very infrequently. For years I stored it near the garage ceiling, like the Racor Lifter does, only on a homemade hanger bar and hook. That arrangement worked fine for storage, but it was tough to get the ladder up on the hook and down again. I needed a step ladder to get to the extension ladder and it seemed I was always lifting at an awkward angle, further complicated by the usual garage stuff stored under the ladder along the wall it was closest too. One day I went to get the ladder down for a quick job without clearing the area around it as much as usual. The reaching and twisting required to get the ladder down without relocating other things on the floor took a toll. My back and shoulder were sore for months. While trying to design my own ladder lift assembly, I found this Racor unit. It was close to what I planned to do anyway, with good reviews and an acceptable price tag. The most challenging part of installing the Lifter was deciding where to put it. I have typical garage door tracks and openers hanging down. Those obstructions, some shelving and a bench I didn’t want to move, limited my options, especially considering one needs an open wall section reasonably near one end of the ladder for tying off the lift line. Next, I had to find usable structural members through the drywall ceiling. Finally, I had to come to grips with the concept that the ladder would be hanging much more into the center of the garage than it had been. It turns out the more exposed location was a good thing. It’s not any more unsightly than it was near the wall, and even though the lift is easier, open space below the ladder is still required. Keep in mind that the Lifter suspends the ladder several inches from the ceiling, not right up against it. This is necessary to allow you to get the ladder rungs hooked on the idle end bracket while the other end is still on the floor, and it is necessary for clearance of the pulley block assembly on the opposite end of the ladder. When hanging, my ladder is 8” from the ceiling and it’s a little over 14” from the lowest side of the ladder to the ceiling. The Lifter makes it a whole lot easier for one person to handle storing and retrieving an extension ladder.

Much easier to install than anticipated... Then again, I opted to scrap the provided directions & compile feedback from the reviewers (i.e., replace the lag bolts & sheet metal screws) + watch some very helpful vids on YouTube (fave tagged "GoPro How to Install a Ladder Lift"), which happens to be specifically for the Racor LDL-1B. Tools needed: - Stud Finder (center finding) + Pencil - Power Drill + bits/Screwdriver That simple... A bulk of the install was assuring that my stud markings were accurate considering this was being mounted near an elliptical & hovering above the tail-end of my M5. As soon as I drilled the pilot holes & struck wood/resistance (& showered with burnt smelling sawdust), I knew I'd struck gold... J-Hook was mounted securely with my Home Depot, Galvanized Lag Bolts & though the sheet metal was a bit wobbly, it wasn't going anywhere... I laid the ladder flat & measured from the bottom step (step I planned to reverse mount to the J-Hook), to the top of the A-Frame ladder, then attached the tape measure to the hook (atop a step stool) to gauge how far back I had to mount the Pulley Assembly. Per the instructions; if the closest ceiling joist doesn't extend BEYOND the ladder, then assure that you position it so that it does. You DO NOT want the ladder to overlap the assembly for safety reasons. The amount of rope they provide for the doubled-up pulley system should be more than sufficient (with plenty of slack left for my 10ft A-Frame). Once the pulley assembly was mounted/secured, attaching/lifting the ladder was an absolute breeze... With the pulley assembly just beyond the top of the ladder, each pull has a safety latch that locks/secures the rope. A dozen or so pulls later, then ladder was practically level with the legs/J-Hook. I attached the rope cleat to the wall, just above reach for most hands (young children in the house) & wound the slack for what felt like an eternity. It may seem as if the rope slack is excess (tempting you to cut), but I can assure you, you'll need every bit of it... Job itself (for my paranoid, OCD self) took about 30 minutes, but I don't see this thing going anywhere. As I stated prior, it's hovering from the ceiling just above the trunk of my M5 & parallel to my Wife's elliptical (science behind the design minimized/silenced my trust issues). Though it does feel stable, the wobbly J-Hook is a bit "questionable," so I've secured the lower 1/2 of my ladder to the hook with carefully placed rubber bungee cords. The rubber wrapped around the metal J-Hook completely eliminates any movement (I can't even shift the ladder from side to side), without removing/maneuvering the cords. Peace of mind, particularly in earthquake prone California... In summary; a very simple/safe system (assuming you're bolting into ceiling joists, following the best practice guidance & replacing the provided hardware with some high-quality bolts/screws). I've included a bunch of pics as well, including the bungee cord wrap... Best part of the job? I no longer have a 10 ft bulky ladder on my floor, taking up an entire section of the wall! All-in-All, I felt quite accomplished considering I’m not much of a handyman/don't work much with my hands (outside of typing on a computer all day) & if "I" can do it, ANYONE can... Hope this helps! *** Update 12/2/2018 *** I still consider this a 4 star product, though (as reviewers have mentioned), am disappointed with some of the cheap/necessary components (when it comes to safety). DO purchase your own lag screws (set provided are far from sufficient). In addition, the rope cleat provided is laughable & fracture under the weight of the rope without any resistance. You would hope that the pulley system/lock would prevent the ladder from falling, but in the event of some fluke failure, the ladder could've fallen on my car (or worse). Though the $ is reasonable, you'll still need to invest in better screws/bolts & a better cleat (I had to get an 8" marine cleat to account for the slack). This isn't just for peace of mind either, this should be an absolute requirement from a safety perspective.

So glad I got this! Very sturdy and ph so easy to use, I love not dreading having to get my ladder now, I just pull on the rope that’s secured to a hook in a wall stud and the ladder bottom floats down to the ground and I can lift it easily off the mount hook and take it for whatever project I need it for in no time and little effort. And putting it back up is nearly as easy. It takes up no room in my garage and easily mounted to ceiling above my vehicle behind a one car garage door. Out of sight, out of mind, but there the minute I need it. I installed it myself, didn’t need my hubby :) Perfect! Great quality

Perfect. With all 5 stars it’s hard to beat and after purchase it worked well. You can modify this to work better. It hangs down farther then I would like and the garage door would not close in garage. I changed the mount for the pully by mounting it up inside the truss with a cross mounting board. That way it would pull it all the way up against the truss. Not able to do the same on the other side or I would not be able to put ladder in the U part. So on the U end, I mounted the U to the bottom of the truss and then put an eye screw on either side of the ladder. I then Mounted the ladder as instructed and then used a ratchet strap by hooking an end in each eye screw and pulling the ladder right against the ceiling. Now I have room to open the garage door. When I want to take it down ( not often) I will release the ratchet strap so that end sits in the U and then lower It like the Directions say to do so. Nice unit.

Saw this in the August-September 2012 issue of "Handy" magazine (Handyman Club of America Magazine) as one of their "Home Improvement Headliners." I have a heavy 24" Aluminum extension ladder for use around the home. I have had it hanging on two heavy hooks attached to boards attached to my cinder block basement wall. I only use the ladder a half dozen times during the year and I have better ways to use the wall space. The instructions were easy to follow, it took perhaps 45 minutes to install because my helper and I were in no hurry, could have taken less time. I placed it in my unfinished basement attached to the floor joists. My basement has two extra courses of block so it is a bit higher than other basements in the area. It looks good hanging from the ceiling and the ladder lift works as advertised. The hook for the one end is heavy duty (at least to me it appears this way) and the pulley system works with ease either letting the ladder down or pulling it up. Storing the ladder is easier than when I would place it on the wall hooks. I expect the ladder lift to give me many years of use. BCA's husband TEA

Awesome product, great customer service. Instructions came only for french and spanish; I emailed Racor's (not Amazon's) customer service requesting English in pdf format and they provided it the very next day. Great service. Like the product a lot. It has gotten my 20' extension ladder up off the garage floor, or garage wall, or off of the top of my 27-gal or 50-gal storage bins or shelves or wherever else my ladder has resided all these years. That big ole ladder is probably one of the most underused pieces of important homeowner equipment that was the bane of my storage yet I could not get rid off. This product keeps it nicely out of the way above the vehicles in what was previously unused ceiling space. I like it so much that I did not subtract one star (I was going to give it only four, but its pluses outweigh its negatives) for the follwoing cons: I think the bracket could have been more robust. It is quite robust as-is, true, but my relatively small (as far as extension ladders go) 20-footer caused visible sag in the J-bracket. I personally do not feel like the J-bracket would fail anytime soon, but I would have more loved it if there was no detectable sag in the J-bracket from the weight of the ladder at all. The product touts a "locking" ability. The instructions state that if you pull the rope toward some off-angle that some kind of friction lock will engage. I found that to work only sporadically. Minor problem, but if someone relies upon that while they turn around for a moment to do something else... Those are the only two gripes. Otherwise an excellent product and fine service. The lowest point of the ladder is less than 1' below the ceiling, I didn't measure it precisely but I eyeball-estimate it hangs 8-10 inches. So plenty of room for the wrangler to fit under it. Here's a frame of reference: The J-hook is long enough that my Ryobi impact driver/drill had room to fit inside the "J" to attach the lag bolts to the joist. Oh, that's another good thing about this product - the lag bolts for the J-hook are substantial enough. Makes sure you screw into joists. All bets are off if you try to anchor into drywall.

I purchased 2 of these ladder lifts; the two items had: (a) different bottom pulley sizes (2” vs 1” diameter); and (b) different rope cleat materials (metal vs plastic). Also noted that the Racor logo on plastic pulley assembly cover differed (painted red vs unpainted), but not of concern. Called Racor customer support and enquired whether one of these was an “old version”; they graciously agreed to send me a replacement. It arrived several weeks later and had the smaller lower pulley, plastic rope cleat and unpainted logo. I would have preferred one with the larger bottom pulley and the metal rope cleat, both of which would seem sturdier. PROS 4:1 mechanical advantage makes it easy to lift my 85-lb extension ladder Material quality generally seems good CONS The J-hook also has some forward/backward flex when placing ladder end into it. As a few other reviewers have noted, ladder end placed in J-hook has potential to slide from side-to-side (metal on metal) which could allow your ladder to tip out of the J-hook; obviously, this is a little concerning. Others have also expressed concern about lateral forces from the pulley assembly could pull the ladder over the front lip and out of the J-hook. Rope end in pulley assembly was held with a single knot, potential to loosen and pull through hole? HACK NOTES (see Pics) To stiffen the J-hook: attached a shelf support bracket to the back. Increased knot size on rope end to ensure it doesn’t pull through pulley assembly hole. To address the J-Hook side-to-side movement issue: used carpet tape to attach a square of rubber stair tread (1/8” thick) inside the J-hook; worked well and stopped the sliding. Also attached to the front lip of the J-hook a couple 90-degree galvanized steel ties (A23Z) using rivets with reinforcing washers (all steel); allowed 1/4” clearance over ladder rung. This not only limits tipping but eliminates concern that lateral force from pulley assembly might pull ladder rung up and over front lip. If you have limited clearance issues, and need ladder to hang absolutely horizontal, might want to mount the J-hook and pulley assemblies at different levels on ceiling: I used 1.5” thick board above the J-hook, and 0.5” thick board above the pulley assembly (bolted through and into joists). Mounting pulley assembly just beyond/directly above final ladder rung may not allow for horizontal ladder position, so you may need to position a little further beyond end of ladder. The rope cleat is a safety backup in case the rope cinch mechanism fails. Because I don’t use my extension ladders very often, I didn’t use the rope cleats, but instead tied a temporary loop knot in the rope and threaded through an eyelet hook (screwed into joist) and attached a spring link which can’t pull back through. A Velcro storage strap ties the rope together and hooks onto the spring link. My pics also show a Velcro hanging strap (not recommended for overhead storage); as a safety backup those have been replaced with chain, quick links and a swivel bolt snap.

It works just perfect.

Easy to install and operate! Well worth it.

The latch is a little flimsy. Worries me when hooking in the ladder. Supported with extra bracing. However, love the system. Great storage to free up my garage space.

Product works great