Gorbel, the worldwide manufacturer of overhead material handling equipment, has just introduced an innovative hoist that will make life for all oval track racers much easier. The Shop Crane by Gorbel Performance Lifting System is a line of non-industrial overhead bridge cranes designed to help lift heavy loads in home garages, racing shops, and maintenance shops. That's right we said bridge crane…for your race car.
Shop Crane uses two parallel steel tracks, or runways, to guide a steel bridge over your work space. The bridge features a non-binding trolley that glides along the inside of the enclosed track to give you complete coverage within the frame of the system. By spreading the weight of the load over the bridge and runways of the crane, moving and positioning up to a full 2,000-pound load becomes a safe and easy one-person job.
The Shop Crane was actually designed by short track racers who work for Gorbel so naturally everything in that design is geared toward making our preparations for Saturday night easier. The design offers unmatched ease of movement and precision placement, allowing you to handle all the heavy lifting in your shop without an extra set of hands. Best of all the Shop Crane provides complete lifting coverage in standard garage bays and won't get in your way when it's not in use.
It's easy to install going from the floor to fully functional in just a few hours using only common handtools. The unit itself is available in 8-, 10-, and 12-foot widths, as measured from inside of the support column to inside of the opposing support column; and in 8-, 10-, and 12-foot heights which indicates minimum ceiling height. The actual height is 2 inches less than indicated for free movement of bridge. The standard length of the Shop Crane is 190 inches (15 feet, 10 inches). All of that adds up to a unit that could fit inside a standard two-car garage. Just think, hefting around the engine hoist when you need to change motors will now be a thing of the past.
