The whole family went to pick up the new 1988 Jeep Wrangler YJ. We packed 6 into the 4.5 seater and drove home. The next morning, even though it was December, the top came off. Everyone went for rides with blankets and coats. We were all hooked.

However, geting the top on and off was a real pain. It was bulky, heavy and the sharp edges cut into your hands. We all tried to look busy when dad was looking for some top lifting help. Then once the top was off, it sat on the floor on a blanket and took up the whole garage.

Then a major event happened. We call it "The Drop." Mom was helping lift the top and it slipped. The top was dropped and damaged an edge hitting the ground. Dad accused mom, mom blamed dad, to this day we still don't know.

There had to be an easier way...

The first hoist design was made from wood, several renditions later steel. We made the lifting frame, cutting the metal by hand with a chopsaw and drilling holes with an old drillpress in our garage. Welding was done by a neighbor. Vinal covered rods, hand bent in a vise, made hooks that would attach to the frame and connect to the top. A come-along from hardware store provided the lift.

We all gathered in the garage for the first demonstration. Remove some hardware, open the doors, attach the frame. In a couple of cranks the top was off the Jeep, in the air. Best news of all, only one person was needed to remove it. (mom was the biggest fan)

Our first advertisement, a 2x2 (no internet in those days) in the back 4WD Magazine. We sold our first hundred or so Hoist-A-Top®s over the phone direct to customers. still wondering if we had a hobby or a business, we displayed at the SEMA show in Las Vegas in 1989. At SEMA we met Ted Wence, Just then forming Quadratec®, which went on to be the largest Jeep Wrangler aftermarket company in the nation. Ted and his crew were a huge part of helping us distribute our products and going from a side job to a business. 

We now enjoy Larger facility's, established packaging services, more employee help, and manufacturing technology that we would have only dreamed about 36 years ago. We still love Jeeps, and have branched out into other products and other vehicles that have removable tops.

However, we still consider ourselves small enough to be able to pay attention to the small details. We're still family owned and all our products are made or assembled here in Utah USA. We thank God for watching over us all, and thank you, our customers for your support.