Pros & Cons of Hanging Storage Racks

Saferacks, Hyloft, Strong Racks, & Topp Rax

This article will save you time looking for overhead storage shelving with this pros and cons of various brands. For me the storage & organization department of the hardware store always gets a peek. I get pumped up about shelving … strange, I realize. I enjoy taking time studying the materials, evaluating the anchors and brackets, and appreciating the creative models. Your enthusiasm probably lays with something else, so allow me to expedite your researching efforts by summarizing my findings for you.

I have tried to mention something good and bad about each manufacturer. However, I am disclosing at this point that I sell the Topp Rax brand through my ecommerce site, so my opinions are unavoidably partial plus I have the most knowledge about this brand. I would be glad to sell any of these brands on my website if I were able. It's in my best interest to supply many options to my site's visitors, to allow them to purchase the rack that has the features that are most important to them. Disclaimer aside, let's evaluate a number of the major brands.

Saferacks has many inspiring images on their site and they also have accessories to go onto their racks. Overall, this is an excellent buy and it’s easy to get one at a terrific price because they can be bought at CostCo. Saferacks are also sold under the MonsterRAX brand. The company sells an excellent assortment of sizes between 4/6/8 feet wide and 2/3/4 feet deep. These choices are great because not everyone needs a 4x8 rack. I praise their use of C-channel framing and cross tie supports. My only issue is that certain cross ties are smaller since they're meant to support only the decking. Which means the design has a weak point on the outside frame. What's more, I find it funny their site uses pictures of families hanging from the rack to show how safe their product is even though the instructions very clearly state “Do not climb on or hang from the storage rack.”

Hyloft is designed with a minimal design that make the shelf less costly. The drawback is that it isn't as sturdy as different brands. The cross tie supports and vertical brackets are minimal. I would find it difficult trusting this rack not to fall once it is loaded with my belongings. However, if I were storing merely light-weight items, this would work well. Note that the lack of ceiling brackets that span multiple ceiling beam may limit your options for orientation and location. I admire how inexpensive their 4x4 rack is and would consider that for small storage needs which are not above a regularly trafficked path.

Strong Racks is built with the reverse approach. This shelf is almost overbuilt. The Strong Racks website has a nice ‘Checklist Challenge’ video that covers the details. For example, the mounting tracks are 11 gauge steel where 14 gauge is typical in other products. The verticals are square tube steel as opposed to regular angled steel. Their product utilizes more nuts and bolts as compared to any other rack. Expect to spend a lot of the installation time tightening these fasteners. I appreciate the ridge along the edge of their framing. It keeps you from unintentionally pushing stuff over the back of the shelf. This also relieves worry about my boxes sliding over the side.

Topp Rax displays their solid design in a ‘Compare Racks’ video that features a stomp test on various brands. You can see how solid this rack is when the guy in the video shakes the side of each rack. I enjoy watching the competitor's racks bend when he walks and bounces on the outside frames. Yet the Topp Rax framing stands up because of the additional cross ties that reinforce the frame. The decking is correctly supported on all four sides by the framing, too. The problem with Topp Rax is that it isn't a low cost product. If you live near a big box hardware store, you can find sufficiently sturdy racks at a better price. One more bad thing is that online it is only available in 4x8 size.

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6 Overhead Storage Ideas (with Pictures)

This article is a quick overview of different ceiling storage options. Consider the advantages and disadvantages and decide what is the preferred fit for your garage organization venture. No matter the alternative you select, consider weight limits of the overhead storage options and be safe.

You could build a hanging rack from lumber. This alternatives requires the correct tools for cutting wood, in addition to a little handyman skill. For anybody who is comfortable cutting, measuring, and anchoring this method may be good for you. Many sites supply free blueprints for hanging shelving, which means you don’t have to be a professional carpenter. Yet a negative thing is that the decking will likely be a piece of wood. This can be less desirable than wire decking due to the fact you can’t see through this kind of decking to identify what you’ve stacked in the deeper parts of your platform.

The next approach is to build a metal hanging storage rack. If you have the professional equipment and access to angled iron, you may be able to build one on your own. However I suspect you will not save much money. In the event you create your own solution, do not forget to factor in the cost of decking. If you opt to just purchase a hanging rack, you've got many companies to choose from including Topp Rax, Onrax, SafeRacks, Strong Racks, and Hyloft. This is nothing close to a complete list of companies. Please read my other article submissions because I plan to do a review of these brands.

I see an image floating around on social networking sites (Pinterest) of 2x4’s attached to a garage ceiling with red bins that slide to the T-shaped structure. As impressive as this particular setup looks, the specific totes with reinforced lips along the top are expensive. For a half dozen bins, you could as well purchase a rack and pay someone to install it in your garage. You need totes with at least 3/4" overhang. Be mindful of the limits on rim height as well, which depends on how you build the tracks. Moreover, the containers are not transparent. I am a nitpicker for making use of clear totes for extended storage due to the fact it's so easy to forget everything you placed in each tote. Labeling might be sufficient so long as you label a minimum of two sides of the tote and do not store anything in the tote that doesn't fall under that label. Or just make it simple and use clear totes.

Another way to turn unused ceiling space into storage space is setting up a two-foot shelf along the edge of the garage. Again, there is an option to buy or build. Narrow shelving is enough depth to hold a row of totes. This kind of shelf doesn't entice you to bury your totes double deep, but I do not like the unused area in center ceiling. One particularly innovative product you can buy online is the Monkey Bar storage shelf. They've got numerous variations made by using standard parts in different combinations. Their product can be ordered as a tool rack, ski rack, golf rack, shelf kit, etc. I particularly am fond of easily moveable hooks as it allows me to shuffle around how I initially intended to be my best arrangement of hooks, but then discovered there was on a slightly better way of arranging the hooks. This kind of mixing is difficult if I make use of numerous individual nails and hooks.

My last suggestion for overhead storage is a motorized lift. Smaller devices like the Racor ceiling storage lift has lower weight restrictions of 250 lbs. Garage Gator has a flexible arrangement of motor-driven hooks and cables. To get powerful lifts, consider the Loft-It storage lift. This beast provides a 1200 pound capacity which means you can place a watercraft, motorcycle, or lawn tractor on it. It is costly, but less expensive than building an additional garage!