By now you all must realize how much I love good storage and organization. Why else would I have spent so much time working on pegboard, a lumber rack, workbenches, and storage shelves? So I was excited when Racor offered up a few storage items because, let’s face it, building your own bike lift just isn’t practical. Racor manufactures a wide variety of storage solutions, and what I’m about to show you is just a small snapshot.
GaragePro
Similar to the Craftsman and Gladiator hanging wall systems (and about the same price), the Racor GaragePro includes a rail support for tools, garage and lawn & garden items. The kit comes with a small shelf, several hooks and pegs, and two 24″ rails that can support a whopping combined weight of 1000 lbs!
The all-metal rails have an integrated level (by my thumb) which makes them easier to mount.
The two rails are 24″ long and should be mounted to studs. However, I was disappointed to find that the pre-drilled holes don’t correspond with 16″ oc framing so I drilled a couple holes of my own so that both rails are screwed into two studs. Otherwise, one end is left floating between studs (which is OK according to the directions).
After the rails went up, it was easy to slide the included hooks and shelf into place.
The pegs mount by driving a screw into one of the pre-drilled holes.
Bike Lift
Racor offers a couple different bike solutions like the Bike Lift for storing your bicycle overhead (or just off the ground in my case). It works by utilizing a few pulleys and hooks that grab the handles bars and seat of the bike. The rope is secured in place by the locking mechanism and tied-off on the wall cleat.
You can see in the pictures that I installed the Bike Lift on angled, roof framing, and I believe this cause the locking mechanism to be a little difficult. I had a hard time disengaging the lock to lower the bike. Otherwise, it makes for a great option for bike storage.
Snap2It
Snap2It is Racor’s line of interchangeable hooks, baskets, wraps and racks, and I honed in on the cord wraps. Everything from the line utilizes the WallDock which allows you to remove the hook and mix-and-match as necessary. Mounting a WallDock is quick. All you have to do is find a stud and drive two screws. In case you purchased one of the older interchangeable products, they’re still compatible with these new WallDocks.
Tornado Hooks
The Tornado Hooks are a heavy-duty line of U and J-hooks, and they’re great for rakes, sledgehammers, shovels, ladders and more. Most of these hooks are made from molded Zinc which prevents rust. I like these hooks because they’re very easy to position. They have a large, threaded spike on the backside that screws into the wall. Next, you drive two additional screws for a super-strong hold.
This is just a sampling of the Racor home storage products, and they’ve got great options for everything from sports equipment to ceiling lifts. Check out their site for full details.
Rubbermaid has a system like GaragePro called FastTrack. I set it up in my garage a few years ago and have been extremely satisfied with it.
Hey Andrew. Thanks for the tip about FastTrack. Is the rail also metal? I can’t tell from the pictures.
I have a couple of their bike lifts in the box still but haven’t found a good place to mount them yet. I’m thinking about hoisting the bikes up sideways so they don’t hang down so far. I’ll just have to mark the balance points on the frames with a sharpie. or store the bikes in the shed and use the lifts to hoist the kayaks (less than 50 lbs).
Good insight about finding the balance point. For fun, I tried using it to hoist a string trimmer, and you can imagine how that went since the motor is so much heavier than the other end.
Ah nothing like a little Storage Porn to get the day started. I have a couple of bike lifts I picked up on clearance at Menard’s (think Kmart version of Home Depot) and unfortunately, our storage area doesn’t have a good place to mount them. 🙁
Nice work. Looks like some handy gadgets.
I especially like the Snap2It stuff in the shop. Before, I had no good way to store power cords or air hoses, and those cord wraps are great. It’s not pictured, but I have a wire bin too that should be helpful.
Do the cord wraps rotate like a hose reel? Because that would be awesome.
That would be awesome! But no, they don’t rotate. The WallDock is oblong.
This is so tidy unlike my garage. Im slightly OCD so it bugs me when ever I’m in there.
I do have a wire wheel though thats like a hose reel that William was talking about. That things super old but awesome. I dunno where it was from.
Wow! How have I missed this line of garage storage “tools”? I too am obsessive about organizing and storage so later today when we head into HoDe I’ll be checking out what they have available in Racor products. Thanks Ethan! The 450 Rack would be awesome for holding pieces of trim while drying after staining too. I’ve been telling my hubby we need something like this for quite some time now.
Those bike lifts are awesome. We had some of another brand in the bicycle shop I worked at in my late teens to early twenties. I think you’re right about the angle of the rafter causing the lock to be difficult to use. You could just face nail a level 2×4 to the sides of those rafters and mount the Bike Lift to that. I’ve been toying with a similar concept. Main difference is that in the garage I’m working with there are trusses up there fortunately they’re spaced 24OC so I should be able to get the bikes up between the trusses. Talk about a good use of space! The disadvantage is that I’ll have to do some framing so I actually have a mounting point for the Bike Lift.
The cord wraps would come in handy for me. I tend to leave cords lying around. Eventually stuff gets piled on top of them.
I just stumbled across this via another article I was reading and am stoked about the snap2it… I have yet to find something I enjoy using to store my extension cords neatly and cleanly and that looks like it does a really, really great job.