Read Before You Drill!

Take control of your garage without gambling with your home’s structure.

Your garage ceiling looks like “free space,” so the industry pushes ceiling-mounted racks, pulleys, and lifts as the easy answer.

Here’s the truth:

Ceiling storage solves clutter… while quietly pushing risk into the structure of your home.

Before you drill into a joist, cut into drywall, or hang 600–700 lbs + over your vehicle, you deserve to understand the REAL trade-offs.

This guide helps breaks down every major ceiling storage system — Pros, Cons, and Structural Implications — and then introduces the only solution that gives you overhead storage without ever damaging your ceiling.

 

Traditional Fixed Ceiling Mounted Racks

These steel platforms range in quality, but all screw directly into your ceiling joists. They’re the most well known approach for overhead garage storage.

Pros

• Maximizes space: Clears floor space and opens parking room.
• High capacity: Often rated for 200–700 lbs.
• Cost-effective: The cheapest overhead solution on the market.
• Durable: No moving parts.

Cons

• Requires a ladder: Every climb to get a bin is a fall risk.
• Limited access to items: Great for holiday décor; terrible for weekly use.
• Permanent structural impact: Installation = drilling lag screws into joists.
• Installation errors are costly: Miss a joist? Overload a truss? You’re into structural damage territory.
• Visually bulky: Makes ceilings feel lower.

 

 

Lift Systems & Pulley Systems

Again, another device designed to improve access, these systems require a drill or an outlet in order to lower the platform to ground level.

Pros

• Safer access: No climbing with heavy bins.
• Convenient: Hand cranks, a drill with an extension rod, or electric motors do the lifting.
• Ideal for awkward items: Kayaks, car-top cargo carriers, large totes.

Cons

• Lower weight limits: 150–400 lbs for most systems.
• Higher upfront cost: Motors, cables, and hardware .
• More Points of Mechanical Failure: Every component is a failure point.
• Still ceiling-dependent: That weight still hangs from your home’s structure.
• Requires power (motorized): Often needs an outlet installed.

 

Specialized Tracks, Bin Racks & DIY

Systems built for specific gear — bins, sports equipment, tools.

Pros

• Organized and tidy: Great for homeowners who want an inexpensive, quick solution.
• Customizable: Fits bins or equipment perfectly.
• Affordable: DIY shelving is cheap to build.

Cons

Let’s call this what it really is—a circus act disguised as storage: The access is terrible, safety is worse, and convenience is the worst of all.

• Climbing a 6'–8' ladder every time you need a bin.

• Zero hands on the ladder because you're holding a 20–40 lb tote.

• Reaching overhead while balancing weight — a perfect recipe for an ER trip.
  

• Must move multiple bins just to get to the one you actually need.
  
  
• Dead weight concentrated in the center of your trusses.

 

The Real Problem With ALL Ceiling Storage

Whether you buy:

• a 4x8 fixed rack,
• a pulley system,
• a motorized lift,
• a storgae bin track…

Every single ceiling-mounted system depends on your garage’s trusses and joists.

And we've NEVER been told the truth. The builder won't say it, and rack manufacturer sure wont say it.

• Most garage trusses are engineered for 10 PSF live load.
• They’re not designed to carry racks + bins + dynamic load + installation errors.
• Overloading will cause sagging, drywall cracks, gusset plate deformation, and long-term structural stress.
• On-paper ratings and advertised capacities don’t match real-world ceiling conditions.

This is where we homeowners get blindsided — 
not by the product, but by what the house structure can and can’t support.

The Freestanding Revolution in Overhead Storage — ARackAbove

 

Imagine a complete overhead storage and organization solution that is more than a ceiling rack…without attaching to your ceiling.

ARackAbove is a fully freestanding, engineered aluminum system that uses vertical tension and structural geometry — not joists, not lag bolts, not trusses.

It stands on its own legs.
It supports 2,000 lbs.
And it lives in the “dead space” between your garage door opener and the front wall of the garage — the most unused storage zone in the entire home.

Why ARackAbove Exists

“I designed ARackAbove because every ceiling rack manufacturer asks you to risk your home’s structure — and your neck on a ladder.  They sell ceiling racks;
I sell you structural confidence.”

— Steve Schindehette, ARackAbove Founder

Because:

• homeowners want overhead storage,
• but they don’t want drilling,
• don’t want ladders,
• don’t want permanent damage,
• and don’t want to overload their ceiling.

So we built the only solution that respects both your home and your safety.

Why ARackAbove Is the Ultimate Overhead Storage System

Zero Structural Impact

No ceiling load.
No drilling.
No joist dependency.
No risk to your home.

Feet-On-The-Ground Access

Load and unload safely.
No ladders.
No balancing.
No risk.

2,000 lb Engineered Capacity

Designed like equipment — not shelving.
Built to carry real weight, safely.

Aluminum Construction

Won’t rust.
Lightweight to maneuver.
Strong and clean.

Adjustable & Modular

Fits 1-car and 2-car garages.
Adapts to ceiling height and layout.
Lives above your garage door tracks — not your floor space.

Completely Portable

Moving?
Take the entire system with you.

100% Customer Satisfaction

80+ reviews.
Every one of them 5-star.
Zero structural issues.
Zero failures.

Ceiling Racks vs. ARackAbove at a Glance

Feature	Ceiling Racks	ARackAbove
Structural Load	On your house	On the rack itself
Installation	Drilling, bolts, precision	Simple assembly- 2 tools
Safety	Ladder access	Feet on the ground
Portability	Permanent	Fully portable
Weight Rating	150–700 lbs?	2,000 lbs
Risk	Joist failure, truss overload	Zero ceiling dependence

The Clear Answer

You want overhead storage.
You want your garage back.
But you don’t want structural damage, ladders, risk, or limitations.

 

 

ARackAbove is the only overhead storage system that gives you the benefits of ceiling storage WITHOUT using your ceiling.

It’s overhead storage — re-engineered the right way.

Ditch The Danger

ARackAbove. The Safest Overhead Storage Solution in the World.