Help sort on sourcing material fro a rack and pinion roll off roof commercial motors for gates are very expensive and looking for cheaper alternative, the rack is self is relatively cheap
I was ,looking for "gears" when I stumbled on the gate track. My thoughts were to get hold of some track and source the primary gear...should be possible..even if you had to make one not a big deal...then fit the gear to a cheap 4wd winch will be all the power you need and the good thing ( which people rarely cost) is the fact they give you cable, wires to battery, connectors etc, and the hand control.
I would have gone gate motor but I did not know and all that I went thru with so many ineffectual systems wasted so much time and disappointed myself on a weekly basis ....when I spotted the gate motor thing, particularly with remote control, I went for it my spirit was broken and crushed by then...check Bunnings or in General what is available because when you buy it is all there,...some many things are cheap but when you add in the stuff from Bunning, some cable, threaded rod, nuts, washers, etc etc that really adds up..my nuts for the pier were 50 cents and I needed eight...who would think $4 just for nuts..then the washers were 37 cents and needed eight, ...
Electrical stuff is similar you need all these little things that usually cost heaps.
But go the remote no matter the expense and when it's 4 am in winter and you need to close you will agree it was worth the money..I bet.
Just remember..treat it like a gate with wings..it has to be centered And balanced in my opinion and the gate track controls the show...our mistake was not doing that first up thinking the wheels would be ok...they were not ok...you can not have the roof wander as that means the gear is half off ( or more) ..it needs full contact with the track not just hanging on by the width of a match head....
Sorry for the dead link, not sure what happened, I also found it on Youtube, if you search there for " Roll Off Roof Observatory Drive Motor " it is at the top of the list and also shows it working.
It looks like a roller door motor, bike chain is pretty cheap, it looks like it would open / close a roll off roof and you may be able to control it by computer.
