A material hoist that runs on the ladder already on the wall
Roofing crews climb all day with their hands full of tools, fasteners, flashing, sealant, and bundles of material. The FUEL Solar Lift with the CarryALL attachment turns the Grade 1 aluminum extension ladder already leaning on the job into a material hoist: a 27 lb (12.2 kg) system that sets up in about five minutes, sends loads up and down under the control of an auto-locking pulley, and rides in the truck between jobs. Don't let the name fool you; there doesn't need to be a solar panel anywhere on the roof.
The problem
Every trip a roofer makes up the ladder with hands full is a trip made on balance alone: three points of contact drop to two, or one, and it happens dozens of times a day, load after load, as the crew tires. Tools, coils, flashing, and sealant go up in belts, buckets, and armfuls, and the heavier material rides on a shoulder. That's the slowest way to move a roof's worth of material, and it's also how people get hurt. A slip with a load is a fall, an injury claim, or gear scattered across the driveway.
The equipment answers are built for bigger jobs than most days call for. A powered ladder hoist is its own machine to buy or rent, haul, fuel, and store, and a telehandler or conveyor is a call-out with an invoice to match. For the gear and material a small crew burns through on an ordinary residential roof, what's missing is something light that works off the ladder that's already up.
How the FUEL Solar Lift handles it
The FUEL Solar Lift mounts to a standard Grade 1 aluminum extension ladder in about five minutes, and the CarryALL attachment hooks onto its trolley in seconds. From there the ground operator loads and hoists while the crew on the roof receives: tools, fasteners, flashing, sealant, and material loads go up the rail instead of up in someone's arms, and everything comes back down the same way at the end of the day. The auto-locking pulley captures the load at every pause, so a slipped grip never becomes a dropped load. The system is rated for loads up to 100 lb (45 kg), with a recommended overhead lifting limit of 65 lb (30 kg), and the whole thing, a 27 lb (12.2 kg) lift plus a 9 lb (4.1 kg) attachment, packs into the truck with the rest of the gear.
The ladder is already up. The lift turns it into the crew’s supply line, so loads go up the rail, hands stay free for the rungs, and climbing stops being the way material moves.
- Hands-free climbing, all day. Nobody ascends with a bucket in one hand or a coil on a shoulder. The load rides the trolley, and the crew climbs with three points of contact on every trip.
- Down matters as much as up. The auto-locking pulley holds the load at every pause, in both directions, so end-of-day gear and unused material descend under control instead of being carried or dropped.
- Lighter than the powered options. At 27 lb (12.2 kg) plus a 9 lb (4.1 kg) attachment, the whole system rides in the truck and mounts to the ladder already on the wall, skipping the engine, the rental counter, and the trailer entirely.
- One rating to plan around. Loads up to 100 lb (45 kg), with a recommended overhead limit of 65 lb (30 kg). That covers the tools and material an ordinary residential roof burns through, in sensible loads.
- If the roof has solar on it, you’re already equipped. The lift was built for panels first: on a re-roof under an array, it lowers the panels and puts them back with the same setup.
Built by a licensed engineering firm. The FUEL Solar Lift is engineered and manufactured in Calgary, Alberta. FUEL Innovation Design & Manufacturing Inc. holds a Permit to Practice with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) and operates under a Quality Management System (QMS). For a crew, that permit and QMS mean unit-to-unit consistency: the lift on truck three behaves exactly like the one on truck one, and replacement parts fit.
Related options
CarryALL attachment
The attachment that does the hauling: it hooks onto the lift's trolley and carries the load up and down the ladder.
Read more →vs. other ladder hoists
How a light manual lift on your own ladder compares to a powered material hoist you buy, haul, and maintain.
Read more →Check your ladders
The verified Grade 1 aluminum extension ladders the lift mounts to — worth a look before you buy.
Read more →Solar panel removal
If the roof you're tearing off has an array on it, the same lift lowers the panels and puts them back.
Read more →The FUEL Solar Lift
The full system, specifications, and product FAQ.
Read more →Frequently asked questions
Can roofers use the FUEL Solar Lift if the job has nothing to do with solar?
Yes. With the CarryALL attachment, the lift is a general material hoist for a standard Grade 1 aluminum extension ladder. It was designed around solar panels, which is where the name comes from, but the trolley and auto-locking pulley don't care what's on the hook: roofing crews use it to send tools and materials up and down on ordinary roofs.
What can it carry up the ladder?
The CarryALL hauls the working load of a roofing day: hand and power tools, fasteners, flashing, sealant, and material loads. The system is rated for loads up to 100 lb (45 kg), with a recommended overhead lifting limit of 65 lb (30 kg), so heavier material goes up in split loads rather than all at once.
Can it bring loads down as well as up?
Yes, lowering is as controlled as raising. The auto-locking pulley captures the load at every pause, so tear-off day tools, unused material, and gear come down the rail at the end of the job instead of in someone's arms on the rungs.
Does it work with the ladders we already own?
In most fleets, yes. The FUEL Solar Lift mounts to verified Grade 1 aluminum extension ladders; fiberglass and Grade 1A ladders are not compatible. The full list of verified models is on our compatible-ladders page, so you can check your trucks before you order.
How is it different from a powered ladder hoist?
It's fully manual and much lighter. There's no engine to fuel or maintain, no separate track to haul and store, and nothing to rent: the 27 lb (12.2 kg) lift and 9 lb (4.1 kg) CarryALL mount to the extension ladder you already own in about five minutes. For the everyday loads of a small residential crew, that covers the job. A powered hoist earns its keep on volumes closer to a full tear-off's shingle load.
What if the roof we're replacing has solar panels on it?
Then the same tool covers that too. The lift was built for solar panels first: it lowers an array off the roof under control before tear-off and lifts it back up for re-mounting after, with a qualified electrician handling the disconnect and reconnect. See our solar panel removal page for that workflow.
Ready to own the lift?
Own the lift once and set up in minutes on your next install.