[masraum]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Been busy today so will sum up a few things.

Just lifting a box over the TV to cover it then uncover when used is not really going to work. The TV will be mounted about 7 ft up the wall. It's built to fit a 70" TV. Not something my wife or even I could do alone, that's a 2 person job and a pain in the ass frankly.

Lift and support with pole similar to car hood. That's already part of the unit, was built that way. In practical application it doesn't work. I thought it would but it just doesn't.

Its a 5x4ft slab of cedar planks that start 5 ft off the ground. It's entirely different body mechanics from lifting a hood. You are lifting something that hinges 5 ft above your head versus something that hinges from waste height. Fully open it'll be 10 ft in the air.

A car hood is rigid, this flexes and you are lifting from one side not the middle. I guess you could raise it from the middle then pop rods in sides but that's even less ideal.

I thought about a winch, I do like that idea.

Something like the Blum servo drives above are exactly what I'd like to source.

I guess part of my problem is the right terminology for the type of spring loaded hinges or motorized units I should be searching for.

Thanks for all the great advice so far. Really appreciate it.

Ok, thanks for the additional info.

Based on the new information, string and pulleys is now my favorite plan. It could be setup so the pull is off to the side, and pulls equally on both corners and based on the physics of pulleys, could be made to cut the weight in half or more.

hood supports wouldn't be a good solution because you'd have to pull it down from 10' up against the force of the hood supports, so ideally, you'd need to be able to pull down evenly from both sides so to me that's a no go.

I think your option is going to be some sort of servo setup.

I'm sure it would be too expensive and complicated, but the setup from a power convertible top would probably work really well. It would be designed to be OK with being in the elements, and should be more than sturdy enough.