Product Review: ONRAX Ascension AS48 Motorized Storage 4'x8’ Platform

Garage organization.

Two words that never seemed to EVER go together in any of the homes i’ve lived in. Our garage has always looked like a bomb went off and is SUCH a cringeworthy source of anxiety for me. I crave organization and hate clutter so it’s easy to see why your typical messy garage makes me want to simply throw everything in it away and and just start over fresh. Also, if you thought your garage was cluttered prior to having a baby, become a parent and witness how not only the inside of your home becomes taken over by a ton of toys and baby gear, but your garage does as well! Strollers, wagons, & bikes, oh my!

Let’s dive right into this review, shall we?

Thankfully, ONRAX was beyond kind enough to gift me their Ascension AS48 Motorized Storage 4'x'8 Platform to help alleviate some of the clutter on the ground and begin the process of tidying up the mess that is my garage.

This amazing unit is made with a powder coated steel frame, real netting for all four sides and has a 400 pound capacity. The unit requires a minimum of a 29” clearance and accommodates garage ceilings up to 16 feet. The unit utilizes a four point lift system to ensure platform stability and can lower completely to the floor and stopped at any level, making it incredibly easy for anyone to access stored items in the unit.

Let’s start off by showing you the “before photo” of my cluttered, messy garage. I won’t even show you the other side of the garage because it’s just plain ridiculous, so here’s the right side. To some people, this is okay and a “normal” garage but to me it’s just unstructured chaos with only enough space left to park my vehicle inside as needed.

What are the contents of my chaos you’re wondering? Let me fill you in…tons of baby/toddler gear, bicycles, unopened items, recycling bins and lots of wood for our windows in case we have any future hurricanes come our way since we live on the coast in Florida and have yet to purchase real storm shutters (next up on our “to do” list, storm shutters! Oy vey!).

We initially assumed we would be able to install the unit in the empty space of the garage ceiling shown in the first photo above, but quickly realized we wouldn’t be able to due to the studs not aligning properly with what the unit required for installation. If you look closely at the second photo above, in front of the Buffalo Bills flag (Go Bills!), you’ll see a large “U” shaped bar hanging from the garage ceiling that the previous owner installed to do pull-ups on for exercise. Well, it turns out that spot happens to be the only place we could install the unit due to the stud alignment, so that large bar had to come down. This removal also resulted in two large holes in the ceiling we still have to patch and lots and LOTS of frustration, sweat and expletive words muttered from my poor husband. Honestly, finding the appropriate spots for attaching the unit and removing the pull-up bar from the ceiling are what consumed the bulk of our time during assembly. Literally hours.HOURS.

-face palm-

Once this one was done, installation quickly progressed as you will see below.

I was also very surprised and impressed at how small the boxes were that the entire unit came in. Just four fairly small boxes! All of the necessary instructions with visual aides were also included.

After installing the four main brackets as instructed, attaching the motor and connecting support straps across the pulley system went fairly quickly. I’m honestly still baffled at how my husband managed to complete attachment of the four brackets to the ceiling pretty much by himself with help from me as needed, while balancing on a ladder. Seriously, look at this…

After the brackets, motor and support straps were in place, assembling the body of the unit and the net enclosure were thankfully completed fairly quickly and painlessly.

This unit also comes with a remote control and a set of keys to lock the remote for safety, which I LOVE. We can use the key to “Lock” the control so if it somehow it were to ever get into the hands of our little one, the remote wouldn't work unless we unlocked it with the key! Genius and perfect addition to the unit! I personally LOVE the remote versus a wall-mounted control switch, but both are options with ONRAX, so choose what works best for your family!

I was also pleasantly surprised at how smooth and effortlessly the unit ascended and descended when prompted to by the remote control. It didn’t appear “jerky” or unstable at all!

Are you ready for the completed unit? TA-DA! Take a moment to admire the beauty that is a completed ONRAX ascension unit!

I also can’t forget to show you my “after” photo with the unit installed! Check it out! I literally gained a few feet of extra space when I pull my car into the garage now, plus I no longer despise looking at my garage (even though it’s definitely still a work in progress).

Overall, I would HIGHLY recommend this motorized ascension storage unit if you are looking to maximize the space in your garage and de-clutter the floor. This unit is HUGE- in a great way! The 4’x’8 size works perfectly in our garage and honestly I would even go larger if there were an available option for it!

ONRAX offers two colors for all of their motorized and stationary units: white and silver vein (we have silver vein). In regard to size, their motorized series offers six unit sizes to choose from: 4’x’8, 4’x’6, 4’x’4, 3’x’8, 3’x’6, 3’x’4. Prices for the motorized series also range from $1,080 - $1,480 per unit.

Is a motorized unit not your thing? No worries! ONRAX also offers a ton of options if you prefer a stationary unit instead. Their standard units are made of the same, sturdy material and available in 9 different sizes in two different height adjustments. The stationary unit is also lighter on your wallet, having a price range from $179 - $279. The stationery units can also hold double the weight of the motorized series- 800lbs!

Have I mentioned the customer service yet? From start to finish, one word- AMAZING. I was able to quickly receive answers and guidance to any questions I had from the moment the unit was ordered throughout the entire installation process, which was incredibly helpful. ONRAX even provides you with 30 days to receive a full refund if you aren’t happy with your unit, even though I highly doubt it would be possible to be unhappy with it once you have it installed. It’s awesome!

In a nutshell, If you are looking for a great solution to the clutter in your garage, ONRAX is for you! With so many standard and motorized options to choose from, you simply can’t go wrong! Click on the link below to see for yourself!

XO, Nikki