About the Inventor

I’ve always thought outside the box—even in my final years of school. I wanted to make big money, but college wasn’t in the equation. My parents couldn’t afford it, and truthfully, I didn’t want to go anyway. I was already working at a fast food place, supporting myself because we weren’t getting help from home.

This was 1976. I considered joining the military, but that didn’t feel right either. I had big ambitions, but no clear starting point. I wanted to be wealthy—I just didn’t know how to begin.

Long before these inventions came into play, I was already in business. That story is a long one, and I’ll share it another time. For now, I’m jumping ahead to the invention journey. Because that’s what this site is about—real products, real lessons, and the path I’ve taken to get here.

Learning the hardway

Almost everything you do daily involves some type of learning. It was kind of getting schooled each and every day. At one point, my goal was to just learn one thing every day. As a matter of fact, I was making sure I did that. Some days you would learn way more than one thing, but I was focused on learning one thing daily.

Back to the Dryer

This product reminds me of my very first invention—a dryer I designed but never got to build. I shared my drawings and concept with a company that claimed to help inventors, but they ended up stealing the idea. By the time they had all my information, it was too late—I’d lost the rights to my invention.

It was just an idea at the time, but it was mine. I trusted the wrong people. If you’ve got an invention in mind, I strongly suggest reading the article I wrote about that experience. It might save you from the same mistake.

Maytag

Maytag was interested in possibly selling my product. I explained the way to build it. I sketched it out and shared the concept, and Maytag was actually interested. That moment gave me real confidence. I thought, “Maybe I’ve got something here.”

I reached out to a company that claimed to help inventors. They asked for drawings, details, everything. I handed it all over. That was my mistake. They screwed me over. They told me that to move forward, I needed to send them thirty thousand dollars so they could start building my idea—and months later, I realized I was taken; I didn’t even have a thousand dollars to give them. My idea was stolen from me, in my opinion; I saw my idea out in the world, without my name on it, a few years later. I was so mad, I didn’t really dwell on it; I just realized that for my next idea, I would go another route.

That was my first invention. And my first hard lesson. If you’ve got an idea, protect it. I wrote a blog post about that experience to help other inventors avoid the same trap.

🛶 Floating Homes — River Roots and Real Innovation

In 1999, a few years after the dryer setback, I turned my attention to something bold: floating homes. Picture a full-sized house built on flotation—rising and falling with the river, just like the ups and downs of the building process itself.

I had a place on the Mississippi River in St. Charles, Missouri, and that’s where it all started. These weren’t houseboats with motors—they were full-fledged homes anchored to docks. One- and two-bedroom setups, designed to handle changing water levels. They were the talk of the river.

I built several over the years. The first one, a two-bedroom located in St. Charles County, is still floating nicely over 25 years later. It’s 780 square feet of living space, and while it could use a few upgrades, it’s held up better than most landlocked homes. We’re planning to add a wraparound deck soon. Modernize a little bit and hope for another 25 years!!!

These homes weren’t just a design—they were my idea, my build, my vision. It took time, money, and a crew to bring them to life, but I led the charge. After the fourth one, life pulled me in other directions. But the mindset never left. I’m an entrepreneur with a brain that doesn’t shut off—and I know plenty of you out there know exactly what I mean.

🧰 RafterPackers — From Basement Chaos to Bracket Breakthrough

In 2010, we moved into a new home—thanks to my mother-in-law—and the basement was packed with stuff we hadn’t yet sorted. I looked up at the rafters and saw potential. They looked like shelves to me, and I wasn’t about to leave everything scattered across the floor. I needed a way to use that overhead space.

But I didn’t want to nail boards into the joists. That felt messy and permanent. So I started experimenting. Failure after failure, idea after idea—I can’t even remember all the versions that didn’t work. But I kept going. I’ve never been good at quitting.

One day, a guy at the marina saw my demo setup. Turns out he had patents of his own and friends with sharp minds. That conversation sparked a new wave of progress. I started bending steel into 4-inch-wide L brackets with 14-inch backs. They worked—but only held about 20 pounds and had no nail holes. Not good enough.

So I doubled the steel. Now they held 45 pounds snug inside the joist. I thought, “I’m rich. I’m going to be a millionaire.” But building them was slow—bend the steel twice, drill two holes, hammer them in. And I needed two brackets per box. It worked, but it wasn’t scalable yet.

Back then, I called them L Brackets. This was around 2011, and I barely knew how to use a computer. Someone showed me how to look around online, and that’s when I realized: if I’m going to sell these, I need a patent.

I got a provisional patent first—learned that lesson from the dryer fiasco. I wanted to see if anything like it was already out there. Turns out, there wasn’t. That was the green light.

Now they’re called RafterPackers. They’re strong, simple, and built for DIYers who want to turn rafters into real storage. And it all started with a cluttered basement and a refusal to give up.

Patent—Another Long Process

After getting the green light, I probably should’ve looked a little closer—maybe that light was more yellow than green 😄.

I knew I had to make the process scalable. The original design took three steps and way too much time. I priced out using a brake to manufacture them right there in the Marina building. It wasn’t cheap, but it wasn’t outrageous either. I was still thinking about selling them.

I took my prototype around to a few manufacturing companies to see if they could streamline the process. They could build them—but the parts had no spring, and the cost was too high to make retail sense. Another moment where I could’ve quit. But I don’t believe in quitting.

Then the guy with the patents introduced me to his guy. I laid it all out—what I needed to make this retail-ready. He said, “Let me get back to you.”

A couple weeks later, he showed me the prototype (the one in the picture above). It had everything: spring tension, eyes for nails or screws, and solid strength. Everything I asked for was in that final design. Everything.

The Price Was Too Expensive!

The joist hangers had everything I asked for. Looking back now, it’s kind of amazing. They had eyes for screws, spring tension to snap the box up into the joist, and they could handle more weight than my original prototype. And it was all done in one process.

But here’s the catch—I didn’t like the final design.

I was so locked into my own version, after years of bending steel and tweaking every detail, that I couldn’t see his expertise for what it was. His design was stronger. Smarter. And I could’ve drop-shipped straight from his manufacturing company to the customer. What was I missing?

Truth is, I wasn’t really looking at what he’d handed me. He handed me the RafterPacker.

It took me a minute, but I finally caught on. His prototype was genius. The final package had everything—and then some. The only thing he didn’t do for me was sell it 😄

Sales & Marketing

We didn’t grow up with computers, so I had no clue how to market these. After two long years of building this joist hanger and finally getting it patented, I hit a wall—I didn’t even know how to upload a picture. I didn’t get my first computer until after 2010.

Where do you even start?

We’d just come out of the 2008 recession. Nobody was buying anything, and here I was thinking I could sell home organization products. It felt impossible. I didn’t know how to reach a company that might help me sell it, or even partner up. I was stuck.

But like I said earlier—I don’t quit.

I always believe there’s a way. Even if I don’t know what it is yet.

Quitting Is Just Not an Option

I never quit. I just don’t believe in quitting.

Over the next few years, I sold a few hangers here and there—nothing close to what I had imagined. Sales were slow, and the dream of big numbers felt far off. But I kept going.

I had to get special boxes made just to fit the hangers the way I needed. That added more cost, more logistics, more headaches. But I didn’t stop. I believed in the product. I believed in the idea. And I believed there had to be a way to make it work.

I still have a lot to learn when it comes to marketing and selling these. The hangers do everything I needed them to—and more. But I didn’t realize how tough it is to actually sell something, even when it works perfectly. I used to think people cared about organizing their homes. Turns out, most don’t. Not until they see how easy it can be. That’s been a hard but valuable lesson.

Ready to clear your basement and take back your space? RafterPacker hangers make it simple. No tools, no fuss—just snap, store, and smile.

• Snap it up. Store it smart. RafterPacker hangers—built for basements, ready for anything.
• Turn your rafters into storage gold. RafterPacker hangers do the heavy lifting.
• From cluttered to clean in seconds. RafterPacker hangers make organizing effortless.
• These are still available until I run out of invetory?
• Text me @ 314-853-6715 or you have to leave a message. Storage Joist Hangers
• rafterpacker@gmail.com and put Storage Joist Hangers in subject line. I am retired and may not get right back to you, but if you do either of the above, I should catch it.
• You can get 10 Joist Hangers for $16.95 plus tax and add for shipping. I am selling these for exactly what I paid.

Ask me anything you needanswered. Email me @rafterpacker@gmail.com You have to leave rafter hangers to get a reply. You can text me @ 314-853-6715 and put hangers question in text of leave hangers in message to get a call back tim Leave message below. Thanks