I'm looking for ideas on installing a small jib crane (like the one HF sells), 500 or 700 pounds capacity, or some other lifting device, in my Chevy S-10 pickup. Some (like the HF model) seem designed to bolt to a floor or platform, but the pickup bed surely is too light for that.
What is the right approach?
Seems like one would want a large metal plate that spans the frame - It does have a frame doesn't - I have one - I think so. Once it is locked down then the crane mounts to it.
Consider the metal plate like that of the older bumper hitches that used thick metal sheets to tie frame to frame and to union...
The thick plate (1/2" or so - weight!!!)
Martin
Subject: Crane or lift for a small pickup From: Joe Landau
Joe, I purchased the extendable crane that has a crank and hydraulic jack to lift things. It was made for a pickup and as you said mounted to the floor. I wanted to use it for a trailer that had aluminum diamond deckplate over planks. Therein was the problem. They give you heavy right angle braces to put under the floor to brace it. That was a problem to be sure. The crane wobbled side to side but was ok end to end. So I welded a piece of angle iron across the trailer frame and put holes in it to match the mounting holes of the crane. Voia' I now can lift full capacity without deflecting, in any direction!
I have Multiple Sclerosis and while building a smaller trailer to be able to haul a powered wheelchair;I couldn't crawl underneath it after I assembled the trailer. So I used the crane to lift the 4 ft. square trailer up from the eyebolts on each side so I could wire the lights etc. It worked great because I could work standing up! You might look at their pickup lift that has an elecric winch built in to it that lifts a 25 by 28 inch platform up to bed level. And when you are not needing it it folds up!
Go to: www.Harbor Freight.com to see one. I don't remember the part number, 45197 (?) but you can search for LIFT and it usually shows up as the first item either at $299 or $399, depemding whether its on sale or not. The neat thing is after you click on the item you go to the bottom and look for the green label that you can click on and print out the manual! You need Adobe Acrobat to accomplish printing though. But it tells you everything on how to mount etc, Hope this gives you some help in deciding what to buy. I am very pleased with the cranes I have bought, except with paint that fades rapidly. Jim ( xprtec)
On Thu, 07 Oct 2004 06:26:42 GMT, Joe Landau calmly ranted:
I picked up their 1647 unit but haven't installed it yet. It goes through the bed hole and bolts onto the frame in holes you drill yourself.
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I put one in the back of my Ranger, make sure there is something between the frame and the bed of the P/U, like angle or squ tube, there will be some space. span the frame with long 1/2 or 5/8 bolts and have a 1/2 or 5/8 plate underneath. Works ok, but with the lever arm of the crane going past the bumper, the whole rear end goes down when lifting 500 lbs. I put jackstands under the rear. gary
Build one that fits into your hitch... Been there ...Done that...
On 7 Oct 2004 16:43:46 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@lockhavenonline.com (Kevin Beitz) vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:
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Interesting. Can you expand on that a little, please? I can see a few ideas, but why reinvent?
For instance: - are you talking the trailer hitch? - is this a ball-type hitch? - how did you stabilise the crane?
etc
***************************************************** I know I am wrong about just about everything. So I am not going to listen when I am told I am wrong about the things I know I am right about.There is a commercially available lift the plugs into the standard 2" receiver of the hitch on the back of many trucks. It had a support that went down to the ground for strength and to minimize spring deflection.
The vertical post and the arm end up in one corner of the truck, so do not block the access to the bed. It works the same as the ones that bolt into the truck bed.
I read about it in a 4WD magazine, can't remember the name. It looked pretty slick. No permanent installation, could take it from vehicle to vehicle, or leave it in the garage until you needed it.
Richard
Old Nick wrote:
There is even a kind that sits up against the cab like a roll bar. Haven't seen it in person but looks neat. Here's the link:
It's here:
On Fri, 08 Oct 2004 01:25:29 GMT, Richard Ferguson vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:
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Ok. Thanks. The only problem I have is that you have to get it to the truck. I built a crane for my ute, and it's no lightweight. I also have an engine crane (admittedly one tonne) and it's really awkward and heavy. It has steel wheels, but if you have to load or unload it from somewhere, usually the best way is to take it to bits.
I guess you could make the setup like a concrete mixer, with a wheeling system. This would be great for work at a base, where as you say you can use it on any truck with a hitch. But if I were travelling about from place to place, I would then have to have a crane to put the thing on the truck!
***************************************************** I know I am wrong about just about everything. So I am not going to listen when I am told I am wrong about the things I know I am right about.
Here is at least one, its by Spitzlift
Von
On Fri, 08 Oct 2004 09:21:22 -0500, Von vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:
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That link gave me a circle cutter...
***************************************************** I know I am wrong about just about everything. So I am not going to listen when I am told I am wrong about the things I know I am right about.The crane that I read about in the magazine was the Spitzlift, thanks to the guy that posted it.
It was relatively light, in that you did not need a crane to assemble it. ;-) Their website says that the lift and arm weighs only 30 pounds, but I think that does not include the hitch receiver system. What I liked was the idea that it was not permanently part of your vehicle, that you could leave it home except when you needed it.
The 4x4 magazine loved it, used the hitch receiver style to pick up a motor and set it in the truck bed.
Richard
Old Nick wrote:
On Fri, 08 Oct 2004 00:59:44 -0400, LP calmly ranted:
Click the link "find out more", then click the BUY nav bar.
JUST ELEVEN HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE DOLLARS. Or $69.95 for HF's model, add a $15 receiver and a couple of 2' sections of pipe welded at 90° and you have a very similar model for A GRAND LESS.
Their liability insurance must be high since it appears that you have to lift maybe 150-200 pounds before its use.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Life is full of little surprises. * Comprehensive Website Development --Pandora *
Most browsers have an option on the "preferences" menu (or whatever they call it) to select minimum font size, so you can *force* it larger. That certainly works on this, where I have set the minimum point size to 24, and the default fonts to 28 point.
Now -- sometimes this results in rather illegible text, where lines are too closely spaced, so text overlaps. :-) But on this one, there is no problem.
Enjoy, DoN.
On Fri, 08 Oct 2004 00:59:44 -0400, LP vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:
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Boy! If that thing is built of standard steel and lifts 750Lb, I would love to see what the one I built could do! I've never gone over maybe 600lb, and my beastie is a lot heftier than that one.
***************************************************** I know I am wrong about just about everything. So I am not going to listen when I am told I am wrong about the things I know I am right about.On Thu, 07 Oct 2004 06:26:42 GMT, Joe Landau vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:
remove ns from my header address to reply via email
Replying to all the helpful comments is a good start....
***************************************************** I know I am wrong about just about everything. So I am not going to listen when I am told I am wrong about the things I know I am right about.Old Nick wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
You are right, Old Nick, all the responders are certainly deserving of many thanks.
Joe
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