Video of a cheap crane to load those heavy rounds

[imagineero]

This is the setup I have on my chip truck;

The 'rotating assembly' is two pieces of XXS pipe, or might even be sched 160 from memory. I only got these because they were the two sections that fit with the least gap, very smooth tight fit. If you can get a lighter section that 'nests' then that would be plenty strong enough. The centre section rotates while the outer is made of two sleeves, a lower and an upper which are both welded to the truck. The sleeve is in two parts so that the brace can be welded to the centre section. I also welded a small piece of sleeve to the centre to act as a pivot. This way the centre isn't pivoting on the floor of the truck. I keep it a couple of inches off the floor so it doesnt end up sitting in chip all the time.

The beam is just made form RHS. The whole thing sits up about 6 foot off the floor of the truck, so nearly 10 feet off the ground. I had to put a beam across the top of the chip box, and some gussets to take the side load. It doesnt flex at all. Last year I used it for moving a few heavy things, I had a 3T (all measurements are in metric tonnes being 2200lbs) chain block hung off it. Biggest load I picked up was a lathe for a friend, weighed in at 800kg (1720lbs) according to the plate on it. Picked it up easily. I think it could pretty easily handle a couple thousand lbs. The arm cost me about $30 in steel from a scrap yard to make. As you'll notice I'm not really a painter ;-)

At christmas I bought a 4,000lb electric winch with a dyneema rope. Comes with an electric remote control etc, cost $140 from ebay. I'm expecting it will pickup nowhere near 4,000lbs maxed out, even with the rope doubled. Maybe 1,500lbs with the rope doubled.

If you build a 'tilting arm' type crane like the one in the OP, it's nothing to pickup a used ram and a valve, especially if you have a hydraulic PTO on your truck. Most expensive part will be the hose. If you dont have hydraulics then you can add an extra power steering pump to your engine for very little $ if you are handy. You'll need a tank for the fluid.

I'm still thinking to put hydraulic on mine. I have a big hydraulic PTO for the tipper already on the truck and a big tank as well, but I want a rope not a tilting arm so I need a hydraulic stator and drum, or the guts of a hydraulic winch. Neither are cheap or common. Hydraulic is approximately 9million times better than electric.

Shaun

 

[mtfallsmikey]

That looks neat, Shaun. Can you post a vid/other pics of it?

 

[imagineero]

That looks neat, Shaun. Can you post a vid/other pics of it?

[video=youtube_share;aCe0Z7drKmc]http://youtu.be/aCe0Z7drKmc[/video]

Here's a short vid I just made. It's nothing fancy, and probably ought to be painted but I never did. Its greased up in all the rotating parts, but I never did put a grease nipple on it. I just greased it before I put it together.

I've made lots of small cranes of a similar type to this in workshops. It's not hard to make a swinging arm capable of holding 5 tonnes, and when we make them for workshops we usually use a small I Beam and brace it off the top rather than gusset it under. You can buy load rated wheel sets that run on I beam, then just hang a cheap electric crane off that and it can swing and move in and out. I just used a fixed arm for this one, and made the length of the arm half the width of the truck so it swings in to the middle of the truck.

If you wanted to get fancy you could do the swinging I beam setup, but bear in mind the post will then have to extend up above the beam. My truck is already too tall so I had to keep the post below the height of the chip bin roof. If you use a top brace, you can use threaded rod to adjust the tension. The angle of the brace needs to be at least 25 degrees but 30 is better. The advantage of the rolling type is that the beam can be as wide as the truck is, and you will be able to swing things deeper into your truck.

The other comon type is the fixed beam/gantry. You can run a beam down the centreline of your truck if you have a bin, and brace it off the sides. Extend the beam out past the end of your truck and there is no swing/rotate. You run the winch on the rolling wheels hanging off the beam. You can roll right out the back of the truck, lift your load and roll it right up to the end of the truck. Problem is the load needs to be reasonably close to the centreline of the truck. This is a good simple setup and a lot of workshops use it. I've often thought it would make sense on a closed in truck that moves heavy equipment. Very strong and a lot less expensive than a real crane. Less versatile though. You do need to find a way to run the cables/hoses so they wont get caught up but you can build one of these for $cheap.

Shaun

 

[mtfallsmikey]

[video=youtube_share;aCe0Z7drKmc]http://youtu.be/aCe0Z7drKmc[/video]

Here's a short vid I just made. It's nothing fancy, and probably ought to be painted but I never did. Its greased up in all the rotating parts, but I never did put a grease nipple on it. I just greased it before I put it together.

I've made lots of small cranes of a similar type to this in workshops. It's not hard to make a swinging arm capable of holding 5 tonnes, and when we make them for workshops we usually use a small I Beam and brace it off the top rather than gusset it under. You can buy load rated wheel sets that run on I beam, then just hang a cheap electric crane off that and it can swing and move in and out. I just used a fixed arm for this one, and made the length of the arm half the width of the truck so it swings in to the middle of the truck.

If you wanted to get fancy you could do the swinging I beam setup, but bear in mind the post will then have to extend up above the beam. My truck is already too tall so I had to keep the post below the height of the chip bin roof. If you use a top brace, you can use threaded rod to adjust the tension. The angle of the brace needs to be at least 25 degrees but 30 is better. The advantage of the rolling type is that the beam can be as wide as the truck is, and you will be able to swing things deeper into your truck.

The other comon type is the fixed beam/gantry. You can run a beam down the centreline of your truck if you have a bin, and brace it off the sides. Extend the beam out past the end of your truck and there is no swing/rotate. You run the winch on the rolling wheels hanging off the beam. You can roll right out the back of the truck, lift your load and roll it right up to the end of the truck. Problem is the load needs to be reasonably close to the centreline of the truck. This is a good simple setup and a lot of workshops use it. I've often thought it would make sense on a closed in truck that moves heavy equipment. Very strong and a lot less expensive than a real crane. Less versatile though. You do need to find a way to run the cables/hoses so they wont get caught up but you can build one of these for $cheap.

Shaun

Excellent, mate!