# Hitch mounted crane info



## Wife'nHubby (May 18, 2010)

After reading a couple of threads on pickup truck bed mounted cranes I was looking for info on hitch mounted cranes and came up with a couple of really good threads from another site that I thought were worthy of sharing:

http://www.*****************/forums/showthread.php?t=19959

and this one also:

http://www.*****************/forums/showthread.php?t=11275

If anyone has fabbed something like this feel free to post it here.

Shari


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## Dalmatian90 (May 19, 2010)

My first thought is you're putting forces on that hitch it was never designed for.

First thing is torque. Say you have a Class III hitch that's rated for 500# tongue weight / 5,000# trailer.

A crane with a 3' long jib, because of torque it's only going to pickup 133# before you're putting more then 500# of force on the hitch. Of course the hitch is built to go down the road, which means the trailer bounces up and down so I'd assume a 500# tongue weight puts more load on it from time to time, so maybe that's OK.

In addition to the force in the up-and-down direction from the lifting the load, because you're lifting from the top of the pole that supports the jib, there's going to be rotational forces in the front-and-back direction (just like we use a peavy to turn logs).

Like some of the guys on those links suggested, if you had an extender that transferred the force to the ground it would help take a lot of stress off the hitch.

Once in a while use you'll probably be OK. But I have to think if you lifted anything heavy regularly you're really risking damaging the hitch. And I'd have to think if you tow with the truck, having metal fatigue cause a hitch failure would be a very.bad.day.


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## Wife'nHubby (May 19, 2010)

Dalmation,

Yes, your comments are well taken. Did you get as far on one of those links where someone put outriggers on it to prevent side-to-side torque and added two ground supports? Would preventing that type of torque then only create the same stress on the hitch that the hitch was designed for?

There is an interesting comment somewhere there where one poster said they torqued their truck frame with a bed mounted crane. Kinda of hard to believe but then again I don't think they said the weight they were lifting nor the extension they had on the lift.

Shari


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## corrupt (May 19, 2010)

That is a very nice idea, Im going to check out some prices tomorrow. Now the misses can load thoses 40,50,60kg rings by her self and i keep cutting.


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## Rookie1 (May 19, 2010)

So are you going to show us your fabbing skills Shari? I wouldnt worry about an average pick with the hoist but if you were picking really big stuff then the outrigger idea would be better. All of my calculations would be by seat of the pants method. Id try it and inspect the hitch and where it fastens to the frame for fatigue. If it looks good your good,but then again we all know your good!


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## Wife'nHubby (May 19, 2010)

Rookie1 said:


> So are you going to show us your fabbing skills Shari? I wouldnt worry about an average pick with the hoist but if you were picking really big stuff then the outrigger idea would be better. All of my calculations would be by seat of the pants method. Id try it and inspect the hitch and where it fastens to the frame for fatigue. If it looks good your good,but then again we all know your good!



Heh heh heh! No fab skills here just an inquiry to see if it's worth it to have this made up for my use. When you scrounge for wood sometimes the pickins are 'large'.

Shari


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## Rookie1 (May 19, 2010)

Wife'nHubby said:


> Heh heh heh! No fab skills here just an inquiry to see if it's worth it to have this made up for my use. When you scrounge for wood sometimes the pickins are 'large'.
> 
> Shari



You are right about the large pickens. I just got a call from homeowner that has more of those big maple rounds to get out of her yard. Last year she said she had lots of takers ahead of me. Looks like they all couldnt cut the mustard. Ill be going over there to get them and Ill show you my setup,just a trailer and ramps.


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## Dalmatian90 (May 19, 2010)

Nope, don't have a crane.

When I've had very large stuff to load I've used ramps and a couple come-a-longs.


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## avalancher (May 19, 2010)

Ive looked at those hitch mount jobbies, and just figured they arent worth the effort and expense.For what those things cost I figured that I can noodle em and have them in the truck and down at the local burger joint before you even get the thing set up.
One good red oak round can hit the five hundred pound mark if its big enough, then you still gotta noodle em up when you get home or try and back the truck up to the splitter and winch them over,another pain in the butt.
Now the ones permanently bolted in the truck bed, maybe.


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## Wife'nHubby (May 19, 2010)

Avalancher,

Noodling is fine with me also but some scrounge locations don't allow the use of chainsaws so I am left with having to haul intact large rounds. That gets tiresome _real_ quick.

As far as cost goes, Northern has a 1,000# crane listed at $139: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_74569_74569

Shari


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## avalancher (May 19, 2010)

Wife'nHubby said:


> Avalancher,
> 
> Noodling is fine with me also but some scrounge locations don't allow the use of chainsaws so I am left with having to haul intact large rounds. That gets tiresome _real_ quick.
> 
> ...



Well, I guess in that case you might have a point.Do you have a trailer that you pull to haul wood in besides just a truck?


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## arborjockey (May 19, 2010)

I think if you had a foot under it yiu could use for light duty. It would be perfect for aiding a horizonti splitter....lYeah buddy get yourself a couple camper jacks for out riggers, put a 10' stinger on the end of it and your flyn high steel in no time


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## avalancher (May 19, 2010)

Shari,I took a look at that one you linked to, and I see one big problem.Once you have a round that is big enough to warrant needing that thing you are going to run into clearance issues getting it into the bed of the truck.Seems that if you had a big round hanging from that thing you would run that round into the tailights.With it being mounted on the trailer tongue, you now have only half the width of your bed to bring the load into the bed of the truck. Unless you want to jack the thing up all the way to clear over the top of the bed rails, and I think that would get labor intensive real quick.


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## arborjockey (May 19, 2010)

By the pictur looks like you'd have a hrd time clearing a piece of plate steel. Thats where the stinger comes in:monkey:


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## Wife'nHubby (May 19, 2010)

Well, I have a small SUV and load the wood on a trailer, so, depending on how I park the SUV and trailer, clearances might not be a problem.

The other idea, a lift for my horizontal splitter is another good idea.

Shari


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## avalancher (May 19, 2010)

If you have a trailer, then here is what I would suggest.Get you a small winch and pull them in to the trailer.A small 1500lb Warn will run you about the same money, and it is far easier on the back.Drop you a ramp out the back,hook the winch in the front of the trailer, and pull stuff into the trailer.No lifting,no dragging rounds up to the rear of the truck to use the crane,no reshifting the truck around.Run the cable out to the round,drop a loop,and hit the button.

I can load my sixteen foot trailer slam full of wood in less than thirty minutes of large rounds and drag home 2 full cords of wood in this fashion, and dont even break a sweat over it.I often drop a loop over four or five rounds at a time, and it takes no time to load a trailer with a winch.
If you have a partner,even easier.As soon as you drop the loop your pardner hits the button.Shoot, when pulling stuff up a steep hillside I often drag the wife along.I go down the hill,loop the cable, and ride the stinkin log right back up the hill as she holds the button down.

Cranes have their place,but mounted right in the middle of the bed I think is going to cause you grief and more work than its worth.If you have to dismount the trailer, hook the crane up,load the wood, and rehook a loaded trailer up I think you are going to be wore out from all the effort and will be discouraged from how much you put into it and what you got out of it.The only other option that might work is mount the crane right in the bed of the trailer if you have a sturdy floor and frame under it.


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## arborjockey (May 19, 2010)

my dream loader


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## Nosmo (May 19, 2010)

Wife'nHubby said:


> Avalancher,
> 
> Noodling is fine with me also but some scrounge locations don't allow the use of chainsaws so I am left with having to haul intact large rounds. That gets tiresome _real_ quick.
> 
> ...



This is the same crane I got at Harbor Freight last week for $119.00 on sale. The regular price is $159.00.

avalanger


> Shari,I took a look at that one you linked to, and I see one big problem.Once you have a round that is big enough to warrant needing that thing you are going to run into clearance issues getting it into the bed of the truck.Seems that if you had a big round hanging from that thing you would run that round into the tailights.With it being mounted on the trailer tongue, you now have only half the width of your bed to bring the load into the bed of the truck. Unless you want to jack the thing up all the way to clear over the top of the bed rails, and I think that would get labor intensive real quick.
> 
> __________________________________________________________________
> 
> ...


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## blades (May 19, 2010)

The base plate on most of these is way too small. Additionally care must be taken to mount directly over a beam or cross piece under the bed of the truck. first good sized piece you try to lift mit out paying attention to preceding will rip or bend the bed floor all up. I also saw a note somewhere that some of the newer light duty pickups had composite beds as a weight saving for fuel mileage.


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## Steve NW WI (May 19, 2010)

Shari, my inner redneck fabricator has some ideas here. Lemme get out the electronic etch a sketch and draw them up. Be back in a bit.


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## Wife'nHubby (May 19, 2010)

Steve NW WI said:


> Shari, my inner redneck fabricator has some ideas here. Lemme get out the electronic etch a sketch and draw them up. Be back in a bit.



Let me run out and take a pic of my splitter - maybe I could hook a crane to the splitter too.

Shari


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## Steve NW WI (May 19, 2010)

Etch a sketch is on strike due to a dead battery in the wireless mouse. I just scribbled it out and took a pic instead. Basically a 2" tube to the truck, attached to a 2 1/2"x1/4'wall tube that will accept your current hitch for the trailer, with a mount plate for the crane welded on top, and an outrigger tube, a little narrower than the truck to avoid hanging up on stuff when maneuvering, with tubes to mount a pair of THIS (Link Here) type of jack, that can be unpinned and stored quickly when not in use.

I didn't draw any gussets on here, but a good fabricator will put some on to increase rigidness. Basically just triangular shaped plates of steel welded into the joint between different parts.

I like this idea because it doesn't have to come off to tow the trailer, and you can load right onto the trailer while it's hooked up, no loading too much on the back and having the tongue whack ya on it's way up!


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## Wife'nHubby (May 19, 2010)

Steve,

Here's pics of my Didier splitter (front/back). I don't see how this crane could be attached to the splitter. A cleaner install would be to the hitch on my SUV. I could do a winch on the trailer to load the rounds and then the crane could be used as a log lift by backing the truck up to the splitter and lift away.

Didier - front (don't laugh at my temporary 'log rack':






Didier - rear:






So, like I said, I don't think the crane could be attached to the splitter. Better bet is to have the crane attached to the SUV - or sink a cement support in the ground somewhere and mount the crane permanently in place for a dedicated splitting area in the yard somewhere.

Shari


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## Wife'nHubby (May 19, 2010)

Steve,

Slick! Looks like that would solve all problems. Thanks for the 'low tec' etch a sketch! 

Shari


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## coyotencuttin (May 19, 2010)

this isn't how i did mine but this is what i'd like to have if i did it over again.




it offsets to a side, would allow a dumpbed in the truck and i could take it off so the wife might want to ride in the truck. the extension does extend out about 30 inches so that may help with big rounds. the first thing that went bad on mine was the winch gears peened over to the point that it didn't want to turn.


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## arborjockey (May 19, 2010)

Funny i leave mine on the truck so that i can load my wife


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## RVALUE (May 19, 2010)

Dalmatian90 said:


> My first thought is you're putting forces on that hitch it was never designed for.
> 
> First thing is torque. Say you have a Class III hitch that's rated for 500# tongue weight / 5,000# trailer.
> 
> ...



I built one for my bronco that went at about a 45 degree angle out of the reciever. I planned to use it to skin elk. About a 300 pound hog would pull the front wheels off the ground. Had to modify it abit.


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## arborjockey (May 19, 2010)

RVALUE said:


> I built one for my bronco that went at about a 45 degree angle out of the reciever. I planned to use it to skin elk. About a 300 pound hog would pull the front wheels off the ground. Had to modify it abit.



yeah but how did you attach the box tubbing to the saddle of the bronco


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## arborjockey (May 19, 2010)

RVALUE said:


> I built one for my bronco that went at about a 45 degree angle out of the reciever. I planned to use it to skin elk. About a 300 pound hog would pull the front wheels off the ground. Had to modify it abit.



yeah but how did you attach the box tubbing to the saddle to the bronco


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## Wife'nHubby (May 19, 2010)

RVALUE said:


> I built one for my bronco that went at about a 45 degree angle out of the reciever. I planned to use it to skin elk. About a 300 pound hog would pull the front wheels off the ground. Had to modify it abit.




Did you add a jack stand or two?

Shari


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## RVALUE (May 19, 2010)

Wife'nHubby said:


> Did you add a jack stand or two?
> 
> Shari



No, we started butchering our hogs earlier!


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## Wife'nHubby (May 19, 2010)

RVALUE said:


> No, we started butchering our hogs earlier!





Shari


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## avalancher (May 20, 2010)

coyotencuttin said:


> this isn't how i did mine but this is what i'd like to have if i did it over again.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Now that makes sense. Having the winch to the side would definetly make the thing serviceable for pullling wood into the truck, a mount right in the center of the bed would only work in my opinion for small but heavy things,and we all know that doesnt apply to wood hauling.


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## Nosmo (May 20, 2010)

This hitch installation is very practicable with it mounted to one side and a jack to help support the load.

I have this same jack and when not in use I remove the upper half. That upper half is no light thing to slip off the mast. I believe the whole crane mast and boom weighs just over 100 lbs.

Good installation.
Nosmo


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## Dalmatian90 (May 20, 2010)

That side offset is REAL intriguing!


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## arborjockey (May 21, 2010)

Is it me or how are you going to load wood with that? does it raise higher ? whats the load limit? Big rounds? I need to see it in actionopcorn:opcorn:


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## arborjockey (May 21, 2010)

I cant run this blasted machine. maybe things are different here but i dont think my round will load maybe if you split in 1/2


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## triptester (May 21, 2010)

For trailer loading a lift gate at the back of the trailer operated by a electric winch would work. A forum member built a log lift for his splitter, this idea could be adapted to a trailer tail gate or also be a free standing lift next to a splitter.


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## Nosmo (May 22, 2010)

arborjockey said:


> Is it me or how are you going to load wood with that? does it raise higher ? whats the load limit? Big rounds? I need to see it in actionopcorn:opcorn:



I have that same crane and boom. Yes he can raise it higher by using the hydraulic jack which is mounted between the boom and stand. The winch is hooked to the object and can be used to pull it directly under the end of the boom. 

Sometimes I use the winch to crank the object up in the air and use the jack to lift the boom even higher. Then I rotate the boom and lower the object where I want to set it down.

There are 4-positions (boom lengths) to choose from. The weights which can be lifted are 500 lbs. or less and up to 1,000 lbs.

Nosmo


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## SkyP (May 22, 2010)

One thing to watch out for with the HF crane and maybe others...I noticed the pump rod and the lift rod rusting pretty quick when left outdoors so keep them well oiled. Of course if they rust then they get rough and there go the seals...


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## Haywire Haywood (May 22, 2010)

The simple solution to that is to make sure you retract the cylinder all the way when you are done using it. Don't leave it extended to rust on you.

Ian


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## SkyP (May 22, 2010)

Sounds good but doesn't work on the HF cylinder- the reason is the pump rod is sealed down inside the bottom of a sleeve that leaves about 1/2" of the rod outside the seal, but in the pocket -even worse the pocket collects water. When you go to raise the pump handle you draw the rod through all that rusty water/crap that has collected in there. So- I keep the pocket filled with oil from my squirt can...
Now for the lift rod, it seals closer to the outside but still collects water in the small area that is around the seal...

Ideally I'd take the cylinder off and put it in the shop when I'm not using it to keep it out of the weather....problem with that is due to CRS disease I'm guaranteed to go off someday and need the hoist....with the cylinder safely back at home in the shop


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## Wife'nHubby (May 22, 2010)

SkyP said:


> ....problem with that is *due to CRS disease *I'm guaranteed to go off someday and need the hoist....with the cylinder safely back at home in the shop



Ha! Ha! I suffer from CRS disease also! 

Shari


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## Haywire Haywood (May 22, 2010)

SkyP said:


> Sounds good but doesn't work on the HF cylinder- the reason is the pump rod is sealed down inside the bottom of a sleeve that leaves about 1/2" of the rod outside the seal, but in the pocket -even worse the pocket collects water.



Well they had their thinking caps on when they designed that one didn't they... LOL

Ian


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## Nosmo (May 22, 2010)

*Remove when not it use.*

Lately I've been using mine just about everyday and I park my truck inside. But later to thwart thieves and outside weather wear I am going to remove the upper boom and just leave the mast bolted down.

I just thought of something I may try with that jack. To keep moisture (rain) out of the cylinder I think the jack will work upside down. Looks like to me it will mount in either direction.

Nosmo


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## arborjockey (May 25, 2010)

Nosmo said:


> I have that same crane and boom. Yes he can raise it higher by using the hydraulic jack which is mounted between the boom and stand. The winch is hooked to the object and can be used to pull it directly under the end of the boom.
> 
> Sometimes I use the winch to crank the object up in the air and use the jack to lift the boom even higher. Then I rotate the boom and lower the object where I want to set it down.
> 
> ...



I stand corrected that things sweet 
The pictures weren't giving a working view
heres big daddy loading his firewood


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## Nosmo (May 25, 2010)

Hey guys click on those links just below my picture. These are from arborjockey and these are some biguns for sure.

Nosmo


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## beerman6 (May 25, 2010)

:jawdrop: My back hurts just lookin at them....



Question for you guys with the HF truck mounted cranes.

If the vehicle isnt sitting level,does the crane swing harder?


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## Nosmo (May 26, 2010)

It will swing easier to the lower side if the truck is not on level ground. But on the other hand it will be harder to swing with a load on it to the uphill side.

Nosmo


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## beerman6 (May 26, 2010)

Yea,thats what I thought.

I'm thinking about mounting one to the tongue of my 5x10 trailer with some "outriggers" 

The only issue I see is the sides on my trailer are taller than those on a truck,might run into some clearance issues.


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## jack_90125 (May 26, 2010)

very interesting thread. been looking for something similar and just ran across this. the price is way out of line but with a harbor freight crane and a little fab should be able to duplicate it and still have use of the tailgate and bed.
http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/m...ual-hoist-15-strap-2-receiver-kit-mount-plate


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## Nosmo (May 26, 2010)

One thing to think about is when mounting the mast the higher it goes the more leverage the load has on the mast and boom. This leverage might just pull the bolts loose or ? when winching the object closer to your truck.

I have already run into places I could not get within 10 feet of a log and have winched it up to the truck dragging it on ground until it is under the boom. Then it is time to use the jack.

I was checking with a hoist company online and one question they have answered is -- what is the difference between a hoist and a winch ? Their answer is this - a hoist is for lifting - a winch is for pulling only.

Nosmo


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## beerman6 (May 27, 2010)

So,my firewood guy calls and tells me he has a load for me it's pine and poplar :bang:

I have told him I will take anything,so it's no big deal.

After we load it (about a cord and a half) we were shooting the bull and I started explaining my trailer/tongue/crane idea...He climbs up into the attic of his shop and starts handing down pieces of * A CUMMINGS TOOL 1000LB TRUCK CRANE* better yet he *GAVE IT TO ME FOR FREE!!!!* 

It doesn't have a winch on it,but I have a coupon for the RC 3000lb 12 volt Harbor Freight winch $50 off.


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## beerman6 (May 27, 2010)

Wife'nHubby said:


> Well, I have a small SUV and load the wood on a trailer, so, depending on how I park the SUV and trailer, clearances might not be a problem.
> 
> The other idea, a lift for my horizontal splitter is another good idea.
> 
> Shari


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef-VWnjYgTM&feature=related


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## Wife'nHubby (May 27, 2010)

beerman6 said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef-WnjYgTM&feature=related



Hey, Beerman, that looks like my Didier! Wonder how it is mounted?

Shari


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## Nosmo (May 27, 2010)

beerman6 said:


> So,my firewood guy calls and tells me he has a load for me it's pine and poplar :bang:
> 
> I have told him I will take anything,so it's no big deal.
> 
> ...



Hey, that is good news and I'm happy for you about the new crane. Just remember what I read on a hoist/winch site. Use the winch to drag the load up to and under the boom then use a hydraulic jack to lift the load and swing it around.

I tried a new hookup yesterday on some bigger logs. I got one of those pulleys which can be opened and lay the wirerope over the spool and reclose it. It has a hook on it which can be attached to the load. Then I ran the cable back to the mast fastened with the hook. This is the same principle used on better comealongs which gives a 2 to 1 ratio. It made the cranking on pulling those big'uns from a low place mighty easy.

Nosmo


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## beerman6 (May 27, 2010)

goot idear,Thanks.


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## Nosmo (May 29, 2010)

I modified my Harbor Freight crane yesterday. I had been thinking about maybe adding an electric winch but decided to try a larger hand winch. 

I bought a Dutton-Lainson DL2500 model. It is rated at 2,500 lbs pulling power and it makes pulling in those large logs feel almost like a feather.
The winch which came on the crane seemed to be a good one but this one is much better for the heavier loads.

If anyone is interested Tractor Supply is where I got it - $79.99.

Nosmo


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