Looking for an iPhone and found a crane.

[Ghillie]

I was looking on craigslist for an iPhone the other day and ended up buying a crane. 58' sheave height, 8 ton.

 

[climberjones]

I was looking on craigslist for an iPhone the other day and ended up buying a crane. 58' sheave height, 8 ton.

Looks handy! But how do you keep those wood chips from flying all over the hos propertywith out a top on that chipper truck?

 

[mattfr12]

nice rig

 

[justme23005]

Looks handy! But how do you keep those wood chips from flying all over the hos propertywith out a top on that chipper truck?

It looks like there might be a tarp stretched across the top..

 

[pdqdl]

Don't let anybody run that crane except yourself, or someone who has really trained a lot with it.

My 12k knuckleboom truck has been turned over twice. Both times by idiots working for me that were not qualified to use it.

 

[dbl612]

new crane

I was looking on craigslist for an iPhone the other day and ended up buying a crane. 58' sheave height, 8 ton.

congrates on new crane. pitman made a really strong crane for its size. (made with utility co. work in mind-auger attachments and such). mostly all generic parts for hydraulic systems, so parts are inexpensive. be careful with the manual pullout, they wrinkle easily,designed for high reach not distance from crane. turret and winch built like an abrams! have fun, be careful.

 

[superjunior]

Nice score! those little cranes come in real handy and fit into some tight places. We rarely pull out of the shop without ours anymore. Did the truck come with a cradle/rest for the crane?

 

[Ghillie]

Looks handy! But how do you keep those wood chips from flying all over the hos propertywith out a top on that chipper truck?

Right now it has a mesh tarp over the top. Keeps the wood chips in and comes off easy when being loaded from the top for hauling firewood etc....

And the mesh doesn't catch rain so I don't have to worry about taking it off if the weather turns bad.

 

[Ghillie]

Don't let anybody run that crane except yourself, or someone who has really trained a lot with it.

My 12k knuckleboom truck has been turned over twice. Both times by idiots working for me that were not qualified to use it.

I am the only operator for now. There are a couple of the guys who I am showing (in detail) how to read a load chart and how to read a green weight log chart.

 

[mattfr12]

Invest in some good outrigger pads. A lot of times ill have 4-5 foot worth of pad double layer under each out rigger. soil is soft around here. a lot of times halfway through the day i gotta re level the truck from my working side settling in the ground.

the last guys yard i was in i had to use some serious cribbing to keep the one side from sinking.

 

[Ghillie]

congrates on new crane. pitman made a really strong crane for its size. (made with utility co. work in mind-auger attachments and such). mostly all generic parts for hydraulic systems, so parts are inexpensive. be careful with the manual pullout, they wrinkle easily,designed for high reach not distance from crane. turret and winch built like an abrams! have fun, be careful.

Thanks for the info. I had never heard of Pitman before I found this one. I called the company that bought them out for a service manual but they could not round one up for me. It's good to hear the parts are cheap.

The company I bought it from had a lot of the hydraulics gone through in '08. Boom cylinders repacked and replaced most of the hoses from what I can see. I even talked to the shop that did it to confirm.

The pullout does seem sturdy but I am staying well within the lift radius on the load chart. I keep a laser rangefinder on the platform with me for spot checks and a tape measure to check if it is close to max.

 

[Ghillie]

Invest in some good outrigger pads. A lot of times ill have 4-5 foot worth of pad double layer under each out rigger. soil is soft around here. a lot of times halfway through the day i gotta re level the truck from my working side settling in the ground.

the last guys yard i was in i had to use some serious cribbing to keep the one side from sinking.

I am cutting down three locust trees later this week to have squared up for cribbing. Should end up with several different dimensions in 6' lengths for when I have to work in softer soil.

I also am having pads cut 24"x24" out of a synthetic material. Those will be 1 1/2" thick.

I keep a magnetic level handy to see if i am starting to sink. It stays right in front of the operator platform.

 

[Ghillie]

Nice score! those little cranes come in real handy and fit into some tight places. We rarely pull out of the shop without ours anymore. Did the truck come with a cradle/rest for the crane?

I was told it didn't and have not seen where one was.

 

[mattfr12]

I am cutting down three locust trees later this week to have squared up for cribbing. Should end up with several different dimensions in 6' lengths for when I have to work in softer soil.

I also am having pads cut 24"x24" out of a synthetic material. Those will be 1 1/2" thick.

I keep a magnetic level handy to see if i am starting to sink. It stays right in front of the operator platform.

ya i use the synthetic ones a lot. it all depends on how much your gonna lift. if your just doing tree picking your fine. the only time i ever really had trouble was when a company hired me to lift steel tanks. i was loading them on a trailer to be sent out for sand blasting. and they where close to 25k and in a sloppy field. i had to re level after every tank. after that i put together some serious cribbing.

 

[mattfr12]

Don't let anybody run that crane except yourself, or someone who has really trained a lot with it.

My 12k knuckleboom truck has been turned over twice. Both times by idiots working for me that were not qualified to use it.

How did they manage that? just curious if it was due to improper setup. or them just trying to lift to much? because on my trucks you can override the shut off and pretty much go till the boom snaps, the truck flips, or the hoses blow. whatever comes first.

 

[pdqdl]

1st time: An unqualified employee didn't follow my instructions. I knew he was not very experienced, but I did give him more than enough training to do the easy lifts I sent him after. I told him SPECIFICALLY, do not pick up those concrete blocks without setting the outriggers wide. He loaded the first 4000 lb block on the near side of the truck, never put the outrigger out (just down), and then picked up another 4k block in front of the truck, lifted it up to about 12' up, then swung the whole boom straight out to the side. He was planning on going in the rear of the truck, but he never got that far.

2nd time: Lunatics working for me pulled the truck over onto its side by attaching a bull rope in the middle of the crane line while attempting to pull a tree over. Then they hooked the bull rope to a 2nd truck and stepped on the gas. The whole setup was so insane I am embarrassed to admit I even knew the idiots, much less that I hired them and trusted them with my equipment. It took the combined stupidity of 4 fools working in concert to flip a crane truck on its side that was on flat ground and wasn't even moving or picking up a load. The worst part of it was that they never needed the crane at all, and none of them were authorized to use it for that tree. None of them worked for me too much longer after that. It still hurts my pride to have ever hired them, much less that I didn't fire them all on the spot and make them walk home.

Believe it or not, the crane still works, and the truck never even got so much as a dent in the body from either trip onto it's side. The crane caught the load and held the body off the ground both times. It was a bit tricky setting it back up, though.

 

[tree md]

1st time:

2nd time: Lunatics working for me pulled the truck over onto its side by attaching a bull rope in the middle of the crane line while attempting to pull a tree over. Then they hooked the bull rope to a 2nd truck and stepped on the gas. The whole setup was so insane I am embarrassed to admit I even knew the idiots, much less that I hired them and trusted them with my equipment. It took the combined stupidity of 4 fools working in concert to flip a crane truck on its side that was on flat ground and wasn't even moving or picking up a load. The worst part of it was that they never needed the crane at all, and none of them were authorized to use it for that tree. None of them worked for me too much longer after that. It still hurts my pride to have ever hired them, much less that I didn't fire them all on the spot and make them walk home.

Not trying to add insult to injury but that is the funniest dam thing I have heard in awhile! :hmm3grin2orange:

Ghillie, check eBay for you manuals. I have found a couple of obscure manuals there.

 

[pdqdl]

It gets worse, too.

They did it in the main drive of a large cemetery, about 1 hour before the funeral of an infant. So the bereaved got to have their funeral about 200' away from my crane & truck on it's side in the middle of the road, with all my idiots wandering around in circles wondering how they were going to fix it.

I still cringe when I think about it.

 

[Nailsbeats]

Way to go on the crane Ghillie. I am picking mine up tommorow, 8t 60' RO Stinger on a Ford 7000. 16' flat rack with a boom cradle on the back. I think it's gonna be the bomb for getting in and out, loading logs and whatnot.

 

[since16]

It gets worse, too.

They did it in the main drive of a large cemetery, about 1 hour before the funeral of an infant. So the bereaved got to have their funeral about 200' away from my crane & truck on it's side in the middle of the road, with all my idiots wandering around in circles wondering how they were going to fix it.

I still cringe when I think about it.

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