chain hoist A-frame help

[youfoundtheking]

I've found craigslist to be a good source of low cost beam trolleys and hoists

[Doughboyracer]

http://www.cpojettools.com/jet-troll...efault,sc.html

[DennisCarithers]

I'll probaby just end up making a trolley, those suckers are pricey!

[Sberry]

The manual 2 ton from Jet is 129$, if someone gives you the materials and your time is worth about a dollar an hour it would be practical to make one.

[DennisCarithers]

I can get the materials pretty easily, and time isn't really an issue, it would be better than spending a hundred bucks, and give me a little project to work on

[Doughboyracer]

...I would trust their engineering and material spec's long before your's...no offense.

[HWMRob]

Hope the hoist design is coming along OK. We use google sketchup a lot to help work out designs - it's free to download and, as 3d design packages go, it's pretty easy to learn. Here's a link to the sketchup site http://sketchup.google.com/. Might be fun to try out a few alternative hoist layouts in sketchup.

[piniongear]

I just ordered a 2 ton chain hoist for lifting heavy things out of the back of my truck, I have some strong tree branches to hook it to but I wanted to build something for it instead, something I can back my truck under, so I can place whatever it is I'm lifting where I want it, I was also thinking about making it collapsable so I can take it with me to load and unload things, maybe a pin or bolt can hold some pieces together so it can be taken down easily and transported, here is a terrible sketch i drew on my Android phone, any help or comments are much appreciated!

Sure, very easy to make.
I needed to lift my boat engine (4 cylinder Johnson) off my boat and the only way to do it was with a lift.
I hung a 2Ton hoist off the frame I made at home.
Then I had to load the hoist into the bed of my pickup and drive 60 miles south to where the boat is stored on the Gulf Coast.

Here is the frame as I was building it.
I used a 4 inch X 4 inch H beam across the top, and put a wheel on each corner.
The frame has no more bracing than you see in the pic and is wide enough for me to drive under it when assembled......



Is it portable?
You be the judge of that.......



I got it down there and back and the engine came off the transom easily. So I have to say it is portable, but I need to take a ladder with me as it is 11 feet tall..
pg

[kiwi]

That looks like a great design. My only concern would be the 4X4 H beam. How much does it weigh and is is hard for one person to place it?
Thanks,
Nick

[piniongear]

That looks like a great design. My only concern would be the 4X4 H beam. How much does it weigh and is is hard for one person to place it?
Thanks,
Nick

Nick,
I used a W4x13 beam and it is 8 ft long. So 8 x 13 = 104 lbs.
I made two of these.
One I keep at the boat shed and it is standing erect over the boat.
The other one is at home (broken down) and stored in the garage.

The first one I did went to the boat shed.
I erected it by myself.
The shed has a 12 ft ceiling so I screwed in a hook to a joist and raised the beam with a chain hoist. Then bolted the upright legs on..........



The one at home I have no high ceiling to use so I simply bolted one upright leg to the beam on the ground.
I next picked up the other end of the beam and climbed up a ladder holding the beam in my hand.
The end of the beam was then placed on top of a second ladder.
I went down and grabbed a wrench and the 4 remaining bolts and attached that end to the other upright leg.
The tail end of a 104 lb beam is not that heavy.
I weigh 160 lbs and stand only 5'-6" tall, so if I can do this anyone can. I was working alone with no help at all in both cases.
This one came apart the same way when it was time to store it.
pg