Finished my mobile Gantry Crane

[jon1996]

I posted on here I think back in the winter that I was going to build a gantry crane, Well I finally finished it, Well it has been done for months but I had yet to paint it, My company I have worked for the last 13yrs decided to move 2 states away, I did not go so I had some spare time to get a few things done,

I used it to lift my 2,000lb Mac Tool box off the trailer when I brought i home, Lifted about 1500lbs stack of pegboard with it, lifted my John Deere 425 up with it to sharpen the blades, its 1000 times easier and nicer to work with than a cherry picker

A few quick specsm anyone want to know more about it just post here,

Height is adjustable from 9'10" to get it outside my 10ft door to 11'8" to lift taller items I just leave it up, I have 12'6" ceilings so its easier to do it like that, it is 10' wide between the legs, Built out of 4" Schedule 80 Pipe and 3" schedule 120 Pipe, 4 7/8" bolts to lock it plus the 8 ton long rams, 3 ton Chain hoist, 6" Steel casters rated for 1200lbs each, 6" I beams for legs and 6" Ibeam for hoist beam, Dayton 2 ton Trolley, But what do yall think? I did mess up on the letting for 2 TON but it was hard to reach with a 8 foot step ladder, I may fix it but its for my use not to sell so it aint got to be perfect, LOL,

 

[Griff93]

That's really cool. You did a very good job on it.

 

[2drx4]

I like the adjustable height to get it out of the door... Our gantries at work are not like that, and one is built to clear only part of the ceiling, so moving it around can be a long tedious process. If it was built like that it would be much easier.

Did you have an engineered drawing to start with?

 

[jon1996]

I like the adjustable height to get it out of the door... Our gantries at work are not like that, and one is built to clear only part of the ceiling, so moving it around can be a long tedious process. If it was built like that it would be much easier.

Did you have an engineered drawing to start with?

No I took ideas from 2 of our work cranes that are used to lift things in one spot, and then planned on making it mobile so I can park it on the wall and get it out of the way, I learned a long time ago that it takes some height to lift a 6 foot tall item off a trailer and knew if I built it 9 foot or so it would not do what I need, I seen a adjustable one on the internet that used long rams, but it did not have the safety of the 4 bolts, rams do leak and bust over time and I did not want them holding it all up
Jon

 

[msnow]

Do you have to alternate between raising each side? If so why did you not plumb them together instead of two independent pumps?

 

[jon1996]

Do you have to alternate between raising each side? If so why did you not plumb them together instead of two independent pumps?

I have only raised it twice, When I did I take one side up about 10" and then go to the other side, I wanted to use Air over hyd long rams but the price was out of the question at the time, but when I get some extra money I am going to go that route and tie them together by running a air line over the top beam
Jon

 

[bchee]

I like it
Looks good

 

[knobby]

Well done looks good

 

[msnow]

Yeah I think air over hydraulic would be sweet. I am impressed though you can get ten inches of stroke per side before having to switch that is not so bad. Nice work

 

[Nealcrenshaw]

i like!
how much do you have invested in it?

 

[cowboy73]

Nice looking gantry crane. I could have used one to pull the bed off of my Dodge when I changed the fuel pump.

 

[londonsteve]

Outstanding a truly well thought out and engineered piece gantry.

 

[Danglerb]

With a couple of LONG handles you might be able to jack it up on both sides at once standing on a ladder kind of in the middle, or maybe an L shaped handle from the ground.

 

[Aberdale]

Nicely done. Good color choice, too. If you don't mind my asking, what are the hole cutouts for on the lower I-beams?

Dale

 

[jon1996]

i like!
how much do you have invested in it?

Funny thing is I got lucky on some stuff

Casters- $70.00
Lower Ibeam- Free- it was a Skid a Pump was shipped on at work
4" Pipe- Free- I got alot of hookups in the oilfield
3.5" Pipe- Free- I know lots of Oilfield guys
Bracing on sides- Free 2" High pressure oilfield treating line that did not pass inspection, It is 3/8" thick, and I got like 50 8' joints of it to use
Rams- Harbor Freight $50 each with coupons
Main Ibeam- Free- Retired Maint supervisor where I worked had 5 pieces and he gave me one for making him a reverse pedal for his John Deer mower to go faster
Trolley- $75.00 at a yard sale, it was new in box 2 ton Dayton
Hoist- 3 Ton Harbor freight- $50.00 on sale
Rest of the items I had already , It just took a month or so to gather all the parts and call people,

Total- $295 +or- $20 bucks
Labor- 20hrs
Mig Wire- LOTs


But theats the way I work around here, I do things for people and then they will return the favor by helping me get what I need, rither I know someone that can help me or they have what I am looking for, We are all hoarders here, keep anything that could be used by me or someone else
Jon

 

[jon1996]

Nicely done. Good color choice, too. If you don't mind my asking, what are the hole cutouts for on the lower I-beams?

Dale

The Ibeam was used as a skid where I worked to load a 14,000lb pump assembly, we used 2 forklifts to load them with,
Jon

 

[arkangel06]

Very nice!!!

 

[Skyline]

Great job. I like it!

 

[Tim Cowan]

You need to manufacture and put that model on the market. Great work,too.

 

[bimmer1980]

nice work! I like the use of the long rams to raise and lower the over all height.

 

[mrholeshot]

Very nice!! Are those bolts that go through the tube to lock it down to keep the weight off the jacks?

 

[jon1996]

Very nice!! Are those bolts that go through the tube to lock it down to keep the weight off the jacks?

They serve 2 purposes

They are 7/8" Grade 8 Lawson Bolts, they hold the weight off the rams because I do not really trust harbor freight hydraulics, and they lock the 2 pipes together and keep the smaller pipe from swiveling inside the bigger pipe, The bolts have a extra long shoulder on them so the pipe is sitting on the shoulder only,
jon

 

[Deltarat]

That looks great! I can't wait to get time to build mine. Looks like a winter project.

 

[jon1996]

That looks great! I can't wait to get time to build mine. Looks like a winter project.

It sure is a winter project, It kept me good and warm in the garage welding everything never did have to turn on my heat. LOL