using engine hoist, legs in the way?

[PoorOwner]

I want to lift a machinery off a pallet and then slide the pallet out.

Most of the time the pallet is 36-40" wide and gets in the way of the legs, then I cannot move the crane close enough.

All I can think off is to elevate the hoist wheels to be higher than the pallet. But it's a lot of effort using man power to lift the hoist up by hand and place over stacks of wood.

If you have any tricks please let me know. Mine is a 2 ton so it is already the bigger variation of the hoist.

 

[Aaron_W]

I want to lift a machinery off a pallet and then slide the pallet out.

Most of the time the pallet is 36-40" wide and gets in the way of the legs, then I cannot move the crane close enough.

All I can think off is to elevate the hoist wheels to be higher than the pallet. But it's a lot of effort using man power to lift the hoist up by hand and place over stacks of wood.

If you have any tricks please let me know. Mine is a 2 ton so it is already the bigger variation of the hoist.

Depending on what you are lifting you can counter balance the load. I've moved 300-350lb loads by having someone stand on the back of the hoist. You can maintain a surprising amount of control just by leaning in and out, but there are obviously limits to the weight that can be safely lifted that way.

To get anywhere close to the capacity you need the legs out front. Maybe you can get legs with a wider foot print fabricated that would fit around a pallet?

 

[Kaizen]

I’ve done the wood blocks under it before and **** my pants every time.
If you have a pallet jack get the pallet off the ground and slip wood in to support without being in the way. Also could cut the pallet or using a prybar lift the pallet in stages. Sorry no easy solutions short of buying a gantry


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[PoorOwner]

Depending on what you are lifting you can counter balance the load. I've moved 300-350lb loads by having someone stand on the back of the hoist. You can maintain a surprising amount of control just by leaning in and out, but there are obviously limits to the weight that can be safely lifted that way.

To get anywhere close to the capacity you need the legs out front. Maybe you can get legs with a wider foot print fabricated that would fit around a pallet?

It seemed like it would tip forward if the front legs are not down, but I have pondered about using just 1 leg.

 

[sberry]

You got to get at an angle to straddle as much as you can often getting a a longer choker so booming the load up brings it inward and getting as much of the heavy load as close as it can. I have picked and blocked one side a time to get under it.

 

[Lucky13driver]

I turned the goose neck around 180 and uses a ratchet strap to avoid flexing. The most I lifted was about 450lbs I used a board to go across the legs in the back to stack weights on. The last time I did this I was lifting HF 44" tool boxes into the workbench I'm building and just had my wife stand on the legs and it went surprisingly well. Be careful though. Do a test lift with the boom extended out and parallel to the ground this is the most critical angle if it fails it will do it then. I realize I'm not using a tool as it was intended for and the saftey keyboard commandos are going to come out of the woodwork. But it worked.

Here's a link to my workbench build:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=408820

 

[dhinmn]

I had this issue once. What I did was roll the weight off the big pallet onto a narrow pallet which does fit between the legs of the crane.

Use a crowbar and a short block of 2x4 under it to raise one corner of the weight up about 1.5 inches and slide black pipe under the weight. Get two or more pipes under the weight. I use those orange forearm forklift straps and the hook on the crane and as it rolls closer go back and pump up the cylinder a little, roll and repeat. closer it gets the better and safer the angle.

Roll the weight off the big pallet onto a second pallet which is narrow enough to fit between the legs of the crane. It worked for me once.

 

[matt_i]

Its time to consider whether you are going to be lifting more stuff like this, if so, its time to build or buy a gantry.

 

[Aaron_W]

It seemed like it would tip forward if the front legs are not down, but I have pondered about using just 1 leg.

It takes very little weight to make it tip without the legs or a counter balance.

One leg is no real help, the hoist will just twist as it tips over.

Agree with the other poster, if you expect to do this often a gantry is a better solution. Not a cheap solution for a one time need though.

 

[619DioFan]

I made a longer boom for my 2 ton engine hoist. I use it for taking the 8 foot bed off of my ram. you do have to be aware of the extra length and the effect it has on the hoist ram. how much weight are you trying to lift ?

 

[PoorOwner]

it's probably a little over 500 lbs,

I guess I could sling it from far away and once I start lifting it will move towards the hoist, but I don't really find that most pleasing or least stressful way to do it!

 

[7635tools]

I always get a kick out of guys trying to lift heavy things with shade tree-backyard bob antics. When lifting anything heavy, things can go wrong in the blink of an eye. It’s not worth getting injured cause you were too cheap to get the proper equipment.


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[ItsNemo]

Use the engine hoist to lift one end up, get some blocking under the pallet, do the same on the other side. Then once the pallet is high enough off the floor, you can just roll the hoist right underneath and lift the entire thing. 500lbs isn't too hard to handle.

 

[bad_idea]

I always get a kick out of guys trying to lift heavy things with shade tree-backyard bob antics. When lifting anything heavy, things can go wrong in the blink of an eye. It’s not worth getting injured cause you were too cheap to get the proper equipment.


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I'm sure the Egyptians used proper lifting equipment.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Use the engine hoist to lift one end up, get some blocking under the pallet, do the same on the other side. Then once the pallet is high enough off the floor, you can just roll the hoist right underneath and lift the entire thing. 500lbs isn't too hard to handle.

Seemed obvious to me

 

[66Caprice]

Please take video!!!!

 

[Bretny]

Why not make your engine hoist goose neck an adapter to plug into a 2in reciever? Instant counter weight and you can now drive the load around. I would strap it against the lift if your driving with it to prevent swinging.

My engine hoist is now a garden hose holder in my basement since i bought a tractor/loader.

 

[gungatim]

LGR!

 

[Jazz1]

it's probably a little over 500 lbs,

I guess I could sling it from far away and once I start lifting it will move towards the hoist, but I don't really find that most pleasing or least stressful way to do it!

That's how I've done it numerous times. May find yourself standing on the lift to keep it from toppling over depending on weight.

 

[OccupantRJ]

If the load on the pallet is narrow enough, you can cut a chisel point on two pieces of 2x4 and drive them inside the pallet to create two runners that are closer together. Nail the boards to them, then cut off the excess pallet to create a narrower pallet. Roll the lift around the narrow pallet and lift the load. If the lower boards are cut almost through to stay away from the concrete floor, they can be broken away with a large hammer.

 

[OneOfEm]

If you have to stand on your lift to keep it from toppling, you're introducing stresses that it's not engineered to handle. Eventually these stresses could cause the lift to fail catastrophically when a 1,200# machine is hoisted, thankfully not injuring anyone nor damaging anything other than the paperclip-shaped hoist and your underwear. DAMHIKT!

 

[stioc]

The GJ answer: buy a forklift even if you never use it again, oh and since your garage is too small to store it afterwards, put up a bigger building...and to build the building don't forget to buy an excavator and a scissor lift. Wait can't add a building? buy a bigger property...live in SoCal? well move where you can have a large property. Easy peasy

I personally enjoy 'rigging' and love watching people come up with creative ideas moving thousands of pounds of machinery around. In this case the easiest for me would be lifting the pallet itself and putting it back down on wood blocks to raise it enough that the engine hoist slides under it.

 

[Falcon67]

I always get a kick out of guys trying to lift heavy things with shade tree-backyard bob antics. When lifting anything heavy, things can go wrong in the blink of an eye. It’s not worth getting injured cause you were too cheap to get the proper equipment.

1200 lb lathe

Later...

 

[Spareparts]

If you do this frequently build a hoist to straddle the pallet

 

[rlitman]

I'm sure the Egyptians used proper lifting equipment.

Sure, but laborers were expendable.

 

[sberry]

I think they were highly skilled and well paid.

 

[Falcon67]

I think they were highly skilled and well paid.

I was allowed a bottled ration of fermented grain after the lathe unloading, so - yes.

 

[matt_i]

The things that people can do...there are engine hoists with larger capacity.

 

[sanddan]

I modified my engine hoist for just that reason. I had to lift my lathe from the pallet it shipped on and this allowed me the clearance I needed.

 

[ericlar80]

You only need to lift it an inch to pull the pallet out from underneath it, then you could set it down and re-position the hoist.

- Get a wooden barrel, or something of similar height, and put it next to the pallet
- Place one end of a 4x4 on the barrel, the other end attached to the engine hoist
- Attach the thing you are lifting to the middle of the 4x4, and lift 2" with the shop crane
- Slip the pallet out and set the item down

The barrel will only have to support half of the weight (250 lbs). Quick, easy, cheap, and safe.

 

[PoorOwner]

Thanks guys, got it done.

Now I know why I hoarded many short pieces of 2x4, thinking they would be good for something one day, and today it took all of them.
I needed to stack 5 on each side before the hoist leg fits under.

At first I needed to put a dolly underneath because the pallet was facing the wrong way.

Yes I know it's NOT real heavy, but I was not able to move it by hand.

 

[stioc]

You only need to lift it an inch to pull the pallet out from underneath it, then you could set it down and re-position the hoist.

- Get a wooden barrel, or something of similar height, and put it next to the pallet
- Place one end of a 4x4 on the barrel, the other end attached to the engine hoist
- Attach the thing you are lifting to the middle of the 4x4, and lift 2" with the shop crane
- Slip the pallet out and set the item down

The barrel will only have to support half of the weight (250 lbs). Quick, easy, cheap, and safe.

Leverage!

Thanks guys, got it done.

Now I know why I hoarded many short pieces of 2x4, thinking they would be good for something one day, and today it took all of them.
I needed to stack 5 on each side before the hoist leg fits under.

At first I needed to put a dolly underneath because the pallet was facing the wrong way.

Yes I know it's NOT real heavy, but I was not able to move it by hand.

Nice! So what's the story on the tire changer purchase? what model is it? Coats?

 

[PoorOwner]

Leverage!



Nice! So what's the story on the tire changer purchase? what model is it? Coats?

Got it from Derek Weaver with a balancer.
But the short version is I am tired of paying tire shop and waiting.

I recently got a set of Michelins at Costco, basically they have almost free install built into the cost, but it is shaking like crazy more than the worn tire it replaced, I don't want to go back and wait 2 hours.

I won't recoup my cost in a reasonable timeframe, but this is one of the things I like to be able to do at home, like TPMS replacements and puncture repair from inside.

 

[stioc]

Got it from Derek Weaver with a balancer.
But the short version is I am tired of paying tire shop and waiting.

I recently got a set of Michelins at Costco, basically they have almost free install built into the cost, but it is shaking like crazy more than the worn tire it replaced, I don't want to go back and wait 2 hours.

I won't recoup my cost in a reasonable timeframe, but this is one of the things I like to be able to do at home, like TPMS replacements and puncture repair from inside.

Cool. I hear you and exactly why I have a snapon wheel balancer in my over crowded home garage, I wish I had the room for a tire machine too but it's the balancing that they never seem to get right even after bringing the car back multiple times.