Tractor FEL Crane *Update*

[PhilCase]

This past weekend I finished the FEL Crane boom project.

After advice from several people, I replaced the idea of a block and tackle with a remote control 3000 lb winch. HF had it on sale for $50.

I've updated the online slide-show (now with videos), to show the final state of the project.

The roof trusses were delivered this morning and roof building commences, weather permitting, on Saturday.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Await the movie this weekend. Best of luck.

 

[true temper]

Some one is fixen to get hurt with that thing.

 

[mbohuntr]

I'm not a real big fan of those turnbuckles. If one fails, the whole geometry changes in seconds. I've also had cable clamps like those fail as well. I might have built it a little differently, just be careful and keep everyone away from the working end, and where it will go if it fails.

 

[akpilot]

Philcase

I like it!! Yes........you have to be careful with any lifting equipment, keep people out of harms way. Attemp to limit bucket rotation with a load, it will move very, very fast with the tip that far from the pivot point. With that said....be careful looks like a handy tool to me..:thumbsup:

 

[mrcaptainbob]

I'd feel more comfy if those four-eye-bolt/eye-hooks were welded closed. The strain on them is intense at the angles you're using.

 

[mikim]

I thought I was a "jury-rig" exspurt.....you easily bypass me .... that thing scares me...good luck with it - it looks like it might do the job...but not so sure I'd want to be in the neighborhood during.

 

[jlrsn]

Phil,
Now you're Gilding the Lilly! You had a simple boom that would have easily lifted those few trusses into position without block and tackle or a winch. Now you're introducing non-essential components that themselves could fail. All that you needed was a hook on the end of your boom. If you had to lower items to below the roof level to the inside of the building I could maybe see a winch but I think now you're just having fun. Next you will be putting strobe clearance lights in case of low flying aircraft!

You stated at the start of the project; "I wanted to keep the rig as simple as possible, with a quick breakdown and minimal tooling."

I think you have exceeded your original intent!

Good luck and just lift the trusses, it's a simple job!
Jim

 

[cuoffroad]

Wow, I like the ingenuity but the fact the tooth bar is really just riding on two small little sides of the pipe would make me nervous....no matter how tight you have the rigging. I know it's slid over a tooth but that tooth isn't holding anything.

I maybe would have built some sort of mount out of the next size up i.d. pipe and some flat stock that would have been welded to the toothbar and then slide your boom pole down into that pipe and then continue as you did, if that makes sense.

Be careful. :thumbsup:

 

[PhilCase]

Phil,
... Next you will be putting strobe clearance lights in case of low flying aircraft!

I think you have exceeded your original intent!
Jim

Jim,

You are right, of course, but there was an issue that I was trying to address. I want the option to be able to set these trusses without additional help if necessary. As you can tell from this video, the bucket creates a fairly prominent blind spot when operating the boom. The winch was a solution to allow hands-on placement/control of the trusses while being absent from the seat of the tractor.

I have a friend, whose as nerdy as I, who suggests that a solution to the blind spot should be a video camera and monitor on the tractor. I rejected that idea, but if I was to add a digital recorder to that solution it would make for some interesting boom videos ----- I know, I know.

Strobes eh?

Phil

 

[PhilCase]

I'm not a real big fan of those turnbuckles. If one fails, the whole geometry changes in seconds.

Your point is well taken. I do intend a couple of mods before "work begins":

<1> The cable clamps will be correctly oriented, as someone else pointed out that I have some of them on backwards - thanks for that observation.

<2> The turnbuckles are, as you point out, a point of concern. Once I tighten the turnbuckles to set tension, I will cinch a cable bypass loop around the turnbuckles so that in the event of a turnbuckle failure the cable will carry the stress safely until I can ground the system.

 

[Bedlam]

Excellent slide Phil.You will find that works well for the trusses.. and other things as well.

 

[PhilCase]

Philcase
Attemp to limit bucket rotation with a load, it will move very, very fast with the tip that far from the pivot point. With that said....be careful looks like a handy tool to me..:thumbsup:

Thanks. I agree, bucket tilt is a rather course control at the end of the boom, which was another reason I added the winch, finer control. This allows using the tractor for course positioning of the trusses, then climbing onto the headers and using the remote winch control, and my hands, for final placement.

 

[PhilCase]

Wow, I like the ingenuity but the fact the tooth bar is really just riding on two small little sides of the pipe would make me nervous....no matter how tight you have the rigging. I know it's slid over a tooth but that tooth isn't holding anything.

I maybe would have built some sort of mount out of the next size up i.d. pipe and some flat stock that would have been welded to the toothbar and then slide your boom pole down into that pipe and then continue as you did, if that makes sense.

Be careful. :thumbsup:

I looked at this quite seriously, surprisingly there is very little horizontal (skew) torque against the tooth on the bar. There is approx 1/16 of an inch of horizontal play between the inside diameter of the pipe and the diagonal cross section of the tooth itself, the horizontal torque is so little that I can, by hand, "rattle" the boom over the tooth to the limits of this play.

My initial concern, was that the compression torque at the point between the bar (not the tooth) and the pipe is pretty extreme. My fear was the possibility that under load the pipe (3/16 steel x 2 edges) might fail under stress and split the pipe itself.

After testing with loads like myself and the generator, I see no indications of any stress. (indentures or cracks). I no longer feel this is much of a concern, but will look for signs of problems after each truss placement.

The steel cables, cinched up, would never stretch to the point that the pipe could come off the tooth -- They would fail long before that point.

As with all tools, the key is operating smart. Run it like you expect a failure and you will be safe.

 

[Lil_FarmerJim]

Quite an interesting bit of rigging, that is for sure, the only thing I would add for safety is securing that pole to your bucket somehow. Just using the counter force of the weight alone would make me more than just a little nervous. Perhaps a bolt that secures it to the tooth so it doesn't slip off.

Other than that, slow and steady, no quick movements and it should be ok.

 

[boxygen]

Nice job thinking outside the box and coming up with a solution to a problem.
Now, at the risk of sounding negative, for what you have invested in this contraption, you could have bought breakfast, lunch and a steak dinner and a case of beer for a good friend and have been a lot farther ahead IMO.:confused2: The type of work that I am seeing is done by a few guys in a couple hours all the time. And, others are right, it has the potential for a few things to fail. Regardless, I hope it works well for you and the main thing here is to get that barn built :thumbsup: Goodluck, use common sense and be safe.

 

[Reg]

I guess I was a little surprised that the RC remote actually WORKS with the winch "hidden" in the steel bucket.

If your operating procedures are all worked out you will probably be OK, I would;
a) Only actually "carry" trusses with the boom all the way down, assuming the tractor doesn't tip forward on it's front axle if you do that.
b) Not move the tractor at all with a rafter on. Even if it is only a couple of feet off the ground it would only take a few degrees for the pull to get outside your front wheel track and it doesn't seem you can drop it quickly.
c) Absolutely make the guys on the top plates do the final positioning, no two or three inch tractor movements.

Good luck..... and stay safe.
Ummm, I think if you were a neighbor and I dropped by to help I would probably bring a helmet - full coverage (-:

 

[Wheatland KB]

Looks like it should work fine for a set of trusses. I would caution against curling the bucket too far back as the pole could come down backwards on top of the operator.

I hope the truss job goes well and be safe out there.

 

[wldrbob]

you should have 2 pipes and a good chain down the center dont ever trust those darn turnbuckles. they are rated way less than your cable. if one goes the load will swing sideways way more dangerous that way. look up winch trucks in the oilfield that will show you how to make it stronger and safer.also legs down from your bucket will stop a lot of stress on your front axle.

 

[Travelover]

Watch those turnbuckles. At the angle of that cable relative to the pipe, the tension in those turnbuckles is many times the weight supported by the boom. :confused2: