FEL Gin pole (Boom pole and then some)

[srjones]

Hello all, this is my first post here, so go easy on me. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I've been lurking quite a while, but I thought it's probably time for me to post.

I was especially inspired by the postings of RonJHall where he attaches a Speeco quick hitch adapter to his FEL, so the first purchase I made after buying my Mahindra 2015HST was a quick hitch, and then angle iron and pins fabricate it.

I then took a standard farm-store boom pole and made some modifications. First, welding a receiver hitch scope tube to the end and then sliding in a 10' section of stinger tube (the stuff that goes into the receiver). At the end, I drilled a hole for a 3/4" forged eyebolt. At the base is a bracket to mount the 440/880 hoist from HF. Think of it as a large fishing pole. When it's completely raised, it can lift 800 lbs up to 20 feet (in theory, but I haven't tested it yet).

Anyway, comments and questions are welcome and appreciated.

-Steve

 

[gordon21]

Your creation looks neat. I am curious about the true lifting capacity once you get 20' up from from the loader attach points. It would seem that a 2000# lift capacity at the attach points might end up being less than 800# once you get 3-6' away on the horizontal axis. This seems like an ideal mini crane to lift trusses/beams on small buildings. Has anyone else used something like this? How much did this cost to build? Is there just one pulley or a block & tackle combo? A couple close up pix would be great

 

[srjones]

Thanks for the comments. Yeah, I'm very well aware of the limitations. The loader itself is rated for 950 lbs at the pins and the the idea is to keep the tip as near to vertical as I can ( at least 80-85 degrees) If for some reason the pole went into full extension under load, I'd quickly find myself on a rollercoaster ride.

I don't have closeups at the moment, but here's one of me exploring another use for this setup.

 

[RonR]

Based on past posts, I'm thinking of adding a receiver hitch to my FEL bucket. Gives you lots of options.

Mine is much smaller, and it would take a lot of rear ballast to get me to hang on the boom!

Nice for reaching light loads though. I would not trust driving with something hanging way up there, unless it was <1ft off the ground and I'd want my right hand on the FEL. Much too easy to tip over.

I need to trim some trees 20ft up, and making a boom to hold an electric trimmer sounds like the safest way. My fear is what if it get stuck up there............ HowdoI get it down???????

ron

ron

 

[srjones]

Sorry, I just reread your post and I didn't answer all your questions:

How much? $219 for the Speeco QA + $50 in steel + $100? for the boom pole (can't remember exacltly, I've had it for about 4 years) + $50 for the extention tube + $75 for the HF hoist + $15 for the forged shouldered eyebolt.

Right now it's a single line (and single pully) which is rated at 440 lbs. I might just leave it at that to keep the max load down.

Lifting beams, rafters and wall assemblies is exactly what it's for /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[ronjhall]

Nice project. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
I like your modification using the using the 10' stinger tube. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Soundguy]

Wow.. only 950#... That seems low.

My 1 arm loader from the late 1950's has 2500# break out and 1000# lift to full height.

Is it a pump pressure issue.. or weird cyl choce that make the # value so low??

Soundguy

 

[srjones]

Actually, I was wrong (close, but wrong) Its only 915 lbs.
ML 104 Loader specs

I suspect this has to do the the cylinder size, but other factors could also be at work like you mentioned (pressure, structural steel design, etc.)

 

[srjones]

Thanks RonH for the encouragement. As I said, you were the inspiration for the Speeco mod. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Here's a little better picture of some of the specifics with some items labeled:

1. Rather than try spend $18 plus shipping for those hard to find QuickHitch adapter bushings, I made some by welding 1" pipe over the lift pins. Total cost: $4.

2. Standard import (Harbor Freight) 440/880 110v. hoist.

3. That shoelace that keeps coming undone.

4. a short peice of 2" tube welded to a 1/4" plate that's welded to the boom pole frame. A 1" fortified pipe then keeps the hoist on the boom frame.

5. A short peice of flat iron connecting the hoist to the boom to keep the hoist from flopping around when it's not under load.

6. An old rachet winch from a different project. I didn't know any better and I welded it right to the frame. I shouldn't'a done that.

 

[rambler]

You did a lot of neat work there, I like each piece of it.

The whole thing together just frightens the bejibers out of me. There are a lot of little things that can go wrong, & that tractor is going to be laying on it's side, or on it's nose....

--->Paul

 

[srjones]

Paul, Thank you for your comments...

Believe you me, I've ran through quite a few "what-if" senarios but most of them question my ability as welding what would happen if the various parts of the boom assembly were to fail. In most senarios the only impact would be that the thing that I was lifting would drop to the ground and the boom would fall on top of it. That's especially bad if it's live person being lifted, but not quite so bad if it's just a peice of wood.

Nose diving (or forward tipping) would be my next concern and then followed by side tipping (or rolling). Also in the list would be hydraulic and electrical failure.

I think as long as I adhere to the following self-imposed rules, I should be okay:

1. Never operate on unlevel ground (side-to-side).
2. Never operate with the boom tip extended more than 24" from the pivot pins.
3. Always know the weight of the load I'm lifting.
4. Never let any one other than me, me, me operate the setup.
5. Always keep a cell phone in my shirt pocket.
6. Never operate without a ballast. (850# of concrete in 2/3 of a 55 gallon barrel)

 

[sodamo]

Great work.
As you may have read elsewhere Ron was also my inspiration.

I'd be curious about the true weight capacity and how you figured it. I've been tinkering with the thought of extending my pole and like your approach. In it current configuration I was able to set 4"X10"X24' beam just at 15 ft. Setting beam

I have some 6x16 beams in my near future as well as some 4x10's at about 17 ft.

I have found this to be a most tool. Elsewhere on the above link, you can see it setting 15 ft long 4" pipe and placing 300 lb battieries in their box. One thing I've found amazing it how placement of an object can be controlled simply by turning the front wheels.

Could you post more close ups of the receiver/stinger setup?

David

 

[srjones]

Hey David, very cool project /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Here's the close-up of the stinger/reciever welded on the boom. As you can see, I had to do some modifications to the way it was originally built (King Kutter, I think)

Something else you'll notice is that I haven't yet drilled a hole to secure it with a pin.

-srj

 

[srjones]

And here's a close up of the tip

 

[sodamo]

Thanks, those were great. I think your modification was also what I was wondering about. Now if I can just figure out what to ask for to buy the material.

David

 

[srjones]

I had a hard time knowing what the ask for too...

If you go to any shop that makes hitches, you can probably get what you need. A short piece (about a foot) of the reciever tube (2" ID) and as much as you dare to go with the 'stinger' stock (2" OD). I went with 1/4" thickness on both.

-srj

 

[Louisiana_John]

Nice job I like it. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
John

 

[sodamo]

Thanks again srj

Funny, I pretty much know my way around a lumber/wood place, but I'm really outa my element when it comes to metal. Wonder if there's a cheat sheet or something /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

David

 

[Defective]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Wonder if there's a cheat sheet or something /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif)</font>

Well...it's British, but Here's one .

 

[sodamo]

Very interesting - Thanks