Movable gantry while loaded?

[K5_489]

I have a Ford 8N tractor with a loader on it that I primarily use for lifting & moving heavy things - engines, axles, my 500lb welder, lifting my rock crawler to change out the springs, etc. I know - N series + loader = bad things happen...and hanging 1,000+ pounds off that ancient Wagner loader frame is probably a bad idea altogether anyways...

With that, and really having a need to be able to move things larger/heavier than what this tractor is physically capable of, I've been looking at some alternative ideas. I need to pull the steel flatbeds off a couple trucks, pull a Suburban body shell off the frame, being able to move larger truck axles without concern of it swinging around and smacking the grill of the tractor could be handy, need to pull the top cap off a boat for some repairs, etc.

A larger tractor that could handle this stuff is well beyond my budget, as is things like off pavement capable forklifts and such.

A gantry crane seems like it would be awfully handy here, and while looking at various things online, I see a common theme in all the descriptions - "do not move while loaded". While I could find alternative ways to move the loads, being able to simple pick it up with the gantry, move it to a different area of the property and set it back down would be more convenient.

I'm guessing this is a stability concern, in that a shifting load could cause the thing to topple over? Is this something that could be mitigated by strapping the load to the gantry to prevent it moving, and making the base larger/wider? I was planning on building something to suit, rather than modifying an existing one, and making it capable of running over the dirt outside. I live in the desert, so the ground is all hardpack, but it's certainly not smooth pavement. I was also intending on making it towable with the tractor.

Is this a feasible idea, or more along the lines of "sounds good in my head, will be a suicide mission in practice"? :lol:

 

[old-9]

I made a simple A frame on a trailer. Like a wrecker boom , I used a come-a-long as the lifter. Son and I pulled engines and transmissions with it Make it as big as needed and do not unhook with a load on it. For small stuff a 3 point boom pole works nice also. joe

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

If you're building the gantry, you make the rules.

Through direct experience, I do know that it doesn't take much out-of-level for the load to come flying across the beam at you. When that load is a fully dressed IH DT436 engine, even a slow fly carries a lot of momentum and is difficult for one guy to control.

Casters will NOT roll on dirt.

 

[caterpillar guy]

Why not just build a jib crane with a spreader bar to lift those things then set them on a trailer to move them. The trailer could be retrieved when the time came to reassemble the item. This would give the best of both worlds so to speak. A jib crane does need a post or wall to fasten to to lift on.
they swing as far as the beam is long.

 

[6cylpower]

The local you-pull car parts yard made some gantries that use 15" car tires. I used one to pull a 4 cylinder engine out of a car and squeeze down the isle of cars to my pickup. Worked well, ground wasn't that level either.
Just googled these. Notice no trolleys so the load stays centered. But these places have some liability concerns...

 

[stevieb49829]

How about a two-wheeled skidding arch. They are engineered with a tongue long enough to lever your load off the ground, and then hook them to a bumper hitch. You could use a 12 volt winch and a boom to do the same lifting. I built mine for moving sawlogs around the mill, but you could design yours to fit your specific needs.

 

[wp6529]

Fixed hoist point or points (i.e. 3 hook holes for single or double hoist), minimum height and wide A frames for stability. Add a lower tie bar (bolt-on so can be removed when necessary) on one side for further strength and with lashing loops welded on so the load can be further stabilized with a couple ratchet straps. Move only with the load as low as possible to keep the CG low.

This post was edited by wp6529 on 01/31/2023 at 05:25 am.

 

[sms]

I paid $3100 for this old Pettibone years
ago. Put very little $ in it for 15-20
years and just sold it for more than I
paid. 6000 pound lift

 

[showcrop]

Don't rule out an old fork lift. I bought a 1969 Yale in 1989 for $2500, and my local Craig's list has an identical one up for $4500. I used it nearly daily for 15 years and still use it occasionally.

 

[sandcastle1]

I think that what you are suggesting would be hard to control and not really safe. If you feel you have to do this, I suggest something like what is used to
move a burial vault, where you can pick up the load and move it onto a trailer and set it down. good luck