Considering a Crane For the Trailer

[projectnut]

As many of you know I have a dual axle trailer with a 10,000 capacity. It has ramps for loading things like the end loader and garden tractor. Anything else that needs to be loaded and unloaded has to be done by hand. I'm getting tired of trying to muscle a 400 lb. snowblower, a 750 lb. saw, 250 lb. pressure washer and other similar size equipment into the bed. To that end I'm considering mounting a hoist/crane to the tongue to ease the process. Here's a link to the one I'm considering. It has a 1,000 lb. capacity. Does anyone have any experience with this or similar cranes? I did take a look at the one offered by HF, but wasn't impressed with the lack of information provided, or the limited warranty.

As a side note I do have a couple nearly new 2,500 lb. capacity electric winches. One of them will eventually replace the hand winch

https://www.northerntool.com/products/ultra-tow-pickup-truck-crane-with-hand-winch-1000-lb-capacity-33-53-1-2in-l-boom-model-22404046-52514?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Material+Handling+>+Hoists+&+Lifts+++Cranes+>+Truck+Cranes&utm_campaign=Ultra-Tow&utm_content=52514&ogmap=SHP|PLA|GOOG|STND|c|SITEWIDE|INTRADE||||19587449972|151053938091&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIm8nSwaHWhAMVaklHAR0SKgGPEAQYCCABEgLJJfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Here are a few pictures of the trailer I intend to use it on. The tongue sections are 2" x 4" rectangular tube with 1/4" wall. The bed it 4" channel with cross braces every 2 feet. The trailer regularly hauled an 8,000 lb. skid steer before I purchased it. The spare tire carried is bolted to the center tongue member and can be slid forward. I'm planning a similar mounting system for the crane between the spare tire carrier and the front of the box.

 

[Jake M]

I have limited experience with those cranes, both on trailers and on pickup trucks. Mostly this style of discount "truck crane" has been a disappointment. Not because they didn't have a useful lift capacity, not because I didn't want an easier way to do stuff, but because they just didn't reach much of anything in any useful way.

The first thing to make sure of is once you get the idea in your head, LOOK OBJECTIVELY AT THE DIMENSIONS.... 1000 pounds is pretty short on that one, From the tongue, 1000 pounds won't reach the edge of the trailer. 500 pounds has a lot more useful reach, but still pretty short as "cranes" go.

Also look at the height. Even at the extended length, that gets a LOT shorter if you have to raise the boom above horizontal. How tall is anything you might hope to lift? That one there, it's got an 83 inch maximum lift. That'll be the 500 pound setting, all the way up. They said that was a 53 inch reach. So the column is gonna be a shade over three feet, which means you'll be above horizontal for most anything you want to lift, shortening the range. And from the center of a trailer, even at 53 inches, you won't be picking up anything that's very wide.

There was one that I used a handful of times that was pretty OK. The crane ( a little cheapy a lot like you're looking at) was mounted on the right front corner of of an angle iron 6.5X14 "box store type" trailer, which obviously necessitated a stiff leg as well. Nothing crazy, just a drop leg with a pin, (it doesn't hurt a trailer to move a couple of inches to tighten that up). More complicated to install, requires that the framing be adequate for that, and costs you a little corner of the trailer, (which are big deals in and of themselves) but that position actually made it useful. in terms of being able to pick things up, which is kinda the point anyhow. There's nothing quite like staring at a hydraulic crane while you're humping chit up on a trailer the hard way, because you can't quite reach, or can't get it over the rail even if you can reach...

They do work just as you'd think. In fact, I'd even say that unless you're using it three times a week, the manual "boat winch" is less headache than installing and maintaining an electrical supply for an electric hoist. They're slow, but but so am I when I'm moving 500 pound stuff by hand. But they DO do what they say on the tin. They're just scaled down to such a small size.... That's my strongest recommendation here, I think I already mentioned it, study the dimensions. Draw pictures if you have to, but figure out what you're going to lift, how you're going to rig it, how much reach and "Z height" you're gonna need for that, and what configuration that little crane is going to be in to accomplish that, and if all the pieces are really going to come together for you. If it will reach what you want, you'll probably like it. My suspicion is that it's going to come in a bit shy on the items you mention.

 

[mmcmdl]

I had a 12,000 lb winch on the Bobcat trailer . Yanked anything I ever moved with ease . Used the Kubota to pull machines off if needed .

 

[Alcap]

We had a small crane in the back of our enclosed service truck at work ,mostly for loading truck tires .Ours had a 12 volt winch with a cable remote. It worked well though if you weren’t on level ground it made it awkward trying to move once the load was on it .

 

[woodchucker]

if you get that crane, consider replacing the winch with a marine winch (worm gear) so that you have automatic braking and control.

 

[projectnut]

Back to looking at a crane for the trailer again. I've searched the internet for days and found a few I thought would do the trick. So far, the most promising is this one from Northern Tool.

https://www.northerntool.com/products/ultra-tow-hydraulic-pickup-truck-crane-with-hand-winch-2000-lb-capacity-5in-80in-lift-52534

There seems to be dozens of renditions under different names, different color schemes, and of course far different prices. I'm actually intending to use it to lift machine tool components, snow blowers, and other assorted lawn & garden equipment. The heaviest piece I intend to use it for is less than 1,000 lbs. However, over the years I've learned that the advertised capacity of many of these units is stretching it to say the least. A hoist or crane advertised as having a 1,000 lb. capacity is more realistically capable of 750 lbs. or less.

In this case I'm intending to mount it outside the trailer box on a 12' x 12' x 1/2" plate(s) gusseted to the front corners where the tongue members meet the side rails. One platform on each side so the crane can be used load items from either side of the trailer. Rather than use the hand winch that comes with the unit I have a never used 2,500 lb. electric winch in stock that is a direct fit for the bolt pattern on the upright member of the crane. The winch has 50' of 3/16" cable rather than the 30' that comes with the hand winch. When mounting the unit in either of the positions previously mentioned it should have plenty of range and capacity to perform as needed.

I like the fact that this unit has a large greaseable bearing at the junction of the baseplate and vertical member. Most other in the same price range either have nothing, or a plain bearing(bushing). Another factor favoring this unit is the fact that it has a 1-year parts and labor warranty. Many of the others, even those at nearly twice the price, I've looked at have a 30-day parts only warranty. I'm sure that under this warranty if any "labor" was needed to repair the unit it would be replaced instead.

Once again, I'd like input from anyone who has used a similar unit for these purposes, and any short comings they might have found. I'd also like to hear from anyone who has used or knows of units that would be better suited for this application.

 

[matthewsx]

I think you'll be happy with this for the use described. I set up a similar unit to crate batteries at the end of our production line. I replaced the hydraulic ram with a square tube and mounted it to the floor with concrete anchors. For the winch I used a 120v ac unit that was hanging around the factory. It's served well for this purpose and saved our workers backs as intended.

John

 

[Ulma Doctor]

The northern tool crane looks great for the price!

 

[rabler]

You're probably already aware, but just keep in mind that lifting anything outside the triangle made by the hitch pt and the two wheels will tend to tip the trailer. Depends on how much your trailer weighs before the trailer will actually flip, but it would be bad if that happened while swinging something outward as you could quickly loose control of the load.

 

[matthewsx]

You're probably already aware, but just keep in mind that lifting anything outside the triangle made by the hitch pt and the three wheels will tend to tip the trailer. Depends on how much your trailer weighs before the trailer will actually flip, but it would be bad if that happened while swinging something outward as you could quickly loose control of the load.

Put a couple of trailer jacks, or even jackstands under the front corner to prevent this?

John