Cheap receiver mounted crane (some fab work required)

[JeremyK5]

I made my own receiver mounted crane, and I thought I'd show it off.

First I bought a 1,000Lb capacity pickup truck crane for $59.99, I didn't have to pay shipping since I was able to get it at one of their retail stores. http://www.homier.com/detail.asp?dpt=&cat=&sku=05165 Unfortunately, it looks like they're sold out right now.

The other major thing I needed was a trailer jack to help support the load so I don't overload the hitch. I got a 2000Lb capacity one for free from a friend because the swivel retaining pin had pulled through its mount, but you can get one like the one I used for $19.99 from harbor freight. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=42950

The first thing I did was weld a strip of 5/16" steel on each side of a piece of 2" square tube I had laying around to make it the right width to mount the base of the crane to. You don't need to do this if you make brackets out of wider angle iron than what comes with the crane.

The crane comes with 2 angle iron brackets that are pre-drilled for the mounting holes. I bolted them to the bottom of the crane, and then slid it over the widened tube and tack welded it in place. Then I unbolted the crane and welded the brackets to the widened tube accross the top and bottom. After that I welded 4 gussets on the bottom of the brackets so they wouldn't bend while lifting something with the crane off to the side instead of straight back.

Then I mounted the trailer jack. It's mounting bracket has a large round opening in it, I used a cutoff wheel and made it square, slid it onto the end of the tube, and welded it's bracket to the tube.

Here's some pictures of it-

The winch doesn't seem very durable, so I plan on replacing that before I try to lift anything too close to the crane's 1,000Lb limit. To try it out, I picked up a 14 bolt and put it in the bed of the truck. Definitely easier than by hand! I think it is definitely worth the approximately $125 that it would cost most people to make.

 

[gzzgfw]

Cool setup and very useful if especially if you're picking up parts alot. Is this the crane you bought for the flat bed? Is the K5 still around? Looks good! -Mark

 

[jekbrown]

nifty! I was thinking of doing something like that so I could actually get a 42" swamper up in the back of my truck by myself. lol! still thinking about figuring out a way to use my winch, ran over a stringer, over my cage and then to the back where the tire would be.

j

 

[justhorsinaround]

I know you put the gussets in there for side loads but I might think about adding some removeable outriggers for when you start liftin the really heavy stuff. Course I'm all about overkill so there ya go.

Cool idea though. Much cheaper than buying something premade.

More fun, too!

 

[mikey_d05]

Pretty sweet.

nifty! I was thinking of doing something like that so I could actually get a 42" swamper up in the back of my truck by myself. lol! still thinking about figuring out a way to use my winch, ran over a stringer, over my cage and then to the back where the tire would be.

j

How much more does a 42 weigh than a 39.5? I can put one of my mounted boggers into the back of my trail truck but I know sooner or later I'm gonna hurt my back doing it.

 

[jekbrown]

i dont know... all I know is that lifting one of my 39.5 TSLs (123 pounds on the rim) up into my bed just about kills me. Seriously, its back injury time. I can do it in a pinch, but I really don't like too. Anyway, when this set of 39.5s is toast, I'm gonna go to 42s which I assume weigh 150 atleast on the same rims. If I could use my winch or some other nifty hoist gizmo to get them in-out, bigger meats would seem like a better idea. I know we're never supposed to wheel alone, but I like the ability to do things like changing tires by myself, without any help.... just in case at some point I have too.

j

 

[diesel4me]

I'm a Crane-aholic..

I've been working on one as well!--I already have a crane thats mounted on a flatbed,it was on my 74 K20 until I scrapped it--I saved the flatbed/crane setup and mounted it on a 62 GMC 3/4 ton 2wd chassis with a Eaton FF axle in it thats been made into a trailer..I have to beef up the control arms on the rear axle,years of rust have weakened them considerably,and it has coil springs,not my favorite for heavy loads..that crane has an electric winch,a 1500 lb version-..a real labor saver!..but I also have to figure out how to register it?.. (homemade trailer?)...

-I highly reccomend an electric winch,power in/out, with a remote control,or at least a WORM style hand winch--they will hold the load when you stop cranking!--any "boat" style winch with a ratchet can be DEADLY when lowering a load..I know,I nearly lost my hand once in a regular "ratchet" style winch when my hand slipped,and the winch handle spun at 2000 rpm's while the load dropped rapidly towards me feet--and like a fool I reached in to grab the handle,or to flip the ratchet lever!--it nearly chopped my hand right off!!..

Did you build the part of the mast thats painted black??--I've seen that style of crane before,they usually bolt to one corner of the bed..I never cared for them because they wont go high enough to get many things in the bed..your idea of raising it and using the resse hitch is a big improvement,I see yours has ample height.(and the price was right! )..the one I have on my flatbed can lift a large riding mower(my 20hp Yardman) and swing it right into the bed like nothing!..but I want to make another crane I can swap between my other 2 trucks also..

I recently got an old engine crane given to me...I want to add an electric winch in addition to the hydraulic jack on it....I'm planning on unbolting the "boom" part and making a swivel base out of heavy pipe and welding it to a square tube that fits the receiver hitch,so I can use it on my trucks to lift and unload heavy stuff..but I want to "offset" it from the center,so the mast wont be right in the middle of the bed..

Since the trailer jack takes the load off the bumper and suspension for the most part,I think the offset wont weaken it any...I want to keep it close to the bed too,since any length sticking out from the hitch adds leverage that could bend things..probably pin it too the bumper too,for added support...I want to be able to just lift it out when I'm not using it,so I dont have to carry 150 lbs of dead weight for nothing,and worry about theft...

I think you did a good job!--I enjoy seeing others "inventions" on here!--gives me ambition to do my own,rather than just think about it...I know one thing--after you hit 40,a crane isn't just nice--its NESSASARY!.. once you have one,you wont want to be without it...

 

[JeremyK5]

Cool setup and very useful if especially if you're picking up parts alot. Is this the crane you bought for the flat bed? Is the K5 still around? Looks good! -Mark
Today 03:28 AM

Yeah, this is the crane I bought for the flat bed. I got tired of waiting untill I could afford to replace the bed and mount the crane to it, so I made the hitch mount. Since the crane is only bolted to the hitch mount, and not welded, I can still mount it to the bed of my C30 if I need to.

Yeah, the k5 is still around. I still need to fix the floor so the cab doesn't fall off the frame, and so that I don't fall through the floor. I hope to have it fixed in a few weeks now that my brothers are on summer break and can help me out.

 

[JeremyK5]

I know you put the gussets in there for side loads but I might think about adding some removeable outriggers for when you start liftin the really heavy stuff. Course I'm all about overkill so there ya go.

Cool idea though. Much cheaper than buying something premade.

More fun, too!

Yeah, the gussets are ok for some side loads. Before I try to lift anything heavier than a 14 bolt off to the side, I plan on making outriggers like you said.

 

[JeremyK5]

-I highly reccomend an electric winch,power in/out, with a remote control,or at least a WORM style hand winch--they will hold the load when you stop cranking!--any "boat" style winch with a ratchet can be DEADLY when lowering a load..I know,I nearly lost my hand once in a regular "ratchet" style winch when my hand slipped,and the winch handle spun at 2000 rpm's while the load dropped rapidly towards me feet--and like a fool I reached in to grab the handle,or to flip the ratchet lever!--it nearly chopped my hand right off!!..

Yeah, that issue is one of the big reasons why I want to replace the winch. It ratchets both ways, but the part for ratcheting the load down is obviously weaker than the part for ratcheting the load up. The 14 bolt I lifted was right at the limit for safely ratcheting the load down.

Did you build the part of the mast thats painted black??--I've seen that style of crane before,they usually bolt to one corner of the bed..I never cared for them because they wont go high enough to get many things in the bed..your idea of raising it and using the resse hitch is a big improvement,I see yours has ample height.(and the price was right! )..the one I have on my flatbed can lift a large riding mower(my 20hp Yardman) and swing it right into the bed like nothing!..but I want to make another crane I can swap between my other 2 trucks also..

Nope, the bottom part of the mast came with the crane. I just painted it black because when I finally get around to mounting the crane in the bed of my truck, I plan on leaving the bottom part of the mast bolted to the bed. I want the base to blend in better with the truck's paint job. I didn't paint the top because when I'm not using the crane, I'm going to lift the top half off and keep it locked up in my shed. That way it shouldn't get stolen.

I picked this crane because it wasn't like all of the other short cranes I had seen before. With it mounted up in the bed like it's supposed to be, I'll be able to lift stuff pretty high.

 

[diesel4me]

cool...

Yes,most of the ones I saw like yours were "short",the base was right under the jack..the taller version is much more useful...It seems to be a hard item to get...every time I asked about that type of crane,Harbor Freight was "back ordered"...my friend just bought a similar one to yours fron Northern Tool--its cheesier and cost 160 bucks!...he wants to buy one of my small electric winches to put on it instead of the cheap hand cranker/chopper offer..

I saw some neat cranes during a "Google" search--one was a "Spitzlift"that closely resembles a roll bar,that mounts behind the cab of the truck( www.spitzlift.com)..another looked identical to an engine crane minus the base and wheels--only 99.95!..(Cummins Tools had that one)...I've been snooping around the net looking for more ideas...Anyone else have a home brew hoist on their truck??

 

[SUPER'BURB]

soooooo..... mounting my 36x14.5 on steelie up on the roof of my burb is not a good idea????

PJ Dirt Grips are Heavy!!!