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What say ye Engine hoist/cherry picker?
- Thread starter TC4x4
- Start date
i am bias . . . i have a pair of twin engine hoists from years ago autozone sold before the duralast branding . there good and work for me . fold up legs and they point stright out . nice when the engine stand has the same style legs . not so nice with stupid engine stands with Y-leg spread out .
also i have a 2 post vehicle lift .
i do have 2 OLD chain hoists but no frame unit for them .
i do like my 1 engine hoist of the twins . i got it free from the dumpster years ago . brand new defective ram . i swapped in a new unit with air pump on it along with the handle pump . i find my self using the air one more than the reg unit .
also i have a 2 post vehicle lift .
i do have 2 OLD chain hoists but no frame unit for them .
i do like my 1 engine hoist of the twins . i got it free from the dumpster years ago . brand new defective ram . i swapped in a new unit with air pump on it along with the handle pump . i find my self using the air one more than the reg unit .
I have the one with the legs that slide into the base. F that. Get fold up legs.
I have a folding one from a traveling tool sale that came through town. Super low quality but it has taken everything I have thrown at it, can't kill it, even with a fully dressed 8.1 with a 4l80 still attached. It has a double acting pump which speeds things up and is kind of nice. Unless you are going to use it professionally I think they all will get the job done.
T
tenderfoot
Guest
This just got me thinking. Man I wish I held out now. Got the harbor freight hoist and it's fine. But! If I were to have put that $ towards a gantry. So much more you can do with a gantry.
HFT 1 ton. I use it less than a lot of the guys on here no doubt use theirs but it's been fine. I havent had any capacity or stability problems. Takes up a lot of space but I have 2 buddies who use it as much as I do so it's only in my garage 1/3 of the time.
Harbor freight one I have is 20+ years old. I'm on the 2nd ram now. I've had everything from a 1.5l Mitsubishi to a blown 500ci Dodge on it without issue.
I'm in the same boat. I have one that I got about 10 years ago from Schucks (now O'Reillys). The legs come out and stand in the base. Pain in the but to put together. Some day it will get the saw and converted to fold up. It has been an ok picker. Always works, doesn't bleed off and lifts any engine I've hooked to to. It was a cheapo.
China freight with the fold up legs. It’s kinda of a pain to fold down the legs as the holes are lower than the center casters keep it. So you have to lift the base up a smidge to get the pin in. Not a big deal. Doesn’t fold up as small as I’d like but hasn’t met me down yet. I’m on my second as one of them went to live with a friend.
Bought mine at a local auto parts store 10-15 years ago and still works fine. My only complaint is that it doesn’t fold up so it takes up more room while not in use.
I have two engine hoists (cherry picker style)...
One I bought back in the late 80's from a local tool rental store,who had bought several "Carolina" brand 4000 lb cranes from a vendor that comes around in a step van from NC back then that sold many other automotive things like jack stands,ramps,spring compressors,etc..
I paid $200 for one brand new in the box,also bought two more to sell to my older brother and another friend who wanted one..
I've only used that one maybe 3 times,and its been kept in my house garage so it is still like new..its not a fold up version,and its built out of 1/4" thick rectangular tubing,it'll take the 2 ton limit easily,I have used it to lift the rear of my truck off the ground before..
The other crane I got maybe 10+ years ago from a relative,who found it in a home that was being sold and was told to "scrap it,sell it,just make it gone"..no brand name on it,but it is very ruggedly built--the tubing is thicker than my other crane's,maybe 5/16" thick,and it was left outside awhile by the looks of it--when I got it it had zero paint on it,I painted it with aluminum paint and the ram only needed to be drained and filled back up with fresh oil--I leave it outside,as I have no room to store it inside,the legs do not fold up on that one either..
I use it to load and unload heavy things into my truck bed..
I have what used to be a swing set from a city park that was home made out of 3" schedule 40 pipe,that a friend got when he happened to drive by the park one day when DPW employees were cutting it up --he got a 12 foot wide section and welded in triangle braces and used it as a gantry crane..
I added a hand crank winch to it with pulleys to do the lifting..its proved quite handy,the only drawback is its too tall to fit under my 10' overhead door in my garage,so if I wanted to use it in there I'd have to flip it on its side,a job you'll need a front end loader to do to stand it back up..the top pipe where the load hangs from could stand to be even taller,when you pull an engine with it you must lift it as far up as it'll go,and it'll barely get the engine high enough to clear the radiator support..(I had to take the front tires off one 4x4 I had to clear the support)..
I've seen some pretty flimsy foldable engine cranes,but so far have not seen one buckle up or fail,they flex like a leaf spring with a heavy V8 and transmission though...since these items must pass some kind of minimum standard,I'd guess just about any brand "works".but if your planning on using one often and on heavy things it will pay to go for a beefy one..I would look online for used ones rather than buy new,you can buy a new ram pretty cheap if it needed one..
I've always wanted an all terrain forklift after being spoiled at the salvage yard having a fork loader..I had a Ford farm tractor with a bucket loader but it was the "pipe" style loader with no down pressure--better than nothing,and it did lift a lot of heavy items into my pickup--wish I still had it now to clear out some of the accumulation around the yard..
One I bought back in the late 80's from a local tool rental store,who had bought several "Carolina" brand 4000 lb cranes from a vendor that comes around in a step van from NC back then that sold many other automotive things like jack stands,ramps,spring compressors,etc..
I paid $200 for one brand new in the box,also bought two more to sell to my older brother and another friend who wanted one..
I've only used that one maybe 3 times,and its been kept in my house garage so it is still like new..its not a fold up version,and its built out of 1/4" thick rectangular tubing,it'll take the 2 ton limit easily,I have used it to lift the rear of my truck off the ground before..
The other crane I got maybe 10+ years ago from a relative,who found it in a home that was being sold and was told to "scrap it,sell it,just make it gone"..no brand name on it,but it is very ruggedly built--the tubing is thicker than my other crane's,maybe 5/16" thick,and it was left outside awhile by the looks of it--when I got it it had zero paint on it,I painted it with aluminum paint and the ram only needed to be drained and filled back up with fresh oil--I leave it outside,as I have no room to store it inside,the legs do not fold up on that one either..
I use it to load and unload heavy things into my truck bed..
I have what used to be a swing set from a city park that was home made out of 3" schedule 40 pipe,that a friend got when he happened to drive by the park one day when DPW employees were cutting it up --he got a 12 foot wide section and welded in triangle braces and used it as a gantry crane..
I added a hand crank winch to it with pulleys to do the lifting..its proved quite handy,the only drawback is its too tall to fit under my 10' overhead door in my garage,so if I wanted to use it in there I'd have to flip it on its side,a job you'll need a front end loader to do to stand it back up..the top pipe where the load hangs from could stand to be even taller,when you pull an engine with it you must lift it as far up as it'll go,and it'll barely get the engine high enough to clear the radiator support..(I had to take the front tires off one 4x4 I had to clear the support)..
I've seen some pretty flimsy foldable engine cranes,but so far have not seen one buckle up or fail,they flex like a leaf spring with a heavy V8 and transmission though...since these items must pass some kind of minimum standard,I'd guess just about any brand "works".but if your planning on using one often and on heavy things it will pay to go for a beefy one..I would look online for used ones rather than buy new,you can buy a new ram pretty cheap if it needed one..
I've always wanted an all terrain forklift after being spoiled at the salvage yard having a fork loader..I had a Ford farm tractor with a bucket loader but it was the "pipe" style loader with no down pressure--better than nothing,and it did lift a lot of heavy items into my pickup--wish I still had it now to clear out some of the accumulation around the yard..
datmony
Registered Member
Gantries are amazing to have but they are not a substitute for the value of a engine hoist too. Many times that you can get in easier with a cherry picker where the gantry would be a pain.... and many jobs the cherry picker can't do where the gantry shines....
wasted wages
1 ton status
https://m.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200640934_200640934
I purchased this one from northern tool...
Works perfect for me and lifts anything I have asked it to do... Lifts very high fully extended... I unloaded my two fully loaded top and bottom tool box out of the back of my Dodge dually which sits pretty high.
I built a lifting spreader bar out of retangular tubing, used two heavy trailer ratchet straps to sling the tool box, and lifted it right out...it lifted higher than my garage door opening, so I drove out from under the lifted boxes and dropped it down.
The lift folds up nicely and doesn't take up a lot of space...for 300 bucks,it is a good deal.
I purchased this one from northern tool...
Works perfect for me and lifts anything I have asked it to do... Lifts very high fully extended... I unloaded my two fully loaded top and bottom tool box out of the back of my Dodge dually which sits pretty high.
I built a lifting spreader bar out of retangular tubing, used two heavy trailer ratchet straps to sling the tool box, and lifted it right out...it lifted higher than my garage door opening, so I drove out from under the lifted boxes and dropped it down.
The lift folds up nicely and doesn't take up a lot of space...for 300 bucks,it is a good deal.
I have the HF special fold up Cherry picker.
Cheap harbor freight with extendable legs and arm. It was able to pull my 7.3 several years ago as you see it sit here. The ram finally got bad enough this year to replace it, Id recommend a folding one, this one takes up real estate.
My buddy has that one too. Way more stable than my folder. I borrow it when I am pulling big awkward stuff. It does take a bunch of room to store.
You guys are lucky, I only had an oak tree.
I welded a short piece of tubing under the front cross bar. I slide the jack handle in it to lift the front that little bit to get the pins in. No big deal now.
Bought a gantry crane for everyday lifting.
I bought an Excaliber fold-up style years ago because it lifted higher than any others I could find which really comes in handy with lifted trucks. They show up on eBay from time to time.
If your truck is lifted it might pay to check lift heights to make a decision. Keep in mind you'll probably want to add an engine leveler to the needed height requirements.
(I've always heard engine hoists referred to as cherry pickers. Didn't know a crane was called a cherry picker. Guess I learned something today!)
I prefer the engine hoist because it can be can moved it around easier to pickup other heavy items and I liked the idea of it being easier to move around by myself (back when I did that kind of stuff). Also, space is a consideration in my garage.
Just my 2 cents worth.
If your truck is lifted it might pay to check lift heights to make a decision. Keep in mind you'll probably want to add an engine leveler to the needed height requirements.
(I've always heard engine hoists referred to as cherry pickers. Didn't know a crane was called a cherry picker. Guess I learned something today!)
I prefer the engine hoist because it can be can moved it around easier to pickup other heavy items and I liked the idea of it being easier to move around by myself (back when I did that kind of stuff). Also, space is a consideration in my garage.
Just my 2 cents worth.
