Wheel Horse Rear Crane

[Catt 13]

I bought a pickup truck crane and plan to use it on my 418-A  to move docks at the cabin. I added a rear 2" receiver and mounted the crane to a receiver extension so it can be easily removed. The receiver is attached to a tiller mount and also has bracing to the old hitch mount on the lower portion of the axle.  Seems pretty strong.

 

[312Hydro 474]

Very Nice! I'm not familiar with moving docks. Do you need to add counterweight to the front?

[953 nut 54,366]

I'm with 312Hydro on this one, you can't defy the laws of physics. You can do wheelies with a tiller mounted on a  and if you hang anything heavy on that boom you will have an interesting ride. Please have a vidio camera going and post it!

 

[AMC RULES 37,102]

   

 

[Catt 13]

This is an example of one of the docks that I put in the lake.  It's aluminum and has wheels out in the water and although it isn't extremely heavy, it's still a job with one person.  It goes in the lake once in spring and out in the fall.

You're right about front weight.  I have suitcase weights ready and will likely be adding weight to the front.

 

 

[Catt 13]

I will likely buy a snow plow attachment and take off the the blade and use the plow frame. Then I plan to add a receiver hitch and the capability to add suitcase weights to the end of the plow frame.  The receiver hitch might be nice to move trailers and would have hydraulic lift when connecting to the trailer.

 

[cheesegrader 433]

If you figure out how to easily move a boat lift in and out, let me know,  I would love to see that!

Once you get it started, your setup should work just fine.

Those aluminum docks aren't as heavy as they look, and the wheels really help.

Getting it started, especially if it has sunk into the muck, can bee a little difficult.

I would love to see a video.

A live demonstration here in Watersmeet would be great, too!

[Catt 13]

I think I'll also put an electric winch on the plow frame.  I have a lot of trees I can attach to when pulling out the docks.

[Catt 13]

Cheesegrader, you're right about getting it started pulling it out.  I think the winch will help if needed.  I have bar tires that I'm planning to try but their larger and may not fit.

[Don1977 604]

Check out this weight bracket:



Here is my front bumper it's not a weight bracket. I found that by putting 1/2" spacers behind the bars that it will allow room the mule drive.

 

 

[fireman 1,021]

One of two things are going to happen when you go to lift something of substantial weight. Those two pieces of red angle iron that mount the hitch are gonna bend like a cheap suit with all the torque that will be applied or the front end will lift or flip as the fulcrum is at the axle. I would suggest adding a crank down jack of some type right at the base of the crane to give it some stability. Something along these lines for example:

 

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,264]

Fireman makes a good point here. Only issue is I think he wants it to be mobile.... Maybe something with a wheel. Maybe a wheelie bar coming off the boom?

[fireman 1,021]

I re-read his original post and see that he did add bracing to the original hitch so that may be ok. Using it in a mobile application I would definitely add a ton of weigh to the front end.

[squonk 40,739]

Don't forget the stress on the frame where the trans bolts on. Major weak point on 's

[Catt 13]

Those are great ideas!  I hadn't really considered anything heavier than docks, but a couple wheels and jacks would certainly be interesting.

Regarding the receiver hitch... The angle iron is primarily for pulling, but does offer limited torsional strength. What you can't see is the additional supports on the bottom of the hitch that attach to the axle (I couldn't get good pictures of those supports).  I've done testing and am pretty confident it will lift a dock (but there is always Murphy's law).

 

The first picture is of a dead lift off the ground with no additional front weight (but it's needed!). The suit case weights are from another of my tractors and weigh 40 lbs each. The 3 point hitch bracket weighs around 50 lbs. Total weight 210 lbs.

 

In the second picture I added two additional 40 lbs weights, but I couldn't do a dead lift and keep the front of the tractor down even though I added 40 lbs.  Total 290 lbs.

 

The third picture shows if there is any angle iron deflection with 290 lbs. I'm expecting the dock to not be more than 150 lbs.

[fireman 1,021]

Looks like a real nice job! You should be ok then if that's all your planning to do with it.

[Catt 13]

Fireman, I truly appreciate your input and hope this works for me.  It's always good to get other people looking at what I've done and offer their suggestions for improvement. Your idea of a jack might be useful for other projects and is a good suggestion!

[SousaKerry 501]

I would suggest an angle grinder and some red paint for those weights, your horse may decide to throw a rod from the embarrasment of having to wear those green weights around....

[Tankman 3,516]

Now that is great work! Very useful.

I would add suitcase weights up front. I needed them for plowing (10" earth engaging). Lost a lot, sometimes all, ability to steer.

Very nice again! Thanks for posting the pic's!

[Catt 13]

I purchased a snow plow that was made for a newer Toro / Wheel Horse. Removed the plow and used the frame to make a receiver hitch for the front.  It has a lift mount near the front of the frame and I also added the hydraulic lift near the middle of the frame. I have a second set of rims coming and lug tires. Will also brace the frame.

Here are a couple pictures of the progress I've made.

 

Pardon the green!

 

 

[AMC RULES 37,102]

I like the idea...except of course, for all that green paint.    

[dsholler 54]

You can use that deck to trim the hedges! 

[brandonozz 168]

Looks great but I'm not familiar with lifting docks out of the water so I too am interested in a video or pics. There will be a couple of factors to keep in mind when lifting the docks out of the water.  The grade of the slope you are working on and the length of the boom.  If you extend the boom to get further out it will greatly increase the leverage of the item your lifting.  Additionally if the tractor is facing uphill the load will be more perpendiclar to the boom effectively increasing the loads leverage while the front of the tractor will be the opposite.  Maybe in this case the slope wont be enough to make a difference.

Saw this happen with a forklift before when an extension boom was attached to the forks.  The forklift capacity is greatly reduced - end result was not good. 

[CasualObserver 3,407]

I just remembered... I saved these pics of a home made setup for pulling out docks.  It was on craigslist a year or two ago around me. I had no real interest in it, but did save the pics.  Kind of looks like he built his own winch out of what looks like it might be a tiller gear box.

 

Edited August 26, 2019 by CasualObserver
restored pictures

[953 nut 54,366]

On 6/10/2013 at 4:15 PM, CasualObserver said:

I just remembered... I saved these pics of a home made setup for pulling out docks.  It was on craigslist a year or two ago around me. I had no real interest in it, but did save the pics.  Kind of looks like he built his own winch out of what looks like it might be a tiller gear box.

 

 

This should be filed under Rube Goldberg in the new home built forum.