For guys with more $$$ than ingenuity

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Sure...but where is the fun and excitement with creating your own !! Over the years, I have created many what might be considered sketchy apparatus to get the job done. But, I must add that I never put anyone including myself in danger. At least that is what I tell myself !!
 
I made one from some left over material at work. Got a winch from a garage sale and it worked. Winch slides across the top I beam. Got some nice wheels on it from a friend that I did some work on his bike. Not as pretty looking as the one in your post but it works.
 
We made one for the farm by mounting a 12v 13k winch to a barn beam from an old (late 1800s) barn that we tore down. It was a 10x10 beam roughly 8ft long and we placed it in the barn rafters and anchored it down with steel plates. Used it to pull engines, install big tractor tires, and once used it to aid in the removal and eventual reinstallation of the backhoe on a case 580. Bit sketchy on big jobs but it's always worked.
 
Dad nailed a couple of 2x8's to a wall stud and a couple of rafters in the garage, then propped up an old 4x4 fence post on the loose end. We used a 2 ton comealong to pull the engine in my first car and it scared the daylights out of fifteen year old me, but it worked fine. The comealong was the most sketchy part of the whole deal. Looking back, I'm shocked nobody was hurt by that thing. I was worried because the 4x4 was about 1/8 inch from actually contacting the floor and Dad's response was "If it starts pulling the house down, it will make contact". Nice, Dad. Thanks. Very reassuring. lol. It never moved.

I used a live oak branch and one of those Warn 110v portable 1 ton winches to pull a 55hp Chyrsler off the trailer this summer. Too lazy to bring the engine hoist out from the garage, and certified Shadetree. I probably should have braced it, but it worked fine. Cringe worthy to be sure.

I've seen several youtube videos using cheap Harbor Freight electric hoists and Unistrut recently. That really has my attention and makes me wish I had stayed in school longer so I would know how to do the math on spans and deflection. Pucker factor with a Powerstroke diesel on one of those will be high, but those are the kind of projects I remember most fondly. Maybe because we lived through them?
 
I took notice of conversation in here and other forums about boat/trailer movement ideas. And just for the record, I have come up with some that I am not willing to admit to under any circumstances. My posting is what I found for purchase, for a easy safe remedy. I looked up portable Gantry`s and noticed that the price tag on nearly all of them was silly stupid. But as I was in a clicking frenzy I ran across this one from summitracing at a price that wasn't in the thousands of dollars and portable since I know of a few guys that are close to me and we all have the need for this type of a equipment. 5 guys buying power at this price is 145.99 Ea. So we made the purchase. Now we will fight about the who, what and wheres of this new gadget. Bottom line is, this thing will be used!
There is plenty of ingenious ideas posted & yes almost always those are the ones that keep the memories alive, but the idea of getting hurt isnt so much of a fear now. It is the long process of healing now that I have aged a bit.

Good Luck and be Safe
 
I also pulled a motor one time using a handy ceiling joist in the garage. Doubled it up, threw a 4x4 under each end. Never budged a bit. I'd have to be doing a whole lot of motor pulling to justify having a contraption like this sitting around.

As a kid my old man pulled a 440 out of a Mopar using a handy oak tree, which even then I found quite amusing. He lost interest in it for awhile and that motor hung from that tree for like 6 months. Saddest part was after his attempt to rebuild it, it blew up a week later and ended up getting junked a couple years later.
 
ripdmup said:
I took notice of conversation in here and other forums about boat/trailer movement ideas. And just for the record, I have come up with some that I am not willing to admit to under any circumstances. My posting is what I found for purchase, for a easy safe remedy. I looked up portable Gantry`s and noticed that the price tag on nearly all of them was silly stupid. But as I was in a clicking frenzy I ran across this one from summitracing at a price that wasn't in the thousands of dollars and portable since I know of a few guys that are close to me and we all have the need for this type of a equipment. 5 guys buying power at this price is 145.99 Ea. So we made the purchase. Now we will fight about the who, what and wheres of this new gadget. Bottom line is, this thing will be used!
There is plenty of ingenious ideas posted & yes almost always those are the ones that keep the memories alive, but the idea of getting hurt isnt so much of a fear now. It is the long process of healing now that I have aged a bit.

Good Luck and be Safe
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Sure, I can get my hands on some 4x4 posts and 2x material for a heck of a lot less than $730. Your selling point is safety and sharing it out among 5 guys to keep the cost attractive. First house I ever bought was in a brand new starter home subdivision. Few of us neighbors chipped in for a small cement mixer for landscape projects. Really was a nice way to justify the cost and convenience over renting one. If you ever get to the point it is just sitting around, I bet you would have no issue selling it.
 
You were listening to our conversation weren't ya?
 
ripdmup said:
You were listening to our conversation weren't ya?
Click to expand...
ah, yes, sorry, I missed the point where you were saying it would be much safer. Yeah, it would be a ton safer than some of the junk I (we) have used. I would say one thing about a gantry crane that I'm sure you guys have already thought about. All of the reasonably affordable ones that I have seen, be it from Summit, Harbor Freight, Northern Tool, etc... All of them say not to move it when loaded.

I actually went to buy one of these from Harbor Freight this summer, but they were out of stock so I improvised. It's a good thing they didn't have them I think because I immediately started dreaming up 2x6 outriggers with pneumatic tired casters for back yard use, hooking up a trailer hitch to drag it around with the mower, then came back to reality and just backed the trailer up under a tree. I had big plans for it. Of course, you can't move a tree when it's loaded either. She who must be obeyed killed my other plan. Forklift!

With a trolley and chain falls you get 2D movement, and with a couple of extra guys and a smooth floor, I'd probably not have too many reservations about moving it (slowly and gently) with a couple hundred pounds of boat motor on it. With a big block or a diesel on it, I'd probably heed their warning on moving it loaded, or at least have the load close to the floor in case the momentum from pendulum motion makes it tippy. Suddenly I remember grade school and getting enough guys on the playground swing going full tilt trying to get the swings feet off the ground. haha.

I'm sure you'll enjoy it at any rate!
 
Still Afloat said:
No kidding. I wanted to buy a nice NW River boat but, instead had to get a Kobota. Maybe I can find someone that what’s to trade a boat for my Camaro.
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Not the same brand, but your comment reminded me of North River boats made south of you in Roseburg OR. I've always been drawn to that brand, but just refuse to even try to justify the $$$$.
 
LDUBS said:
Not the same brand, but your comment reminded me of North River boats made south of you in Roseburg OR. I've always been drawn to that brand, but just refuse to even try to justify the $$$$.
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North River is what I meant. Fished many times from a couple of them on the Columbia with a buddy. We’ve seen some rough seas headed out of Astoria and the boat always handled the beating very well. My back, not so much.
 
Still Afloat said:
North River is what I meant. Fished many times from a couple of them on the Columbia with a buddy. We’ve seen some rough seas headed out of Astoria and the boat always handled the beating very well. My back, not so much.
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From what I've seen climbing around them and seeing them out on the lake, they are great boats. They also seem to hold their value very well.
 
Still Afloat said:
No kidding. I wanted to buy a nice NW River boat but, instead had to get a Kobota. Maybe I can find someone that what’s to trade a boat for my Camaro.
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What year Camaro? How much gas in the tank? When was the last oil change? I have a 1436 jon boat for a straight up trade. Will you pay for shipping both ways?
 
lckstckn2smknbrls said:
What year Camaro? How much gas in the tank? When was the last oil change? I have a 1436 jon boat for a straight up trade. Will you pay for shipping both ways?
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I think I’ll pass on that offer. Thanks. :)

It’s a 2010 SSRS, low miles and a show car paint job. I would entertain a face to face deal for a used North River, Hewescraft, etc. valued in the $25k to $35k range or so.
 
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