Bed Crane - Harbor Freight

[BearFootSam]

https://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-capacity-pickup-truck-bed-crane-60732.html

I am living on a homestead in progress in Western Washington and frequently need to load and unload heavy cargos like several hundred pounds of water, large fuel tanks, blank tank (43 gallons of shit) etc. A ramp is always an option but can still get dicey when everything is ice covered and when trying to shove a few hundred pounds of liquid shit up the ramp when spillage would create a superfund site. I am wondering if anyone has installed one of these bed cranes and how durable the attachment to the bed would be.

It looks like an attractive option that would allow a vertical lift of these cargos and also allow my better half to handle some of the heavier items on her own. Obviously if the mounting point isn't substantial enough there are a lot of way this could go sideways so maybe if one of you is an engineer and could comment on this?

Thank you in advance for your wisdom!

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[rharr]

I would not rely on the strenght of just the bed deck. I would try to add some steel under the deck that anchors to the frame and sandwiches the bed deck between the crane place and the steel framing mounted to the frame.

Best to go talk to a fab shop if you can't weld or cut metal yourself.

 

[BearFootSam]

I would not rely on the strenght of just the bed deck. I would try to add some steel under the deck that anchors to the frame and sandwiches the bed deck between the crane place and the steel framing mounted to the frame.

Best to go talk to a fab shop if you can't weld or cut metal yourself.

Thanks, I can weld but I don't have a shop built yet (or power) so I might pick up a trailer and add some steel decking to attach the crane to.

 

[rharr]

Ok, basically just think about how much rotational force will will be applied (moment load) at the base plate. Simply put the thing is going to try to bend at the base plate and you should try to make sure you have the steel bracing as wide as you can and anchored at 12o'clock, 3o'clock,6o'clock and 9o'clock positions. That should help transfer the rotational (tipping) force into more solid framing of the truck or trailer.

 

[fishburger]

My father had one in his truck growing up, he put two steel plates on, top and bottom of bed, to help with the foot print. I think the plates extended 4in past the base of the lift. Anyways it worked great and helped with heavy items. Had it mounted in the corner like your pic.

 

[Tommyd]

My father had one in his truck growing up, he put two steel plates on, top and bottom of bed, to help with the foot print. I think the plates extended 4in past the base of the lift. Anyways it worked great and helped with heavy items. Had it mounted in the corner like your pic.

That was on real metal trucks back in the day. Not sure about our beds metal in comparison

 

[TimC]

I used a hitch mounted unit on my work truck last week. It worked out pretty well.
Easy on/off

 

[BearFootSam]

I used a hitch mounted unit on my work truck last week. It worked out pretty well.
Easy on/off

That might be an ideal option, I hadn't realized such a thing exists.

 

[Ghosts40]

Ahhhh the Homestead Life!! I would do this in a minute if my wife would get on board!!!

 

[Darkspeed]

https://spitzlift.com/media-gallery/#Receiver

 

[aprez27]

Would be nice if you could take your own hardtop off with it.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

What rharr said.
I've always thought about going with one of those "cranes" but for home, I have a gantry crane so I only need to worry about loading up on the other end. Once I get home, unloading is simple.
If you went with one of these - absolutely steel plate below.
Otherwise, love the idea of a hitch mounted device. Those will handle a lot of weight as far as the receiver, especially a static load while loading or unloading.

 

[Tommyd]

Would be nice if you could take your own hardtop off with it.

Now your thinking

 

[aprez27]

Now your thinking

Every once in a while, lightning strikes.

 

[BearFootSam]

Ahhhh the Homestead Life!! I would do this in a minute if my wife would get on board!!!

Ha! I'm relatively fortunate in that department. But it's all sunshine and rainbows until you find yourself emptying the shitter at 11pm when it's 19*F.

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