Lifting an awning.

Problem being I can't get a third man in the

It is not unknown for me to carry people or be carried in the back of a van. It's only slightly illegal.

that, its three. Problem being I can't get a third man in the van & many jobs are miles away.

step ladders, then lift into the brackets from there.

I would have thought a hand pallet stacker, such as this, should do the job:

That is brand new, so you should be able to get a second hand one quite a bit cheaper. You would probably need a trailer to take it to site as well.

Colin Bignell

Plaster board lift:

AWEM

What about temporarily fitting a winch higher up the wall? Obviously, the wall anchor will need to take more than the weight being lifted (up to double, but depends on the number of loops/pullies or gearing), and you'd need to remove it and make good afterwards.

Do you also do carports?

IME vans take two passengers as well as the driver on the front bench seat. Perhaps the 2nd assistant could follow behind on a bicycle?

I'm not sure if a plasterboard lift would take an awning weight - and wouldn't you need a 3rd person to operate it?

Owain

Another idea based on this... Rather than fixing the winch to the wall, use some strudy long lengths of timber which you prop up against the wall with the tops well above the top of the awning (like you would a tall ladder), and attach winches near the tops to lift the awning. You could even use tall ladders if they're strong enough, and the wider bases would give improved protection against sideways slipping.

Its 3 points, I know, and since having had a van written off by rear shunt , wouldn`t do it again even if it was legal, getting hit by a passenger on their way out the windscreen dosn`t appeal.

Cheers Adam

AWEM

Does it not come in pieces for easy installation then?

Brian

No. Not if anything like the one I fitted.

Heavy lifting of stuff can be done with Genie lifts.

Available from most builders merchants hire departments.

Cheers

Dave R

What he actually wrote is that up to 50kg is a two man lift, but he needs a way to lift heavier awnings.

Colin Bignell

I would think about two lengths of 4 x 4 with holes drilles through say every 12 inches, lean them against the wall like a ladder but secure them so they cant slide, use some sort of `peg` in the hole and just lift each end up the 4 x 4 12 inches at a time and move the pegs up as required. Well thats the theory.

That is the sort of thing going through my mind. Maybe add to the leaning timbers to make full triangles? And maybe rather closer than every 12 inches? What you want is to have a last resting position just short of the wall brackets - so designing them to work in lots of different locations might be awkward.

He said he could manage 50Kg with two men but needed something to lift awnings heavier than this. He doesn't say *how* *much* heavier - so 68 may well not be enough.

The other problem with a plasterboard lift is that the weight will be in the wrong place. The awning would need to be supported by the ends of the arms in order to be close to the wall - ant the whole thing would tip over.

I like the idea - suggested by someone else - of two ladders leading against the wall higher up, with an electric hoist on each one. Even better if stand-off brackets are used. The bottoms of the ladders will need to be staked to the ground to prevent slippage.

That would indeed do the job, but only just at 2.5m. Might also be a problem getting it through to the garden.

Thanks

A frames would give even greater stability. They could be hinged at the top and have a removable horizontal link, for ease of transport. Putting a pulley at the top and the winch at the base of one leg might make them easier to use, particularly if using hand winches.

Colin Bignell

Even the big 6 metre jobbies only come in at 71kg, so that might well do it.

You could always put a stack of pallets on it, to add a bit of height. I used to do that sometimes with our fork lift truck. The bottom one needs not to have any bottom rails on at least one entry direction to work with a hand stacker though.

The one I had would go through a gangway 800mm wide without a pallet on it.

Colin Bignell