Plans for a wooden forklift or pallet lifter/mover? (JT?)

[dpb]

That's the ticket...if you know a few of the local distributors they're usually pretty good at "keeping an eye out" if they know what you're looking for and what your budget is...

Are you able to pick these pallets up w/ a sling? If so, an overhead rail w/ just a block and tackle or manual chain hoist is pretty cheap (and more importantly, perhaps, quite simple to erect as opposed to trying to cobble up a homebuilt lift or scissor table). I'd think it well worth the investment to buy an inexpensive pallet mover, though.

Although another thought just comes to mind -- what about making the pallets to have a removable axle/wheels -- a la the idea of the movable saw/planer table? All it takes is a notch to hold the fixed end and a hole for a handle and dolly on the other end--the turning end probably only needs one wheel so you have a tripod arrangement...A lever under the pallet lets you raise it to remove them when you're at the destination. Most if not all drivers have a pallet mover onboard to get stuff _to_ the tailgate so all you really need is to be able to wheel it where you can lift it up, right?

[Lew Hodgett]

As mentioned, a trailer with a lift gate and a driver with a pallet mover and you are in business.

After sending last post, the idea of a manual chain fall or an electric hoist hit me.

Add an overhead rail and you are done.

Certainly the lowest cost, fastest way to solve the problem, if the trucking company shows up not prepared.

Lew

[dpb]

If you read the beginning the whole point is to avoid the liftgate charge they make if send truck w/ lift gate...since drivers are obligated to get it to the rear of the truck (just not to the ground) they almost always have the pallet truck for inside the truck...

Altho another totally different tack, Morris -- instead of the tall lift to the semi at your place, what about the lower lift to you pick-em-up and then take it to the terminal?

--

[woodstuff]

| Altho another totally different tack, Morris -- instead of the tall lift | to the semi at your place, what about the lower lift to you pick-em-up | and then take it to the terminal?

I don't have a fork lift, so I pick up larger and heavier stuff at the shipping terminals and use an overhead hoist to unload inside the shop from the pickup or trailer. I am taking donations for a fork lift if anyone has spare change. :-)

[Lew Hodgett]

I wonder if lift gate charges have something to do with an area?

Here in L/A, the only trailers that aren't equipped with a lift gate are containers on trailers out for delivery/pickup to a job site and containers being run back and forth from the docks to the rail yards.

Everything I have delivered comes on a lift gate trailer and there is no notation of a lift gate surcharge on the invoice. Maybe it is hidden.

Lew

[dpb]

I expect that must be because of the large metro area -- most places there's a pretty steep surcharge (like in the $100 range) for lift gate service.

--

[Lew Hodgett]

At a $100/shot, a chain fall and an old pickup start looking pretty attractive.

Even the $20, Home Depot truck rental, comes into play.

Lew

[B A R R Y]

My Performax 22/44, purchased from Amazon, was delivered with a lift gate to central Connecticut last December at no extra charge. My total delivery charge was $99.

I'd call my area "light suburban", compared to my travels around the country. The largest city within an hour's drive has ~ 150,000 residents, I live in a 55 sq/mile town of 50,000.

Another shocker was that the sander was AIR FREIGHTED from a WMH location (Memphis?) to BDL, where it got put on a ~ 24' straight truck.

---------------------------------------------

** **

---------------------------------------------

[Morris Dovey]

Lew Hodgett wrote: | dpb wrote: | | > I expect that must be because of the large metro area -- most | places > there's a pretty steep surcharge (like in the $100 range) | for lift gate | > service. | | At a $100/shot, a chain fall and an old pickup start looking pretty | attractive. | | Even the $20, Home Depot truck rental, comes into play.

DIY pallet hauling isn't a reasonable alternative for me, and I'm perfectly happy to pay the trucking companies to do the hauling. Lift gate services are an extra cost option here in the greater DeSoto metropolitan area (a joke, folks - there are probably fewer than 1500 inhabitants, even if you include livestock and visitors from out-of-town) - and generally costs $50.

I'm happy to pay the truckers to do the hauling. What I want to do is eliminate the lift gate charges when they pick up loads at my shop. I could just charge this to my customers, but would prefer keep the cost down.

If/when I have a lot of outgoing shipments, a real fork lift will make sense. Until then I make-do. If I can, I'll make-do in style - after all, how many shops can boast "woody" fork lifts? :-)

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[J T]

Wed, Jun 20, 2007, 6:56pm From: leemichaels*nadaspam*@comcast.net (Lee=A0Michaels) We can always count on JOAT for a sensible solution. In the midth of the above suggestions are a couple that are close to what I have seen done.

Glad you like the movie idea. I think turning it into a Russ Meyer type production would be good.

Now that you mention it, when I was a kid, I don't think I ever saw a farm without at least one dirt ramp for loading trucks. A lot of the barns were either built into theside of a hil or had a dirt ramp leading to an upper floor also. Just because its low tech doesn't mean it's a bad idea.

Somewhere too I've seen plans for a homemade loader on the front of a farm tractor. Seen some made without plans too. Never heard of any of them not working.

Low tech for loading a truck tho, you can't beat a dirt ramp, some kind of a low bed mover, easy to load, then when it gets up to the truck, easy to slide the load off. Low tech, low buck, works.

There's a gass company around here wih a neat rig. It's a trailer, on two wheels. Stradles a home type prone LP gas tank, the ig one, a chain hoist hooks on and lifts it, then they fasten it to keep it steady, then drive away to wherever it's going. Clearly homemade (if not, it should be, it's definitely deasy enough to make).

JOAT If a man does his best, what else is there?

- General George S. Patton

[J T]

Almost forgot. My uncle used to use a homemade wheelbarrow type thing to move his milk cans. If you've ever messed with a large, full, milk can, you'll know they're heavy. This thing was very low, with sides. It'd hold 3-4 milk cans. When you lifted the handles, the bottom only cam an inch or two offf the ground. Made it quite easy to load a full can, and easy to unload. You wouldn't want to move it too far, but fr moving cans from the barn to te milk house, about 100 feet or so, it worked just fine.

If you don't know what a milk house is, his was cement blocks, cement floor, with a large, electric powered, water filled, cooler. Lifting the milk cans in the cooler wasn't as bad as it dould be, becaus it was set down a bit. There the milk cooled until the next day when the dairy truck stopped by and picked the raw milk up. Everyhing was cleaned very well in their, daily. The milking machine and wall were cleaned with scalding water, every time used. I had an ucle in Tennessee that used a spring for his drinking water and cooling milk, butter, etc. Different places, different customs. But the one in Tennessee didn't sell milk, just produced enough for home use.

JOAT If a man does his best, what else is there?

- General George S. Patton

[Lee Michaels]

My grandfather did this with cream. He sold this to the "creamery". Back in the day, many small farmers sold cream to a local co-op. They even hauled it into the creamery each week. The milk that was left over was used to feed the hogs.

This was back before the high butterfat milk that we get today due to genetic manipulation of the cows and the grains, etc. fed to the modern day dairy cow.

[Lee Michaels]

----------------

Yep, dirt ramps were everywhere where I grew up as well. We always kept some planks around as well to augment the dirt ramp.

---------------- Somewhere too I've seen plans for a homemade loader on the front of a farm tractor. Seen some made without plans too. Never heard of any of them not working.

------------------

That would have been an easy modification to the lift bucket on the front of our tractor.

------------------ Low tech for loading a truck tho, you can't beat a dirt ramp, some kind of a low bed mover, easy to load, then when it gets up to the truck, easy to slide the load off. Low tech, low buck, works.

----------------

OK, I have to make this comment. It probably won't be implemented by Morris, but I have seen it done.

I have known three different people who have built hovercraft. One guy built his when he was 15 years old. It worked well and he ended up donating it to a school. The other two guys were backyard inventor types. But they made platforms that could lift some impressive weights. One ultimately was used in a shop setting.

They just wheeled the stock onto the platform, fired up the hovercraft engine, and the whole thing just floated a few inches above the floor. Then the material was pushed to the new location. Shut down the engine, wheeled the stock off, etc.

It was noisy but impressive. So Morris, how about it?? A dirt ramp and a hovercraft would be an elegant solution. ;)

[Lew Hodgett]

In my part of the country they were called "barn banks".

Very original don't ya thunk?

Lew

[Morris Dovey]

Lee Michaels wrote: | They just wheeled the stock onto the platform, fired up the | hovercraft engine, and the whole thing just floated a few inches | above the floor. Then the material was pushed to the new location. | Shut down the engine, wheeled the stock off, etc. | | It was noisy but impressive. So Morris, how about it?? A dirt | ramp and a hovercraft would be an elegant solution. ;)

Well, I kinda like the idea - but my shop is in an aircraft hanger and my driveway is a taxiway used by a dozen or so aircraft. I think the pilots would probably decide the hovercraft was cool - but the dirt ramp probably wouldn't make the grade.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[John B]

In Oz, we called 'em "Stock Ramps" and every farm with "Stock Yards had one, Quite ifyen they were built from logs but covered with soil. Regards John

[Markem]

Well then what if you took something like this

made a platform?

Mark

[BillinDetroit]

Every place I can recall working at had welded up a pair of pockets for the forks and a boom with a hook on the far end for a chain lift.

Also (OSHA UN-approved) putting walls around a pallet makes for a decent work platform. If you make the walls 3' tall and provide a way t clamp to the forks and to attach a fall harness, you might even slide in under the OSHA radar.

Bill

[Bob the Tomato]

Morris, would it be possible to dig out a sunken truck ramp/dock? That way, you are not lifting the load, you are lowering the truck deck.

Bob the Tomato

[Bob the Tomato]

What about a giant see-saw? You could put the pallet on a platform on one end, then stack weights on the other end until it counterbalances and raises the pallet to the truck deck height. Then wheel up to the pallet with the driver's pallet jack and slide it into the truck.

Bob the Tomato