My cheap pickup truck crane (Under $100 harbor freight model 1647)

[@Ammochannel]

Well, yes, you are right however I have a bad back so I try not to do any heavy lifting. I also use this crane on rare occasions as I am not a pro logger. I occasionally will pickup some free logs or load/unload my rototiller or other things. It gets used for small jobs but is a big help when it comes to my back. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. :)

[@silverbullet7434]

That crane is the greatest tool I ever got at HF . It's now a jib crane mounted to a 6" square box channel buried 6' and concrete 2' around . Now it's a electric winch to put heavy generators or equipment for repairs. I absolutely love it .

[@royhoco5748]

I mounted one of these on a 6 x 12 trailer, installed it on a mount welded to the outside of the trailer frame. my winch is on top of the crane column and there is a pulley on the end of the boom. the winch cable goes over the pulley this allows me to drag and lift with the cable. I have lifted two heavy wood stoves and a disc plow.

[@Ammochannel]

@kenfo0 I kept it simple on purpose. No wiring, no pulleys, etc. I use this rarely (which is why it is removable). I actually prefer the fine control of manually operating it when doing things like loading my tiller or other occasional items for transport. Less to go wrong and cheaper to construct.

[@FirstReviewer]

I have the same Lift and it works very well. I have it mounted on a 1/4 ton pickup and regardless of what others say, if you are by ourself and need to put a 350 pound piece of lawn equipment on your truck this lift will do the job. I put mine directly on the bed of my truck and I've not had any problems with it under load. You did a great job putting yours on.

[@computersshot]

I Love It When a Plan Comes Together!

[@kennethdaniel8261]

Instablaster.

[@jackmeholf3275]

I love it when a plan comes together!

[@earloneeleven]

love the a-team music . brought an instant smile to my face.

[@ezrabrooks7785]

Me too , I was laughing.

[@timdixon9224]

It will pick up over 1000 I have one and have picked the engine and 4 speed trans out of a 1967 F 700 school bus. That was approx 900 lbs and it didn't even strain. I feel very confident with mine and I have had it for almost 10 years. Still works great. I have mine mounted on a home made reciever hitch with a fold down trailer Jack with dual wheels and 2000lbs capacity. That's my truck or trailer stabilizer. I made a reciever for my trailer so I can pin it and use it to load it also. Thanks for the video.

[@jasonkopp9326]

another idea to speed up your lifting might be to keep the crane extended up to its highest point (so your not using the slow jack all the time), use the hand wench or another hand wench mounted to the upright shaft (so it follows where boom points) run cable through a pulley where the hook is and run it down to the the log. this could even be used to drag lighter logs and lift them at the same time. a hand wench with a good gear ratio should lift a 500lb log easy

[@o2wow]

Great idea, I too have a lifetime of back injuries, this is just the ticket for avoiding them. Using brains not brawn. One suggestion, consider putting a small pulley on the hook, and using the winch to do the actual lifting and the hydraulic jack to move the boom up or down.

[@katiebryan7032]

Thank you for sharing, your ingenuity of the receiver hitch and custom fabrication was appreciated. The location possibilities are endless. I suspect lift height can be mrpoved. The failure points on my harbor freight crane was the hand crank winch and at the posts on the taller, gray model. My solution was to sleeve the tall post with an outer pipe of stronger gauge metal. It was my fault, i release the bottle jack way too quick. The weakest part of this lift system is the hand-crank- user beware, I am now Installing a power winch. Should help both failures. $160, taller gray model mounted to 2 of the bed frame rails by the drivers side cab. 13 gmc 2500Then added $120 in an 18" pipe extension and aluminum plate that has a hole cut out to support the post higher up..

[@gbgentlv]

+Katie Bryan Do you have photos you could share?

[@jdwrench]

Video was worth watching again just for the A-team construction montage. Nice install.

[@boogerhead0]

When you get tired of pumping that jack, you can get the HF 2500 lb winch and mount on this lift, over the square tube, cable over the square tube, mount a steel pulley at top, with or without a fairlead. The HFT winch comes with a remote control fob. Buddy of mine has rigged this up in the rear of his Chrysler mini van to lift his wife's 300lb power chair and swing it into the rear door. The hydraulic cylinder is now only used to adjust the boom height so the power chair clears the bumper cover.

[@rwbigbear]

Sweet.... i ordered one today.....before i saw this video. I've had 4 back surgery's and can't even lift my extra spare tire into my F250...... will have a friend up the road help me with the install into my truck.... Good video! I used a 20% coupon and got it for $70 +

[@modernremodeling5857]

Extra spare? So u carry a spare for your spare....or two spares?

[@shadovanish]

Very nice job! Creative use of an I-beam as support for the crane base, as well as the hand winch. I have the same H-F crane, but attached it to the bed of my truck, more or less in the area recommended by H-F, but I used a lot more bed reinforcement than H-F supplied. Like you, I did not use the 2 angle iron bed reinforcement pieces, either - I did not think they would be nearly sufficient to adequately support the bed while the crane was under a substantial load.

[@reallyhappenings5597]

this guy has a great series on remanufacturing a KGKT 7.62x54r machine gun, very impressive skills

[@floobertuber]

Nice piece of work. I like the clean, simple, and practical design of that truck bed, too!

[@theemrroboto]

Good Idea. Don't listen to all of the D-Bags out there. Have you thought of using a wood lag bolt with a hook, instead of wrapping a chain around the log? It may be easier on your back to have an electric impact with a lag bolt. It would be much quicker. Just a thought. And by the way, I have a very good back and I am still going to build one. Thanks for the idea.

[@ThePauperPrepper]

Well done Sir. Me and a buddy had looked at this hoist and where deciding if it would do what we had in mind, Your video helped allot. Great job mounting as well.

[@88mmFlaK]

Pretty nice mount setup. I have the larger crane on a fixed mount at the front of my flatbed on the passenger side. The winch that came with it broke on the first job, had to replace it with a better one from Tractor Supply. After about a year the seals in the hydraulic ram started leaking. All in all it's paid for itself though, mine is rigged with a guntackle and has successfully loaded roughly 800lbs at a time into my bed which is about 56 inches from the ground.

[@Mitchcheck99750]

I have the same crane and works great,but I will recommend you weld the crane base to the steel mount since my bolts snapped under load. I welded mine and no more bolt issues. Good choice on the A-Team song.

[@goodinmw]

Mahalo- was looking into options for my truck and this Harbor freight model was something I was looking at- thanks to your video I know it doesn't have the lift I need. Thanks for posting.

[@jarheadfrg]

Frickin' A-Team music while you're cutting and drilling, absolutely awesome bro. I can just picture B.A. right behind you yelling "I PITY THE FOOL!!!"

[@godwetrust1436]

You can use a 2500 lb winch or less f and some 12 volt alligator clips to the battery or maybe even the towing plug to operate an electric winch mounted to that setup

[@NinjaRN4731]

Great video, thanks for posting. Love the A-Team music. Like the crane idea.

[@avionicbug]

What I would do is add a pully to end of the boom and run the cable from the winch to it then lower the boom and crank up the slack, maybe add a plate to the vertical pipe and attach the winch there, you can still use it to pull logs closer. one better would be to also buy the electric winch and hook it up. You could really have fun with this idea. Just thinking!

[@coni1964]

Love the "A" Team music. I haven heard it for a while. Wish I could walk into an old garage and find all the equipment I need to do the job.I had to purchase all of mine.LOL Love Living In Maine .

[@craftchick674]

When it comes to have pain for 24 hours for a one hour job, this is absolutely genius. Somewhere in the future a little electric winch might be fine. Great job bud.

[@RobertL78]

You could mount a little scissor jack to the under side of the crane base and be able to put your 2X6 between it and the ground so you have an adjustable stabilizer in case the truck is on rough terrain.

[@anything7441]

I like the idea of running a 15,000 lb wench through a block on the swing arm. eletroniclly pull your 300 pound stump to the truck, and raise it to the bed hight then lower it in. modifications will need be made, OR just get a air compressor and an air jack to replace the pump jack. run the wench through a pully at the tip weld a cross member to the frame attatch the kit to it and block the swing arm at a fixed height . this stuff is fun .

[@buckwheat7424]

a friend of mine bought one of these for a hundred and 25dollars or something like that, he bolted it to the skin of his f150 truck bed and put a clamp around it to screw to the in side bed rails. he bought a winch along time ago from hf, were using it last night, and the spool pulled out of it's frame. he also had a hf com-along that was so cheesy.

[@Vera-xu3xw]

I just bought a 2500 12v electric winch from HF About 45 bucks on sale. Those hydraulic Jack's are a lot of work and take forever. I like your mounting setup though.

[@aandrave]

They sell a crane with a taller mast that has a hand crank winch for $140, and their routinely sell their 2000 lb electric winch with brake and remote control for around $40. If you use your 20% coupons you can get both for under $150, and the 2000 lb winch will mount where the hand crank winch did with just a bit of filing. I've used it to lift 1000 lb loads into my flatbed. No sweat.

[@tankkiler308]

Very smart idea but unless you have back problems or extremely large logs the time it takes is in efficient you could make a spring assisted pully system for small logs to help load then use that for big logs

[@lesliesterer8273]

You are pretty good with that torch. I'm partial to using powerplasma cutters myself. Great project you did here. I might do the same.

[@PHILG64]

I just got done installing my harbor freight crane in my Dodge pick up. I mounted the unit in the back corner of the bed and tried to lift a TV. Big mistake. Even with the angle iron braces underneath the bed folded up when I tried to lift the TV. I'm how looking for some half inch plate for the bottom and also drilling a hole on the top of the crane for top mounting support. That should help with the weight. I'm also taking back the crank pulley winch I got you don't really need it.

[@gergemall]

love the set up with the external hitch idea,

[@LennyBurch]

Make up a pulley to go on the end of the boom and you can use the hand winch, put the cable up to the end of the boom, through a pulley, and down to your load. Instant crane. Buy a Petzl Fixe pulley normally used for rock climbing.

[@TexasPLNR]

If you rig a cable sheave to the end hook you could leave the boom raised and raise the load w/ the winch. Should work for loads up to 500 lbs. Nice video!

[@jayhansen5609]

I have one. I think I'll do mine a little different. The torsional stress on that hitch makes me nervous. See how the load makes the crane bounce. All of that flex originates on that hitch. I'm not an engineer so I tend to over build things. The loads may be perfectly fine but in my own hysteria, perhaps, the flexing makes me nervous. I think I will also install a jack leg to stop my truck from lowering as I lift the load.

[@shaun7057]

My dad always used to say k.i.s.s. Keep IT Simple STupid and I've lived by that as much as possible and it appears you think the same way lol, great video

[@craigmonteforte1478]

Excellent application for that crane there are ways to convert hydraulic jacks to a air assist that speeds them up with a foot pedal if you had lots of logs to haul that might help as there are plenty of gas powered air compressors and 12 volt ones !you may also be able to runa small one off a inverter too ?

[@heywoodyablowme845]

I have one of these lifts I purchased in 2007, and have had it mounted on two different trucks. It currently is mounted onto the back corner of my 3/4 ton Chevy flatbed. I have had no complaints except the cylinder is starting to leak down when under pressure, so I am kind of wary about it. I have used mine to lift up to 40" cross-cut tree trunks to sit them on a log splitter. I'm not sure how much progress you made with the hand cable winch, but something you might consider is buying one of the $59 2000lb electric winches from Harbor Freight and mounting it on top of the lift-arm, running the cable over the end of the liftarm through a pulley in place of the lift chain. That would take a bit more of the physical work out of the equation.

[@missemma2004]

3

[@rude252]

Yes some of these cranes come with a hand winch option, I think it would be a good idea.

[@FourFingersofDeath]

Not bad, I would be rounding off the corner of the mount closest to the right hand side of the truck. You or some other unfortunate could walk into it and that would take a piece out of you. I think I'd be setting it upso that I could lift the beam and pin it in the position I desired and running the winch up along the beam and lifting it with that. I'd also be putting an ATV winch on it,they are less than a hundred bucks now. I might make one of these up for my box trailer.

[@rodx5571]

i was a bit bored at first, but ya got me with the A Team music. NOTE: when they say mount to frame, they mean bracket from frame to bed, drill holes, then bolt through bed to frame brackets, just like an in bed rail mount 5th wheel set up. I am looking for a way to adapt my 5th wheel rails to mount a crane thats removable.

[@1972landcruiser]

I installed the same lift on my dad's truck but I used a longer heavier gage tube.

[@a1930ford]

Me, I'd check the jack oil level in that pump if it took so many pumps to do the lifting. Lots of bounce and wobble as you jacked it up, but you didn't have your wood brace beneath the back end of the truck on the jack mounting side. Good video.

[@ljbobb1]

Sweet! great mounting idea. And who cares if its "slow ... I'm 62 yrs old & strong for a lady ,,,but that'd be ALOT easier than trying to roll all that wt up a ramp.

[@christinamoneyhan5688]

You should mount the winch on the back of the boom with a Lully on the end of the boom. Use the winch to raise the load and the hydraulic lift to get the hight you need to get the load into the bed. Nearly a suggestion.

[@rlewis1946]

Thanks for posting this video! I enjoy watching some one with the skills to make improvements in affordable machines, like this truck crane! Eager to see it operate in the field! Best wishes, Roy Lewis Atlanta, Georgia USA

[@HoodHandyman]

God only gives you one back so you gotta take care of it i respect that

[@tedthornton7791]

Looks good sir. Wonder if i could rig a portable mount that would slide in my trailer hitch. For loading a generator or 100 lb propane tank. Had considered a trailer hitch mounted game hoist. Thanks for posting.

[@2009mechanic]

I'd love to make this work for my truck BUT , I want it to somehow fit beneath the topper and inside the tailgate so I can close it up inside. What I currently do is use ramps and just slide the items up into the back with a winch mounted into/under the front floor of the box via a thick mounted plated and 3/4" fine threaded long nut welded beneath it. I thread a 2" trailer ball in the hole and hook my portable winch on it and plug it in. It sure is handy.

[@phineasj.whoopee3301]

I mounted mine inside the bed and it's low enough that it would allow for a topper. I used a piece of 6 in. channel long enough to span the bed support rails as a reinforcement. Then I put a snowplow pump on it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/npioY2yYqryfia8

[@FullThrottleAction]

you win the internet tough guy award.

[@richardshort4587]

Looked close to maximum height at its lowest weight setting. Feel you would need the load a little higher than ground level to make use of shorter chains.

[@kctyphoon]

they had those remote control 3000lb camo winches on clearence.. with a 20% off coupon i was buying them for $29.. dont know if that was just for demo, or how you actually plan to use it, but it would be much easier to just leave that crane on the tallest setting , and hang a small block from it. that way u can just run the winch line thought the block.. swing in, swing out.. nice job though.. wish i could weld..

[@fastacker2]

@coolio8444 "we look for things. Things that make us go". I agree that adding a winch and a pulley block would make this a lot more useful.

[@kastimizillion]

Love the A-Team interlude section!

[@nikkintwo]

cool. need you as a neighbor. bought the same HF crane. bought a truck mount reciever. now looking for a winch receiver with the right holes. not sure if I can drill into carbon steel.

[@oblakmd]

Bravo Like others said this is a great idea, and gives me ideas for my situation. Bravo.

[@ringbolt9]

nice job looks handy an elec winch now and that would really be quick

[@patchreefs]

I love ingenuity.Thanks for the video

[@royhoco5748]

truck leveling ? you could make a leveling jack with some square tubing two different diameters so one will slide in the other.

[@bak1911]

nice man. good idea. work great for big chunks of lead to!! might have to look into this idea. but use the tow hitch of buy an older truck and make it a wood bed. lol.

[@57WillysCJ]

Nicely done. Replace the board with your High-Lift jack.

[@steverone7623]

subscribed just because of the a team work montage

[@JaredW692]

Seriously nice work, gives me ideas for other things

[@SegaCD]

Your video gave me the idea for the wide flange mount, thanks!

[@JunkPileOMatic]

Cool set up. Thanks for sharing .

[@rdog1121]

you needs a set of those wood tongs (not sure of the proper name for them, I could be right for all I know, lol....), those tongs are quick and easy, plus you don't have to worry about the chain wrapping under the log. the more you pull on them the harder they bite into the wood.

[@finemyu69]

and you would not have to worry able the chain digging into the wood on the bed of the truck and messing it up over time

[@burtreynolds3143]

Those tongs and the electric winch both sound like good additions. Either way the set up is pretty bad ass. I cut them longer then tip them up on end and teeter totter them on the edge of the bed into the bed. It's rough on the back.

[@alexarmendariz671]

rdog1121 q

[@alexarmendariz671]

jim sm

[@loon6478]

ice tongs

[@moncorp1]

4:36 "Support" is the word you're looking for.

[@MORK455]

Very nice job! The A-Team music was a kick! LOL

[@HaughtonFutbal]

Bottle jack out rigger instead of the 2x6? Would be another cool little nick nack to add on!!

[@Ammochannel]

That would be sweet but I kept it simple on purpose. No wires, cables, compressors, hoses, etc. I rarely use this but when I need to I just slap it on and go!

[@iamtheomega]

3 ton AIR jack (if made) + compressor = even better. I have their 20 ton air one, but haven't used yet..

[@victorrodea7163]

Would like to see how the hand winch plays into this setup.

[@ncrdisabled]

Love the theme music A-TEAM all the way watching it now on channel 111. Got some great ideas from this video.

[@irinahanska3469]

Bravo ! Very interesting and useful too. I have had a long term back injury and I know exactly what you mean.

[@notcharles]

They make a log gripper - I found some from $25 but 30-50 bucks might be a better range for a set to do the job for you GOOGLE 'Logging Tongs' ($32.35) Home Depot has a Fiskars Set ($41) that works with 12' diameter logs - but would need modification to allow you to hook to it. The designs are similar and you seem to have the tools to build one from scratch. It would eliminate (putting) the chain 'round the log (then removing it).

[@Nordic_Mechanic]

I recknonize that song yet can't put my finger on it. Nice work with the crane.

[@trooperx666]

+Veikra i wanna say its from A team

[@Nordic_Mechanic]

trooperx666 It is ! No wonders I didnt remember, that's so far in my memories. Thanks btw

[@robwhite2282]

Love the A-Team song.

[@campbell2054]

You might still want some sort of outrigger to stabilize that truck bed while you run that hoist. Good luck

[@freshimpactco.8698]

As soon as I heard the theme music to the A Team I was like 🤗😊! Lol

[@1208bronco]

Hey, mainejunker would a hand winch work faster or a little 1500 lb. winch . You could mount it on top of the beam.

[@Ammochannel]

@2008dio You are fortunate that you don't have a back injury like me... so you don't need these contraptions.

[@englematic]

Even if you don't have a back injury, $100 is a small price to pay to help make sure you never get one. Due to safety concerns at my job, it's company policy not to lift anything over 50lbs by yourself, and only up to 75lbs team lifting. We have to use cranes everywhere and honestly, it's a good idea. Work smarter, not harder are words to live by.

[@MrSuperMation]

A 12 volt Linear Actuator from Northerntool would be good with that set up. It would work faster & easier.

[@dantmanish]

love the music at the build in the beginning lol

[@RascalKyng]

A small block and tackle set would work well with this... Just hand pulley.

[@MrWeaponlord]

i really like that truck bed, have you made a video about it?

[@aisamhiyt]

Very innovative, nice work.

[@glazierEd]

Very cool, I love harbor freight.

[@cptnadvntr]

fine job, now u need to invest another 100 and put a HF winch with remote control on the end so u only have to push a button instead of all that pumping!

[@miltongwelch2707]

I need to make one of these cranes wtih my everlast welder.

[@jolo4036]

Shouldn't you be smokin a big cigar like on the A team?

[@gregpartain4307]

Install a small air compressor on your truck and run a line to the jack and no more pumping by hand

[@guylstephenson]

How did you make the receiver base for the lift? Can I buy one somewhere? This is exactly what I need for my generator.

[@Ammochannel]

Ok smartypants, thanks for the clarification. :)