DIY hoist for truck - critique/help gratefully received

oxfordshirestalker

Well-Known Member
Hi folks,

I plan to weld up a crane/jib for suspended grallochs on the back of my pickup. It will need to be able to handle fallow and sika.

I'm certainly not a great welder but I can competently stick bits of metal together, so planning on doing it all myself. It will never have to be carried so weight isn't a major issue but at the same time I don't want to excessively over-engineer it.

The rough idea is attached (forgive me, drawing is not part of day to day life and it's doctor's handwriting).

IMG_7738.webp

I have a ball and pin hitch like this one TT Ball and Pin assembly 3500 kg capacity

I wondered whether I could have a bit of round bar on the rig as the main attachment that would go in the pin socket of the hitch (has the complexity of needing to get around the 50mm tow ball)? It would be quite neat if I didn't then need a foot to go from the bottom corner to the ground (as indicated) but I expect this will be necessary.

I'd like a join half way up the upright so that I can collapse it - not 100% sure how best to do this - any advice gratefully received. Ideally would be two bits of tube that telescope where I can put a pin through but this looks to be easier said than done.

How does 80x40x3mm box section sound?

I'm probably better off doing away with the pin hitch idea but it seemed neat to me. I may well go for a Stretton/autoclick design for this aspect instead.

Many thanks in advance
 
Like you I can weld reasonably well like you, but frankly it’s not worth it. There are a number of sellers on here who make very good galvanised gralloch gibbets that work very well from the get-go. I went with a “cheap” deal through a mate who knew a welder who fabricated such a device. I bought one but immediately found it needed modding to make it more compact, easier to assemble and use and ultimately, much lighter, as in use the weight was excessive. I’ve ended up now with a Frankenstein rig that suits my purposes very well but with a lot of pain and grief along the way. Buy one of the offered rigs - “buy once, cry once”. More over, with 100kg of fallow hanging on it, you don’t want it to fail in use! The spread legs are essential to add stability - I’ll try to find a picture of an experiment I tried with a foot like you have drawn - it’s simply not rigid enough for the weights and activities needed.

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@oxfordshirestalker
I saw a fixture this morning which should do as a receiver for your hoist with a tow bar.

It was 2 pieces of 50x50 box section welded at both ends of a plate about a foot wide, think it is for a frame to hold a push bike,
If you wanted to keep the ball hitch then you would need longer bolts but the principle is very easy as the plate would be against the tow bar then the ball hitch.
You then can build the lower part of you mast to drop into the 50x50 box section.
I would use 50x50x4 box and 40mm tube then the 40mm will fit in the 50 box quite snug.
 
Tim looking at pictures of your hoist it looks like your one is the only one that pivots around.
#And the other's only lift and you have to swing the deer into a truck/trailer
 
All of the pics posted show a pivoting hoist.
They are pretty neat, so maybe missed by a cursory glance.
Very few DIY suggestions for the OP from such a wide selection of members on SD.

A Mk 7 Hilux std tow bar being used, pop the end cap off and you are ready to lift.
Meets the spec, DIY lifts Fallow also a pick up.
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WhatsApp Image 2023-12-27 at 10.05.46_459ab7cb (1).webp
 
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