How To: Mobile Gantry Crane Fabrication to Fill an Outdoors Lifting Gap

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

I wanted everything to be load rated for towing or for lifting. I needed to increase the reach on the pallet rack frame so I looked around for what I had on hand. One of those things was a A-frame for flat towing. I figured if it was made strong enough to tow a vehicle it would have a good safety margin for lifting an I-beam.

The house side of the pallet racking frame was connected to concrete house stumps by 2.5 tonne ratchet straps. I figured a house is a lot heavier than the I-beam. So, that removed the risk of the I-beam pulling the pallet racking frame over on top of me.

More thick walled square hollow section (SHS) crossed over the two pallet beams. I also used cyclone bolts and 8 mm thick steel suspension spring shackle plates to clamp the two SHS crossbeams to the pallet racking frames. I then used similar clamps to fix the towing A-frame to the pallet rack side. Up went the I-beam and I had more height than needed!

The red object attached to the pallet rack frame's highest cross brace is a snatch block. I used it to lift the chain block and later the A-frame up to the top set of pallet beams. From this secure point I could maneuver the A-frame and fix it to the pallet racking side frame. I did not want to be hanging off a ladder and shifting and fixing things like an A-frame above my head.

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