Gin Poles On Trailer?

mobilus

Member
I've been thinking about mounting a set of gin poles on my tandam axle trailer. I have a winch mounted on the front already, so I could pick up and load stuff when I don't have my tractor around. Has anyone ever seen or done this?

Mark
 

shinnlinger

Member
Mobilus,

For what purpose? I have seen pivoting A frames on the back for loading logs for small mill operation like mine, and am thinking of one myself so I dont have to haul the tractor, use it to load, drive back home and peavey or chain around tree to unload, go back get tractor etc.

I would be wary of going too high though as the stability of a trailer is in question here.
 

Dougster

Old Member
I've been thinking about mounting a set of gin poles on my tandam axle trailer. I have a winch mounted on the front already, so I could pick up and load stuff when I don't have my tractor around. Has anyone ever seen or done this?
Mark
Haven't seen one, but the concept is very cool. :cool: Such a device would help me a lot... but it would have to be able to lift at least 1,000 pounds safely to be useful... and do it quickly. :)

Dougster
 

mobilus

Member
Well, I'm afflicted with a disorder (according to my wife:pat: ) that makes me look at stuff that other folks call junk and see it not for what it is, but what it contains that I could use on projects or what it could be made into.

:biggrin: And if it hangs out in my junk pile for too long, if I need money for a project, I'll load up a trailer load and haul it to the scrap yard to "cash it in".

So, there's no particular thing I haul that I want them for.
 

xPosTech

Member
I've been thinking about such a loader for some time. I've about settled on the crane type that mounts to a pickup bed adapted to my trailer. Shop cranes can be adapted, but the truck type already has the swivel. Most 1/2 ton units are pretty inexpensive.

Two types are available, boat winch type with rigid arm and crane type with a hydraulic ram. I think I would go with the crane and add a link to my winch. You could then lift and winch in at the same time. Both types swivel.

Ted
 

mobilus

Member
Oh yeah, the stability issue is easily solved with a couple of "legs" at the rear. Drop them, and the weight will be transfered to the ground. Raise 'em when done. I'm thinking that the poles would separate at the lift end and lay along the outside rail of the trailer. I got the idea from the many oil field trucks around here...it is incredible what this rig can move.

:chef: Let's see what our combined ingenuity can come up with here! Let's cook up the next "gotta have".


Mark
 

mobilus

Member
Ted, I thought about that too, but then I have seen it rack too many trucks. Think it would be good for light loads, but oversized and heavy loads are better handled by the geometry of gin poles, don't you think?:starbucks:

Mark
 

Dougster

Old Member
Oh yeah, the stability issue is easily solved with a couple of "legs" at the rear. Drop them, and the weight will be transfered to the ground. Raise 'em when done. I'm thinking that the poles would separate at the lift end and lay along the outside rail of the trailer. I got the idea from the many oil field trucks around here...it is incredible what this rig can move.

:chef: Let's see what our combined ingenuity can come up with here! Let's cook up the next "gotta have".

Mark
Mark - You mention legs... and I've already got them on the rear of my dump trailer... but it would be nice to have them on my equipment trailer as well... front and rear! Do you know of anyone who sells a kit for adding adjustable/ retractible/ removable legs to equipment trailer stake pockets? I remember a while back seeing that someone built a set like that and installed them on their equipment trailer... but I believe they were custom built from scratch.

Dougster
 

mobilus

Member
Dougster, I hadn't thought about the stake pockets! Great idea! :starbucks: :starbucks: :starbucks: :tiphat:

No, I've never seen them before, but they should be easy to make. Just a length (dependent upon the height of the trailer) of steel tubing with a decent size piece of flat plate to make a foot, and equally spaced holes drilled through the pocket and upright of the leg should work fine.

With stops at different pinning positions at the hinge point, you could conceivable just use one winch for both lifting the load and retractig it onto the trailer. Big units might use two winches, but it is done all the time on most oil rigs with one.

Mark
 

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Dougster

Old Member
Dougster, I hadn't thought about the stake pockets! Great idea! :starbucks: :starbucks: :starbucks: :tiphat: No, I've never seen them before, but they should be easy to make. Just a length (dependent upon the height of the trailer) of steel tubing with a decent size piece of flat plate to make a foot, and equally spaced holes drilled through the pocket and upright of the leg should work fine.
Once again... easy to make if you weld... mucho tougher if you don't. :eek:

I've toyed around with all kinds of "bolt-together" ideas, but still no luck coming up with anything sturdy enough to really work well. :(

Dougster
 
N

Nicahawk

Guest
Once again... easy to make if you weld... mucho tougher if you don't. :eek:

I've toyed around with all kinds of "bolt-together" ideas, but still no luck coming up with anything sturdy enough to really work well. :(

Dougster
It's not that I don't have enough projects already, but I'm going to follow this thread until you guys get it all figured out. This is a good idea and I'll probably toy with it some myself. The poles in the picture look like a good place to start.
icon7.gif

Nic
 

xPosTech

Member
When I was playing high school ball the coach got us jobs in the oil fields to "keep us in shape".:yum: Yeah gin poles can move some heavy stuff. They weigh almost as much as what they move. We had to winch them up and chain them top back to each side of the winch base and top down to the (solid) bed.. You won't swivel a gin pole rig.

I thought we were talking of about 1000 lbs. (oops that was Doug). Shop cranes are available up to 2 tons. My 4X8 trailer would handle that with no problem (well...the tires might protest a little:rolleyes: ). It's home built of 3X5 channel and tagged for 4000lbs. It is much stronger than a pickup frame. I wouldn't consider putting a two ton crane on a store bought 4X8.:eek:

If you only want to pick something up, not move it around the bed, then yes gin poles will probably do it for you. Take a look at some then scale down as needed.

Doug a 6 ton trailer jack will run about $120 per jack. That's a 5 ton lift and 6 ton support. Bulldog Jack You might want to level the trailer before you lift anything :bb: .

Ted
 

Dougster

Old Member
When I was playing high school ball the coach got us jobs in the oil fields to "keep us in shape".:yum: Yeah gin poles can move some heavy stuff. They weigh almost as much as what they move. We had to winch them up and chain them top back to each side of the winch base and top down to the (solid) bed.. You won't swivel a gin pole rig.

I thought we were talking of about 1000 lbs. (oops that was Doug). Shop cranes are available up to 2 tons. My 4X8 trailer would handle that with no problem (well...the tires might protest a little:rolleyes: ). It's home built of 3X5 channel and tagged for 4000lbs. It is much stronger than a pickup frame. I wouldn't consider putting a two ton crane on a store bought 4X8.:eek:

If you only want to pick something up, not move it around the bed, then yes gin poles will probably do it for you. Take a look at some then scale down as needed.

Doug a 6 ton trailer jack will run about $120 per jack. That's a 5 ton lift and 6 ton support. Bulldog Jack You might want to level the trailer before you lift anything :bb: .

Ted
Both of my trailers (dump and equipment) are 10,000 lb (gross) rated... so the frame strength should be there to handle some sort of 1,000 lb rated lift. That would enable me to load buckets, grapple, box blade, rake, tiller, etc. for transport to jobsites PLUS help me to load rocks, small stumps and logs on jobsites even when the FEL is not available. It would need to fold down, away or be removable when not needed, but the concept is very cool. :cool:

I have thought about using everyday trailer jacks, but the ground clearance needed when not deployed nixed that possibility. Leaving and re-entering my driveway, I drag the back end of the equipment trailer rather badly as is (even with my new taller tires)... so anything that would hang even 1" lower than the back end currently sits would be destroyed and/or dig up the road/driveway to an unacceptable degree.

Dougster
 

mobilus

Member
Dougster,

as I see it, there's no reason to use jacks. Simply pin the "outriggers" or "legs" in the lowest position and the transfer of weight to the back of the trailer will seat them. I can't see the need (or extra expense) of taking the weight off before you start winching.

I found some more pix of a truck with gin poles.
 

mobilus

Member
Oh yeah...the pix!:pat:
 

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Dougster

Old Member
Dougster, as I see it, there's no reason to use jacks. Simply pin the "outriggers" or "legs" in the lowest position and the transfer of weight to the back of the trailer will seat them. I can't see the need (or extra expense) of taking the weight off before you start winching.
Correct. I will use any such legs added onto the equipment trailer in exactly the same way the existing rear legs are currently used on the dump trailer. :)

Dougster
 

mobilus

Member
I wish I had a dump trailer...but that's quite a ways down the road for me. Hopefully by then I'll have stepped up to a diesel one-ton truck. Or maybe an Isuzu NPR with dump bed...
 

shinnlinger

Member
Dougster,

If you went to your local steel supply place they would sell you 2ft long (or whatever) peices of 2x4 tubing for your stake pockect plan. They might evn punch those holes in it at a very resonable rate(sure beats drilling in steel yourself). If so have them punch one toward the bottem so you can bolt on a trailer jack style foot. Drill holes in your existing stake pockests and you are in bussiness.

Speaking of bussiness how are you at stone walls? I hear there is $$$ to be had doing that south of the cape. Here is my plan to save your body. Take your dump trailer and mount on the front a mini grapple like the one I linked too earleir and run it off your dump trailer hydraulics. YOu may need a bigger resevoir and higher gpm pump, but the grapple could pick up all sorts of stuff and actually place stones with a fair degree of accuracy. SUre you would have to lever and budge them from time to time, but what do you think? Foolproof plan right? ...

Yeah I know a little far fetched, but dreams are cheap.
 
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