After commiserating with an even more antediluvian friend over the way everything gets heavier as you get older I got to wondering if anyone had come up with a P38 friendly version of the tow receiver hitch mount cranes frequently added to pick-up trucks in the USA. Being 64 as of Friday 13 th the lifting'n loading problem is only going to get worse in future so it would be nice to sort something better than trolling the neighbours for assistance.
Although the basic engineering is straightforward it seems to me that the biggest issue will be mounting the tube running sideways across the back of the car and ensuring that the vertical pole carrying the lift proper is sufficiently stable given that there may well be 4 ft or so of overhang betwixt pole and load. Unfortunately 2" receiver hitches are illegal in the UK for vehicles made after 1998 so there is no local expertise to tap into.
I could just hitch the horizontal tube onto the tow ball using a standard fitting but that will provide very little stability. Little more than just connecting crane to car. But it would permit considerable variation of crane position relative to the car which might be handy. I guess a folding tripod affair under the crane would be best along with with a screw jack thingy at the hitch end. Alternatively I could fix a hitchhiking receiver style tube to the rear cross member, sharing some of the tow ball fixings, and do things American style. I think a round tube would be better than square as allowing things to pivot to take out surface variations. Obviously more stable at the crane end. Lots of the You Tube examples make do with a simple foot ( but how big?) although a folding bipod seems more like it to me. Is a jack thing needed at the hitch end?
We can get the simple dipping jib operated by a hydraulic bottle jack on a short rotating post style crane units affordably in the UK. Looks to me as if one of those sat pretty much on top of the horizontal tube ought to work. If so a pole on its base running through the horizontal tube and tripod / bipod thing or direct onto a foot looks the way to go. I can always bolt a winch on top if the simple chain'n hook is too restrictive. Should be enough headroom to work with although I may have to accept dropping things onto the lower tailgate and sliding in.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Clive
Although the basic engineering is straightforward it seems to me that the biggest issue will be mounting the tube running sideways across the back of the car and ensuring that the vertical pole carrying the lift proper is sufficiently stable given that there may well be 4 ft or so of overhang betwixt pole and load. Unfortunately 2" receiver hitches are illegal in the UK for vehicles made after 1998 so there is no local expertise to tap into.
I could just hitch the horizontal tube onto the tow ball using a standard fitting but that will provide very little stability. Little more than just connecting crane to car. But it would permit considerable variation of crane position relative to the car which might be handy. I guess a folding tripod affair under the crane would be best along with with a screw jack thingy at the hitch end. Alternatively I could fix a hitchhiking receiver style tube to the rear cross member, sharing some of the tow ball fixings, and do things American style. I think a round tube would be better than square as allowing things to pivot to take out surface variations. Obviously more stable at the crane end. Lots of the You Tube examples make do with a simple foot ( but how big?) although a folding bipod seems more like it to me. Is a jack thing needed at the hitch end?
We can get the simple dipping jib operated by a hydraulic bottle jack on a short rotating post style crane units affordably in the UK. Looks to me as if one of those sat pretty much on top of the horizontal tube ought to work. If so a pole on its base running through the horizontal tube and tripod / bipod thing or direct onto a foot looks the way to go. I can always bolt a winch on top if the simple chain'n hook is too restrictive. Should be enough headroom to work with although I may have to accept dropping things onto the lower tailgate and sliding in.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Clive
