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  1. #1
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    Question How to calculate the size of base required for a swivel crane?

    Hi Everyone,

    I'm going to build a moveable base for a ute swivel crane.

    Does anyone know how I calculate the minimum size of base I will need?

    I'm thinking of a few designs. The most likely is that I will make a modular system with the base being on rollers. At this stage I'm either thinking of having a system where I can add legs on all sides when I need to use the full 360 degrees or a base that can take counter weights.

    Cheers,


    Alex

  2. #2
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    I guess you are talking about one that will be used on the ground?

    How will it differ from an engine hoist?

    Do you want to be able to move it while it is carrying a load?

    Can you explain how you intend it to be used?

    Dean

  3. #3
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    is this crane solely for your own use, or will it at times be used on a work site or in a store like Bunnings?
    regards from Canmore

    ian

  4. #4
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    You are entering some dangerous territory here. Anything you need a crane to lift has the potential to cause serious harm if you get your calculations wrong. If we are talking Chinese sourced ute cranes, they are dodgy enough without adding in a movable base.
    Be very, very careful.

  5. #5
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    As I say to a number of people who ask how to do the engineering calculations for things, you won't find an engineer worth their salt giving an answer - the reason being that if it goes wrong a court will take the view that they should have provided the 'correct' advice, what ever that may be. It doesn't matter if they don't get any reward in return for their advice as professional ethics don't allow half-hearted efforts just because there is no money in it.

    If you really want to mount a crane in a particular way then find a consulting engineer and pay the money - it will cost but it will be done properly and if something goes wrong they have insurance to cover it. There will also be a document trail showing what you wanted and what they provided. They will provide you with sufficient documents that will allow you to make the crane base according to their design - as cranes are covered by (I think mandatory) codes, bear in mind that there will need to be type tests, design verifications and you will probably find that welders will be required to weld to structural codes.

    If you don't want to pay for a professional design job then you are literally on your own. Some engineers I know won't even tell people which equations to use as without the 4-5 years of training that is behind knowing how to apply them (and more importantly, when not to apply them) that could still be regarded as improperly given advice. I've also heard of a lifting equipment company who will not make things to other people's designs without them verifying the design (that is, you paying for them to effectively design the item from scratch), so it is an area fraught with traps for the unwary.

    Sorry.
    Michael

  6. #6
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    surely anything sold in an Australian store (not Ebay) would have to adhere to an Australian standard? Crane I'm looking at is from total tools. I'll probably never take it close to it's maximum rating. But that is not really the point.

  7. #7
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    yes used on the ground. At first I was going to use an engine hoist, but I can't find one with the dimensions I want.

    The purpose will be to lift a steel ute canopy up so I can drive my vehicle out from under it. I thought I was getting jacks supplied with the unit I bought, but thanks to miscommunication that did not happen. In some respects I'm glad I didn't get them as it would have added significant cost anyway. This is also a neater cleaner option, as the crane would be sitting out of the way at the rear of my carport.

    The plus side to all this is now I can kill two birds with one stone by purchase a ute crane, which I can use both on the ute and off the ute.

    I'm thinking that being able to move it while carry a load would be great (in theory) but I'm errring on the side of caution here as I reckon that would be where an accident is most likely to occur.

    I was looking at having it on weight rated heavy duty castors with locks on them. On that note I was wondering if a backup system was worth it. Also looking at having a backup tethering system attached to the steel beams in the roof (have checked with the builder & they will take the load). My only decision is weather to purely have that as a saftey feature once the box is lifted or to have rigged it so that I could leave the box hanging. I'm assuming leaving something hanging on the hydraulic pump for any length of time is a no no.

    Then again having the box hanging in mid air might be great in theory but ultimately could get fiddly and annoying, and it is not like I can store anything underneath it anyway or get it high enough to create usable space underneath it

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alexxred View Post
    surely anything sold in an Australian store (not Ebay) would have to adhere to an Australian standard?
    It should be, but as soon as you mount it in anything but the manufacturer's recommended way, you potentially invalidate the approval. I used to wonder about stories where people invalidated their car warranty by fitting non-genuine parts then after working for Holdens I understood what they were getting at. A manufacturer can not test for every possible combination of parts fitted to a car so instead they have one and anything else is at the owner's risk - not because the non genuine parts will necessarily fail, but just because they haven't been tested by the OEM and so can't say that they won't affect something.
    The same applies for any approval process. While what you want to do may be perfectly alright and not cause any problems, it has not been tested with the kit you are using and so whether it causes problems is officially unknown. Insurance companies love that of course and use that as an out as well.

    Michael

  9. #9
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    This is something I know about. My brother built a camper canopy from steel for his Rodeo. It is a bit heavy, but as he was once asked via CB radio whether he had remembered to lower the top that morning, and suddenly realised he was doing 100kmph with the top 3ft up in the air, it is pretty strong.

    The canopy spends most of its time on the ute, but until a couple of years ago when he wanted to take it off he came to visit me, a distance of 400km. I have a lifting trailer which started as a home made ute crane for farm use only and evolved into a trailer which can be used to lift and carry 300kg round bales of hay and has a boom and long ram jack for general lifting. It lifted my 700kg metal shaper off the trailer without any issues. Useful when you have a few acres like me. I believe he has made a permanent fixture at home to do the job now, but I have not visited him at home for some years. He is living and working in the APY lands and not home much.

    Dean

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alexxred View Post
    surely anything sold in an Australian store (not Ebay) would have to adhere to an Australian standard? Crane I'm looking at is from total tools. I'll probably never take it close to it's maximum rating. But that is not really the point.
    if you're lucky the crane you buy will conform to the type approval. But there are enough examples of product recalls to suggest otherwise.

    what you have in mind is essentially a home made mobile crane with a lift and carry function. Good luck with getting any insurance coverage.
    regards from Canmore

    ian

  11. #11
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    Is this the crane you are looking at? TTI - 900kg Ute Swivel Crane - TTISLC900 | Total Tools
    If so, then it allegedly has a capacity of 900 KG @ 970mm radius. Compare this to a legitimate, certified hydraulic crane of a similar capacity. http://www.maxilift.com.au/wp-conten...dardcrane1.jpg
    The Chinese sourced cranes are borderline at best and are rarely if ever fitted to recognised safety standards. Their standard of welding varies from acceptable to chewing gum. They are a reasonable tool for saving your back, but their ratings should be halved most likely. Good luck finding any recognised certificate of conformity on one either.
    I can offer you a simple answer to your question, now that we know what you want to do. It's all about geometry. Have a look at an engine crane. The legs extend forward of the hook, thus meaning that your weight is behind your last point of contact with the ground, thus requiring no counterweight effect in the design. A ute crane has no legs as such, but it does have a 2 tonne vehicle that it is mounted to, (should have a stabiliser leg too, which the Chinese cranes don't as a rule).
    For your application of a ute crane on castors is impractical and dangerous. Put simply, it will fall over unless you have a circular base somewhere around 3M diameter.
    I suggest you look at lifting from the roof beams as your builder said they would take the load, which is probably not all that great in reality. Legs and jacks are probably the best way in all honesty.

  12. #12
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    Sorry Alex,
    As a mod fo The Metalwork Forums , I can't let this go on.
    Basically it boils down to the fact that the Forum admin could find itself in court if things turned shaped after a potential accident with the crane modifications . To avoid any risk to the aforesaid Admin I am locking the thread.

    In short we can't have anybody short of a qualified engineer to offer such advice and you won't get that for free.

    Bad news,but that's the way it has to be.

    Grahame

  13. #13
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    Look into a portable gantry crane from hare and forbes

    https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/Mobile-Girder-Rail

    Sent from my SM-T355Y using Tapatalk

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