Anyone ever see a 3-point lift like this?

I'm planning to build a 3 point boom pole for use with my little international tractor, and someone sent me this picture. I'd never seen anything like it before?

> Has anyone used/seen being used anything like this?
> Would it make it easier on the tractor to lift something heavy (~1000 lbs) than a conventional design, like the TSC one in the link? I think it would, but I dont really understand physics...

Any thoughts/comments on this are appreciated. I'm planning to build mine this week sometime...

Store Bought

Yep, that is the Ferguson 3pt lifting crane. They were designed to keep the load closer to the tractor.

Not exactly like the one(s) pictured, but this is one I built 30-35 years ago; can't tell from the picture, but it's 'triangular' (when viewed from the front/rear) in design. It's 'stouter' than any tractor I've ever had it on.
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I've also 'jury-rigged' it on a front-end loader a couple of times when I couldn't figure a better way to get some trusses up high.

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Kind of like the boom on an engine hoist, I'll bet with your skills you could easily custom build one to your liking.

Consider how a crane operates, the lift line is the hypotenuse of the triangle. The further away the hook is from the center pin (vertex) the less weight it will carry. They have chart showing the proportion in degrees. Same principle. It would be wise to have your design looked at by an engineer to know what the steel member, configured as you like, will tolerate in loading, simple enough to figure out. Though some may just say use this or that for the boom, knowing its heavy enough from use and experience. For something like you want to build it is nice to know what the limitations are for safety reasons, and at what distance you can lift what amount of weight.

I used to bother our engineer with small things all the time, to find solutions to all kinds of problems on jobsites, it had to be proven to be safe even though I knew it would work. Some will balk at it, and I understand, so its really your call, but I'll bet what you build will easily suffice, its nothing real complicated.

An example as to why I think in those terms is this. One major project I worked on 30 stories up, structural steel retrofit of an existing building, I needed a landing platform to hang off the superstructure. I came up with a conceptual design and handed it off the engineer, with the specifications for our work only, and the loads we would put on it, but NOT anything else. Low and behold the carpentry contractor saw this as a great way to land their materials and load the building with metal framing and heavy drywall. We were using it for crates of metal and glass curtainwall. Drywall was much heavier and I never anticipated any other use than our own. When you build something like this, its wise to think ahead. It turned out to be built heavy enough to work. The engineer reviewed what the carpentry contractor wanted to do. They were told to stay off it until it was approved based on the engineers calculations and analysis and was submitted in writing, stamped and approved. Was not too costly either to know what you have and how you can use it.

That's just a thought process, does not mean one needs to take it that far for every little thing, but the philosophy is still applicable, just in a small way, as I see it, you are lifting heavy things, its a new or unique design.

Looks just like a jib or top section off a lattice boom crane, did you build it or were you able to get a section of something like a crane boom? Handy thing to have for sure, that's got some nice reach in both situations.

Built from scratch; main (linear) members are 2 1/2 and 3 inch angle iron. The 4 inch pipe sticking from the rear was built to slide in-and-out, but it's never been moved since day one.

Looks like it says "7upuhm" on the boom !!!

Very nice work! I see the telescoping pipe now, so its a boom and jib in one.

I used to have one of those you put on the forks, all pipe though, actually bought through Grainger. It was painted light blue and though it sat in the shop mostly, it did have its uses at times. The thing save my butt at this one jobsite, a big family courthouse we installed all the metal and glass on, stick built curtainwall system by Efco. While closing out the job, we were substantially complete, a laborer on the GC's payroll, broke one of the big pieces of glass somehow. GC wanted us to remove and replace that piece. So I brought in a Lull 744-D telehandler and because it was on the 5th floor, I did not have enough reach over the top, that pipe jib if you can call it that was perfect, my glaziers rigged the expensive Woods Pow'r grip battery operated suction cup off it and I personally operated the Lull for removal and replacement, darned thing made us some good money on that contract addition, paid for the thing and then some. here's a link to itn and the vacuum cup device, you know they will custom build one for your needs, we set a lot of glass with these.
Dayton Telescoping Forklift Boom

Woods Powr Grip

Been around a long time, We had one when I was a kid (80 now) on a 9n Ford. Be careful. You don't have to know a whole lot about physics to realize they will cause a tractor to rare up.

Dat b called a cherry picker. A handy weapon if you get goofy with it.