Unistrut Bridge Crane

[Muckin_Slusher]

Like this.

Should help with any spreading concerns.

 

[CarterKraft]

The two things I didn't care for was the load being supported by those coil pins and the quality of the bearings.
The bearings were pretty straight garbage IMO.
The coil pins may not be an issue though.

 

[u2slow]

Cool to see this stuff taking shape The idea crossed my mind a couple years ago but never got anything going.

I want to do a couple tracks about 30-35' long so I can raise and move cabs, canopies, and pickup boxes easier.

 

[Muckin_Slusher]

Some numbers I found.

The two axle (4 bearings) trolley is rated for 600 lbs at slow speeds (30 feet per minute) when used with P1000 strut. I have to confirm, but I think that's the standard stuff.

Edit: Yes, confirmed, it's the standard stuff with no punched holes:

Unistrut's P1000 is the original metal framing strut channel and has been used in countless applications for nearly 100 years. Commonly known as 12 Gauge Standard or Deep Strut Channel, it is the global standard for strut metal framing.

From here:

https://pem-controls.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/unistrut-general-engineering-catalog-no-17-2016-12-linked-compressed-min.pdf

 

[PAToyota]

When my parents built their house in the late 60's / early 70's my father framed in a loft in the garage and put in a barn door track to the underside of the ridge. Then mounted a 2x8 chunk to it with barn door trolleys and put a block and tackle on it. Fifty plus years later and we're still using it to put the lawnmower, snowblower, and other stuff up there off-season.

Need to get some pictures of it the next time I'm over there.

 

[aczlan]

When my parents built their house in the late 60's / early 70's my father framed in a loft in the garage and put in a barn door track to the underside of the ridge. Then mounted a 2x8 chunk to it with barn door trolleys and put a block and tackle on it. Fifty plus years later and we're still using it to put the lawnmower, snowblower, and other stuff up there off-season.

Need to get some pictures of it the next time I'm over there.

A friend had that kind of setup with a pair of those trollies and a 700/1400# HF 120V hoist that he used to pick up a skeleton type hay elevator.

Aaron Z

 

[JMRobins]

I've done this in my garage and have lifted a 593-pound service body with it, among many other things. It was originally built to take my roof top tent off the Jeep and move it over to a large shelf I built. The 593-pound lift was sketchy. There are many improvements I want to make to it, but haven't because it works good enough as is. I have made a couple though.

 

[PAToyota]

I figure my father's setup has only been used to lift 300~400# at most. That's another thing to watch. The way some of these builders build to the bare minimum, I'd really make sure that the ceiling/roof is going to support what you're lifting. I see any number of drywall ceilings coming down in garages because the trusses have too much deflection and everything loosens up over time.

For my parents' house, the roof is rafters and not trusses. The loft spans from the outer walls to a middle beam and that diaphragm actually ties the rafters together better than when it was built.

 

[JMRobins]

I figure my father's setup has only been used to lift 300~400# at most. That's another thing to watch. The way some of these builders build to the bare minimum, I'd really make sure that the ceiling/roof is going to support what you're lifting. I see any number of drywall ceilings coming down in garages because the trusses have too much deflection and everything loosens up over time.

For my parents' house, the roof is rafters and not trusses. The loft spans from the outer walls to a middle beam and that diaphragm actually ties the rafters together better than when it was built.

The 600ish pound lift was a once-and-done thing. We had limited options on how to get the job done. I usually try to keep it under 300 pounds. I have the original build plans for the house so I had a decent understanding of what's going on up there. The load is distributed over 16 fabricated beams and I wouldn't have lifted that with a snow load on the roof. It did the lift without so much as a creak coming from the house, but the 3 uni-strut beams welded together had an inch or so of downward flex in the middle. Because of the large amount of area I can cover in the garage with this, I use it all the time. Definitely worth having in my opinion.

 

[PAToyota]

My intention wasn't to call your situation out. Just seeing that you had the triple tracks shows you put some thought into it.

I'm just saying that it's something to pay attention to - like the people who throw a chain around a single 2x8 collar tie and try to lift an engine with it... I'm constantly amazed by what the "average" person does to their houses.

 

[JMRobins]

My intention wasn't to call your situation out. Just seeing that you had the triple tracks shows you put some thought into it.

I'm just saying that it's something to pay attention to - like the people who throw a chain around a single 2x8 collar tie and try to lift an engine with it... I'm constantly amazed by what the "average" person does to their houses.

For sure. Things can go real bad, real quick.