Gantry Crane

[TexasStroker]

Does anyone use a gantry crane in their home shop?  Better yet, has anyone built one?  I have one immediate project, can see the benefit of having one, but also have limited space.  I'm assuming some of you have been in a similar situation and wondered what route others took and if they would do anything differently in retrospect...

For starters, I have looked at Harbor Freight's...it is actually a decent looking unit for the money.  I'd deem it far from ideal, but a step up from a lot of similarly priced gantry cranes.  The biggest problem is how difficult it would be to get the I-Beam in place.  I could build my own, but face the same issue.  It would actually be a little worse, because I would build a better (see heavier) unit.

An aluminum gantry crane would remedy this.  Lighter weight, easier for a one man operation, etc.  They cost about 4x what the HF unit would and given the fact this would be used, but not regularly, it is hard to shell out.  I'm currently considering building my own aluminum gantry crane.  I could make it telescopic and modular.  If I'm able to manage the I-Beam, I can then essentially have the two A-Frames/Sides and I-Beam and store them away when needed.  Aluminum would cost a little more, but I feel like having it be easily dismantled and stored, without help, justifies the price.

Here is my current predicament if it helps any:

(1): I need to drop the 408 Magnum in my truck.  It is a 2001 Ram Off Road.  With the factory lift I was barely able to get the cherry picker I have to extract the engine.  I pulled the core support and then had to sketchily lift up on the 5.2 to clear the grill guard.  I think I'm going to pull the grill guard prior to install.  The other issue with the cherry picker is just that with the "cab forward design" it makes things pretty difficult combined with the spool type mounts.

(2): The other, less pressing, issue is that I upgraded my engine stand(s).  I ordered in a pretty nice geared stand with folding legs.  Problem is it shipped without the braces and came beat up.  I agreed to keep it, take a credit to buy some paint, and get the braces drop shipped.  The factory never drop shipped the braces.  Instead of sending a $5 pair of braces I wound up getting a new stand and got to keep the old one.  Not going to complain there, but a new issue arose...

These stands do not nest with my cherry picker.  Even going out all the way there is no way to mate things up.  A gantry crane would let me swap motors from cherry picker, to stand, to cradle, and to load/unload in a truck.

(3): Past this, having a gantry crane would make work on the old cars easier as I could lift up the front ends to drop the K-members on future motor swaps.  It would also be there for moving heavier equipment.

(4): The shop is 30x40 with about 10' of clearance to the truss.  I've got a lot in there...including 3-4 vehicles.  Having the crane assembled all the time could become a space/clearance issue.

I'm wanting to get the 408 on one of the new stands to do some finish out stuff and final prep for installation.  My current hoist is a 1-Ton and has worked great for the Charger and Duster.  Sourcing a 2 Ton, certain ones anyway, would give me a little extra lift and length, but is also in the $250-600 range, coming just shy of the HF Gantry Crane.  It seems the most practical solution is to keep the current 1 Ton Cherry Picker and pair it with a gantry crane, be that bought or built.

Thanks for any insights.

[John_Kunkel]

I, too, have a 30 foot wide shop with a 10-foot truss ceiling. I elected to install a steel I-beam under a truss for a trolley with a 1/2 ton hoist. Only disadvantage is, the car must be centered side-to-side under the hoist for engine removal.

I've had a fully assembled 440 and 727 on this setup many times.

[Kern Dog]

That I beam looks to be hung from the truss instead of bearing on a wall or column.   
The weight of the I beam alone gives me concern, adding 800 lbs of engine and transmission makes me worry even more.
Trusses are engineered with some wiggle room as far as their load carrying and deflection resistances but this seems far beyond those limits.
No matter my disagreements with you, I do hope that you don't get hurt.
I've built houses and Schools since the 80s, much of that time has been in the CA Bay Area where the earthquake standards went way UP after the '89 quake. Maybe I am used to overkill in the buildings that I have worked on. I've done remodels on structures that appear to we woefully UNDERbuilt with 2x4s where 2x6s should be, long spans with no support in the middle and thin 3/8" plywood roof sheeting and they were all standing for years before I came along. I may be worrying for nothing.
I knew a guy that had a 4 x 4 spread across the bottom chord of his garage trusses...he had a chain hoist attached to it to do engine swaps. It never failed. One thing I do like is that these overhead setups don't clutter the floor. It would be nice to not have all those obstacles around when climbing under the car. 

[TexasStroker]

That is kind of the ideal setup in terms of accomplishing the goal and saving space.  If the I-Beam was integrated with the ceiling it wouldn't even require the legs and eliminate space/storage issues.  And I agree Kern, not having the legs of the cherry picker to contend with makes rolling around under a car much easier.

That was actually similar to my original idea a few months ago, just mounting an I-Beam...

The shop basically works out like this [3" Post]-13' Span-[3" Post and Truss]-13' Span-[3" Post and Truss]-13' Span-[3" Post] and thus 3" x 4 =1' and 13' x 3 = 39' for a grand total of 40' in length.  
My supplier would be selling me the I-Beam in a 20' Length, so my first thoughts were to cut it down to maybe 15' or so and slide it over one truss, and then pull back and go over the other.  This would let the hoist move in the center of the shop for 13'.
Not knowing if the weight would need to be kept close to a truss, or bow the beam etc...I started thinking about running 2 parallel spans of Channel Iron between the (2) Trusses and then dropping the I-Beam over those.

I tried and tried to find anyone that could tell me if I could do either of those and came up empty.  Seems like 10% say it would work great and they cite something far worse they used to do, 20% say it will collapse the building, and everyone else just straight up admits that they don't know.  I talked to a few engineers I deal with and they were non-committal as well.  That kind of led me to the current crop of ideas.

My lunchtime epiphany was to build a steel frame and pair it with an aluminum I-Beam.  The one thing missing in my first post is that I don't own a TIG welder and have never done it.  I figured 3/16" or 1/4" walled tubing would be easier to start with than thin stuff.  The TIG welder and subsequent equipment would have to be factored in, but it is also something I've wanted to get and utilize.  Going with the steel frame I would save money and just MIG weld everything, which I am already setup for.  The downside of course would be the weight of the steel legs making them more cumbersome to store...I'd also have to paint it where I'd leave the aluminum as is (I'm a sucker for aluminum and stainless).

The pictures show one of my trusses and a section in particular that I have debated if I could throw the chain hoist on to at least get the 408 onto the new stand.  This section should be what I think is the strongest given how close the uprights are and the roof beam being centered above them.  I would basically use the "sling" you see to go over the tubing, then hang the chain hoist, and lift.  The people I've shown this to are more 50/50 in terms of it being "way stronger" than what they have, or "that'll pull the roof down!"

I feel like myself and a friend could hang from the beam without it collapsing, but I also don't want to have my new 408 crash down on the oil pan and then probably onto one side.

[John_Kunkel]

That I beam looks to be hung from the truss instead of bearing on a wall or column.  

Notice the sheet of plywood above the beam, two of these spread out over the vertical members of five trusses are what the beam is attached to. The truss maker approved the installation in '81.

[Finoke]

For many years I had a harbor freight gantry Crane in my garage. I bought it used and after about 10 years I sold it and got my money back.

Pros: Great for raising the front of the car to install engine and trans on the k frame dolly from underneath. Also works well installing engines from the top. Great to place or remove engines on the back of the pick up truck. Just raise the engine and back the truck under.

Cons: Heavy. You need two people to put it together. Also in the way a lot considering when on average I used it for about 6 lifts a year.

Would I buy one again. Probably. I miss mine but in realty didn't use it that much. But when I did it made things so easy.

[TexasStroker]

For many years I had a harbor freight gantry Crane in my garage. I bought it used and after about 10 years I sold it and got my money back.

Pros: Great for raising the front of the car to install engine and trans on the k frame dolly from underneath. Also works well installing engines from the top. Great to place or remove engines on the back of the pick up truck. Just raise the engine and back the truck under.

Cons: Heavy. You need two people to put it together. Also in the way a lot considering when on average I used it for about 6 lifts a year.

Would I buy one again. Probably. I miss mine but in realty didn't use it that much. But when I did it made things so easy.

Thanks for the first hand feedback.  That is kind of where I stand with it...would be great for a few things, handy for some other things that are bound to arise, but in the way a lot.  There unit isn't one I would want to break down and store for space savings, especially given the weight and assembly struggles.  Do you think with an aluminum I-Beam one person could manage it?

[Finoke]

Thanks for the first hand feedback.  That is kind of where I stand with it...would be great for a few things, handy for some other things that are bound to arise, but in the way a lot.  There unit isn't one I would want to break down and store for space savings, especially given the weight and assembly struggles.  Do you think with an aluminum I-Beam one person could manage it?
[/quote]

Yes

[RiverRaider]

Texas,
I think a Jib crane would suit your situation better than an I-beam or gantry crane.  I have I beams with trolleys and have had gantry and jib cranes in the past.  An I beam is limited in its trolley movement.  Gantry cranes take up a lot of space.  A floor mount or wall mount jib crane is what you would get the most use out of.  I have had both floor and wall mounts.  I liked the floor mount the best.  Wall mounts depend a lot on your buildings construction and needs reinforcement.  1 ton will work but 1.5 and up I beam type jib crane will give you the best service.   I don't miss the gantries but I do miss my floor mount jib for lifting things off the trailer and out of trucks.

[TexasStroker]

Finoke...thanks.  That remains the easiest and quickest option for me.

River, the floor mount would be an option, but I would lose the ability to move it around like with a gantry.  I don't think I could utilize a wall mount.  Did you have any deflection in the beam?  It would work great for moving engines from stands to cradles, but I'd need a pretty good run to hit the middle of the truck, or truck bed.  I would also have to run with a taller height to move things like drums of fuel/oil.

I will try to look into some more options of jib cranes tonight, but my quick scan they were pretty expensive.  I'll also have to study schematics...

[RiverRaider]

My overhead beams are two feet tall and part of the buildings construction so no flex there.  My wall mount was actually installed on a vertical I beam bolted to the floor and to the overhead I beam above. It was a half-ton rated jib with a 1 ton winch and trolley on an I beam arm, it could lift a motor. I installed it with a rake back a couple degrees otherwise the trolley would race to the end lifting heavy stuff.  10' arm about 4" higher at the tip about even when lifting a 440.  I replaced it with blue floor mount no name brand that the upper arm looked like a ladder. A complete piece of junk.  The trolley bound in the track and flexed and pinched when rotating.  The Abell Howe is the one I miss.  It could lift my milling machines, a 2 ton that was shortened to 11' height but had about a 12' usable span.  I got it cheap because it had to be removed from a company because of the non factory modification.  Never should have sold it!  I got it too cheap and was offered too much.  Adell Howe cranes are a lot stronger than the rating. 

[XH29N0G]

Just for fun,  I have this one in my lab.  It wouldn't fit in my garage, but it is mobile enough with wheels and such.

[TexasStroker]

I looked up Adell Howe...very nice looking cranes.

My concern with the floor mount would be that if I put it to the side of the vehicle, a logical spot, it would then block a walkway/lane of traffic between the parked vehicle and the wall.  Putting the crane more in the middle of one side of the shop would eliminate that, but bring about more trouble as I would have to keep the vehicle I was working on in that bay.  It is hard to explain, but basically I can go with the Charger and Duster on one side of the shop with a bit of room at the front, and just enough to pass through at the back.  Between them they are very close bumper to bumper...you pass through, but will probably put your knee on the Charger's bumper, or calf on the Duster's exhaust tips.  The truck, or Challenger sits to the other side, usually solo.  I can't fit the truck with either car.  I've got a weight machine in the left front corner that would free up space, but then it has no where to go.

The best setup would really be 100% overhead, but I feel like it is also a little overkill.  I have severely under appreciated the hoists and cranes at work.  Pretty much anywhere I go I have the overhead stuff...lathes all have jib cranes.  Really, really nice when you realize how much it sucks to need something like that and not have it readily available, lol.

I'll try to do some schematics in the open area between the truck and workout equipment and see what makes sense.  The gantry may be the best option at the moment, although the I-Beam to mount a jib crane is an interesting option.

XH, that looks like a nice gantry...haven't seen many bolted up to the I-Beam like that.  Looks to be pretty solid!