Long winded as can be, don't read unless you are really bored. Sorry. But if you are bored, plz read thru and point out the obvious thing I've missed and why this won't work, because I'm actually going to try to build this, like this week. I need it for my tree service of course, but i have some hurry up stuff i need it for too, which the wife is on board with because it's for her folks
On the other hand if this does work pretty well, this could be a game changer for small time people like myself, allowing a trailer to self load/unload very substantial weight using only a single winch, some pipe, some basic rigging stuff, and some rope.
Long time since i started this thread, nothing done, but that's a changing lol. So I've had a crazy year since i posted this, and still like the idea, and now have more materials squirreled away so it's time. With everything that's happened, I've decided that a loader for my trailer (old utility pole trailer) makes the most sense first, so that's the focus for the time being. I think I've also decided on a gin pole type setup, which while having severe limitations also has some huge advantages, most notably lack of outriggers, absolute minimum of moving parts, least amount of materials and weight, very quick to deploy and stow away, and the largest lifting capacity possible. I'll be using it for tree work, and as a mobile crane for future projects. Since I don't have a trailer for my backhoe this will be far more mobile, and will have a much much higher lifting capacity and height than it as well. My backhoe can push this around too, which will only add to its usefulness.
Gin pole trucks/trailers normally don't self load, and trying to do so is a huge design problem. I've had some time to ponder on this, and i think i have a workable solution to this, while still only using 1 winch as the sole powered component. The idea is rather than mounting all of the stuff on the floor like a normal gin pole truck would do, i would raise the components up off the floor by building a permanent structure to mount them to. The pivot point of the poles would be 4 to 6 feet off the floor of the trailer, giving a higher rigging point which will make loading much easier. They will also be set closer to the center, giving room to run guy lines to prevent the poles from going over center, which means i can pull the load backwards. The backstays will be mounted much higher, likely around 10 feet from the floor of the trailer. This gives better line angles, but much more importantly will give me a high rigging point to use to drift the load in or out.
In use I've figured I'm going to do 1 of 3 things, lift something up and drive it around (like a normal gin pole truck would do), load onto the trailer, or unload from the trailer. The first one is simple, but the loading and unloading are more complex. Multiple winches seemed like the only solution until i remembered a story Gerry once told of using a tree to lift a load up a hill with a truck, tightening another line in another tree, and then lowering the truck line, drifting the load to the desired landing zone. I then figured i needed a super high rigging point, which really wouldn't work on a trailer too well, not to mention would have to assembled and disassembled when moving, which isn't going to work too well either. Then i came up with the idea that if the winch line has a pulley that's held back by a rope, i could lift with the winch, let off the rope, which would drift the load out over the gin poles, which would unload the trailer.
Loading still needed to be figured out, but so far, 2 of the 3 can be done. Then i think i figured it out today. If the winch line goes to an elevated backstay point first, then goes to the gin poles, i could use the same rope idea to load as well. The gin poles would have the rope there, and the pulley tied to the rope would be pulled tight to the top of the poles and tied off to start. The winch would pick the piece up, straight towards the gin poles to start, but once it is high enough, i could slowly lower the block, thus drifting the load into the trailer. By lowering the block suspended from the gin poles i would lose height, but since the winch line is also led to an elevated backstay position, it would raise the load when more winch line was taken in, thus drifting the piece into the trailer.
Since both rigging points (the backstay anchor and the gin poles) are elevated, it would work fine for drifting the piece in, and will solve the problem of doing everything with a single winch. It will require some extra rope handling, but honestly that makes landing the pieces easier without requiring a remote control, much like lowering a limb. Pulling pieces back into the trailer would normally pull the gin poles over and collapse the whole thing, but i think if i set them far enough into the trailer I'll be able to run an extra full guyline, locking the poles firmly in place. Since the rope will only be let out under load, i wouldn't need pulleys, and could weld up pipe to mimic blocks so i would have a bomber way to do multi part line to handle the loads, which for 7/16 wire rope could be 4k on single part line.
The gin poles could be left permanently rigged, and simply folded forward when traveling, and raised and lowered with the winch, basically removing all grunt work and setup time. They will be fixed length, which makes them simpler and since it's on a long trailer it will be hardly noticeable when not in use. The cathead could also be designed to take a stiffleg, which could be clipped on, chained to the trailer to take a compression load, and then used as an outrigger. This would allow me to pull sideways, like if i pulled up next to a house and needed to winch stuff to the truck sideways across the yard. I could also rig up a skyline yarder setup almost instantly, by parking in line with the tail anchor, rigging an extra line to act as a skyline, which could be tensioned and released by pulling forward or backward. The winch line would act as a mainline, and if i used another rope line as a haulback line, i could rig a very basic slackline pulling setup by adding another bollard to the trailer to hold back a pulley on the mainline. It would be a hand over hand pulling the setup back, but that sometimes would beat the alternatives quite handily. I could also add some basic outriggers to the rear of the trailer (maybe as simple as moving the trailer jack), which would allow me to load/unload my truck bed from the trailer, to be able to haul full loads under cdl. My truck and this trailer weight in at 13k empty, so i should be able to get 10 to 12k a trip under cdl, which is about as good as you can get with a heavy truck like mine. The ability to use the lift without the truck attached would be really cool too at times, like when working on stuff and you need a set rigging point (think welding stuff up that needs to be flipped around, sharpening mower blades, etc).
Any thoughts, criticisms, alternative ideas, etc? What am i forgetting, what have i missed? I'm surely missing something, please shoot this idea down before i need to drink a bottle of Jameson and hack this off my trailer
I have everything here except the pulleys, belts, and chains to power the winch, I'm going to use an old 5 hp lawnmower engine, with simple belt clutches for forward and reverse. I'll run 2 control lines to the rear of the trailer, pull one for up and the other for down, and the winch has a free spool as well so i could rig that back there too. I need to buy the wire rope yet, and will likely buy some new treemaster for my rope, easy to splice and would take the abuse running over pipe and sitting in the elements very well, since it will likely be pretty permanently rigged.
