Outdoor yard cranes

[Thrashsmith]

What are the most versatile outdoor cranes for unloading steel lorries / unloading trailers etc?
The farm yard outside my workshop is a total disaster so I need something static as trying to move things on wheels across it is a nightmare.
Also, a galv firm doesn't allow you onto the bed of the lorries, so what's the best way of lifting a pallet when you can't use forks & aren't allow onto the bed of the lorry to put a strop through the pallet??
Cheers

 

[Barking Mat]

Quite a conundrum.

No forks, no strops.

Giant overhead electric magnet ? Not helpful, I know.

No idea.

What's on the pallet ?

Unload by hand ?

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Get a old tractor.
Get a cheap Pallinfinger and mate the two together.

 

[RichardM]

What's your spend at the galv company, if they don't want to lose you as a customer they may be able to suggest a way to do it which would keep all parties happy.
Does the farm have an Telehandler you could use?

 

[knighty]

Telehandler or big offroad forklift

 

[winchman]

What do they suggest as a correct way to unload? I suspect they are twitchy as there has been a few prosecutions with workers falling off the back of lorries
They should be able to supply a Risk Assessment and method statement when they come to your site, then if you can follow that they should be happy

 

[Thrashsmith]

Sorry I forgot to also say that my workshop doors are less than 3m tall so tractors etc struggle to get in.

 

[Thrashsmith]

What do they suggest as a correct way to unload? I suspect they are twitchy as there has been a few prosecutions with workers falling off the back of lorries

One died apparantly

 

[Erie Fred]

What are the most versatile outdoor cranes for unloading steel lorries / unloading trailers etc?
The farm yard outside my workshop is a total disaster so I need something static as trying to move things on wheels across it is a nightmare.
Also, a galv firm doesn't allow you onto the bed of the lorries, so what's the best way of lifting a pallet when you can't use forks & aren't allow onto the bed of the lorry to put a strop through the pallet??
Cheers

Can you, standing on the ground, use a long rod with a hook to push the strap thru the pallet ?
if you need to manipulate the other end, purchase a gripper device like for picking up trash, to reach
over the truck and grab the other end, and pull it the rest of the way.
Or make the hook so it can do both, pushing and pulling.

 

[Ton-up]

A big, floor mounted, swing arm crane?

 

[Screwdriver]

You can get pallet fork attachments for a static crane. Some of them even have automatic balance adjustment. Might need to incorporate a swinging jib tho.

When you're not using it to shift stuff on off lorries you can fit a regular hook for everyday use.

 

[Pond frog]

A telehandler would really be the best option, because of the long boom they could easily load through a 3m door without having to go inside. Once inside you can just use a pallet truck

 

[frank horton]

I have rough ground although usually dry.....long steel sections and forks dont work well....
a local firm uses a rough terrain version of a side loader....it picks up the sections on a pallet and then drops them on stageing at each end of the truck.....
eventually a tele handler will smash up the ground even more.....
sounds like a re surfaced drive way is needed...

 

[winchman]

One died apparantly

Very sad, when you sit and think about it its a no brainer big drop of the side and no easy way to get on the trailer but sadly people are still falling off.
One of the Hire companies who occasionally deliver to work have had barriers etc for several years then we see others with nothing.

 

[Erie Fred]

My uncle took a fall off the top of a tanker truck one time, he said he just got turned around before he hit, just broke his wrist, would have smashed his head open.

 

[winchman]

This may help?

Falls from vehicles

A series of measures designed to reduce the risk of injuries caused by falls from vehicles.

www.hse.gov.uk

When you sit and think there should be no need for anyone to get on a trailer of lorry bed if the work is planned correctly, but sadly many of us me included can often miss the obvious, when these omissions become common practice its just an incident waiting to happen.
Remember if you are in some way involved in a poor practice and allow it to continue then Tacit Approval is just waiting for an accident to happen and you may be roped it.

 

[Cobbler]

When I was about 18, Blue Circle supplied cement in 8 ton loads, we used to hand ball this onto a truck & wheel it away. No forklift in those days, just hundredweight bags! I slipped off the side of the wagon & automatically grabbed for something & pulled a bag of cement over on top of me. Knocked the breath out of me, I thought I was dying, couldn’t breath for what seemed minutes. Luckily the bag must have mostly missed me, or else it would have crushed my rib cage. X-rays showed no breaks, but doc said the ribs were very badly bruised, it hurt for weeks.

 

[Onoff]

Iron fairy back in the day I think.

 

[winchman]

Iron fairy back in the day I think.

Not seen one for years I wonder why?

 

[nickk]

Before I had a fork lift,I had a Fordson Major,made a jib from 100 box that projected beyond the loader,even drove in the field with bundles of beams,only needed about 2.5 m headroom.