Built boom pole, have tractor, will assemble garage

[IXLR8]

Short story long... I bought a Miracle Truss steel building, before I bought it I was told that none of the trusses weighed more than 125lbs. I figured that with some scaffolding, 3 guys could lift that into place safely. Well... when the building arrived, 2 guys could hardly lift one of the roof trusses, never mind safely wrestle with one up some scaffolding into position. Turns out the trusses weigh about 225 lbs each!! The first of several lies from Miracle Truss. So I built a 6ft boom to go on my bucket, but I was not sure if the weight being that far out front would my Kioti CK30 be able to lift it. Well, with 2 trusses bolted together, ~450lbs, I can lift them up. I can't curl the bucket, but I can lift it. I did find that if I partially curl the bucket before lifting, then lift it up so the weight swings in nearer the bucket, I can then curl the bucket the rest of the way. But no way can I curl it with the boom level and the weight 6 ft in front of the bucket. Looks like my band aided KL130 is going work. So much nicer than driving an hour to the nearest rental place to get a lift. I need to get them high enough so the peak is at about 15 ft.
First picture is the pieces that made up the boom.. the others are the boom in action, at least testing to see if it is going to work. Ropes are there to keep trusses from swinging when I transported them from the side yard to the back yard.

 

[IXLR8]

I stole the idea for the boom from this thread:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/j...eld-hooks.html

My dealer made up a 2" hitch receiver, from photos I gave him from that thread and he threw it in with the tractor when I bought it. I then bolted the receiver on to the bucket. I extended the 2" strap to be used for where the chain attaches. Since that strap carries most of the load, I doubled the end where the hook actually attaches.

For moving the trusses around the yard, I rope them to the bucket so they don't swing. I also keep them only 1ft above the ground so I can drop them in a hurry if I have to. When I actually go to lift them into place, I will have a person at each end, with ropes, to keep things under control. I have great respect for what could happen if one of those 450lb trusses got to swinging around or broke loose and fell.

 

[IXLR8]

I am able to lift the trusses up enough to be able to position them. I lift the trusses to the upright position and set them on the walls to get be able to reposition the lifting straps. I can then lift the trusses high enough so that I can set them in position.. it clears by 3"!! The pallet under the ladder provides a more stable platform for the latter on the sloping ground, and gives me another 6" of height so I don't have to climb to the top of the ladder.

 

[IXLR8]

Progress continues, at least it was until the rain and winds moved in. The garage is a 30x30, this is the first time I had a vehicle in it... I already wish I had built a larger building. I am already planning my next building... I think it is going to be a pole barn... more margin for error. With the steel building all the footings needed to be in exact position... which my concrete contractor did a poor job at which made getting to this point a long painful road.

 

[Farmerford]

Jim:

That will be a nice building.

I had the same issue with wooden trusses for a pole barn and solved it much the same way.

A couple of questions if you don't mind.

Are you using the poured walls for the lower part because of the side that is below grade, or is there another purpose?

Will you use Miracle Truss for the next project?

Are the columns in the center of each end needed for roof support, or just to divide the end into sections for installing the doors?

Thanks.

Chuck Ford

 

[IXLR8]

Jim:
Are you using the poured walls for the lower part because of the side that is below grade, or is there another purpose?

I used foundation walls rather than slab-on-grade due to sloping of ground and wanting a full foundation with all the ground freezing that happens in the winter here. I also wanted the slab separate as I put in radiant heat, but then again... another area the concrete contractor screwed up, he didn't put in the insulation between the slab and the foundation like he was suppose to so they are not isolated. I am not sure what my heat loading is going to be like and if my system is going to be large enough to properly heat the space since the heat load model was designed with the insulation in place.

Will you use Miracle Truss for the next project?

Absolutely NOT!!!
Not only did they lie to me about the truss weights, they didn't include all the plan drawings, they didn't include all the assembly instructions, also the plan drawings show different assembly methods than the assembly instructions. It took numerous phone calls to several different people at several different locations to get all the answers. They didn't include the utility door in the drawings so they have wind bracing going through the rear door opening. Some of the trusses didn't have all the holes punched in them, so I need to locate and drill them. I ordered the building with an 8ft wall, what I got is a building that is 8ft from the foundation to the top of the roof at the wall. The actual inside height at the wall is only about 6'7"!!

Are the columns in the center of each end needed for roof support, or just to divide the end into sections for installing the doors?

The columns at the end that is up is for both, support of the doors and support of the roof truss. I have not put up the columns at the other end yet and there are only a total of 4 columns in that wall, unlike the 6 that I have up at the other end.
I hope this makes sense.

 

[MotorSeven]

Wow Jim, sorry to hear all the trouble. The only thing i had a problem with on my US Building was they "forgot" to tell me(until a few days before) that a fork lift was required to off load the 6,500 lb pallet off their 18 wheeler upon delivery. I had to scramble around, locate a business in town(with a fork lift), & have my neighbor with his rollback meet the truck & get the load, then deliver it home 35 miles away. "Free Home Delivery" it ain't.

I built a boom for my CK30 to lift the arched steel arches for my 30x50 building. I welded it on to the center tooth of the tooth bar, then backed it up with HD ratchet straps. Worked great. Since i upgraded to the DK40SE w/quick disconnect attachments, i welded a 3' section of sch 80 2.5inch pipe to last 3' of the boom. Now, when i need it, i put on the bale spear, slide the pipe over the spear & run 2 ratchet straps from the center of the pole to the corner bucket hooks. Works great!

Hang in there, at this point it has to get better

RD

 

[Renze]

Nice work !!

As soon as i have the need for it, i will build a boom pole for my front loader as well... Untill now, i could settle with the pallet forks. Last year my neighbor borrowed our tractor to lift 600kg fertiliser bags into the spreader, but i have to many other things to spend my time on, than to build a boom pole which only my neighbor uses once a year...

However when we start tearing down hog barns, it might come in handy to put roof beams down.

 

[EddieWalker]

... The first of several lies from Miracle Truss...

Nice job on the boom!!!

I'm not a fan of Miracle Truss based on a few things that I've picked up over the years reading things online. I don't have any first hand experience with them either. I found it interesting what you wrote about them and wanted to thank you for taking the time to do so. It's always interesting to learn about the problems we run into with the different companies out there.

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[IXLR8]

Nice job on the boom!!!

Thanks, it has worked out better than I expected and I am using it for more things than I thought I would. I need to re-enforce the top strap where it joins the boom near the bucket, I have had a little cracking of the weld there. Not surprising considering the angle it was pulling at. I didn't set it up at the correct angle to start with... then I need to clean it up and paint it.

I'm not a fan of Miracle Truss based on a few things that I've picked up over the years reading things online. I don't have any first hand experience with them either. I found it interesting what you wrote about them and wanted to thank you for taking the time to do so. It's always interesting to learn about the problems we run into with the different companies out there.

I did a fair amount of research, but obviously not enough, and I didn't find any negative comments about them, which is one reason why I chose them.
This is one reasons I wanted to post my experiences with them, to let folks know there is a negative side to MT.

PS- Eddie; I don't see that your summer "TO DO" list has gotten any shorter.