FEL Tractor Crane *Proof of Performance*

[Renze]

Yup you can extend the backhoe for extra tipload... and break the front axle...
Be careful with what you do to a farm tractor...

 

[SilverLakeFab]

I saw this thread quite some time ago and have been wanting to share the pictures of the 3-point hitch crane (technically a jib) I whipped up to use on my little B6100's 3-point hitch this past fall for putting up trusses for my shop building. It sure does look funny to have a 24' long piece of steel tubing attached to the back of the machine. What I did was put a 5' wide piece of 3"x3" 1/4" wall tube at the bottom to set on the floor/ground when lifting to try to keep everything stable and mount a winch on the bottom, with a pulley block on the top. Honestly, the whole set up was a little sketchy as first, and you don't want to drive under power lines, or go above low first gear when moving, but the implement probable saved me 2-3 grand in rental fees since I only had the weekends to put the building together. The whole thing was whipped up in an evening, so there's nothing pretty about it. I didn't even paint the implement (unheard up at my shop), but once I got the feel for using it, it worked slick. Check out the pictures everyone:



P.S.
Please don't judge my fabrication work on this project. It was whipped up in 4 hours after a 70 hour work week. It's ugly ugly ugly (there's not even any TIG welds on this thing), but it got the job done. Basic details on the garage: 24'x32' footprint with 11' walls (total height with bottom plate, top plate, and concrete knee walls) , roughly 20' ceilings in the center, and 10'x10' garage door. I'm still rocking the tyvec and saving my pennies for the siding.