Edit - the Manual Fork-Over Stacker is the perfect solution.

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I have two items that need to be lifted. I'm a one man crew and it's not exactly an easy job.

The first item is a carrier for my spreader/sprayer.

It is installed into the trailer hitch and needs to be installed and removed multiple times per year (between 12 and 18 times depending on how I can tighten the schedule and the weather). Eventually, I will no longer need the trailer so I can leave this carrier on all the time but for now it requires multiple installations and removals. It's really hard to install with one person. I've done it but not only does it take forever, it's also rather dangerous to get under it and try to put the hitch pin in while trying to move it back and forth to align the pin hole.

The second item is my spray rig (50 gallon tank, hose reel, motor and pump). It gets installed into the bed of the truck once in May and gets removed once per year in October. Now this one is heavy, even when it's empty. On my old truck I used to put it on ramps and ratchet strap it up inch by inch. Not going to happen on my new, taller truck.

What I'm looking for is something that can hoist these items into position without killing myself or destroying the truck or equipment. A forklift would probably do the trick but not only do I not have money for something like that, I also don't have room in the garage for more equipment.

Any ideas?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mark123,

There are lifts that integrate into the truck, not using the hitch, that allow you to tow without removing the lift. Tommy Gate is a well know maker of such lifts.

https://www.tommygate.com/

Can you mount a hoist on the garage ceiling?

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
Can you mount a hoist on the garage ceiling?

Not really, the garage door would be in the way.

quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:
There are lifts that integrate into the truck, not using the hitch, that allow you to tow without removing the lift. Tommy Gate is a well know maker of such lifts.

https://www.tommygate.com/

I can see that working for the spray rig but not for the spreader/sprayer carrier.

Portable gantry crane?

I'll second Tommylift/gate

For the spreader/sprayer rack, I think I'd make a dolly tall enough to line it up with the hitch.

For the spray rig, I might put it on a frame with wheels, pneumatic tires, and a winch. I'd use the winch to pull it up a set of ramps. Once, it is in the bed, I'd let air out of the tires so the frame rested on the bed. Reverse the process in the fall using the winch to control rig as it rolls down the ramps. I use the winches on my ATVs this way when loading either into my truck bed. I put a block under the cable to hold it up from the truck bed. This allows the winch to pull the ATV up the ramp, rather than into the ramp.

Maybe a pallet jack? That would give you balance and the ability to make small adjustments up/down as well as forward/backward. Not sure if China Freight sells them but worth a look.

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:

Maybe a pallet jack? That would give you balance and the ability to make small adjustments up/down as well as forward/backward. Not sure if China Freight sells them but worth a look.

I was going to suggest that. I have a pallet jack, but I don't think it lifts high enough to load the tank into the truck bed.

Engine hoist on wheels

Pick-up bed "crane." I can't recommend a specific brand but grabbed those two photos to show the concept:

I am not sure what your budget is but I have used something similar to this for heavy loads.

Manual Fork

Yeah, engine hoist, perhaps with a spreader bar to facilitate multiple attachment points. Many of these can be disassembled for storage. I had also thought of a transmission jack for the spreader/sprayer, but the engine hoist should work for both applications.

When I was doing this kind of thing, anything that went into/on a truck bed would be mounted into a skid made of welded square tubing. We got it into the bed with four or six husky dudes, or a winch dragging it up skid plates. The skid plates (often just a pair of 2x8's) went into the pickup bed with the implement for storage, and ready availability. Mounting the hand-cranked winch on the skid with a snatch block on the front of the truck bed gave double leverage.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
Pick-up bed "crane." I can't recommend a specific brand but grabbed those two photos to show the concept:

That's pretty sweet! However, it would have to work with the tailgate closed.

quote:

Originally posted by SW_Sig:
I am not sure what your budget is but I have used something similar to this for heavy loads.

Manual Fork

That is also sweet! That may be the way to go.

I have a gantry crane in my barn and a set of clamp on forks for the bucket of my tractor.
Both methods have worked well for me.

Can they be stored on a stand at the proper height? Just back under/into it.

Well, we do have forks for our bobcat, and those are a huge help. However, we had some steel rolling carts fabricated to hold our salters and spray tank in the off-seasons. They are basically a big cube made out of angle iron with some stringers along the top and heavy-duty caster wheels. Makes it much easier to slide them in and out of the beds rather than having to get them up off the ground. It can be rough on the bed if the guys aren’t careful, but it was better than storing them on the ground. If you have them fabbed, you can pick the height to match your truck and ratchet strap things in and out, and any metalworking shop can probably manage the work if they don’t mind doing small jobs.

We don’t do this ourselves, but for the hitch-mount carrier have you considered a motorcycle jack? Should be OK with the weight, and height range you would need to help line that thing up, and if you get one with casters, you can probably move it around easier when off the truck or when aligning it. Feel free to find one that isn’t chinesium, but something like this: https://www.harborfreight.com/...ycle-lift-63397.html

It won’t lift high enough to get to the bed, but should go high enough to line up with the hitch receiver.

- Bret

quote:

Originally posted by gjgalligan:
I have a gantry crane in my barn and a set of clamp on forks for the bucket of my tractor.
Both methods have worked well for me.

A gantry crane would be perfect if I had the room for one. Maybe I could install it at the end of the driveway.

It seems the Manual Fork-Over Stacker is the perfect solution and I can store it with one of the items on the forks so it won't take up very much extra space in the garage.

For the multiple on/off trailer, a dolly at the hitch height might make sense. Make it a tad short & use a floor jack to adjust height. You could just use a low dolly & raise it with a floor jack.

For the 2x per year, a floor jack, a riser tall enough to get it high enough & some 2x6 'sliders' would be my suggestion for cheap, easy & multi-use. Cut 2x6s to be the length of the bed w/tailgate closed so it wedges them in. leave them at the tailgate, then use them to slide the sprayer in. Push, ratchet strap, back truck into something that hits it, etc.
On something that you can kinda/almost lift by yourself, 2x4s & cheap caster dollies can get just about any job done. A floor jack is something you can use over & over, so cost isn't bad. A dedicated solution for each would be $$$ and take up space all the time.