Looks good! Your video was impressive. With most Harbor Freight products, I could re-write the assembly instructions so they made better sense. I'm buying one for my 18' x 16' carport w/concrete floor. I'll install a Harbor Freight electric winch and remove the chain hoist.
I purchased mine in 2019 and it is awesome. I put a 2 ton trolley and 2 ton hoist on mine in case I needed a heavier crane. I never needed it, because this one does everything I need it to, plus some. This is a far better design than the Northern Tool company sells (in my opinion). Northern Tools' crane overhead beam does not set directly onto the posts, and that makes no sense as to why it would have shear points on bolts that should not even exist. AND WHEN I DIE, I'M TAKING IT WITH ME!!!
Grab a come-along while you're there and you could stand it up by yourself using the rafters for a connection point. Decent video. I've been debating whether to build one or buy one similar to this. At minimum, the trolley looks like a good idea, and I'd probably weld some stouter gussets in it, but all in all, it fairly useable.
I bought the Strongway 1.5 ton from Northern. I stood mine up by myself. But thankfully I have a small tractor with a loader and forks. I didn't get the one with the cable but instead got the one with the hooks on each side.
You really should get someone to help you install the trolley. Its a lot to manage especially on a ladder. Something I didn't think about until I almost had it installed was to clamp the two sides together after getting it on the beam. If not when you try to let go with one hand to tighten the bolt it all just falls off.
Can a user of this gantry tell me the minimum ceiling height necessary for this? Also, will this min. height still enable you to pull engines from cars?
Really like the video. Thanks. Why would you people not trust it? It’s not like he will be lifting a house with it. I’ve pulled engines and transmissions together on less than this thing. On sketchy ass cracked limbs of a dead ass tree. Sho nuff, it hung in there like a hair in a biscuit. Good day peeps.
I put one of these together with a friend today and agree with you about the quality and features. I have the 2000 pound trolley and 2000 pound electric hoist they sell. The trolley doesn't seem like its designed for the hoist. If anybody knows of a video or can tell me how to make it happen, I sure need the advise.
2024 update on price 850 plus tax. For the 2 ton trolley is now $90, as opposed to 65 for the smaller 1ton trolley. I forget how much the 2ton chain hoist is in 2024, think it was 55 or$ 60 now.
Nice video, good job & very informative. However I did notice you said to put both locking casters on one end even though you installed the casters correctly. The reason I mentioned this is because someone might put them both on one side as you stated & the other side of the load on the gantry crane would be loose & the gantry crane could hit someone's car when pulling an engine that's why I mentioned that also. Besides, that's what the directions state in the manual. The other thing I noticed is you said it's a one man job to raise the I-beam height. While true you can do it that way but it will put a lot of strain on the welds & could eventually break the welds on the end of each beam because of the extreme amount of force put on them due to the weight & leverage forces placed on them. The manual says "CAUTION! Use two people to adjust the I-beam height." Someone could get seriously injured. Take care & GOD Bless...
After watching the video again, I can understand the confusion on caster placement. I did install the casters correctly on this gantry(as seen in the video) with regular and locking caster on each beam. I was trying to convey placing the locking casters in the same spot on each beam, not on the same beam. As for the one man operation and moving the gantry up and down, I agree you should get help with a person on either side to adjust. However, you can slowly adjust the gantry up and down by moving to each side and cranking it a little making sure nothing is getting in a bind. Just continue doing this until it is at the level you desire. If working by yourself, you should never adjust it more than an inch or two at a time. To do so would be blatant disregard for safety and equipment integrity. That action would definitely cause damage and failure. As with anything, we do it at our own risk. Be smart and work safe.
It'll increase the height, but at long as the casters and tires are rated for capacity, you should be fine. Just measure the mounting tubes and match your flanges. Drilling holes or having to Wells the base plates would be your only real concern, and that's easy to do.
Just bought a brand new one (the orange first version) last week from a company that had an extra one lying around for $200 on Craigslist here in Los Angeles -- brand new still in its wooden crate! I had to take each piece out one by one, as those main pillars weigh a lot. I made a rookie mistake by tightening the base down BEFORE I had put the angle tube supports on. I have only gotten to start work on one side of it so far (darkness, and now vacation, are preventing me from working on it) and the holes on one support tube aren't lining up. Did you have any issues with anything not lining up? I'll get right on it when I return from Las Vegas. Great video, and I also will add washers to it at the base and at the casters. Those are places it really needs them. Thanks for the video. Well done.
True...but that would have added an addition $50 to $100 dollar cost. The bolts supplied will do the job, and this gantry has been rated with the lesser grade and quality bolts, so I know it will hold up. I have used it quite a bit with no problems. It would have been nice to have a higher quality faster, but for the value it's hard to beat.
Yeah, I was thinking why not go with grade 5 or 8. The one's included look like grade 1. When it comes to safety, I would replace anything crucial with higher grade
It has an electric hoist on it now, but their are a couple reasons not to add the electric hoist. 1- harbor freight does not make it easy to bolt up an electric hoist ( I had to make a custom mount for mine). 2- the gantry is mobile, Idon't like dragging an extention cord around. 3- its much more expensive!
