Fold-Down Crane Works Great Moving Bins

Fold-Down Crane Works Great Moving Bins GRAIN HANDLING Miscellaneous 29-1-34 "It lifts up to 38 ft. high yet folds down flat for easy transport," says Mark Bruellman, Rolfe, Iowa, about the crane he designed and built to pull behind his tractor. Bruellman uses the crane in his commercial grain bin moving business (Vol. 26, No. 4). "It'll lift a bin with 20-ft. sidewalls right off the ground," he says. The dual-wheeled, 35-ft. long crane operates off tractor hydraulics and has a 22-ft. long, A-shaped base that's hinged to the back end of the rig's frame. A pair of hydraulic cylinders are used to raise and lower the base frame. It also has a hydraulic-operated winch. At the top of the base there's a 12-ft. long jib that supports an 8,000-lb. winch. The jib is equipped with "stay" chains, allowing it to be set at different angles depending on where Bruellman hooks the chains on the rig's frame. The jib has a telescoping extension that can be extended an additional 10 ft. to put the cable 24 ft. out from the wheels. By adjusting the stay cables for maximum boom height, he can lift lighter objects such as rafters up to 38 ft. high. "I use the crane to take bins apart and to lift bins onto a trailer. I remove the bolts half way up the side of the bin and then telescope the two halves of the bin together, placing the bottom half of the bin inside the top half. By using this method I can haul two bins on a single flatbed," says Bruellman. "It eliminates the need to use bin jacks to raise the bin so that I can back a trailer under it. Another advantage is that I don't have to worry about telephone wires, because the bins are shrunk down low. "One time I used it to lift a 6,200-lb. Bobcat skid steer loader. I figured if it could lift the loader it would have no trouble lifting a 3,300-lb. grain bin. "To switch from transport to use mode, I put a floor jack under the back end of the crane. The dual wheels are mounted on stub axles and are slid from transport position all the way to the rear, into a pipe." Bruellman says he's willing to sell the crane for $18,000. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mark Bruellman, 29731 410th St., Rolfe, Iowa 50581 (ph 800 370-2467 or 712 848-3247; fax 712 848-3177).

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