Gin Pole Turns Gator Into Mini Crane

Gin Pole Turns Gator Into Mini Crane FARM SHOP Miscellaneous Adding a gin pole to his Deere Gator was a relatively simple task for Larry Faulkner and it made his side-by-side a lot more versatile His home-built hoist puts the machine’s snowplow frame and winch to year-round use “It’s the handiest tool I have ” says Faulkner “I can pick up and move anything the winch rope can handle ” Faulkner fabricated the framework of the gin pole using 1/4-in thick 3-in wide flat steel for uprights The uprights are about 2 1/2 ft high with tabs at about 6 in from the bottom that bolt to existing holes in the snowplow frame The uprights are welded to a base plate that also bolts to the snowplow frame The base plate has 2 by 2-in steel tubing that slides into the gator’s front receiver hitch just ahead of the winch A pulley mounted to the tubing redirects the winch rope upward to the gin pole tip “I used heavy-duty 1 by 1-in steel tubing for the gin poles ” says Faulkner “They are pinned to the uprights at their base so their angle can be adjusted ” Faulkner ran steel cable from chain hooks pinned at the top of the uprights to the sky pin that holds the upper ends of the gin poles together The cables are looped at both ends and cross each other to even the pull on each pole and keep it centered “I hung a pulley from a safety latch on the sky pin and I run the winch rope up through it ” says Faulkner “When I want to lay the pole out farther I run short chains between the hooks and the cable loops at the frame ” Faulkner also has the option of using the framework without the gin poles Once he has unpinned the poles and unhooked the cable he hangs a snatch block from a short length of chain attached to the hooks Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Larry Faulkner P O Box 702 Arnegard N Dak ph 701 570-5700; larryfaulkner31@yahoo com

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