Rusty Driver
Posts: 152
Joined: Sat Apr 22, 2017 9:10 am
Truss Crane
I recently put up a machine shed 60 x 56x 16 walls I tried to hire a crew to set the trusses and screw down the steel. They were 2 months booked.
I have a hyster H80 lift truck that raises 14 feet.
I had an old truck crane.
I mounted the truck crane on a heavy steel post with a heavy gusetted bottom.
I used a 1 inch by 4'x4' steel plate as a base.
Before I put up the front wall I stood the bundle of trusses up right in front of the front wall.
I would drive to the front wall and put the crane arm over the top of the wall and lower the winch cable and hooked up a truss. Raised it up to the crane arm.
I hooked up the hydraulics for the crane to the side shift hydraulic valve on the lift truck.
With the lift truck fully eatended and the crane all the way up I was 6 inches above the walls.
then just drove the 60' trusses into place. It required a 26 foot lift to the top of the truss.
I built the 4' X braces in the center by the scissor lift to go between all the trusses. With blocks every 4 feet on top of the walls and the 4' spacer /brace in the center there was no measuring.
I rented the scissor lift for three weeks at 250.00 per week. money well spent. I put all the all the purlins on from the scissor lift going up between the trusses. I never got on the roof until sheetmetal.
I put four, three inch torx head screws in every purlin joint and six inch screws where the trusses meet the walls plus hurricane straps.
Thats my son on the scissor lift/ He helped when he could.
Some days I got 2 trusses up some days one. I had the trusses and purlins up in three weeks. On a good day i could work three hours. Chemo zapped my body. How I miss working a 12 hour day.
Appreciate every day you have your health.
Mike