Harbor Freight Jib Crane Mounts - Truck and Shop

[Viny]

So, I bought this HF crane years ago and had it permanently mounted in an old pickup truck. I sold the truck, and the crane sat in my shed, forlorn. I decided to put it in my barn/shop and make it useful for different projects, etc. Also, I thought I would mount it such that I could also use it on my 1 ton when I needed to lift something into the bed.

I first started with the truck mount. I welded an additional 2" receiver pipe onto the lower bumper portion of the rear of the truck. I built the lower frame out of 2" square tube. It plugs into the original receiver and the additional receiver. I also attached a Curt Industries swing and crank leg to support the whole mess while a load is being lifted into the bed. I then created an upper mount for the vertical post of the crane to mount to the lower frame. I did this to make the whole thing beefy, yet kind of modular so assembling it and moving it wouldn't be too much of a chore. Here's the finished product.



In this view you see the leg swung up and the hook secured for travel. In all reality, I'd just pull the pin and remove the leg altogether.



Here you see some detail showing the extra receiver and the pins holding the upper and lower frames together.




From here, I moved onto mounting it for use in my barn. I stewed on this for some time and finally realized that if I mount it to my gantry crane, it would very handy as an extra lift point on my gantry crane. I welded a couple of new receivers to the base of the gc and mounted it up. Here you can see the final product. Sorry for the backlit photo.



The truth of the matter is that the jib crane will spend 99% of the time mounted to the gantry crane, but I can always move it to the 1 ton if I need to go lift/move something unwieldy. I also have realized that using this 2" receiver as a standard, I can mount all my extra tools, vises, etc and have much flexibility going forward.

[Jon]

Nice. We love a good Harbor Freight tool modification. We have a bunch more listed here: Homemade tools made with Harbor Freight tools

[DIYer]

Thanks Viny! We've added your Truck Crane Mount to our Cranes category,
as well as to your builder page: Viny's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Truck Crane Mount by Viny

tags: truck crane

[DIYer]

Thanks Viny! We've added your Gantry Crane Mount to our Cranes category,
as well as to your builder page: Viny's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Gantry Crane Mount by Viny

tags: crane, mount

[J_P]

Those work well with flat bed trucks. I've never seen a good mounting in a pickup truck.

[Captn Roy]

Hi Viny,
Good job on the crane mount system. Could be useful in many more places with a bit of thought. The outrigger leg is a smart addition also. Keeps the wobbles to a min. and could keep a heavy object from wanting to swing on that cable and prevent some busted up fingers.

Good deal you dusted it off and made it useful again. With a small crane like that around the shop your back will thank you also, hehe.

[Toolmaker51]

Agreeing w/ Capn Roy, the trailer jack is very worthwhile. Those little cranes will do 1500lbs with arm retracted; serious leverage outside wheel base and tread width. I'm betting a bench grinder, pipe vise, or other tool needing stability get mounting frames too....

[Viny]

Thanks fellas, as I predicted, this is actually spending most of it’s time attached to my gantry crane, where it provides a second point of lift. I am glad I put this together and expect to use it on the truck from time to time in the future!