I needed a way to lift the 13′ dump flatbed back onto Rex the ‘58 Chevrolet Viking.
Since I already had a 3Ton chainfall, I knew I’d have future use for a
sturdy frame. After all, the garage rafters were only going to
withstand so much abuse ;)

The design of this chain hoist frame is not my own. Back in July of 2000, I read A Portable Lifting Frame Made From Pipe by Ronald Thompson and later found a revised version of the same design built by Ted Edwards in the MetalWorking.com Dropbox. Ted’s files are:

• Lifter.txt
• Lifter1.gif
• Lifter2.gif
• Lifter3.gif

Because of what I had on hand, this frame is a little beefier. It
is, however, designed to break-down into smaller, more manageable
sections. The pieces are:

Figure 1

• 8 – 2.5″ O.D. x 4′6″Long
  • (4) 2 for each upright
  • (2) Top Spreader Bar
  • (2
    ) Feet – each cut in half
• 4- 2.5″ I.D. x 12″ Long
  • (2) Upright slip joint – 1 in center of each upright
  • (2) ‘T’ – 1 on each end of top Spreader Bar | Note: The hole in these is offset 1.5″ from center to allow the upright to slip-fit into the joint a full 6″. See Figures 2&3 below.  
• 3 – 2.5″ I.D. x 15″ Long
  • 1 slip joint – center of Top Spreader Bar
  • 2 ‘T’s- base of each upright for feet to slide into

Figure 2:

Figure 2 shows how the Top Spreader Bar fits into the slip-joint for the upright leg. The ‘T’ portion of this joint gets welded (See Fig 3). This makes the spreader bar sit directly on the upright leg for increased strength. The upright leg will slide into this end view. The slip-fit of the upright does not get welded so the unit can be broken down for transport and storage.

Figure 3

Also of note, but not shown, is that I’ve welded one side of each slip joint to it applicable mate. The other side is left free to slide together for assembly/disassembly.

Figure 4

A little rust protection. You’ll notice above that the areas of the slip-joints are not painted. Looking from the outside of the saw horses working towards the center, the pieces are:

• Upright Leg – each w/ Foot and Upper slip welded
• Top Spreader Bar – each with ‘T’ & one w/ slip welded
• Upper Upright – (simple lengths of pipe) I left these with no joints welded so I can adjust the frame height with different lengths of tubing for future indoor/outdoor use.
• Resting against the lower part of the saw horses are the feet that slide into the base of each upright

Tags: Hoist, Project, Tool

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