On Saturday I purchased a #50 little giant hammer. I drove my truck to pick it up and after a half hour of blocking and strapping so as it was secure and on its face with no weight on the flywheel or other moving parts I drove on home. Upon reaching home the fact dawned on me that I do not own nor do I know anyone who does own a forklift or similar piece of machinery(that

Faced wioth the same problem a few years back I called a car towing company that had one of the older telescoping boom trucks it will lift 10,000 pounds fully extended. They came out in a couple of hours took care of business and wanted to charge me $20......I doubled it....

Yeah, call a towing company, ask them if the have a wrecker (usually used to move semi's). I loaded a 30,000lb generator with one onto a flatbed trailer with little issue. The problem then becomes how to get it into place. My suggestion is Hilman Rollers. I have a set and have moved everything from large transformers to 6000lb electric motors with them. There might be a place in your area that will rent them for the day, considering that the cheapest you'll find them for is $900. If you're brave you could always use the old pipe roller trick, but I don't know if I'd risk dropping the hammer on its side.

Good Answer

Tow truck worked for me.

i slid mine out with a comalong... it wasnt too bad slid it till the back end could tilt down of course it was laid down in the truck on one side ... didnt do much blocking it kinda scratched up the truck bed ..be suprised what you can do if ya only have mussle and time...if you have a engine hoist ide ite the hammer to post in shop use hoist to lignten hammer drife truck out from under ut slowly till base clears bumper slowly let it down so base is touching ground ... now you should be able to tip it upright without too much trouble ...now depending on what surface you have you should be able to walk it with a lever (long pribar under base ) be careful and have help ... good luck!

I've moved lots of heavy stuff lots of ways. You have 3 basic methods to choose from, starting with the most expensive but safest and going down to least expensive but most dangerous.

1. Hydraulic power. Hire a crane, tow truck, forklift, tractor with a loader, back-hoe, etc. Expensive but FAST and fairly safe if the operator knows his job. Stay out from under the load at all times.

2. Modern secondary methods. Com-a-long hoists, electric winches, engine lifts, etc. along with tripod or scaffolding or attached to a building as a lift point. More chance of old or damaged or overloaded equipment or insufficient load capacity of load bearing points.

3. Egyptian slave method. Lots of strong backs with levers, pipe rollers, and ramps. Unless well orchestrated a good chance of strained backs and crushed toes or worse. Popular due to low cost. Truth be told I moved my 2000# (gross) power hammer into my shop by myself with this method.

Hope this helps.

If you are considering the Hilman rollers after you get it out you'll find they are somewhat less expensive on eBay.

Leverage and balance points. And doing it safely.

I've moved a 25# Little Giant and a Star 50# by myself. I "walked" the 25 into my pickup, and lifted it up with crossed ladders (with guy-ropes) and a come-a-long, drove out from under it, then "walked" it into place. The 50 Star I tipped it onto the back of my pickup, and used levers to slide it up and into the bed. At home I slid it back until it tipped down, stood it up, and walked it into place (on planks on top of the ground).

Care. Planning. And an eye to safety.

I know a guy who hauled a 50# Little Giant in the back of a Blazer! Yes, it did "stress" the springs.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' german blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

I built a very simple A from from 4x4's and 2 2x8's. I used a chain fall to lift the hammer and set in to the truck. It took about 20 min.

brad

I built a take-down gantry using two A-frames made with boiler tubing and a 4x12 wood beam.
Warren

BE CAREFULL WHAT EVER MEATHOD YOU USE!!!!
Personally, I like a fork lift and chain. If you don't have that, take your time and think it through, when 1700#s starts to move on its own, well, lets just say, it can be nasty!

If you do use a wood "A" frame, be sure the wood has knots no bigger than 1/3 of the total valume in that section and put the biggest knots facing up or out as this is the strongest orientation. Wood is crap these days....

Tom Clark used to have a wrecher unload hammers if a tractor or fork lift wasnt avalible
Another freind I knew used a tripod of 2 or 3 inch pipe and a chain lift

But as already pointed out be very carefull. If something that heavy starts to slip dont grab it or get beween it and waht ever it is going to hit

You have a considerable investment in the power hammer. Why risk damaging your investment, breaking it beyond repair or injuring yourself or others by going cheap on moving it. Bite the bullet and pay the price to have someone with the right equipment unload it for you.

On Saturday I purchased a #50 little giant hammer. I drove my truck to pick it up and after a half hour of blocking and strapping so as it was secure and on its face with no weight on the flywheel or other moving parts I drove on home. Upon reaching home the fact dawned on me that I do not own nor do I know anyone who does own a forklift or similar piece of machinery(that

Do you know anyone with a truck that has gin poles? Pick it up ,drive out from under it set on 2" sec.80 pipe and roll in the shop . thats how I unloaded a 100# LG

Thanks for all the info and great ideas. I called a few tow truck companies and while it was cheaper than renting a fork lift they still wanted $100. So for a mixture of economy and speed, as rain was forecast for tonight and I really wanted to get it out of the truck, I built up my scaffolding with stair treads and cinderblocks and then laid 3 2x8

Edited March 31, 200917 yr by thorssmith

Nice hammer , you guys are brave.

... I built up my scaffolding with stair treads and cinderblocks ...

Thanks again for all the help
Jason

You do know that's the wrong way to position cinderblocks to take a load, right? I've had a few crumble when using them the wrong way...

Glad it worked this time!

Nice hammer, I love the descriptions of how everyone has dealt with these situations. A wonderfully resourceful and inventive group.

GREAT PICTURE'S.. AND A FINE LOOKING POWER HAMMER.. and as mentioned above you a darn lucky those blocks didn't collapse on you... They are not built to with stand weight on the sides.. Glad it all worked out for you, and looking forward to seeing some of the work you'll be doing.