Chain/Rope Hoist vs Lift (cherry picker)

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Dejure

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2025
Posts
477
Reaction score
925
Location
Eastern Washington
First Name
Kelly
Truck Year
1978
Truck Model
C15
Engine Size
350
Not ME!!!! I end up parking something dead under it then I block that in with more dead projects ahead and behind it.
So your hoist is/would be a lot like that kitchen cabinet over the fridge. . . .
 

Old Guy Bill

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2023
Posts
981
Reaction score
2,957
Location
KY
First Name
Bill
Truck Year
1978
Truck Model
K20
Engine Size
400
I'm a hoist guy, and always have been. My first real job so many decades ago taught me how useful they can be.
I currently have a Jib style crane in my shop and am installing another in my new building.
I do have a large heavy motor picker... I believe it has an outboard motor hanging on it the last five or six years at my dads home.
 

Turbo4whl

Full Access Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2019
Posts
4,026
Reaction score
10,211
Location
Downingtown, PA
First Name
Wayne
Truck Year
1974
Truck Model
Jimmy
Engine Size
350
Yeah, that storage thing is becoming a noticeable issue. Between the recently added over-engine creeper, the existing under-rig creeper, the engine stand, and parts storage, it's, all, starting to compromise my hording abilities.

Not ME!!!! I end up parking something dead under it then I block that in with more dead projects ahead and behind it.
Yes, garage is so full I work in the driveway. Winter time is a drag but more room outside.


So I guess it qualifies as a mobile cherry picker,

You must be registered for see images attach


1955 Holmes 330 bed accessory to go in my 1956 3800 long bed.


You must be registered for see images attach
 

Fat 454

Full Access Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2012
Posts
382
Reaction score
605
Location
Australia
First Name
Andy
Truck Year
1973
Truck Model
C20 Suburban
Engine Size
454
Would kill a Holmes twin boom for my K30 .. lovely ( interesting side note - if you watched the latest Mad Max movie - Furiousa - the twin boom holmes on the truck was for sale over here before they built all the movie vehicles, but I missed out on getting it .. )

Also in the club of too much hoarding and working outside due to "dead" projects in storage - must be a t shirt design in there somewhere ?..

We make do with a collapsable cherry picker, however would definitely go for a chain block if the barn had the height and length to build in a supporting frame - all a matter of $ I guess ( which would mean less projects and more building .. )
 

YakkoWarner

Full Access Member
Joined
May 29, 2024
Posts
644
Reaction score
1,051
Location
Central Texas
First Name
Wolf
Truck Year
1989
Truck Model
R2500 Suburban
Engine Size
454
I've used both - a really stout outdoor overhead beam with an A frame on each end welded up out of scrapped electrical tower angle iron with a massive I-beam (not copyrighted by Apple yet) across - my father and I picked up a lot of stuff with that thing including a whole truck on one occasion. Unfortunately when he passed I had no way to transport or store it. Also almost dropped an MGB engine on my head with it one weekend.....

My friend Dave had the 2 posts supporting a reinforced garage rafter, lifted everything from MGB engines to complete BBC/TH400 combos. I was a litle afraid of it because the rest of his garage was slowly falling down, but that reinforced beam and the 2 posts was solid.

I like and see a need for both. Right now I have a cherry picker because I have no place to build/use/store an overhead hoist. A good overhead hoist can be used to take a bed or cab off a frame (or anything else that can go straight up), with vehicles where you need to move the vehicle back as the engine/trans combo comes up and out, a cherry picker seems easier.
 

Dejure

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2025
Posts
477
Reaction score
925
Location
Eastern Washington
First Name
Kelly
Truck Year
1978
Truck Model
C15
Engine Size
350
Ordered a hoist from Northern the other day.

I got a whole lot of OSB from the discard piles around the house being built next door. Enough pieces I was able to cover the West, 30' wall, lay some over rafters at the east wall to store an 60's peddle car, Gobo lights, gas torches, trumpet, trombone. . . . and beef up the rafter joints.

Spent yesterday and today cutting OSB for wood plates over factory minimums.
 

Attachments

  • Hoist Brace-1.jpg
    Hoist Brace-1.jpg
    110.9 KB · Views: 37
  • Hoist Brace-2.jpg
    Hoist Brace-2.jpg
    131.9 KB · Views: 40
  • Hoist Brace-3.jpg
    Hoist Brace-3.jpg
    62.8 KB · Views: 36
  • Hoist Brace-5.jpg
    Hoist Brace-5.jpg
    84.4 KB · Views: 38

Turbo4whl

Full Access Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2019
Posts
4,026
Reaction score
10,211
Location
Downingtown, PA
First Name
Wayne
Truck Year
1974
Truck Model
Jimmy
Engine Size
350
Would kill a Holmes twin boom for my K30
I almost bought a twin screw 1981 GMC with a Holmes 850 twin boom but I could not find a place to store it. Couldn't park it at he house. It was cheap enough. Would have been a truck show piece!
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach


an 60's peddle car
It was hiding, but I found it!

You must be registered for see images attach
 

Dejure

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2025
Posts
477
Reaction score
925
Location
Eastern Washington
First Name
Kelly
Truck Year
1978
Truck Model
C15
Engine Size
350
Haaa!

People from around the U.S. used to send toys to my dad for restoration. My brother has the cool pedal cars and plane (first one to the estate and all). This is one them pappy restored, before he passed. Sadly, the house is too small to display it.
 

Dejure

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2025
Posts
477
Reaction score
925
Location
Eastern Washington
First Name
Kelly
Truck Year
1978
Truck Model
C15
Engine Size
350
Education, again and again, proves to be an endless thing.

As I look into the minute details of resorting to a hoist, versus relying on a cherry picker and what the factory provides, it becomes obvious nothing is as simple as it seems, if you want to do it well, safely and effectively.

As my posts indicate, I was beefing up the trusses that were not even designed to be load bearing for simple storage purposes.

From there, I considered obvious things like, a metal or aluminum plate over the lambeam I made, to stop the chain from eating away at it.

Next came searching a means of mounting a hoist, and the rabbit trails just grew. Hell, I had no clue of things like, grade 47, grade 70, grade 80 and grad 120 chains, or that anything less than 80 was not to be used to hoist, even though it was fine being employed as a safety measure against loss of a not insignificant trailer and load, or securing that load.

Then came the matter of how to join those chains. Nope, resorting to a grade 8 bolt, a few washers and a nut wouldn't fly, if you wanted to keep you and what you were hoisting safe.

Yep, grade 80 needs grade 80 link methods (duh), but comes the question of what kind are the accepted industry standard.

"Grade 80 Hammerlock/Connex/Chain Connector: These are engineered and rated for connecting Grade 80 chain ends, forming part of chain slings and assemblies for lifting. They’re assembled by aligning the halves, inserting a bushing and pin, then driving the pin flush with a hammer. The connection is strong and secure for critical lifting applications."
 
Last edited:

xm20k

Runs on 93 octane, caffeine, and spite
Supporting Member
Joined
May 26, 2025
Posts
1,111
Reaction score
2,856
Location
Girard, Ohio
First Name
David
Truck Year
78
Truck Model
c10
Engine Size
388
I have a 2-ton cherry picker converted from hydraulic to air and a 2.5-ton chain hoist that has both the chain and ratcheting arm to operate it. The hoist I can't use in the current garage not enough height but I do have an adjustable swing set style frame so I can use it basically anywhere as long as you can roll the vehicle out from under it. The old place had a 3" diameter 1/4 wall section of DOM Tubing anchored in the V of 4 doubled-up rafters to run the hoist from. Also never had that bay blocked in as it was a 4-bay garage so plenty of room to park and work on my junk.

I miss my big garage. Can't park the truck in the current garage and close the door because the truck sticks out 2-3 feet. LOL Too much crap in there now to get the truck in there even if I wanted to at this point.

Considering building a bigger garage/pole building behind the current garage and taking this little garage down once it's done which would also give me more driveway space.
 

waterpirate

Full Access Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2019
Posts
1,308
Reaction score
3,487
Location
delaware
First Name
Eric
Truck Year
1987
Truck Model
v10
Engine Size
5.7 tbi
Education, again and again, proves to be an endless thing.

As I look into the minute details of resorting to a hoist, versus relying on a cherry picker and what the factory provides, it becomes obvious nothing is as simple as it seems, if you want to do it well, safely and effectively.

As my posts indicate, I was beefing up the trusses that were not even designed to be load bearing for simple storage purposes.

From there, I considered obvious things like, a metal or aluminum plate over the lambeam I made, to stop the chain from eating away at it.

Next came searching a means of mounting a hoist, and the rabbit trails just grew. Hell, I had no clue of things like, grade 47, grade 70, grade 80 and grad 120 chains, or that anything less than 80 was not to be used to hoist, even though it was fine being employed as a safety measure against loss of a not insignificant trailer and load, or securing that load.

Then came the matter of how to join those chains. Nope, resorting to a grade 8 bolt, a few washers and a nut wouldn't fly, if you wanted to keep you and what you were hoisting safe.

Yep, grade 80 needs grade 80 link methods (duh), but comes the question of what kind are the accepted industry standard.

"Grade 80 Hammerlock/Connex/Chain Connector: These are engineered and rated for connecting Grade 80 chain ends, forming part of chain slings and assemblies for lifting. They’re assembled by aligning the halves, inserting a bushing and pin, then driving the pin flush with a hammer. The connection is strong and secure for critical lifting applications."
Every rabbit hole comes with free education and a varying level of frustration before you get the rabbit.
Eric
 

Rickf

Full Access Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2017
Posts
655
Reaction score
864
Location
Grafton NH
First Name
Rick
Truck Year
1974, 1954 & a 1937
Truck Model
K20
Engine Size
350
I have both. I used the gantry to hold up the lift arms on my skid steer when the cylinders needed to be re-sealed. I used the cherry picker to remove the bed off my K10.
 

straydog371

Supporting Member
Army Law Enforcement Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2023
Posts
90
Reaction score
255
Location
WNY
First Name
Kerry
Truck Year
1978
Truck Model
K10
Engine Size
350
Here's my setup...my brother-in law and I built the 40'x40' barn 20+ years ago. During construction we set a couple of 6x6 treated posts to span 18' for the I-beam I had. If I remember correctly I found the trolley on Northern Tool. Chain hoist purchased on eBay a LONG time ago.
I also used it for raising the box off my K10 so I could clean and paint the frame, it worked slick!
Plenty of other uses...with a gambrel its handy for skinning deer.
 

Attachments

  • Buck.JPG
    Buck.JPG
    120.7 KB · Views: 41
  • Chain Hoist.jpeg
    Chain Hoist.jpeg
    169.5 KB · Views: 38
  • Chain Host-1.jpeg
    Chain Host-1.jpeg
    186 KB · Views: 36

Dejure

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2025
Posts
477
Reaction score
925
Location
Eastern Washington
First Name
Kelly
Truck Year
1978
Truck Model
C15
Engine Size
350
Saaaweeet.

Interestingly, there are two somewhat light weight, in the scheme of such, I-beams out back. They're only about 14' long and rusted, but not enough to have affected their potential use for some project like this. Someone dumped them in the "greenbelt," over a decade back, so they are free game. Was debating on adding one to the fray.

Since I'm still playing (I always prefer overkill over taking chances. I'll use three ratchet straps where most would use two, and so on), I may yet get that energetic.
 
Last edited:

Dejure

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2025
Posts
477
Reaction score
925
Location
Eastern Washington
First Name
Kelly
Truck Year
1978
Truck Model
C15
Engine Size
350
I have a 2-ton cherry picker converted from hydraulic to air and a 2.5-ton chain hoist that has both the chain and ratcheting arm to operate it. The hoist I can't use in the current garage not enough height but I do have an adjustable swing set style frame so I can use it basically anywhere as long as you can roll the vehicle out from under it. The old place had a 3" diameter 1/4 wall section of DOM Tubing anchored in the V of 4 doubled-up rafters to run the hoist from. Also never had that bay blocked in as it was a 4-bay garage so plenty of room to park and work on my junk.

I miss my big garage. Can't park the truck in the current garage and close the door because the truck sticks out 2-3 feet. LOL Too much crap in there now to get the truck in there even if I wanted to at this point.

Considering building a bigger garage/pole building behind the current garage and taking this little garage down once it's done which would also give me more driveway space.
and then there is dealing with Bugs B.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
48,416
Posts
1,066,924
Members
42,801
Latest member
rafamartz
Top