# Show me your truck mounted hive loaders?



## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

a couple of threads, lost one


http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?247787-Truck-Mounted-Cranes&highlight=loader

Ian has posted pictures of his in action, probably on his web site or ask him with a pm.


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

I manage my operation around mine


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Ian, How far away from the truck will the boom reach? There are times when a truck like that would be way handier than dragging a forklift around.


----------



## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

Both arms of the knuckle are 8"long..
However since the unfurled boom begins in the middle of the bed you can reach 12 feet from the side of the truck next to the boom.
You can reach 16' back. So if you have a 14' bed you will be able to lower hives all the way around the bed.
Remember that the boom works in a circle.
So at the back corner of the bed you cannot reach much past the bed.

Here is one pattern (there are many more) that I have used for drops around a field.


----------



## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

jim lyon said:


> There are times when a truck like that would be way handier than dragging a forklift around.











That is my attitude exactly, when I take bees to carrots in the desert.
Loat the truck with a forklift.
Throw on one empty pallet.
Drive 175 miles.
Throw the empty pallet on the ground and begin unloading off of pallets back onto pallets.
Why do I load them on pallets when I get there you ask?
I do so as a safety margin so that any beekeeper could load them If I got in a pinch.(or croaked)

When it is time to remove them I return with one empty pallet and do the reverse.
When I get back home, just throw them on the ground with a forklift.


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

jim lyon said:


> Ian, How far away from the truck will the boom reach? There are times when a truck like that would be way handier than dragging a forklift around.


Ya that's why I like it. But you would need to run 2 way hive pallets, 4 ways are too much. 
I built my new deck on my updated truck to fit 6 rows on 17' working deck.


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

What are those rated for at full extension? We would use it a lot to set 4 way pallet of singles which wouldnt be any heavier than 300 lbs.


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

650 lbs anywhere. I know a guy that uses 4 way singles and uses the loader to move the yards as singles. 
I move my doubles stacked up with 4 boxes quite often... If they are too full it gets a bit touchy...


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)




----------



## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

Lift capacity also depends on the model that you purchase.
Ian has model 300. It is rated for 300KG
My loader is model 200 and is rated for 200KG
They also make a 125.

One should carefully consider the truck that you mount one of these on.
My loader weighs over 1000lbs. So that is 1000 pounds of beehives that you cannot carry if you have to cross scales.
Ian has not a worry in the world with that bad-boy truck of his.
But if one were to mount one on something like an F-350, they would be severely limited.

It is also possible to mount one of these at the rear of your bed. Then you could also load your trailer.
I wouldn't care for that, but it is possible.


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Mine unit is 600lbs


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

How about height? 3 doubles or 5 singles would require clearance of between 6 and 7 feet.


----------



## sakhoney (Apr 3, 2016)

Boys I like those lifts - but I'll just stick with my skid steer


----------



## kilocharlie (Dec 27, 2010)

Ian - what truck year & model is that?


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

jim lyon said:


> How about height? 3 doubles or 5 singles would require clearance of between 6 and 7 feet.


I can stack 4 singles within reach, I stack 3 high just for ease of use.


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

kilocharlie said:


> Ian - what truck year & model is that?


2005 c5500 Crew Durmax Allison auto trans 4x4


----------



## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

Ian said:


> Mine unit is 600lbs


Mine is 440#


----------



## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

jim lyon said:


> How about height? 3 doubles or 5 singles would require clearance of between 6 and 7 feet.


If you look at the picture of my hives in the desert; those doublestacked incuding pallets are about as high as mine goes.

BUT REMEMBER, the boom rotates on a level plane.
If the truck is pointed uphill, the boom is higher off of the bed than if the truck is pointed downhill.
If you are loading with the truck pointed downhill you can end up with a big surprise!


----------



## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

There are many, many cool (and goofy) things that you can do with a boom that a forklift won't touch.

A friend of mine has been a beekeeper for over 60 years. He only keeps a handful of hives these days.
He keeps them in a row on railroad ties across a fence that borders his driveway.
Several times, I have pulled my rig alongside the fence with him on the hive side and me on the truck side and we boomed them right over the fence and onto the truck.
Also, there was one year that I was asked if I could boom hives across a ditch in the carrots in the desert.
It sounded like a weird request.
They had one field that was quite large and had no really good place or way to place bees on one side.
It turned out to be a small ditch but totally impassable by forklift.
They were really happy for the solution.
The only other way would have been hand loading.


----------



## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

I'm in the equipment business and I have a boom truck bed sitting at my shop. I have never once considered it being used as a commercial bee hauling bed. Me thinks I need to post it in the classifieds.


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Harry add this one to your list of unique used. One year we had a flash flood and one stream bank spilt over flooding one of my apiaries. 
2:00 in the morning we found it during our emergency yard check round.... The hives were literally floating in the water, the bees crammed up in the top 2" of the boxes. We slowly drove the truck into the water into the floating apiary and gently picked the hives out of the water, so gently not to submerse them. 
Saved the yard, dried out the hives the next morning but I got a heck of a cold having to work in that cold flood water that night. 



This was one of the times I was not in the mood of taking pics... But my brother snapped this one


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

This is the main reason I use a boom loader 



Keeps me walking straight at the end of a honey season


----------



## hex0rz (Jan 14, 2014)

Ian said:


> This is the main reason I use a boom loader
> 
> 
> 
> Keeps me walking straight at the end of a honey season


This is you banking the supers on hives for doing bee escapes to harvest them, right?


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Ya, lifting the honey boxes, couple empty under the escape, honey back ontop, 2 days later we strip the yards, no bees no lifting


----------



## zhiv9 (Aug 3, 2012)

Any thoughts on new vs used? Is this something you should buy new or is it worth looking around for a used Ezyloader?


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Like everything else there are updates. And like everything else there are price increases. These units are made pretty basic and stock. Long as it's not bent and the electrical is fine, I wouldn't be afraid of used.


----------



## JodieToadie (Dec 26, 2013)

...It was a long winter. Boredom overtook us and we began to weld.


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Great job! 
What's your reach? 
What kind of max lift do you think it has?


----------



## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

Would a boom that didn't bend in the middle work?


----------



## JodieToadie (Dec 26, 2013)

Ian said:


> Great job!
> What's your reach?
> What kind of max lift do you think it has?


It's somewhere in the vicinity of 15'6' reach. I had the lincoln ranger on the end with a full tank of fuel so it was well over 500 lbs. I am slowly painting it and getting it assembled, but now the bees are out I am much more interested in that. I have managed to get a remote control working.


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

you look pritty hand with metal working


----------



## CoryM465 (Jan 26, 2016)

More of a curiosity question then anything... Has anyone done or thought about mounting one of these easy loaders on a trailer. I'm thinking something like a 24' Goose neck trailer.


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

CoryM465 said:


> More of a curiosity question then anything... Has anyone done or thought about mounting one of these easy loaders on a trailer. I'm thinking something like a 24' Goose neck trailer.


Lots of guys do trailer mounts here


----------



## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Here is one ...









photo linked from this thread

More threads with truck/trailer mounted loaders: http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?323428-Hive-Truck-Trailer-Boom-Loaders


----------



## JodieToadie (Dec 26, 2013)

Here's an image of it painted (Horrible mess) but still not full assembled.


----------



## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

I just have to say how much I respect someone that has the guts, motivation, skills and high level of expertise that it takes to fabricate fine equipment.

Sorry! I was talking about myself! :w

Seriously, it looks very well done from what can be seen in a picture.

Let me give you a little leveling tip if you haven't thought of this already:
You can go to a camper supply store and buy a couple of cheap, stick-on level indicators for a few bucks each.
Perfectly level your x-y yolk and then stick them with the indicator leveled, facing the drivers side and the other facing the rear of the truck.
You will get a lot of use out of those, especially in set-up.
Once in a while my Ezy-Loader loses its level calibration such as when I disconnect the batteries.
The little indicators come in handy until you have a minute to calibrate.

Anyway, GOOD JOB!!!


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Jodie where did you find the specs?


----------



## JodieToadie (Dec 26, 2013)

Ian said:


> Jodie where did you find the specs?



Well Ian I wish I could say that I had someone here locally that had a hoist I could copy. But alas I didn't so I took a look at different machines and pictures. (Including yours, I cannot tell a lie) on the internet. I did a couple sketches and guessed at material. Went to good old princess auto and bought and exchanged repeatedly. Finally by trial and error I got something that would work. I learned a lot about machining. Pipe is not round, specialty bearings aren't cheap, and machining is unavoidable.


----------



## JodieToadie (Dec 26, 2013)

Thank you Harry!


----------



## My-smokepole (Apr 14, 2008)

So how about a build list of parts that worked. When you have time. More talking about bearings.


----------



## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

JodieToadie said:


> Well Ian I wish I could say that I had someone here locally that had a hoist I could copy. But alas I didn't so I took a look at different machines and pictures. (Including yours, I cannot tell a lie) on the internet. I did a couple sketches and guessed at material. Went to good old princess auto and bought and exchanged repeatedly. Finally by trial and error I got something that would work. I learned a lot about machining. Pipe is not round, specialty bearings aren't cheap, and machining is unavoidable.


I'd like to see a video of the working machine when your done. What did you use for the main bearing?


----------



## bentonbee (Jan 31, 2007)

Thanks for sharing everyone! Man this is interesting. I have always thought it would be nice to have one, since seeing the old photos of Kelley's he made back many many years ago. They were not foldable like the nice ones you guys have.
Mike


----------



## Kamon A. Reynolds (Apr 15, 2012)

Do you all have a preferred brand or company if you dont mind pointing me in the right direction. Great thread. My back is envious


----------



## hex0rz (Jan 14, 2014)

MY question is what kind of money he saved by building his own compared to buying one!


----------



## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

Tennessee's Bees LLC said:


> Do you all have a preferred brand or company if you dont mind pointing me in the right direction. Great thread. My back is envious


here is one of the dealers

http://www.herbee.com/page6.htm


----------



## Kamon A. Reynolds (Apr 15, 2012)

Thanks.


----------

