Has anyone seen a griphoist being used ?
It seems to be the perfect tool for a lot of work I need to do.
It’s quite expensive, though.
If someone here has used one, or has seen one used, please let me know.
I am hoping to find a used one, cheap.
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Replies
Had to scroogle that. Very interesting: http://tinyurl.com/2gth4o
4 ton working, 59 lbs, 6'/min, 30' cable. That's serious. Another one was 2 ton working, 41 lbs, 8'/min, and 60' of cable.
My first grab is generally a quality cable comealong from Bailey's in Oregon. 40' cable. I've found the $20 cheapies don't last long. If the object's heavy, a lever handle chain hoist, or few. Something you want to latch on to when you find a used one.
Needed to straighten my truck bed side. 3 ton chain hoist hooked to a tree. Pulled the truck sideways. That's a 7 ton truck. Love leverage.
If you find an extra used griphoist, holler.
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
I haven't found the first one yet.;o)I've pulled a truck sideways about 15 feet before, using a come-along, some chain, some cable, and a couple pulleys. (Snatch blocks.)Pulled a tree stump last weekend. Pulled a blazer up a steep hill on saturday.I REALLY need to find an easier way to do this. And electric winches are pretty much out of the question.
Fight fire with water.
I REALLY need to find an easier way to do this. And electric winches are pretty much out of the question.
Got a truck PTO? Direct-drive winches are wonderful. The one on my truck dragged my 16,000 lb (dead) crawler up my 14% slope driveway. Had to chain the azz of the truck to a succession of trees to get around the curves. Otherwise the truck got dragged downhill, with 10 tires locked up.
I've only got 1 snatch block, you're better equipped. But with my 200' of cable I safely pulled this oak that was leaning over my copper roof. Fell the opposite direction. Deuce-and-a-half with a winch and you'd be in business.
That tree yielded 1½ cords and a real nice 38' butt log. Delivered the firewood to the guy helping, who's gonna bring his chainsaw mill over to cut large beams.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
No truck pto. No way to get a truck in there close enough for even an "olympic reverse twist and double backflip" kinda snatch... anyway. (It was pulled and pushed to where it is with a treaded dozer. The dozer is not available anymore. And besides, it did some big damage to the trailer, and the drive, in the process. And it had gotten the trailer as far as it could anyway.)I have an alder that looks to be pretty much exactly the same size as your oak, that has to come down before I move the trailer, as well. I've never climbed one and gotten the rigging high enough to actually pull the tree over, before. I might try that with this one. Otherwise, it stands a great chance of going the opposite direction from where I want it, and that will take out the power and phone, and block the road until I get it cut out of the way. That could get expensive.
Fight fire with water.
Academic, as you don't have a truck, but the method is to park the truck wherever you can, downhill from the trailer would be fine. Then you snatchblock off trees (or anything stationary) to pull the trailer wherever you want it. I've occasionally exceeded my 200' of cable. Simple to extend.
There's always a way. Sometimes requires more blocks.
Couple of yrs ago I pulled a shed delivery trailer and dually backwards into the desired spot when he couldn't get anywhere close. Driver had no idea what could be done. My truck wasn't anywhere close to the drop site, sitting on the subdivision road. I told him to help out if he could, but he was going where I pulled. No choice. That was one of those times the HO was very fortunate to have called me. After placing the shed, I had to pull the delivery rig out. He thought his truck would go anywhere. Nope.
I don't do heights well. 25' up a tree is about it for me. Leverage is short when there's another 50' of tree, but when you pull hard it still works. I used 2 cables/pullers that time to make sure I didn't wipe out my electric transformer. Cut the wedge, make the hinge, then pull the tree over with the cable(s). Guy helping me was scared, but I had him in my truck aways up the driveway with the truck nosed into a tree. Half hour to set up, smooth fall.
Used a lot of red alder when we lived in Denver. Very nice secondary wood.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
There's always a way. True.That is what I was referring to as the "olympic reverse twist and double backflip" kinda snatch... I don't have the trees, in the right places, and I don't have enough rigging to do the job that way, with a truck. Besides, it would take a lot bigger truck than what I have. Nor do I have that monster winch on it like you do.I know how to do this stuff. I am very good at it. If I rule something out, it is not because I do not know how to do it. It is simply because I do not have the resources to do it that way.It would cost as much to buy all the extra rigging I would need to do it that way, as it would cost to buy a griphoist.~~~I'll get it figured out and moved one way or another.;o)~~~Red alder is exactly what I have all over this property. And exactly what I have to bring down, soon.
Fight fire with water.
I own one, Jeff -
whatcha wanting to move?
got it several years ago on the advice of some employees who had used them trailbuilding in wilderness areas (no power alowed) - they use them to move trees, logs, rocks, whatever - they are amazing tools -
the skinny: - they are powerful and versatile, but slow - to make the tool itself effective, you also need (excuse my vocabulary, I make not recall some proper names) 'guying straps' - wide flat nylon straps ~6-8' long with loops in both ends - for anchoring - for the 'snatch block' (see below), and possibly for the load -
as I recall, the machine comes with a 25' cable - way too short for a lot of tasks, so plan on ordering a 100' cable, and maybe a longer one than that, if your tasks require it - the cable has to be fed thru the machine as you set up your job, so an extra hundred feet can get in the way, but it's better to have too much than not enough -
a snatch block (a pulley with a hook) - a force multiplier - for the big jobs -
you could hang a truck out of a tree with one of these machines without breaking a sweat - but it is 1/4" at a stroke - smooth controlled operation, both in forward and reverse -
I'd be happy to answer an specific questions - I bet Zak has used one too -
I need to move a 47 foot rv trailer.Uphill.Ok, I'll stop and explain a couple things here.I went to the doc about being short of breath. Not just simple shortness of breath. I get so out of breath after swinging a mattock just 7 or 8 times, that I am close to blacking out. This is no small thing.Doc said it wasn't because I am fat. Said it wasn't because I had emphysema or anything else of that sort. (Emphysema killed my dad.) Said it's my heart.I don't like it but it makes sense. The shortness of breath has gotten worse over the years as my heart has gotten worse.Anyway... Point is, I need to simplify my work as much as possible.When using a come-along, I do a lot more work just having to walk around the load, resetting blocks and such things as that, every time I come to the end of the 3 feet of travel the come-along gives you.Like the blazer I pulled up the hill on saturday.I had to set all the rigging. (Took me hours because I have to rest along the way.)Then I work the come-along. 3 feet of travel.Go reset wheel blocks, then reset the rigging.Then another 3 feet.I did this 9 times.If I had had a griphoist, I could have set the rigging, and then been done with the job in a third of the time or less, because I would simply keep going until the job was done.Two things has me looking for the griphoist. *My come alongs are broken. (I was taking a chance using the one I used saturday. It is being held by only one pawl, since the other broke completely off. I had to reset deadman catchs with chains every time I reset the rigging...)And, *I am looking at pulling that 47 foot trailer up a hill as soon as I can rig it and get it moving.So I need a new come-along at the very least, and since I am looking at a -big- job, I need a good one. I found out about the grip hoist while looking for come-alongs online.~~~May be interesting to some here...I built a 5th wheel trailer "tow-dolly".I have a 5th wheel hitch. I bolted that to a real old utility trailer that surprisingly seems to have been made for the purpose. LOLWhen I am ready to move this, it will be made a lot easier with that "dolly".Still need a reliable come-along, or preferably a grip hoist if I can find one cheap enough.~~~I have three large logging blocks. (One 8 inch pulley, one 10 inch, and one 18 inch.) Plus a more modern snatch block, rated for 4 tons. I have a couple hundred feet of various size cables. One piece is nearly 100 feet and is stainless. I have a plethera of shackles. I have chains. A choker cable. (3/4" cable with forged ends made especially for choking around a stump and becoming the anchor point. And I only use stumps, not live trees.) Etc. And I know how to use all of it. I -have- used all of it. For logging. And for various jobs like the pickup, the blazer, and the stump.~~~Slow, I don't mind. I can more easily stand there and operate the hoist once it is set up, than I can run around resetting the rigging and such. I am still stronger than I have any fair right to be. If the griphoist is not more difficult to operate than a comparable come-along, then I should have no problem.I've already hung a truck out of a tree as well. LOL Also flipped one over several times. Both sideways and end for end. I do know what I am doing, and am capable. I am just looking for and hoping for a way to work even smarter than I already do.I only get about 1/2" of travel every time I pull the come-along handle. So that doesn't bother me either. Is it easier to pull than a comparable come-along ? The same ?
Fight fire with water.
the griphoist works easily - load dependent, of course, but the handle telescopes out to 3' or so, so lots of leverage, and it moves the cable on both the for and back stroke - for reverse you move the handle to a different lever -
there is a shear pin where the lever attaches to the hoist to keep the load within limits -
our email has been down since last thursday (can recieve, but not send) - I've got some stuff for you when we get back functioning -
"there's enough for everyone"
Thank you.I've continued the search and everyone who mentions it says the pull is easier than a standard come-along and that they have never sheared the shear pin in years of use.Stuff ? Great !!! Have you decided on an overal sort of design yet ?=0)
Fight fire with water.
Hey Luka,
We use them quite a bit and rent them from a staging rental house. Try calling around to some rental houses as they are allways upgrading equipment.
On a hill by the harbour
Very good idea.I'll look in the rental section of the phone book and see if anyone has even heard of one before.I'd never heard of one until I started this search for a better come-along. No one else I know around here, has ever heard of one either.
Fight fire with water.
I have spent many, many hours cranking grip hoists- I love those things. Jet makes a version, too- it's pretty good, though not quite the real thing.
I don't have much time to reply now, but I was thinking you should also think about a chainsaw hoist- just a come along powered by a chainsaw. Much faster, y'know.
You can buy cable for grip hoists without paying their prices- just make sure it's the right size. If I remember correctly, grip hoist cable is always in sixteenths, so you have to go to a good rigging shop to find the cable. Then the end needs to be brazed into a taper to make it fit through the machine.
zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
Thanks Zak.Chainsaw hoist. Well, what everything is coming down to, is pretty much what it always comes down to for me. It's all too expensive.Here is the cheapest price I have found a 3500lb griphoist for...http://www.extremeoutback.com/index.cgi?cart_id=2784729.5484&pid=49$389.95 That does include 60 feet of cable, already prepped and sized for the hoist. Combine that with what I have, and it would pretty much do any job I wanted it to. (And I wouldn't even have to paint it bright orange like I do with all of my good tools that I use outside. LOL)~~~Coming down to cost...It's looking like I am going to have to just get another regular come-along.And/or a new deep cycle battery, so I can use an electric winch. My electric is only 1500lbs rated. But I suppose it has a chance of moving that trailer if I rig it with every pulley I have.A good deep cycle battery will cost a lot less than one of these griphoists. (And can be rigged to keep charged up, and provide me with some emergency power when the power goes out. So that would be two birds with one stone.)I can't afford the griphoist. Guess I'll just let that go. It's good to know about, though, and I'll recognize it now, for what it is, if I ever run across a used one.=0)
Fight fire with water.
Have you looked on EBay?
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&satitle=griphoist&category0=_______________________________________________________________
"The artist is not a person endowed with free will who seeks his own ends, but one who allows art to realize its purposes through him. As a human being he may have moods and a will and personal aims, but as an artist he is "man" in a higher sense - he is "collective man," a vehicle and moulder of the unconscious psychic life of mankind." - Carl Jung
Yep, I looked there.I would go for either one of the two cheapest ones there. But they are NOT going to go for the low prices they look like they will go for.At the prices those are now, and the prices I expect them to get up to in the last few seconds, it would be just as well to buy a new one from the link I gave earlier. These are used. You have no idea what kind of damage may have been done to them. If they cost half or more as much as a new one, you are better off with a new one.That said, if ether one of the two cheapest ones were "buy now" at the prices they are now, (80.00 and 150.00), I'd have already been digging out a credit card...One hitch in that plan would probably be the fact they do not have any cable with them. I'd have to buy cable if what I have doesn't fit. That would get them up to almost the price of new, if not more.
Fight fire with water.
First of all, I should mention that that regarding Griphoists- the things are incredibly durable, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy a used one. At the bridge company I worked at, we had more griphoists than we had employees- I think we had 3 little ones, one medium, and one large (thing weighed around 90 lbs without cable or handle). I've broken shear pins, but everything else just kept on working, and all of these machines looked like they had fallen off a bridge or two in their lives.
Pacific Industrial, down on 4th in Seattle, is a decent place to look for them. They have some used ones sometimes (ask for them if you don't see any- sometimes I've seen a shopping cart full, other times there are none), they have the cheaper Jet griphoist, and they could sell you cable for it too.zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
I LIKE Pacific Industrial !!!I used to go there every week, and drool.I knew these things looked strangely familiar, but I couldn't remember where I'd seen one. I'm guessing that was it.I heard they closed down.I guess I'll have to find their phone number and call and ask if they have any. I can't afford to drive all the way in there just to look and see if they have any.Thanks Zak.=0)
Fight fire with water.
I can't imagine that that place closed down. . . it would take years just to clean the place up enough to put anything else there!
I love that place too. But it takes too long looking for someone to get a price on anything.zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
Apparently they only moved.They are now on south director street.Pacific Industrial Supply
1231 S Director
Seattle, WA 98108
Phone: 206.682.2100
Fax: 206.623.2173
Hours: M-F 7:30 - 5:30, Sat 9:00 - 3:00
*Directions from our old 4th Ave location:
-South on 4th Avenue
-Curve left onto E Marginal towards Boeing Field
-Right on 16th Ave S (across South Park Bridge)
-Stay straight/slight left to go onto 14th Ave S
-Right on S Director, large building on left (formerly Precision Engineering)
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I got through to Pacific industrial today.They do not have any. They sold the last one they had just a few days ago. They don't know when they'll get any in surplus again.He started to order a new one from jet before I realized what he was doing. I stopped that, immediately. LOLFrom jet it would have been 800 dollars or more.When Pacific has them surplus, they are 200 dollars or more.Rather than spend 200 on a used griphoist, then another 100 on used cable from them.. I think I'd buy the "tuff pull" for 389.00, and have a brand new one. Cable and all.http://www.extremeoutback.com/index.cgi?cart_id=2784729.5484&pid=49When all is said and done... I'll be doing without. I'll just have to figure out how to do the job with what I have on hand. It isn't impossible. And I rather enjoy the challenge anyway.Thanks to everyone.=0)
Fight fire with water.
Found their number right away, and called them.Too late. They're closed. LOLI'll call them tomorrow.Thanks again.
Fight fire with water.
Luka,
http://www.trailservices.com sells Griphoists, chainsaw winches and the accessories.
He usually stocks some rebuilds. He has used Griphoists for years and gives seminars on them all over the US. He'll answer any questions you might have.
Thank you.There is very little on that page.And the only links I saw on the page are for email and fax.
Fight fire with water.
He has a good catalog he'll mail to you. No online catalog.
Thank you.
Fight fire with water.