Having used both, I like the ceiling hoist a bit better. The main advantage
is that the legs on the HF folding shop crane are too high off the ground
to slide under the front of either of my British cars. To use the shop
crane, I had to put a couple of 4x8s under the wheels, both front and
back.
The ceiling hoist had the additional advantage of being able to lift the
engine higher. With the 4x8s under the wheels of the Healey, the
folding crane could just barely get the engine high enough for the
oil pan to clear the front opening of the shroud.
Peter Schauss
Long Island, NY
1963 BJ7
1980 MGB
----- Original Message -----
From: Douglas Shook <shook@usc.edu>
To: <shop-talk@autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, January 07, 2000 12:17 PM
Subject: Re: ceiling truss loading
>
>
> Robert Bownes wrote:
> >
> > Anyone know anything about loading formulas & trusses? I'm thinking
> > about an I beam all the way across the shop ceiling with a hoist and
> > roller for moving large stuff across the shop. I'd either have to build
> > all new supports for it or support it from the existing truss system
> > (pretty standard types of ceiling trusses built of 2x4's every 16").
> > Clearly the latter is *much* easier, but I'm wondering how much load I
> > can actually carry up there...
> >
> > iii
>
> Hi Robert,
>
> I posted a similar question a while back, and a sizable portion
> of the list recommended against a ceiling hoist in favor of a
> folding shop crane (the 1 to 2 ton wheeled engine cranes
> available from HF and others). The thinking was that they are
> more flexible (can be wheeled into most any position, say even
> outside the shop) and can be folded up and stored when not in
> use.
>
> Although I liked the notion of a ceiling hoist, when I compared
> the amount of work necessary to do it right and prices, the
> foldable wheeled shop cranes looked more and more attractive.
>
> regards,
>
> doug
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