> 2500 by hand! You remind me of a friend of mine that runs 200-300 > hives and loads by hand. I've been trying to get him to let me help > him in designing and building an electric boom so he's able to enjoy > his "golden years" without wearing a brace. If you can weld or > invest in a little shop time it's well worth the time and money. FWIW I still have a few pictures of some details of my loader on www.internode.net/~allend/loader1.jpg www.internode.net/~allend/loader2.jpg www.internode.net/~allend/loader3.jpg That I put there for a fellow to use in building one. Unfortunately the second roll of film didn't turn out, but I do have an ascii drawing of the hold-down construction that I'll send to anyone interested (email me privately). The cradle design came from California originally, I believe, and it is very handy, because one can pick up a standard hive from two to five boxes high, and when it is in the air, it is very secure and unlikely to come apart or fall over, etc. We were using the loader much less since we went to four hives on a pallet, but we are now moving 1,000 such hives (packages) out using a forklift to load, and the loader to unload, since this saves hauling a forklift up and down the highway. We might start using the loader for loading too, because it looks faster and less likely to damage pallets, but it is more work -- and less fun -- and requires careful levelling for such weights to be easily manoeverable. We were only able to lift single hives previously, but I just (several days ago) built a larger version of the cradle shown (but with no hold down) that lifts 48" X 40" pallets. The (homemade) loader shown on the site listed above lifts 250 pounds or so at the *end* of a 19 foot boom, so that is enough for four singles -- and possibly hungry doubles -- on a pallet. If we pin or chain the boom so that the trolley cannot accidently go past 3/4 way out, we can get the load up to 330 pounds or so. Pallets weigh 50lbs each, so that leaves 280lbs to be divided between 4 hives. At the 1/2 point, we get 500 pounds -- but of course, we are getting to a pretty small circle -- 19 foot diameter, 9.5 foot radius, and that is good only for putting things from the front of the deck onto the ground right beside the truck and vice versa. At such distance, we are able to safely lift drums of honey, but only by using a 2:1 pulley setup I built that works at a fixed point on the boom. We loaded semis of honey using that before we got a forklift). I have a Kelley loader sitting around unused, and it would lift the same as a small forklift, but it weighs over 1,000lbs and needs a three ton truck. We run mostly stretched one tons (10 foot cab to axle) with 16 foot decks -- and 16 foot trailers when required. I think there are lighter models out there. I paid $500 Canadian for my Kelley and the motors alone (3) are worth that and more. I imagine there are quite few Kelly loaders sitting around behind honey houses and a $20 ad in Gleanings, Speedy Bee, and or ABJ would likely bring a flood of response with prices from $250 and up. The motors on them alone are worth finding, since they are efficient, powerful, reversable, and 12 volt. If you are building your own, you can get motors direct from Kelley, but don't forget you need their solenoids too if you want reversing action and remote control using light wires. I used to wind my own reversing motors on an old Ford starter (1956) frame, using two fields, but gave it up in favour of Kelley motors. For those who have never seen a boom loader work, they are like having an overhead shop crane that allows moving hives, (and supplies on 16" by 20" pallets) almost effortlessly anywhere within a circle defined by the boom length -- in my case a 19 foot radius. This of course includes the whole truck deck itself. The boom rotates around a centre post that must be vertical, and is adjusted -- if necessary -- either by shimming the wheels of the truck, careful selection of terrain, or preferrably by built-in adjustments that tilt the post a bit. On mine, the end of the boom can actually come within 3 feet of the ground at full adjustment each way. I have no front/back tilt and seldom need it. Kelleys have both front/back and side-to-side tilt. > Check > out the newest issue of ABJ there's an article about a loader in the > letters to the editor section. Thanks for the tip. If folks are interested on keeping going on this thread, I'll be glad to add some more construction and use tips and details. But I need some encouragement to take more pictures, do drawings, write instructions etc. The pix on my website were to be temporary, but perhaps we should enhance it a bit with better pictures, other peoples' pictures and info, etc. and make it permanent? Regards Allen W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper VE6CFK RR#1, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Internet:[log in to unmask] & [log in to unmask] Honey. Bees, & Art <http://www.internode.net/~allend/>