Picking up 12,100 lb radial drill with two forklifts...ever done it ?

In this case, one 8,000 lb capacity Hyster LP cushion tire with 5 foot forks that can actually pick up 9,500 lbs due to added counterweight (always attached) and one Daewoo 5000 lb electric cushion tire with 5 foot forks but probably only good for 4,500 lbs due to slightly smaller than standard battery size. (i.e. not as much counterweight as normal)

The idea would be demand drill loaded either at back of trailer or nothing else behind it when delivered and to drag the radial drill to edge of semi trailer, then get both forklifts close together snuggled all the way up to the base, both forklifts pick it up together, semi drives out from under, both forklifts lower it to machinery skates on ground for pushing it into the shop on skates. (or pulling with electric pallet jack)

Radial drill base is 40 inches wide (and 8+ feet long) so at least we would be closer than 24 inch capacity ratings, for a little more capacity. In fact because of that, I suspect the Hyster would pick up a radial drill with the same base width that weighed 10,000 lbs by itself...but 12,100 would be unlikely to happen.

I heard of this being done before but sounds pretty hairy with a 9 foot tall radial drill. OTOH would be on single drop trailer so not too high up to begin with. And yes of course the arm/head would be absolutely locked in place via steel strapping in addition to it's normal hydraulic locks since any arm swing could be a disaster. And there would be the usual thin plywood strips between forks and machine base to inhibit slippage.

I did load a huge VMC via 2 forklifts once but that was different in that the VMC was nearly as deep as the trailer so each forklift was on the opposite side of the trailer and if one got a little lower or higher than the other it didn't matter so much (further fun added by it happening during a light snowstorm) I would think in this case the two forklifts need to be in near perfect sync, which would be harder to do.

Thoughts ?

It is always better to lift from above rather than below. I would fabricate a girder to accept forks at both ends, have the forklifts facing each other and sling the drill from the girder, lift up, drive trailer away and lower onto rollers, not skates as they are too high and unstable. Finally roll into place.

Peter Colman said:

It is always better to lift from above rather than below. I would fabricate a girder to accept forks at both ends, have the forklifts facing each other and sling the drill from the girder, lift up, drive trailer away and lower onto rollers, not skates as they are too high and unstable. Finally roll into place.

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And give the smaller forklift some mechanical advantage, by having it further away from the load. If done "correctly", the point load would be at the base of each mast, not along the forks.

Can the Hyster handle it by itself if you crib under the mast? How good is your co-driver?

Peter Colman said:

It is always better to lift from above rather than below. I would fabricate a girder to accept forks at both ends, have the forklifts facing each other and sling the drill from the girder, lift up, drive trailer away and lower onto rollers, not skates as they are too high and unstable. Finally roll into place.

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No can do....the Hyster has two stage mast....won't go high enough for above lift.

Rigging up from over the top would be less likely to have the machine tip over but being on the back of a semi trailer that's what, chest high?, plus the height
of that size of a radial arm would be sketchy as hell with those size lifts extended that far in the air.

I would be really concerned with the size lifts you have on hand.
From what I understand the forklifts rated load is measured about two feet from the mast and out past that the lifting capacity drops off sharply.

The forks may want to sag under that load also.

If I were in your shoes and had no choice I would setup and lift the machine just off the timbers its resting on and go ahead and give it a little "shake".
If it looks sketchy at an inch off the ground I would set it back down and forget the forklift idea.
If it comes right up and seems like a solid enough lift..go for it.

Idea...If you go with the forklifts, maybe it would be worth a length of sand paper and some 3M glue to put on the forks to help keep the machine from sliding off the forks as easy.

Good luck

I'd do it. If it's like any radial drill I have seen, it's heavier at the column end. So you put the bigger truck at that end and the little truck is there to take the lighter end. As long as the two operators are competent, it should work fine.

I saw a picture somewhere where they backed two forklifts up to each other. Then they chained them together so that one forklift basically had two counterweights. You can't really move with this arrangement, but you could lift as much as your forks and mast could handle.

I have heard one horror story involving a large knee mill being dropped when using two forklifts. I wasn't there, but you can probably imagine the damage that resulted.

IronReb said:

Idea...If you go with the forklifts, maybe it would be worth a length of sand paper and some 3M glue to put on the forks to help keep the machine from sliding off the forks as easy.

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You can strap the machine to the forks. Wood also helps prevent sliding.

ewlsey said:

You can strap the machine to the forks. Wood also helps prevent sliding.

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Please....resist the Captain Obvious replies if you can...I already mentioned the wood between forks to head off this sort of thing and yet you are babbling about it regardless.

Please
Take
Video

IronReb said:

Rigging up from over the top would be less likely to have the machine tip over but being on the back of a semi trailer that's what, chest high?, plus the height

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Already addressed that...do you not know what a single drop trailer is ?

dkmc said:

Please
Take
Video

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LOL.. could go viral on YouTube after I drop it....depending on how badly the drill smashes into the pervious concrete.

Don, still have the pic of us loading the VMC in Greensboro?

Know a friendly crane owner?

You're making me nervous, get a bigger forklift by whatever means possible. I unloaded my Cinci-Bickford weighing in at just shy of 18K with my Taylor, rated for 18K and 2K worth of additional c-weights - I added, the pucker factor was intense, my base was 50" wide, center of mass was 35" out from where I had to pick it, after initial test pick, I swung the arm towards the mast, cribbed and locked it, that helped some. The tail of the Taylor still showed daylight.
If you could get a forklift in from each side maybe, but the truck bed's 8'? Check your ratings, do the calculations, it's 9500 cap. to what distance out from the forklift mast?
If you proceed with your initial thoughts, please do video
Greg

Milacron said:

Please....resist the Captain Obvious replies if you can...I already mentioned the wood between forks to head off this sort of thing and yet you are babbling about it regardless.

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Holy fuck you had to read an extra sentence. Sorry I wasted 8 seconds of your life.

I watched someone try this once with a Pratt and Whitney Star Turn lathe. About the same weight as your case, maybe 12,000 lbs but I think they had less margin than your case. They managed to pick the machine up OK and drive the trailer out, but lowering was a near disaster. For whatever reason they weren't able to lower the machine uniformly enough, the larger forklift went just a little faster causing the weight to shift towards it. For some reason the person on the smaller forklift didn't react fast enough, had he lowered quickly the weight would have shifted back but instead the larger machine started to tip forward causing the weight to shift even more in that direction. The larger forklift continued to tip forward, the forks stuck into the asphalt, and the lathe slid forward off the forks. Amazingly the lathe didn't tip over and just landed with a huge dent in the pavement. Once off the forks the forklift tipped back on it's rear wheels, leaving the two fork stabbings in the pavement. Other than some asphalt patch and a change of underwear it was all good.

Alan

Just don't be like these guys. I'm sure they are glad someone was there to capture the moment.

ewlsey said:

Just don't be like these guys. I'm sure they are glad someone was there to capture the moment.

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OMG........

I know commenting on posts that are not 100% related to Milacron's OP is dangerous.
But what a bunch of unprofessional idiots. They had to be doing that themselves, if a rigger had done that to my machine, there would be NO giggling.

Looks like they could have choked up on the load a bit more. An example in the importance in moments, maxed out at the lift, they lost it when they went to lower it a bit too fast (just guessing).

The only machine I've picked up with two forklifts was a big panel saw about 12~13K. It was nearly 20 feet long and pretty well balanced. I don't like several things with your idea, two unevenly rated forklifts is a bad match, radial drills have poor weight distribution and, the high center of gravity or tipping moment. I have moved my big radial drill around the shop but, I would not want to raise it or lower it from a truck.

My big radial is a 13" column 5 foot arm with V base. As far as I can tell it weighs somewhere around 15K. That should be no big deal for my 20K forklift, this load is more unstable than any other machine I have, including 24K surface grinder. Just think you are asking for trouble IMHO

Steve

I still prefer to lift from above. The fork lift with the poor rise could have some packing in the forks to give more height, perhaps you could use the cube off the drill.
Now I am not sure what trailers in the US are like, but a desperate way is to have the drill loaded with the column to the front of the trailer.
Lift the rear end and slide two joists under as far as possible, use the forklift to pull the drill onto the joists and to the rear of the trailer so centre of gravity is still on the trailer.
Place some timber under the outer end of the joists to protect the ground, use the larger truck pr even a pair of jacks, to,lift the front of the trailer up so joists touch the ground
Pull the drill down the joists until off the trailer and at the ground end of the joists, use the two forklifts to lift the trailer end of the joists and lower the front of the trailer then pull it out.
This sounds horrible but it works,the critical thing is to have the CofG always over the base so loading with the column to the front will keep it in balance while it goes down the slope.
When I have done it I put a sling round the machine and have a chain block attached to the front of the trailer to control the sliding down the joists.