Truck Mounted Cranes

[swatkins]

Try the new crane made by a small company in France.
It's a reliable engine, easy to handle.
www.materiel-apiculture.fr/la-grue-api-culture

Ask them for a translation of their brochure, they speak English

Here is a video of that crane in operation... Looks very easy

http://www.materiel-apiculture.fr/videos

[jim lyon]

Agreed Chillard. The cranes would be ideal for certain operations. It can certainly be a real pain pulling, or maneuvering a loader on a trailer at times. Its kind of like a big anchor back there especially in some tough off road conditions. But you cant load/unload semis or heavy pallets of honey and you are always limited to setting your hives only on ground adjacent to where you can drive your truck and where no overhead limbs can interfere. It is pretty routine for us to stop at a nice flat loading area a short distance from where we want to place the hives and use our loader to just "truck" them in. All that said I can see some real advantages to this set up for some operations.

[API-CULTURE]

Here is the brochure in English for the API-CULTURE CRANE !!

[Ian]

Api-culture,

Looks like much what I have, but mine is made in the land of OZ.
Could not find its lift capacity though,
Mine is 300 kg 16' in full reach

[bobbb]

Ian can you give me some info on your crane

[Ian]

PM me

[API-CULTURE]

API-CULTURE LLC manufactures three models of crane:

FIRST ONE
Weight: 450kg
Length: 2.15metres
Range: 5 metres + 1 metre extension
Loading capacity: 230kg at 5 metres
180kg at 6 metres
Exw price (excluding taxes): 16,500€
Availability: Available

SECOND ONE
Weight: 300kg
Length: 2.15 metres
Range: 5 metres
Loading capacity: 80kg at 5 metres
Exw price (excluding taxes): 14,500€
Availability: Available on request

THIRD ONE
Weight: 300kg
Length: 1.90 metres
Range: 5 metres + 1 metre extension
Loading capacity: 80kg at 5 metres
100kg at 4 metres
Exw price (excluding taxes): 15,500€ - 1,000€ (introductory price)
Availability: Being processed


Have a look at http://www.materiel-apiculture.fr/la-grue-api-culture
Ask for more information contact@api-culture.fr

[EastSideBuzz]

Here is a video of that crane in operation... Looks very easy

http://www.materiel-apiculture.fr/videos

Verry nice. What is the price of that bad boy. I want one. OK. read farther. Now how scary is the euro conversion.?

[Brooklyn]

Check these out

We are hoping to bring these to the USA sometime next year. Just working out the details. Drop me a pm if you are interested. This is just a small sample we have others.

http://www.youtube.com/user/apijuneda#p/u/1/iNldJFumKzw

http://www.youtube.com/user/apijuneda#p/u/3/J02F9QNMY3k

http://www.youtube.com/user/apijuneda#p/u/5/sHvODxw_7_s

http://www.youtube.com/user/apijuneda#p/u/6/9dQjM2Cy_3o

http://www.youtube.com/user/apijuned...11/mmzLD7RbsKM

[concrete-bees]

its about $20,000 US bills - not really that bad if you have 1000 hives to turn frofit with - well worth the back pain

[hpm08161947]

its about $20,000 US bills - not really that bad if you have 1000 hives to turn frofit with - well worth the back pain

And the next statment will be... "Thats a fine low hour bobcat + 10K trailer". Actually a true statement.

[Ian]

The bobcat is ment for moving hives. The crane is ment for moving hives and lifting supers off the hive. Thats where your back is saved. Cant lift supers off a hive with a bobcat

[EastSideBuzz]

The bobcat is ment for moving hives. The crane is ment for moving hives and lifting supers off the hive. Thats where your back is saved. Cant lift supers off a hive with a bobcat

Can you lift off supers with this? I thought it only picked up the pallets. Would like to see if you could pick up 4 hives on a pallet like a fork lift also.

OK Re watched the video and it can take off supers. http://www.youtube.com/user/apijuneda#p/u/1/iNldJFumKzw

[Ian]

cool eh?

no it cant lift 4 double pallets, but 2 double pallets easily

[jjgbee]

Again I will bring up the fact that there are a lot of used Payne, Kelly and easy loaders setting around. Before the fork lift, they were all that folks used. The price would be around $3,000.00 not $20,000.00. I built my Payne for less than $3,000.00. Heck, I remember when we made beek forklifts out of old Jeeps and some of those are still being used today. OH, I forgot this younger generation has to buy everything NEW right out of the box.

[loggermike]

And a Payne loader can load a truck pretty fast if need be....lol
http://pic80.picturetrail.com:80/VOL.../266124389.jpg

[SPRUCE BEE]

And a Payne loader can load a truck pretty fast if need be....lol
http://pic80.picturetrail.com:80/VOL.../266124389.jpg

LM,

A smoker fire? s
That was pretty neat getting the water chopper in the pic.

SPRUCE BEE

[loggermike]

The fire started on the edge of the highway just over the mountain. We assume a tossed cigarette.
The hives have bottom boards and were on pallets(the type made to hold hives with bottoms).BUT they were not all supered up the same height and some were splits. Using the forklift in this emergency would have been a nightmare.
(by the way -all the pallets burned up)

I find the boom loaders more versatile and allows more flexibility in management.

On the other hand I sank a boom truck down to the bed last week in a muddy field.The forklift would have allowed me to park the truck on solid ground and run in 2 pallets at a time.

To go from bottom boards to clip pallets requires a lot of changes in management. My current set up is a compromise.


Just a few thoughts FWIW

[Ian]

>>OH, I forgot this younger generation has to buy everything NEW right out of the box

I dont see why it really matters. Its a machine, its modified to be used in a beekeeping operation, and it works very well. Its costly, but the expense is justified by its ease of use and efficiencies it brings to the operation. Only the operator can justify the cost of ones purchases.
New, well, ya, its available. Bring a Payne loader over and see if you can keep up to me in a bee yard shifting boxes.

Perhaps the cost of efficiency is something the younger generation can justify easier. We have a lifetime ahead of us,

Dont get me wrong, I have a 65 year old spinner, that needs to be replaced, and a honeyhouse that needs to be new, and an extractor that needs to be replaced. Lots of places to put the money. The trick is to put the money where it pays back the most benefit.

Last season I didnt lift a single box. how many beekeepers around can say that? How many old beekeepers look back and reflect "only if I had a machine that would help with the lifting".

[HarryVanderpool]

Ian is right in that the EZ loader runs circles around any other loader.
The only way to realize this is to take the controls and try it yourself.
With the Payne or Kelly, there is SOOOOO much enertia to deal with and leveling is a nightmare compared with pushing a button for 1 1/2 second.
The EZ loader is a nuckle boom. This allows you to pick up a hive and "plunge" in between a row of trees. Very handy.
The ability to furl the EZ loader is a major blessing.
Folks with standard booms that come from the West to visit me have to drive an additional 16 miles because their booms cannot clear two railroad tressles. The EZ loader slips under those tressles with room to spare.

With all of that said, I have a friend with a large Kelly just like Peter Fonda's and I have used it many times while working with them. They love it and are used to it and it's paid for.

Most of my moves are with a forklift, but I will never, EVER get rid of my EZ loader.
Once you get used to having it around, can't imagine beekeeping without it.

AND its paid for. :P