Lifting blind strategy?

[bjseiler]

4x8 blind. All treated wood. 2x6's for the base with elevators and 3/4" plywood. Roof boards are just sitting there and are not cut or drilled yet. It "feels" heavy and now I'm thinking oh crap, will my Kubota l2501 actually lift this thing when it is finished. My forks are about 6 inches shy of reaching the other side. Floor cross beams are running parallel so I put some plywood on top of the forks and it lifted fine just getting it a foot off the ground. I do have a heavy Woods mower on the back.

I was planning on driving it out to the field with the tractor, then lifting it, and then putting the legs in the elevators. Part of the drive won't be super smooth so I'm not super loving that idea but I don't have access to a flat bed trailer so I'm not sure how else to get it out there. Once there......not sure on the best way to lift it. As in if I try to just lift it all the way up or do I flop it over to put the legs in and then pull it up.

Looking for advice on the safest way to do this.

 

[tooln]

I raised my shadow hunter with the winch on my ATV. It was 21' to the platform. I had the blind lying down and drove a few post into the ground to keep it from sliding. Put a pully up in a tree as high as my ladder would reach. ATV chained to tree to keep it from sliding. Ran rope over ladder to give it an upward pull at the start. Had blind tied to truck to prevent it from going over to far. I did this by myself as my BIL was a no show. Here are pics.

 

[roymunson]

21' to the platform? Holy balls!

We just put up a 12' to the platform unit saturday. premade floor, screwed the 4x4s onto it and then stood it up. Then we built the 6 sided walls and hoisted the premade roof up by hand. I can't imagine something that tall.

We had 4 guys to stand it up

 

[TWIG]

Just ratchet strap it to the frame of your forks BJ. You'll probably want a heavy implement hanging on the back to counterbalance the load.

 

[bjseiler]

Yeah, 21, yikes. I'm hoping for 8' but will settle for 6' up.

 

[bjseiler]

There is a facebook group called diy deer blinds or something like that. Just saw a picture of a guy raising a blind with a forklift. Brilliant......now if I just had a forklift or telehandler. Ha.

 

[MRBB]

if it was m,e, I would suggest getting the finished blind on a trailer and then onto a scale, this way you will know for certain what it weights and what your machine can safely handle

a s you really DON"T want to find out your past its max rating when its up high in the air, and all the more so, if your lifting on any ground that is NOT level
as once you get things HIGH and have a little slope or angle to the ground, as it gets higher, its up's the odds really fast of tipping your machine

I know when I built my last 6x6x6 blind out of all treated wood it was VERY heavy, well past a 1,500 lbs when all was said and done!
as an example

 

[MRBB]

ALSO< if it turns out its past your machines lifting , you can always rent a tele handler with longer forks, and it will lift safely , as most have out riggers to help level things for lifting!
that or a Rough Terrain Forklift !
old saying better safe than sorry!

 

[DRG3]

I have an L4701 and I've given some thought to this very thing. I would think your safe to transport it with straps as others have said. It's the lift that I'd be studying really hard.

Just looking up your specs- It looks like the weight of your tractor is 2623 WITHOUT the loader and that loader adds another 800lbs not counting the forks.

The spec sheet says you can lift 820lbs at max height 500MM out from the pivot pin. Anything further out would reduce your capacity further

Are your tires loaded in addition to the rear implement you mentioned? The difference when I picked up some heavy items with loaded vs unloaded tires was HUGE. If your tires are not loaded- I would stop there and look for other options based on my experience with similar lifts.

As someone else mentioned, if the lift is on uneven ground, I'd personally look for a different way to do it. If I could estimate my weight and how far out front it would be- that would guide my decision.

If I did it, I would be going really slowly- getting things bouncing is a no no. All that said- if your estimates look good- maybe give it a dry run before you get in the field, under more controlled circumstances.... Just thinking how I'd do it if it was me. Whatever you decide, be safe.

 

[bjseiler]

I do have a pontoon trailer. If I could lift it 30" and find a way to set the blind down on its side, I could then take it out in the field on the trailer, put the legs on, and then stand it up that way. Not quite sure on the "set the blind down" part..... Maybe if I have it ratcheted well enough I could just tilt the forks forward. That seems dicey.

 

[tooln]

If your looking to go 6-8' tall then you wouldn't have to worry much about lifting capacity. Your best bet would be to tip it up.

 

[buckdeer1]

Just have good bracing on legs and lift,I tied rope to other side so it didn't want to come over too far.Make sure secured after setting because they will blow over.I just put a post in the ground on north side and south side and bolted to frame so it can't get rocking

 

[Tree Spud]

Real simple to add legs with stand on the tractor lift ... these are 10' 4x4 legs.

 

[MadMadHoosier]

View attachment 45596

Did you drive fence post in at each corner and attach to the legs? I was about to say you need an auger in the middle, strapped to a cable, to prevent wind from turning over. But the attached fenceposts are probably as good or better.