Hydraulic Ladder Reaches 35 Ft. High
“I didn’t want to spend the money for a big crane or cherry picker,” says Bill Fluhrer, an 83-year-old retired farmer who built this hydraulic-operated ladder that will reach the top of almost any building or shed on his farm. He uses his tractor to pull it around and also to operate the hydraulics.
“It’s nothing real fancy but it works great,” says Fluhrer. “It’s easy to raise and lower and reaches up to 35 ft. high. It even has an outrigger on top, which I use along with a hydraulic-operated winch and cable to lift heavy objects up. I mounted the ladder on the frame of an old auger that I had laying around, so it didn’t cost much to build.”
Fluhrer says he has used the big ladder to do everything from trimming trees to changing yardlight bulbs, to taking down windmills and putting siding on his barn.
The ladder consists of 2 sections that connect together and fold down for transport. The bottom ladder bolts to the auger transport frame and is fitted with a hand-cranked boat winch that Fluhrer uses to raise or lower the top ladder.
The top ladder slides up or down on a vertical length of 4-in. sq. tubing bolted to the top of the auger transport frame. The top of the ladder is fitted with an 8-ft. long, angle iron outrigger operated by a hydraulic-operated winch placed at ground level. Cable from the winch leads up over a pulley on the ladder’s top rung to another pulley on the outrigger.
A pair of hydraulic cylinders attached to the auger frame are used to raise or lower the auger transport frame to which the entire ladder is attached.
To take the ladder down for transport, Fluhrer uses the boat winch to lower the top ladder all the way down, then uses the hydraulic cylinders to lower the auger transport frame.
The entire ladder is held in place by steel cables and pipe braces anchored to the ground.
“I built it primarily to take down old farm windmills. I’ve probably taken 6 or more windmills down with it,” says Fluhrer. “The outrigger lets me lay the windmill down without damaging anything.”
Fluhrer says he plans to mount a hydraulic motor on the boat winch and to make a basket that will let him use the ladder’s outrigger to work on top of a silo, which he’s converting into a reading room, game room, and observatory.
He has even used the outrigger to lift 4 by 9-ft., 1/4-in. thick sheets of fiber cement siding which he installed row by row on his barn.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bill Fluhrer, 2434 7 Mile Rd., Charles City, Iowa 50616 (ph 641 228-4662 or cell ph 641 330-1589; billpat@internet2go.biz).
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Hydraulic Ladder Reaches 35 Ft High FARM HOME Miscellaneous “I didn’t want to spend the money for a big crane or cherry picker ” says Bill Fluhrer an 83-year-old retired farmer who built this hydraulic-operated ladder that will reach the top of almost any building or shed on his farm He uses his tractor to pull it around and also to operate the hydraulics “It’s nothing real fancy but it works great ” says Fluhrer “It’s easy to raise and lower and reaches up to 35 ft high It even has an outrigger on top which I use along with a hydraulic-operated winch and cable to lift heavy objects up I mounted the ladder on the frame of an old auger that I had laying around so it didn’t cost much to build ” Fluhrer says he has used the big ladder to do everything from trimming trees to changing yardlight bulbs to taking down windmills and putting siding on his barn The ladder consists of 2 sections that connect together and fold down for transport The bottom ladder bolts to the auger transport frame and is fitted with a hand-cranked boat winch that Fluhrer uses to raise or lower the top ladder The top ladder slides up or down on a vertical length of 4-in sq tubing bolted to the top of the auger transport frame The top of the ladder is fitted with an 8-ft long angle iron outrigger operated by a hydraulic-operated winch placed at ground level Cable from the winch leads up over a pulley on the ladder’s top rung to another pulley on the outrigger A pair of hydraulic cylinders attached to the auger frame are used to raise or lower the auger transport frame to which the entire ladder is attached To take the ladder down for transport Fluhrer uses the boat winch to lower the top ladder all the way down then uses the hydraulic cylinders to lower the auger transport frame The entire ladder is held in place by steel cables and pipe braces anchored to the ground “I built it primarily to take down old farm windmills I’ve probably taken 6 or more windmills down with it ” says Fluhrer “The outrigger lets me lay the windmill down without damaging anything ” Fluhrer says he plans to mount a hydraulic motor on the boat winch and to make a basket that will let him use the ladder’s outrigger to work on top of a silo which he’s converting into a reading room game room and observatory He has even used the outrigger to lift 4 by 9-ft 1/4-in thick sheets of fiber cement siding which he installed row by row on his barn Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Bill Fluhrer 2434 7 Mile Rd Charles City Iowa 50616 ph 641 228-4662 or cell ph 641 330-1589; billpat@internet2go biz
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