"I've come up with an easier, safer way to put up pole hay sheds or any other building by putting three trusses together at a time on the ground and then lifting the sections up onto the pole frame together," says Thomas F. Miller, Trinidad, Colo., who's built three hay sheds using his method.

"It's a lot faster and safer than trying to build everything up high. I start with good 20-ft. poles that I use as uprights and as crossbeams to set the trusses on.

"To mount the crossbeams on top of the uprights, I split a 2-ft. long piece of 8-in. dia. heavy-duty steel pipe in half lengthwise and weld one piece on across the top of the other to form a big 'Y'. Then I bolt them to the top of the uprights and simply lay the cross-beams in the half-pipe cradles and bolt them down.

"Next I build sections of three trusses together on the ground, spacing the trusses about 5 ft. apart. The trusses I use are a little over 30 ft. wide. I nail 10-ft. long 2 by 4's for sheeting across the trusses. They work better than 1-in. lumber because they're stronger and roofing nails don't come down through them. Lets me use longer, 2 1/4-in. nails.

"After each section is squared, plumbed and braced, they're ready to be lifted up. I use a homemade boom made out of 3-in. dia. pipe that mounts on a loader bucket. The boom is held in place by chains and is raised and lowered by the loader. It lifts the sections up high enough to set them on the poles.

"After all the trusses are nailed and strapped down, I run 6-ft. long 2 by 4's from one truss section to the next.

"Then 16-ft. lengths of tin are put in place. They allow for a 2-in. overhang."