skid steer work platform

[Randy88]

First off I don't like heights but will do them if I can be safe, the problem I've got is I need to work on the inside of my shop finishing it off and insulating it and change lights later on down the road and have only a skid steer to work with, a telehandler is out of the budget for now. Has anyone been around the work platforms used with a skid steer loader? I need one that lifts about 7 feet higher than a normal platform on a pallet fork, any ideas? I've looked into the forklift attachments that hook onto a skid steer and they make me nervous, real nervous and they don't look safe. Anyone have any experience with them?

A local machine shop recommended a height extension that the platform hooked on top of and elevated it up a given number of feet and use it that way but I can't be the only one to ever need to be slightly higher than their skid steer will lift. The idea of a ladder on the platform isn't going to happen, in this life or the next. I want to be harnessed onto whatever I use in case I would slip or lose my ballance or whatever, I don't want to see any hospitals due to accidents.

Any ideas would be appreciated, or if you have done something that didn't work I'd like to know that as well, I have the largest new holland machine, a 190. Thanks for any replies.

[watglen]

Is the floor concrete in your shop, cuz scaffolding is cheap and easy to rent. Cheaper than building a manlift platform for one time use.

I have often thought of building a tall platform like you describe. I think it would be safe enough. Make sure you chain it to the loader somehow so it cant slip off the end of the forks. Make sure the forks fit inside tube so it can't slide off the forks. Make sure you are harnessed in, and you wouldn't want to be shagging the drivers wife either. That could really lead to some trouble.

[Randy88]

Thats part of the problem, its not cemented yet, we want to do the finish work on the inside this winter and wire it and this summer pour the cement, thus no small scissors lift will work and most small manlifts won't either they need to be on level concrete to work and raise, we will also need something to replace light bulbs in the years to come and some sort of nonpowered attachment can sit outside in a corner until its needed again and not hurt anything.

We used scaffolding on part of it already and now we are dealing with the more uneven section and my crew is sick of the scaffolding thing, it made them nervous and it was tippy and they demanded a more stable work platform that was secured to something and a harness that was attached to something solid so if they did fall they wouldn't take what they were attached to along down with them. I can see thier point and yes I was nervous as well so I agreed to a different appoach and would spend the money and just do it if we can find something. Its a long story but we are remodeling an existing building and can only get a skd steer in for now or something about that size, we don't want to open the building up for now, we are not ready to install the large door yet and my crew was cold enough let alone taking out the entire wall where the door is to go and have that open as well. We need to handle 4x8 sheets of osb board and also tin liner panel and a small manlift won't work either, the scissors lift was the ticket but those are really sensative to uneven ground and nobody had a all terraine type one to rent around me.

I laughed on the drivers wife thing, my wife got a kick out of it as well since she's the skid steer driver but her spin on it was slightly different, the opposite was mentioned on that topic, there would be trouble if I didn't do the drivers wife.

[1985GT]

I wouldnt here is somthing that happened in our area.

http://http://horsesensesafety.blogs...id-loader.html

[1985GT]

How high do you need to go? 7' above normal fork lift height? So saying most fork lifts go 12' you need 19'? I wouldnt use a skid steer for this. Telehandler with a basket yes. Maybe a small man lift like a Genie Z-30 or a tow behind genie TZ-34/20? http://genielift.com/tmz-series/index.asp

[JustForFun]

This is probably what you talking about not wanting to do

This is me and my kids installing windows in our cabin on the lake.
Kind of scary, but my kids didn't mind.

[razvy]

scarring

[Randy88]

Yes that's what I was talking about never doing, don't get me wrong but even if the skid steer wasn't involved I'd never use a ladder that high up either. I know ladders were used for centuries and they even used to paint church steeples with ladders 60 foot high or higher but that's not the thing for me, I like having something solid to at least be secured to. Everyone has there idea of safety and have a comfort level of working, things that don't bother them and things that do. Those pictures with the ladder would make me beyond nervous, not to be critical or anything but that's not for me or my family.

[1985GT]

Well seems my two posts didnt make the cut... Anyway where I live last summer or so there was a person who died will working from a platform from a skidsteer. I posted the link but my post didnt show. It was in Lincoln, NE at the air base. Little search and it will pop right up. Why not use a small boom lift or a tow behind boom lift? with a tow behind you could put it any place you can get your pickup.

[Randy88]

We are trying to put up 4x8 sheets of osb board and also liner panel and anything small doesn't have the lift capacity of two people and also to be able to handle longer stuff, I have used the tow behind boom lifts and have several available but the platforms are too short to handle longer stuff safely without dropping the sheets, the next problem with those they don't have a oscillation joint to swing them side to side to keep you square with the wall at all times, only tilt them, anything smaller on wheels won't go up unless its on a perfectly flat surface, we've tried them already, our floor isn't cemented yet. The end where our overhead door is going to be we don't want to open up yet because of structural issues until its finished off and done on the inside to reinforce it so the end can be taken out. Its kind of one of those deals where in a remodel it would be so much easier to do if we just had the opening so we could get larger equipment in but the inside work needs to be done in preparation for the wall to come out.

Many have told us to just use ladders, thats the way its been done in the past and is the simplest but after my neighbor fell off his ladder and died from his fall of only 10 feet I"ve been reluctant to use them much, that and I was never very fond of them in the first place. We had serval crews hired to do this work and none actually showed up to get it done so we are ending up doing it ourselves so it is done and we can progress with the project. All the ones who were interested in doing it landed better projects that were simplier and less time consuming where they could make a larger profit and have less headaches involved, which I can't blame them either but it left me in a in a bad situation, in order for others to do the next part this has to be done first so we have to work with what we have. Its really a job for a carpentry crew that specializes in remodeling that use ladders and have plenty of help and strong guys who do it all day long but since they all pulled a no show we are doing it with limited help, who are not fond of hights who are not daring to hang off ladders or stand on the top rung of a ladder 20 feet up while holding a sheet of osb with both hands at the same time, I know they do it all day long but I don't or want to try that, its out of my confort zone of working. We have already waited a year and a half for eveyone to not show up who said they wanted to do the job, all others turned it down due to lack of experience or it was too large of a project for them, they were mainly a single person operation who did smaller house remodel type work. So its up to us if we are ever to get it done, none of its really difficult or hazardous, just time consuming, that and it would be simplier if it were at ground level instead of 10 to 20 feet up. A small telehandler would be ideal but the only door large enough already we can get our big skid steer in and turn diagonally to manuveur around posts to make it in, a telehandler would never make it, we tried.

I'll be the first to admit I'm not a finish carpenter who wants to use ladders all day long and hang off a house roof but I am a descent rough construction carpenter and I like the work, just at ground level, thats why I operate heavy equipment and large iron from the safety of a cab or rollcage and its maybe 5 feet off the ground with a lot of iron around me, thats my safety zone and I like there but as they say you have to do what it takes to get the job done. I"m also finding out eveyone loves new construction with new materials and dozens will show up to work with that but if its old, used or a dismantle and rebuild type project, eveyone vanishes and shy's away from that type work.

[Hammer & Nails]

I have done several ceilings in new and old buildings, just as you have discribed. I have a platform for my skidloader, which works great if the ceiling is 16' or less. I build it myself, 2x6 square tubing for the forks to go into, 2x2 square tubing 16" oc., made the platform very solid. I even but a railing around it for safty purposes. This platform, which is 12'x 4' works great, but if the ceiling is taller I prefer scaffolding. If you use the flat bases with the screw hieght adjustment you can get it level with no wobble. You can get railing for the top of the scaffolding which is fairly solid. The key to scaffolding is to put multiple sections together. Go wide and you'll be fine. I know this is not a new suggestion but I have not found a better way and I have been in your exact position. My best advise is be Patient and if that does not work Cuss, works for me. Good Luck

[norite]

I make the following comments out of a sincere concern for safety. I am not trying in anyway to criticise or ridicule, I would like to make it clear that there are safer alternatives to what has been posted so far, especially for others who may read this and for lack of experience think this is acceptable practice.


Randy

No one should work off of a forklift or loader platform. Around here you have to use an engineered manlift, scissorlift or zoomboom lift. The big rental chains will bring in whatever you want at no extra charge if they don't have it in their local yard.

If your skid-loader blows a hydraulic hose, down you will come since it will not have the check-valves that a manlift requires. If you do build a platform for your loader at least make sure it is designed and certified by a competent engineer and fabricated by a competent/certified welder if that is legal where you are.

If you're floor is so out of level that a normal manlift won't operate, how can you be sure the skidsteer and platform won't tip over when the boom and platform are raised and there are men on top of it? IMHO you are putting the cart before the horse, I would think the floor would be poured or at least compacted and graded before you try to install a ceiling. Perhaps this is why so many contractors refused or backed out of doing the job.

JustForFun

Glad that you managed to not injure your kids, even so think about what kind of lesson you are teaching them.

[Bumpsteer]

In this case I would probably use scaffolding, only mount it on a trailer or wagon frame, fasten it down with good ratchet straps or binders. You'll have to move it with a truck or the skidsteer, but it will be safer and more stable.

Ed

[razvy]

norite is right , if you blow a line you going down like a bullet and I talk from experience ...
Aprox 8 years ago i was working on my barn nailing bath and board , i was using a backhoe to work from the bucket , I use a ladder to climb in to the bucket , it was easy to work from the bucket I had materials and power tools there ( circular saw ) nail gun etc , make a log story short ... I cut a 1x10 board and the end piece fall on the hydraulic lever and down I went like a bullet, ending whit 2 caked ribs plus the pain , I deaden realize what heaped at the moment , after few days I was thinking that one line blow up , check my machine to find out that everything was OK , took a wile to rewind the tape to realize that a 20" piece of wood almost killed me .
Using machinery that are not design for this kind of work is

[Randy88]

First thanks for the replies, nobody involved ever came up with the lock valve thought, which is right I can't argue at all. Next safety is in the eye of the behonder, what one considers safe another considers dangerous or fool hardy. My dad and grandpa bulit the barn we are remodeling, they built it from scratch and did everything from the cement to the wiring to block laying, rafter erection, tin on the roof the whole nine yards, my grandpa was an excellant carpenter and so is my dad, my grandpa built his first house at age 20 from the ground up and a lot more later in life along with many buldings, their idea of safe is ladders and long ones, my dad had no hesitation of using a 36 foot extention ladder and climbing out on the roof above the ladder and doing work and climbing back down again, they did it for years and they consider it perfectly safe and are comfortable doing so, I never inherited that gene. I like to be safely stapped to something solid and work doing very little reaching over anything. They think operating a manlift or scissors lift is way too dangerous and would never consider being anchored to anything thats a death trap waiting to happen, I disagree so again safety is one's personal idea. We have discussed many ideas and none yet seemed like the catch all for safety other than how we don't want to do it and thats ladders, my crew feels the same as me on that issue, thats the reason for the post in the first place.

Next we have had a lot of people involved in the whole deal from the start and for safety reasons we need to do the structural work inside before the wall can come out and get larger equipment in, thus a big manlift is not an option for now, the cement crew decided for safety reasons as well the inside needs to be finished first in case they encountered problems and needed large equipment in than they plan on so we are doing it before the cement so the wall can be opened up in case they had problems. We were hoping for ideas and the pro's and cons of all ideas, again I thank you for pointing out flaws we hadn't thought of. The last few days we had come up with using long straps to anchor the scaffolding to all four walls to help stabalize it, the idea of mounting it on a wagon is great, at least its achorded to something below and if we used straps that would help greatly, thats an idea worth considering.

Norite, do you consider telehandlers in the same class as skid steers? I've asked and nobody seems to know for sure, I know insurance companies don't like them with baskets on, I asked and nobody will rent a basket for anything. I know its done all the time and everyone does it but do they drop like skid steers? As for grading we need to install a service pit first along with water lines and drain lines and underground electrical lines and to level it off and grade it twice wasn't my first choice, its fair for a dirt floor, we just finshed taking out the old cement and frozen dirt to get it close to grade but thats all, the rental yards didn't think any gravel even to grade would work for their hard tired scissors lift. Yesterday I inquired about a small telehandler and they might be able to find one for me to rent but needed to ask about putting a basket on it, if they would even allow that.

Last the reason why nobody wanted the job was a couple of reasons, the basic got down to the manufacturer of the rafters to hang the false ceiling on, they needed to design a rafter that held the whole bulding together for their liability reasons, we needed to put supports up the sidewalls on the inside, hang the rafters and install a knee brace from the rafter to the side walls, no problem until the manufactuers deemed it needed to be shipped all assembled and ready to install, which couldn't be done, assembled on site yes but not assembled beforehand, there was no way to get them in an existing building and up, even the engineers couldn't figure that out. So that left build from scratch and assemble on site as we went, this put most out of the equation from the get go, those that were left were either too small of operator to do the job or the one that was willing got a contract to put up multiple large llvestock buildings, a multi year deal and mine was too small and he wasn't willing to give that up to do mine, I understand, he needed to manage his business. So we did it ourselves and assembled it as we went and took up the old hay floor as we went and used the floor joists for the sidewall supports, now we have no floor to stand on, the rafters are done and up and the ceiling is 90% installed and the walls are done and now for the knee braces and to cover the walls and insulate and the ground got further from the ceiling with the hay floor gone, a lot further in my opinon, others may think no big deal but to me 20 feet or more is a big deal, my dads not in good enough health anymore to do any climbing like that so he bowed out and left it to me.