Pallet Fork/Skid Steer Crane

“I became so frustrated working on large projects in my shop,” said Joe Keeley of south central Michigan. “Ninety percent of the time, I am working alone, and I need something to make my work easier. I came up with an idea to take a truck crane and retrofit it to use with a pallet fork.”

He cut two 32x2x4-inch pieces of quarter-inch tube for the side rails, and three 20x2x4-inch pieces of quarter-inch tube for the cross rails, which he welded on both ends. Then he used grade-5 bolts to attach the crane onto the new platform. Finally, he mounted a battery box to hold a deep cycle battery, a circuit breaker, and a remote wireless controller.

“I can operate this from any height, swivel to any angle, and extend the boom from 3 feet to 6 feet,” Keeley said. “I can work easily without having to crawl out from under what I am working on, and this works flawlessly.”

Joe Keeley is a fourth-generation farm operator from Charlotte, Michigan. Originally, the farm included a dairy operation, but he dropped the dairy herd about 19 years ago and now grows corn, wheat, and soybeans. Keeley farms with his wife, Mary, a full-time schoolteacher. In his free time, Keeley likes to fish and loves working in the shop in the winter, building various projects. He enjoyed his years in FFA and is a member of the Michigan Corn Growers Association and the Michigan Soybean Association. Email him at: [email protected]