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Trumbull, CT 06611, USA

How realistic is it to lift a 1000 lber with a tarp with ten guys into a truck. Debating if I need to rent a backhoe and buy a pumpkin lifter.

Ray Leonzi

8/30/2005 7:34:05 PM

Www.extremepumpkinstore.com

well, I would assume that it would be VERY heavy!.....LOL

8/30/2005 7:56:49 PM

Mastic Beach, New York

hardest part is getting the tarp under it and then atleast 10 to 12 men to lift.

8/30/2005 8:04:15 PM

Western NY

i'd want at least a dozen guys. that would be tough for me - nobody like showing up. unless there's beer. lots of beer might work, but you don't want them dropping it.

8/30/2005 8:04:41 PM

Www.extremepumpkinstore.com

get a lifter bro! Too nice to lose it!

8/30/2005 8:15:17 PM

[email protected]

Ray,

We can probably get Tommy (our forklift operator at the weigh-off) to lift the night before if you let him park the trailer in your driveway over night.

8/30/2005 9:18:16 PM

Commack, NY

you can do it, but its not easy. the hardest part is getting it into the truck from the ground

8/30/2005 9:25:03 PM

Leicester, NY

Ray,
Lifting a 1000 pound pumpkin with a tarp is not hard with 10-12 people and then going no higher than say putting it on a pallet. Trying to place it into a truck would be incredibly hard. 7 friends and I loaded my 805 fruit by hand (see page 171 in Giant Pumpkins III) and we almost did not get in on the truck. I recommend a lifting ring to get your prize winner to the weigh off.

8/30/2005 9:36:58 PM

12 people, 1000 lbs = 83 lbs per person to lift. You should be able to do it.

8/30/2005 10:03:37 PM

Commack, NY

its not as simple as 83 pounds a piece. there are 12 different heads, 24 different arms, and 24 legs......coordination is key

8/30/2005 10:10:06 PM

Minnesota([email protected])

I wish I had your dilemma Ray.
If possible, I'd get the men to lift it onto a pallet with a tarp. I'd get/rent/hire a skid loadar with a fork lift attachment(or a forklift-which may have trouble getting in and out of the garden) to lift into the truck. If you do this, make sure the pallet is compatible with the fork. Our neighbor did this with our pumpkin last year, and the first pallet we tried didn't fit the fork lift attachment of his skid loader. He had another pallet that worked. Also, make sure the skid loader/forklift can lift the weight of the pumpkin. I like Joe's idea as well.
Best of luck. At least you're planning ahead.

8/30/2005 10:12:40 PM

Alaska

Hey All,
Did you see JD's lifting ring with nylon straps and a rope to go around the bottom. Worked real slick. You are picking from the top so to speak. Great way to pick one off of a pallet out of the back of a truck right onto the scales. Go to JD's diary a check it out.

8/30/2005 10:14:38 PM

Mastic Beach, New York

lifting ring alone doesn't lift the pumpkin...need to be attach to a tripod,scaffold or A frame (kind scott use) or tractor..i kinda forgot that deadlift into the back of the truck..lol

8/30/2005 10:46:09 PM

Montoursville, PA

Well you could put a quarter stick, of explosive, under it and blow it onto the truck. ]:O) Our, in house cartoonest could work with that!

8/30/2005 11:11:18 PM

San Diego

my 861 this year was estimated at 950 or so and I used a tarp and 14 guys to lift it. Putting the tarp under it wasn't hard at all with all the guys we had. Getting it into the truck is the hardest part, but thankfully for me we just moved it 20 yards onto a ground scale. Having everyone come is the most fun, but it is more work:)

8/31/2005 1:08:15 AM

MAINE.USA

Get A Trailer with a Ramp.Put the Pumpkin on Pallet and have the guys and girls push and pull,From ground to trailer most are about a foot.Like a Riding Lawnmower Trailer>> [GET-UR-DONE]---GP

8/31/2005 1:23:19 AM

Thornhill, Ontario, Canada

About the beer...probably better to drink it AFTER the pumpkin is already on the truck.

8/31/2005 1:25:52 AM

Connecticut, USA

Ray, I have a lifting ring that you can borrow. You will still need to get someone with a tractor or forklift though.

8/31/2005 5:55:49 AM

Billerica,Massachusetts

did it last year 12 guys into the back of the pickup, just make sure they don't drink all the beer first and don't crush the guys in the back.

8/31/2005 7:55:00 AM

Billerica,Massachusetts

also you can dig a depression in the ground where the truck tires will go, thus lowering the over-all tailgate height.
6 inches makes a big difference.

8/31/2005 7:59:07 AM

Itzetown City

Börje from Sveden made it as follow:
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=29967
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=29968

To move a pumpkin on a pallet was shown from Len here:
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/displayphoto.asp?pid=876&gid=1
and follows

8/31/2005 8:41:45 AM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

I agree with the hard to get in the truck bit..There is a point of lift vs strength and it comes up about 2 inches below the bed of a full sized pick up bed. Last year we use landscape timbers inserted in the pallet. Every one was able to contribute to the lift and it made it very simple.

8/31/2005 9:16:12 AM

Choctaw, OK

I was apart of moving a 1049 lb fruit with 8 guys and a lifting tarp. it went well. We only lifted it onto a pallet and then we had a large backhoe place it onto a truck. I would not reccomend lifint it yourselves onto a truck...it might work, but the consequences are just too risky.

8/31/2005 1:21:15 PM

Belgium Europe

We lifted a 917pounder with 6 men last season,but i wouldn't do it again.

8/31/2005 1:57:29 PM

Jaffrey NH

I lifted a 896 pound pumpkin last season with 7 guys. I dug a ramp into the ground in my patch so that the bed was even with the ground. Putting the pallet on the truck and pumpkin on the pallet was easy. The truck had no problem getting out of the hole. Even when the truck had my 896 and 668 on at the same time. My family has a Chevy 2500. Good Luck.
DK

8/31/2005 10:19:17 PM

Whidbey Island

Part of the problem is getting all the guys about the same height....I'm 6'5" and have to bend over too much to compensate for the vertically challenged, hurts my back too much. Go for a lift.

9/1/2005 11:46:20 PM