Bot Trundler

Now that I'm on a battlebot team I've had to get serious about moving large thing around my shop, without inviting a neighbor over to help out. Basically this contraption is a scaled-down engine hoist. It isn't designed to lift much more than my own weight (230 lbs) and I wouldn't attempt it, if only because I'm a self-taught welder with limited skills in joining stuff together! The unit is made of .09 in. wall square steel tube; I used 1-3/4 in. square tube for the vertical component, which slips into the base and arm assemblies, which are made of 2 in. square tube.

It just so happens that I have an old electric winch and I designed the trundler to make use of it. There is room on the back of the boom to attach a hand-cranked winch, so that I won't need a power source on field trips. Haven't bought this yet, but it's an option.

Photo #1: Here's the whole thing with the hoist attached. At the moment I've got my bot stored on a fairly high workbench, which will shortly be leaving my shop for good (I hope...). Once that's gone I'll be shortening the trundler by maybe a foot. I painted it with Rustoleum Hard Hat "Equipment yellow", which is a close match to team (Krylon) colors; it has good visibility in the shop, so I'm less likely to poke an eye out on the thing, too...
Photo #2: Close-up of the boom. That thingy in the middle is a couple of pipe segments welded onto a plate, that is in turn welded onto the boom. The excess chain from the hoist spools thru here, so that it doesn't get tangled when the hoist is running and my spare hand is steadying the load.
Photo #3: Close-up of the hoist and its mount. The hidden top hook is captured by the pin in the plates on top of the boom. The hitch pins make it a simple matter to withdraw the pin and remove the hoist.

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