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Cameron,ontario Team Lunatic

I've had a lifting ring made for me by a good friend and now need to have the straps added. How long should these straps be and how long should the bottom strap be that brings the others together? Any help would be appreciated.

Phil

11/15/2004 8:06:56 AM

Burt NY

I bought 6 ft. straps they are to long I would go with 4 foot ones

11/15/2004 10:34:14 AM

No Place Special

I have 6' long straps and when I lift smaller pumpkins I loop them in half to make 3' straps. When I lifted my 1125 and 1083 I needed almost every inch of the 6' straps. I guess it depends on how high your goals are! If your trying for a large pumpkin to sit on your front pourch... get small ones but if your sights are set on a world record then get 6' straps. Just my opinion. I just ordered straps for someone else here, see my diary and if your interested I can get some for you also. Mike Frantz

11/15/2004 1:56:47 PM

Long Island,New York

I use the smaller ratchet tiedowns that come in two pieces....one with a hook, a short strap then the ratchet.....the other with a hook and a longer length of strap.....usually good for 400-600lbs. I hook the hooks on the lifter and can adjust the straps to fit the pumpkin.

11/15/2004 7:39:13 PM

Cameron,ontario Team Lunatic

Thanks guys, I guess I had better get 6' straps. My pumpkins this year were 926 & 839. Growing small pumpkins is not what I want it for. I can pick up small pumpkins with a thick blanket and a couple strong guys. Mike, I can get the straps, I just need to know the proper length. How long is the bottom strap that ties the others together?

Thanks,
Phil

11/15/2004 8:02:53 PM

Indiana

I got my 8 foot straps made at a local awning shop pretty reasonably. 8 footers aren't too long, I have big dreams.
Steve

11/15/2004 8:02:57 PM

[email protected]

Don't all these straps require a loop sown into the end so as to pass a stout rope?

11/15/2004 9:14:50 PM

Mastic Beach, New York

steve, i was thinking the same thing about the (loop) until i was helping G lift his other pumpkins to put tarps under them...the rope that goes around the bottom keeps everything tight

11/15/2004 9:50:44 PM

[email protected]

Right. That's how Alan Reynolds lifting ring works. But Mike said he folds his 6 footers in half. So now the ring at the end is no longer the bottom. So is the rope then threaded through the bottom of the resulting loop of strap? Yeah....Light bulb moment. Onlt the bitter end would need a loop. The looped ends I'm assuming are fasted to the steel ring at the top. But what are they fastened to the ring with?

11/15/2004 10:31:48 PM

No Place Special

I sling it over the ring..... puts two loops at bottom instead of one and run a long heavy rope through them.

11/15/2004 11:12:50 PM

Indiana

Our lifter lifted a few pumpkins over 400 inches and had room for at least 50 more inches......I suggest 140 inch capacity 2 straps plus ring diameter.

Tom

11/15/2004 11:14:03 PM

No Place Special

Picture is worth a thousand words
http://bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=29858

11/15/2004 11:17:32 PM

Cameron,ontario Team Lunatic

Thanks all. My pumpkin ring isn't as heavy duty as your's is Mike, but the straps look to be about the size I need. I plan on going over 1500#, so I had better go a little bigger. LOL. I was planning on taking it and having the straps sewn on the ring and leaving a loop on the bottom like Billy and Steve said, but leaving them loose would make it easier to handle the smaller pumpkins in the patch. I have room for 8 straps on my ring, so nothing should ever slip through it.

Thanks again for all your input.
Phil

11/16/2004 6:44:29 AM

Indiana

If you have loops sewn on both ends you can still pull the strap through itself to connect it to the ring. (if you make the loops big enough).

11/16/2004 8:16:14 AM

Cameron,ontario Team Lunatic

Thanks, Moondog, I plan on getting straps with loops sewn on both ends. I think you can buy them that way. If I can't buy them that way, than I will take and have them done at a local uphoistery place.

Phil

11/16/2004 9:06:23 AM

Mastic Beach, New York

Phil ,Northern tool sells tow straps in 2"wide x6'long or the one i'm looking at is 2" wide x 4'long.
this past season i used 6'long from p&p seed which worked great,but the straps were too long/lifter bottom out.so i laced the straps thru the handles of the tarp to make the straps shorter and was able to load it into the truck.

11/16/2004 1:41:30 PM

Ontario, Canada.

Phil, I used 6 - 1" X 6' straps. Good for lifting well over 2,000 pounds. I bought them from Brafasco in Barrie. Brafasco has stores in industrial areas around the GTA. I also used a doubled length of 7mm Perlon, climbing rope to chinch them up.

11/16/2004 7:12:43 PM

Cameron,ontario Team Lunatic

Billy, How big were the pumpkins you lifted? I guess with the longer straps, I could double them over for the smaller pumpkins. I know Russ had one over 800#. Russ, did you find the 6' straps too long? There is a Brafasco outlet in Lindsay, just about 10 min from my house. I should stop in and see them later on this week. Thanks guys.

Phil

11/16/2004 7:51:52 PM

Mastic Beach, New York

it was 483lbs..the shape was round..it was combination of the height of the lifter (A-frame) and the length of block and tackle..i just needed height to get it into the truck...the top of the tail gate was @ 38" with out the skid...i was already was losing about 3 ft space with the straps...it was a new set up using the A-frame it topped out at 7.5ft ..gotta use something in the 10 ft range and every thing would be fine..
Billy

11/16/2004 10:47:01 PM

Western Pa.

Copper,

A lot depends on how high your lifting hitch, come-a-long, or hoist is. The ring I bought from PGPGA came with 4' straps, I have lifted 2 pumpkins over 800#, and the only problem I had was that on the big ones, the bottom strap was too short. (I fixed this by tieing a short piece of rope from loop to loop to "extend" it.) I personally unload my pumpkins from my pick-up with an old steel swingset, and don't have much clearance once the straps stretch. This can be remedied by wrapping the straps around the ring(shortening them)as billyk. stated above. I think 4' straps will work for "most" pumpkins. If you use 6', make sure you have a high enough "pick", that will allow for top strap, lifting mechanism, and any "stretch" you may encounter! Hope this helps!

11/16/2004 10:47:46 PM

Eugene, OR

Here's my version of a lifting ring.
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=28325

It worked well and the total cost of fabrication is dirt cheap if you can weld and sew. The straps are nothing more than seatbelt material I got for free from the local junkyard. I made the straps about 5 1/2 feet long but I ended up wrapping them around the ring itself to shorten them up. Seatbelt material hardly stretches and is VERY strong. There's also pics of the strap stress test in my diary. One strap, sewn by a person who can hardly use a sewing machine(me) held up to over 2000 pounds before failing. If you have money to spend, by all means buy the ready made straps. If you're poor like me and don't really care to spend a lot of money on something you can make yourself, make your own!

11/16/2004 11:00:11 PM

Ontario, Canada.

Phil, yes 6' was a bit too long.

11/17/2004 4:37:48 AM

Cameron,ontario Team Lunatic

Thanks guys. I plan on using Al Eatons idea for lifting them. Al uses 14 ft poles for his tripod. This allows him to load his pumpkins on to the back of his pickup without any problems. I will cut down some 14' cedar poles from back behind the father in-laws farm to use as my tripod.It sounds like 6' is too long for the straps, so maybe I should split the difference between that and Kilr's and get 5' straps if I can. Brian, thanks for the tip on old seat belts. There is a wreaking yard in the next town, 10 min down the road. I will check them out. I had the ring made for free from a good friend, so with some cheap straps from the wreaking yard, the total cost should be less than $10. Thanks again for all your replies.

Phil

11/17/2004 6:51:48 AM