Bogs heads up in the "Resources" forum prompted me to post this project. At the time I built it I was in a hurry so I did not make pictures as I went along. I will be disassembling it for painting and will take some detailed photos if anyone would like to see them.
A bit of history here. This is the third and last electric hoist that I have butchered up this way. The projects were prompted by the layout of my house and lot. I have a driveway about 90 ft. long in total and 12 ft. wide. Once past the house there is a paved area approx. 30 X 50. Plenty of room to park a fishing boat BUT due to the length and width of the driveway, with a house on one side and a stone retaining wall on the other, my only option was to back the boat straight up the driveway and leave it that way as I had zero maneuvering room.
After parking the boat that way for a couple of months I saw an advert for a 100kg electric hoist at a very low price. I bought the hoist and made the first generation power dolly. While it worked as planned the wheel used was too light for my bass boat. I got another hoist, same size, and made generation two. I used a 4.80 X 8 trailer wheel and hub for this one. It proved to be much better and I used it for about 4 years. The parking area has a slight grade and at times the single tire would loose traction. I started thinking about building generation three using dual 4.80 X 8 wheels. The estimated cost for the dual version ran between $350 and $400. A friend was pestering me to make him one so I sold him single wheeled one for $350 and made the one pictured.
In use, when I return from a boating trip I pull straight up my driveway and park. I disconnect the trailer and move my tow vehicle forward just enough to clear the hitch. I then connect the power dolly and place the trailer elsewhere on the paved area. I can do this much quicker than I can describe it on the keyboard.
This is a stock photo of the power unit. It is rated at 550/1100 lbs. (250/500kg.) Much stronger than the first two.
Overall view of the dolly.
Here is a view of the power unit minus the cable and drum. The safety limit switch has also been removed as it is no longer needed. The rocker switch mounted on the handle was from the original control unit.
Here is a view of the tires and sprocket. You can also see the spigot that fits into the socket mounted in the trailer tongue.
Here is a view showing the socket being lowered onto the spigot.
And here the rig is ready to be moved.
The use of a spigot and socket is required since using a ball would not allow the use of a single wheel. There would be no way to maintain the wheel positioned directly under the trailer tongue. I did however, design an adapter so the one I sold could be connected via the normal ball socket.
BTW: The caster wheels are only used for moving the power dolly around.
With a bit of thought most anything can be re-purposed.
Joe
