I'm building a 52'x24' barn, with 12' walls. The walls are 20' apart, and I need that unobstructed opening on the ends, so I'm going to use trusses for the roof. I'm building this by myself.I've been strategizing on how I'm going to get the trusses up onto the walls. Here is my crazy idea. I have a full size backhoe/loader, so I ought to be able to use it. I will make a jig of 2x4s that is like a big H, except 2 crosspieces and a diagonal brace, to keep the 2 verticals parallel. I'll temporarily attach a truss to the top half of the H with clamps or screws. I'll fashion a gizmo for the front bucket of my backhoe, which will consist to two sections of either 5" box beam or pipe that are mounted vertically. Something that the 2x4s can easily slide into. These pieces of tubing will be welded to suitable bracketry to attach it to the bucket securely, but in a removable fashion. The pipe sections will go vertically across the face of the bucket. To raise a truss, I'll tilt the bucket down, drive up to a truss with the attached H jig, and through muscle power, finagle the truss so as to get the vertical 2x4s of the H jig to slide into the 2 pipe sections on the bucket. Then, I'll tilt the bucket until the truss is vertical. It will slide down into the pipes on the bucket attachment, and be stopped by the horizontal of the H jig. Then, I'll raise the bucket up until the truss clears the walls, and drive in from the end of the building. Lower the bucket to drop the truss into place. One thing I like about this approach is that the H jig will hang down and should keep the truss standing up until it can be secured. Then I'll detach the H jig and attach to the next truss in the stack, and so on. Anybody try anythinglike this? I have access to a great steel scrap dumpster, so materials for the bucket attachement should not be a problem.
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