How to Build a Pumpkin Tripod

1
How to Build a Pumpkin Tripod

• Giant pumpkins up to 500 pounds can be lifted by
  a few men with the use of a lifting tarp. Once
  your pumpkin gets larger than that it becomes
  easier to use heavy equipment or a tripod to lift
  and load the pumpkin for transport. This
  presentation will show how you can build a tripod
  to lift ½ ton pumpkins with one or two men.

Click mouse for next slide
2
First we need a vehicle
(if only it was that easy)
To be sure the truck will fit under the tripod
we need know the maximum width
Oops, but at the highest point
And of course the height.
With these two measurements we are ready to
build the tripod
Click mouse for next slide
3
Begin by laying out all the materials on the
ground. I used an old walking board to represent
the ground
Next I made a T from scraps to the size I
measured on the truck
Arrange two of the 4x4s so the T fits on our
ground board and between the 4x4 legs
Place the center leg of the tripod on top of
everything and scribe a line along it to mark
where to cut the other two legs
Click mouse for next slide
4
Now we are ready to cut the 4x4s
Click mouse for next slide
5
I re-assembled everything on the lawn and if your
setup is like mine then the cut will start 6 ½
from the end and leave a 1 ½ thinkness of the
4x4
Scribe a line across all three 4x4s for the
bolt hole
Im going to use a ¾ bolt so I drilled a 15/16
hole in each of them
Click mouse for next slide
6
This is the layout I used to assemble the tripod
in the patch. Bolt all three together with a
¾ bolt, washers and nuts. I start by lifting
the tripod at the center using the bolt as a
handle. My son then grabs the center leg and
pushed up and in while Keeping the free end on
the ground.
Once its up you can use a ladder to attach a
chain at the top for your hoist.