i have moved plenty of boulders in the past few years and I think I found an efficient way to do it and that involves some lumber pieces. You put some old 2-by underneath the boulder that acts as a rail of some sorts and that would greatley diminish the friction associated with the transport which will make it easier. I also found rolling boulders on rounded chunks of lumber easy to deal with and you can "push| the boulders forward on a flat surface.
I just watched this video and really enjoyed it. I can appreciate it when you can move such large, heavy items by yourself. I was especially impressed with you being able to move the 10 foot boulder, that is exactly what I'm looking to do. Thanks for posting and passing along this information.👍
Excellent video! The apparently "small" boulders that I wanted to move turned out to be grossly "overweight" and the strap method that you propose is a fine example of using one's brain instead of one's muscles. Thanks. 2024/05/31. Ontario, Canada.
Hi there... very useful video. I have some large boulders I want to move across sand. I plan to guide them over a few planks, but is there a limit on the strap length? I was going to use a comealong with a 3 ft cable. And there is a slight grade, uphill. The rocks are about 200 pounds, and I am a bit worried about the cable on the comealong snapping. The rocks need to be moved about 30 ft. No road access for a truck winch.
Great video, made me chuckle with your son & mate helping, so much effort they put in 🤣 I have three sons..why do they give up so easily I often ask myself!
because they see the world their parents brought them into, and they realise its not worth it. our hard work doesn't reap benefits like your hard work did then
You would do yourself a big favor by fashioning a longer handle for your come along. Something you can stand and use. Stabilize the system with your boot. Work positioning is just as important as the terrain and strap positioning you were showcasing.
It really depends on the type and size. A 3ft. dia. Blue Stone is going to weigh considerably more than a Sandstone Boulder. Most 3ftx3ftx3ft boulders are going to weigh less than 8000lbs. But if you start getting larger than that you will jump over in weight.
You should look into an engine chain hoist, its made to lift very heavy things, the chain is very long, so you don't have to always reposition like you do with a come-along, and you just pull the one chain very easily, while the other chain does all of the work, because the chain hoist has a much higher gear ratio, then the come-along does. 🧐🤔😎👍
Thank you for this very helpful video! We have two boulders to move in our front yard, about the size of the last one in your video. Unfortunately, there are no trees to use for resistance. We have installed some posts in the front yard sinking them into concrete (about 2 1/2 feet deep). Would this kind of work tear up the posts, or would they be secure enough to use to move the rocks? Would appreciate your insight on this, and thank you again :)
That is a good question. If your boulders are a similar variety then they probably weigh between 2000 and 4000 pounds. I'm assuming that your posts are 4x4 and probably just pushed into a 6" or maybe an 8" hole? I would think that as long as the concrete is reaching down the full 2.5 foot depth that choking low on the post you could flip the boulders. Now if you tried to drag them that will take way more toll on the post and if I were to try that I would be watching the post very closely.
I would, without question for safety, anchor a 6 x 6 post in a 12" caisson set 32" deep at minimum in hard concrete and as said below try and do the majority of all your pulls from the bottom of the post near the ground. The more you raise up the pulling point higher on the post, the longer the fulcrum / arm weighting point which significantly increases the weight forces. And depending on the weight of the rock moves combined with that (fulcrum location) it could crack and or catastrophically snap the post.
Hi there! I move boulders for fun and my landscaping regularly. You'll need a large rock bar. Some 4x4 blocks/landscape tembers anything from 4-5" long to a foot. A long pipe, and two short iron pipes. A couple feet to three feet long will do. Just jam the rock bar dawn and keep jamming until you find the bottom/corner of the boulder. Pry back until the boulder lifts up. Throw in a bar or something to wedge it up. Now use a block to pry off of, and this time the boulder should lift atleast 4 inches up. If it doesn't add a pole to the bar for more leverage. It should lift up. Slide in one of your 2-3 feet iron pipes right about in the middle. Oh you'll need a big strap as well. I like the big blue Crain straps but any ol strap will do. Just put it around the butt end or the down side and pull and it will roll just a few inches then tilt down towards ya. Put your weight on the side that came up and the front will lift. Slide your other pipe and let the boulder down on it carefully. Now you cam pull with your strap and it will roll a foot or so. I like just alternating two pipes. Sure you can pull a longer ways with more pipe but often the larger boulders on uneven ground roll off the pipes and its more complex and difficult for me using multiple pipes.. Ecspecially if your rolling a boulder up a incline. So for me just two is best. Of you can also easily use a bar to change the direction of your boulder and or a strap.
great tutorial - just a thought though, throw a sweatshirt or damper blanket on the line between you and the most likely breakpoint (or on both ends). Last thing you want is a steel cable whipping back at you!
I wish someone could come out with this simple system and instead of using hands to pull the pulley…some tools like impact wrenches…that would be awesome. As an old man…I believe after the first rock…my hands would have cramps already Nice video though for those who don’t have the means to heavy machinery.
I hook the tow strap up to the hitch on my pickup (4wd is necessary most of the time, low range helps to crawl along, but is not needed) and have moved quite a bit larger boulders than shown in the video hundreds of feet (i.e. from my yard to the rock wall surrounding my property). Works pretty well, but does leave drag marks.
Great. Now I just have to plant a tree in the spot where I want the boulder and wait for it to grow. 🤔 Seriously, though. Great video. I might be able to use this if I can figure out something to attach the winch to that would support the weight of the rock.
May I suggest, if the space available allows it, to bring a vehicle equipped with a trailer hitch and use said hitch as the attaching point? The vehicle must be in "park" mode and the hand-brake fully on, with its engine stopped. In order to avoid damage to the vehicle's transmission, I recommend not using it to try to pull the boulder. 2024/05/31.
Yes! That`s a nice technique! But.... there are some limitations unfortunately. If you have no conveniently located strong trees around, it doesn`t work. Also, if you want to lift a rock up on a rock wall- it`s completely useless and even dangerous... A mini-loader is a solution only. Or... one more option- to split a big rock on halves or quarters up to a normally carriable parts, relocate them and ... "assemble" them back into one piece by a cement or concrete mix. A negative is, you finally have a ... glued sandwich instead of a solid rock :) A level of attractiveness might be lost
I just used one to move a decent-sized boulder. The ground was much more level for that and it was still very difficult to get the thing tipped and rolled to where I wanted it. But it works for smaller boulders.
A two wheel dollie works just fine. If you fasten ratchet straps around the upper and bottom portions of the Boulder(and the dollie) it makes tipping the dollie back very manageable.
i have moved plenty of boulders in the past few years and I think I found an efficient way to do it and that involves some lumber pieces. You put some old 2-by underneath the boulder that acts as a rail of some sorts and that would greatley diminish the friction associated with the transport which will make it easier.
I also found rolling boulders on rounded chunks of lumber easy to deal with and you can "push| the boulders forward on a flat surface.
Between this guy's strap/rachets, and others lay down some pipes to roll the boulder(s) over, this should be mighty helpful, for those on level land.
I just watched this video and really enjoyed it. I can appreciate it when you can move such large, heavy items by yourself. I was especially impressed with you being able to move the 10 foot boulder, that is exactly what I'm looking to do. Thanks for posting and passing along this information.👍
Excellent video! The apparently "small" boulders that I wanted to move turned out to be grossly "overweight" and the strap method that you propose is a fine example of using one's brain instead of one's muscles. Thanks. 2024/05/31. Ontario, Canada.
Hi there... very useful video. I have some large boulders I want to move across sand. I plan to guide them over a few planks, but is there a limit on the strap length? I was going to use a comealong with a 3 ft cable. And there is a slight grade, uphill. The rocks are about 200 pounds, and I am a bit worried about the cable on the comealong snapping. The rocks need to be moved about 30 ft. No road access for a truck winch.
The good old ratchet strap does the trick..... A little time and patience but you did a great job of moving all the rocks 😊👍🏻
Yes it does! Thanks
please send me a link to buy the strap/jack lifter thank you
You made that look easy.
Great video, made me chuckle with your son & mate helping, so much effort they put in 🤣 I have three sons..why do they give up so easily I often ask myself!
Good question!
because they see the world their parents brought them into, and they realise its not worth it. our hard work doesn't reap benefits like your hard work did then
You would do yourself a big favor by fashioning a longer handle for your come along. Something you can stand and use. Stabilize the system with your boot. Work positioning is just as important as the terrain and strap positioning you were showcasing.
Thanks for the tip!
Just great. Thanks for sharing, I needed exactly this info!
Would a 4 ton come along be enough for big boulders? Thanks.
It really depends on the type and size. A 3ft. dia. Blue Stone is going to weigh considerably more than a Sandstone Boulder. Most 3ftx3ftx3ft boulders are going to weigh less than 8000lbs. But if you start getting larger than that you will jump over in weight.
You should look into an engine chain hoist, its made to lift very heavy things, the chain is very long, so you don't have to always reposition like you do with a come-along, and you just pull the one chain very easily, while the other chain does all of the work, because the chain hoist has a much higher gear ratio, then the come-along does. 🧐🤔😎👍
Thank you for this very helpful video! We have two boulders to move in our front yard, about the size of the last one in your video. Unfortunately, there are no trees to use for resistance. We have installed some posts in the front yard sinking them into concrete (about 2 1/2 feet deep). Would this kind of work tear up the posts, or would they be secure enough to use to move the rocks? Would appreciate your insight on this, and thank you again :)
That is a good question. If your boulders are a similar variety then they probably weigh between 2000 and 4000 pounds. I'm assuming that your posts are 4x4 and probably just pushed into a 6" or maybe an 8" hole? I would think that as long as the concrete is reaching down the full 2.5 foot depth that choking low on the post you could flip the boulders. Now if you tried to drag them that will take way more toll on the post and if I were to try that I would be watching the post very closely.
@@BabblinginmyBackyard This is extremely helpful, thank you!
I would, without question for safety, anchor a 6 x 6 post in a 12" caisson set 32" deep at minimum in hard concrete and as said below try and do the majority of all your pulls from the bottom of the post near the ground. The more you raise up the pulling point higher on the post, the longer the fulcrum / arm weighting point which significantly increases the weight forces. And depending on the weight of the rock moves combined with that (fulcrum location) it could crack and or catastrophically snap the post.
Hi there! I move boulders for fun and my landscaping regularly.
You'll need a large rock bar. Some 4x4 blocks/landscape tembers anything from 4-5" long to a foot. A long pipe, and two short iron pipes. A couple feet to three feet long will do.
Just jam the rock bar dawn and keep jamming until you find the bottom/corner of the boulder. Pry back until the boulder lifts up. Throw in a bar or something to wedge it up. Now use a block to pry off of, and this time the boulder should lift atleast 4 inches up. If it doesn't add a pole to the bar for more leverage. It should lift up. Slide in one of your 2-3 feet iron pipes right about in the middle. Oh you'll need a big strap as well. I like the big blue Crain straps but any ol strap will do. Just put it around the butt end or the down side and pull and it will roll just a few inches then tilt down towards ya.
Put your weight on the side that came up and the front will lift. Slide your other pipe and let the boulder down on it carefully.
Now you cam pull with your strap and it will roll a foot or so. I like just alternating two pipes. Sure you can pull a longer ways with more pipe but often the larger boulders on uneven ground roll off the pipes and its more complex and difficult for me using multiple pipes.. Ecspecially if your rolling a boulder up a incline. So for me just two is best.
Of you can also easily use a bar to change the direction of your boulder and or a strap.
Love ratchet straps. Saved me time and man power on more than one occasion
great tutorial - just a thought though, throw a sweatshirt or damper blanket on the line between you and the most likely breakpoint (or on both ends). Last thing you want is a steel cable whipping back at you!
I wish someone could come out with this simple system and instead of using hands to pull the pulley…some tools like impact wrenches…that would be awesome.
As an old man…I believe after the first rock…my hands would have cramps already
Nice video though for those who don’t have the means to heavy machinery.
Where did you get all the tools and strap?
I got them on Amazon. I will put links in the description for you.
That was awesome! 🎉
That's a neat little trick. Good to see the team work.
Thanks 👍
I definitely laughed when the boys found out it was real work and abandoned the task quickly!
How do I move a bunch up a 80 ft hill, through foliage, trees, and 10 cliffs?
Helicopter? Wait, no, a catapult! HA! make a video, I want to see that one.
A little bit at a time
I'd be interested to see how you do it. I know of a cool cut stone in a creek bed on my property.
I hook the tow strap up to the hitch on my pickup (4wd is necessary most of the time, low range helps to crawl along, but is not needed) and have moved quite a bit larger boulders than shown in the video hundreds of feet (i.e. from my yard to the rock wall surrounding my property). Works pretty well, but does leave drag marks.
Great. Now I just have to plant a tree in the spot where I want the boulder and wait for it to grow. 🤔 Seriously, though. Great video. I might be able to use this if I can figure out something to attach the winch to that would support the weight of the rock.
May I suggest, if the space available allows it, to bring a vehicle equipped with a trailer hitch and use said hitch as the attaching point? The vehicle must be in "park" mode and the hand-brake fully on, with its engine stopped. In order to avoid damage to the vehicle's transmission, I recommend not using it to try to pull the boulder. 2024/05/31.
i need to move a rock. this will help me big time
works better if the rock is strapped lower, closer to ground.
Looks back breaking. I’ll bet that the next day your back and legs were sore. Nice job.
why don’t you use a wench? they are like 120 bucks
Yes! That`s a nice technique! But.... there are some limitations unfortunately. If you have no conveniently located strong trees around, it doesn`t work. Also, if you want to lift a rock up on a rock wall- it`s completely useless and even dangerous... A mini-loader is a solution only. Or... one more option- to split a big rock on halves or quarters up to a normally carriable parts, relocate them and ... "assemble" them back into one piece by a cement or concrete mix. A negative is, you finally have a ... glued sandwich instead of a solid rock :) A level of attractiveness might be lost
What are you talking about not even in the ground
Your videos a cool
Your area have a treasure marker...
pumpers better than tumblers
cool music
Are you a robot?
Thik this is how the Egyptians built the pyramids 😂
None of those rocks weigh more than 300-400 lbs. Why not just roll them?
What about a two wheeler, dollie?
I just used one to move a decent-sized boulder. The ground was much more level for that and it was still very difficult to get the thing tipped and rolled to where I wanted it. But it works for smaller boulders.
A two wheel dollie works just fine. If you fasten ratchet straps around the upper and bottom portions of the Boulder(and the dollie) it makes tipping the dollie back very manageable.