stand 8,000 lb concrete culvert on its end

[Sailorman Ed]

Ok, seriously not boat related but I am ready to start phase 3 of my land castle which involves the drawbridge and gatehouse towers. I have available precast concrete culverts, 5 ft dia, 8 ft long, 6" walls which weigh about 8,000 pounds. I want to stand them on end ( 1 on each side of the drawbridge) onto already poured concrete pads. My kubota tractor can lift 1100 pounds so not useful. I could hire a crane but I am extremely thrifty ( cheap!) I have thought to put a 12-16 ft log inside, jack up one end and then attempt to pull it up with a heavy block and tackle. concerned about the bottom edge just skidding along the concrete base. There is a tree 50 ft away I could use for the north tower ( see pic) but the closest tree for the south tower ( very close to the big cylindrical tower) involves cables over top the future garage roof and crenelated wall. I know there are some very creative people on this forum so am solicitating suggestions.

[a64pilot]

Roll them to where you want them to go, sink a post into the ground, cut a hole in the top end and run a chain through it, use the tractor to lift what it can and then lift/ drag it against the pole and it will stand up. Pole on the inside of course, pole only needs to be a foot or so high.
Or rent a Backhoe, I know my JD410 could have done it, maybe not lift the whole thing, but you don’t have to.

If you have a front end loader, then push of course instead of pull.
Back to the Backhoe I could “flip” one on end with no hole and no pole with just the bucket.

[Bill Seal]

Ask the Easter Islanders.

[Shrew]

Take a look at this link and review the section on an "A Frame Gantry"

https://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/usr/module4.pdf

[JPA Cate]

Good luck with the project, mate.

A.

[Sparx]

Build a ramp that goes from ground level to 5 foot tall, strong enough to hold about half the pipe weight. Place the ramp 5 feet from the final pipe base location. The plan is to roll one end of the pipe up the ramp, leaving the other end rolling on the ground. The end on the ground is on a path that will be immediately adjacent to the final tower base location when the opposite end is at the top of the ramp. In this position the pipe will want to stand up on its end in the erect position.

The pipe is rolled up the ramp using a sufficiently strong cable laid on the ground with one end well secured. Roll the pipe on top of the cable and then run this tag end over the top of the pipe and back to your waiting pickup truck. The cable now forms a loop from near the truck, along the ground under the pipe and back over the top of the pipe to be hitched to the truck. Slowly pulling the cable with the truck will gently roll the pipe along the ground and up the ramp.

[Jammer]

Skid loader. Use two at once if necessary. They can be rented, or you can pay an operator to bring one out and run it for you.


Not difficult to do for an experienced operator. If you've never run one you might want to hire someone

[HopCar]

Cut it into manageable pieces then reassemble it in the vertical. Use 5200 to glue it back together.

[smac999]

The weight to tip it Likly isn’t much. Most of weight is still on the ground. Your 1000lbs tractor might flip it up.

[jimbunyard]

Do you have a frontend loader on your tractor?

If so, let gravity do most of the work.

Used the loader to dig an inclined pit about 2/3 the diameter of the culvert about 2 to 2 1/2 ft deep to one side of the pad. Put a couple 10 or 12' 4x's in the excavation as illustrated below.

Roll the culvert as shown so that half 'falls' into the pit and upends on the 4x's.

Use the front end loader to teeter the culvert back to vertical on the 4x's, either by pushing or pulling.

Stick 2 more 4x's under the culvert to to 'bridge' the inclined pit.

If you're worried about the strength of your two original 4x's, teeter the culvert perpendicularly enough to free one and slide it onto the pad, go around to the other side and do the same so you have a total of 4 'bridging' the hole.

All this can be done by hand; the tractor (should) just make it quicker.

As previously advised, I'd try just tilting it up with the tractor first. If it won't pick up one end outright (or with a lever stuck in it), you may be able to incrementally wedge one end up; at a certain point the weight of the culvert will actually help to upend the cylinder.