harbor freight has one they say 100 to 147 tall bout 10 foot wide 700 bucks. I use a standard cherry picker. then I stick the upright piece from a standard engine stand in the boom for more length-height. then I chain the back of the cherry picker to a riding mower, boat trailer, engine block to hold it down. generally takes 2 lifts to get it out-in. drop it on a pallet. raise the boom. pick it up and drop in the hole. I also usually only do short blocks. heads go on after block in place. ebay. 400 bucks. 12 foot wide. 8 to 12 foot height. twice that at harbor freight.

I think my buddy's a frame is 10' high and it barely got the oil pan over the transom last time we pulled it. I was thinking 12' min. if i'm going to buy my own. Don't want it to be too big because portability would be nice. Thanks for the input.

That's bad ass

How much did it set you back?

There is a big one, just the frame, on craigslist right now near me. It is big, heavy, and not so portable... I think he has it at $1000 which is probably it's weight in scrap iron. Judging by the beam size it can probably handle a few tons from one lifting moment. Was hoping to find something a little more "portable"

but 400 on ebay, I woulda never spent 200 on cherry picker. but cherry picker is 15 years old. dunno if gantrys that price then. and there's craigslist people want more than new ones for their old, rusty, non-portable hunks of iron...

Have had a Harbor fright cherry picker for 20 years. Also a bought a H/F gantry about 7 years ago. Used them both so many times I cant count.

Did you have to widen your H/F gantry?

I bought a used H/F one off of Craig's List and yes I had to have a wider beam made. It would not fit around my trailer or the boat's 8'6" beam. I do like how it's adjustable and will be able to roll it out of my 10 ft shop doors.

Mine is an L.K. Goodwin . Model SF3512 that I extended the legs 2 foot. I bought it off Craigslist for 600 , guy used it to move granite slabs.

managed to find it on Craigslist, got it for $800