In the past, I’ve used physics, creativity, and luck to lift or move heavy loads, such as woodworking and metalworking machinery. Now, I’ve got a Harbor Freight Pittsburgh 2-ton shop crane at my disposable, and it has changed everything.
I have had mixed experiences with Harbor Freight tools and equipment in the past, and although they’ve been much more positive lately than not, I was hesitant to buy one of their shop cranes.
Note: The test sample I’ve been working with was provided by Harbor Freight (at ToolGuyd’s request).
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I had been looking at other brands, and it was difficult to make sense of the huge swings in price. Were the cranes and hoists at other retailers and industrial suppliers better? Would the Pittsburgh shop crane be “good enough?” Or would it be a mess?
This particular model is new and updated compared to its predecessor. At first it looked like just a change in branding and appearance. Yes, the new model looks sharper, but there’s more to it.
My Harbor Freight PR contact explained that the new 2-ton shop crane features:
- Overall improved structure
- Locking rear casters
- Tie down hoops
- Improved casters and cotter pins
It also has an internal load limiting device to prevent overloading.
These changes were made to comply with ASME PASE standards, and also to “improve overall customer experience and ease of use.”
I was very curious at that point.
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The shop crane legs fold up for storage, but would still take up some of my valuable shop space.
I asked whether there’s much of a difference between 2-ton and 1-ton models, and was told that their footprints are similar, with the 2-ton having extra reinforcements and the larger hydraulic ram size.
I was very curious about the new Pittsburgh model, but wasn’t convinced yet to reach for my wallet. I requested a test sample, and it arrived a few days later via truck along with a hydraulic lifting table – more on that another time.
To be frank, I was impressed with the packaging. The outer box was beat up a little, but everything inside was neatly packaged.
The hardware was nicely presented and made the assembly process extremely easy.
I was also impressed with the instructions. They were 9 out of 10 for a Harbor Freight product, with the only niggle being that I might have benefited from more beginner info.
For instance, I learned via observation that the end of the jack handle can be used to twist the hydraulic jack’s release valve.
The hydraulic jack was easily bled and did not require any filling, which is completely opposite of my experience with the lifting table.
The shop crane isn’t exactly effortless to fold the legs up and down and pin them in place, but I believe that’s due to my garage floor being uneven. To get around this, I carefully lift the middle when installing or removing the pin to switch between usage and storage modes.
Ideally I should move or rotate the crane to a different part of the floor that’s better leveled along each leg axis, but I’m short on maneuvering space right now.
I used the crane a couple of times now, most recently to lift my new 370 lb benchtop mill into position on its stand. The mill came with lifting instructions.
I’m just getting over a neck and shoulder injury, and my lower back has seen better days. I don’t think I would have found an easy way to safely lift the benchtop mill otherwise. My neck and back are thanking me for taking a chance on testing the Pittsburgh crane.
The Harbor Freight Pittsburgh 2-ton shop crane made things easier. If not, I would have balked on getting a shop crane – again – and likely would have had to disassemble the mill to move its major components separately.
It still requires a lot of care and planning to lift or move heavy equipment, and I read up on as many rigging safety guidelines as I could find.
The question I sought to answer is this: is there any reason not to buy the Pittsburgh 2-ton shop crane?
For the longest time, I convinced myself that this, and other cranes like it, were mainly for use with car engines. Yes, that’s a popular application, but it has already proved to be versatile in my use for lifting small and heavy machines.
Also for the longest time, I wondered what the compromises were. I can’t speak about its predecessor, but this model feels quite solid to me.
It’s easy to use, and feels very secure. I took things slow, but at no point did I doubt the crane’s strength or reliability.
Is it worth the floor space? I’m still thinking about this. So far, yes. It solved two major equipment-lifting problems for me. I could have definitely used this crane in the past.
One thing I like is that all of the separate parts moved around easily. If I don’t think I’ll be using it for a couple of months, I might disassemble it and put the pieces in the basement or attic. But, we’re also planning on getting a shed. That will free up space in the garage, and I might have space in the shed for the crane, although if I do that I’ll likely keep the hydraulic ram in a temperature-consistent space.
With more value-priced tools and equipment, it’s often clear where money is being saved. Here, I couldn’t find any obvious compromises or tradeoffs. It proved to be a near-perfect solution to a need.
I cannot guarantee that your experiences will mirror mine. But I can tell you that this has been a positive experience for me.
The crane is $369.99 plus shipping, which is $136.98 to my zip code. The freight company was paid for curbside delivery with a lift gate. I asked the driver to bring it up the driveway, and tipped him $20.
I was hesitant about an in-store ordering or pickup option, not knowing how large the box would be. It’s too heavy to lift – the crane weighs 197 lbs and has a 220 lb shipping weight.
But in theory Harbor Freight store associates could helped me get it in the back of my SUV, as all stores should have lifting tables for customer use or assisted loading. Once home, the crane can be removed from an SUV or truck bed in pieces.
I have been very happy with the shop crane. Will I feel the same way a year from now? 5 years from now? I hope so.
All of my concerns and hesitations seem to have been for naught. Harbor Freight did a great job with this one. So far, there has been no obvious downsides.
Thank you to Harbor Freight for providing the test sample.
TomD
These things (and that lifting table) are really nice to have, and the price is honestly low enough that I’d have no problem leaving outside under a tarp in all sorts of weather if I needed the space.
They’re pretty durable.
Store pickup is great and you can not only have them help you get it in (with their own lifting table) but you can take it out of the box there, too.
DRT42
Shop cranes are pretty handy. I have one from a different maker – I used to use it all the time, until I got an overhead hoist in the barn. Per your question – I would recommend buying a shop crane with an air/hydraulic cylinder, instead of the fully manual one that you have. I got sick of pumping the thing 1001 pumps to raise the lifting arm, and converted mine to air. What a difference! Also, shop cranes are a bit clumsy, considering that you have to maneuver the extended feet around obstacles like jack stands, or worse, the pallet that a heavy object was delivered on. If the feet can’t go around the pallet (and they usually can’t), you can’t lift the object without the crane tipping over. All that said, I never regretted buying mine – I just don’t use it very much anymore.
Stuart
What I really want is a gantry crane, but they’re huge and less flexible with respect to storage. They’re also much more expensive.
fred
We had a travelling crane (aka bridge crane) in our fabrication shop. It was WWII vintage but had been retrofitted to bring it up to safety codes – with literally all the bells and whistles (e.g. safety alarms). We did not use it very often – relying more often on other methods (fork lift, gantry crane, fixed jib crane or toe jacks and machinery skates) to lift and move things about. But when we needed it – we’d hire an operating engineer and let them do their thing.
Saulac
I don’t think I have ever seen the reinforced on top of the arm looking like that. Seem like a lot of unnecessary welding.
You should try manual stackers. A lot more compact and can also double as a lift/adjustable height table.
Steve
I can see this being useful, yet storage is always a concern a d while it is useful, it probably wouldn’t get a whole lot of use. We have a couple of gantry’s at work I could use if needed. Nice item, glad it is working out for you. Maybe one day I’ll need one…
Bonnie
I’ve rented one the handful of times I’ve needed it, and that’s pretty cheap around me (~$30). When you need one though they’re absolutely fantastic.
A W
Thanks for the review Stuart.
I’ve had some bad experiences with Harbor Freight in the past, but it’s great to know their quality is improving.
I wouldn’t have considered them for something like this but definitely will in the future.
Fritz Gorbach
I have the older version. It’s been quite handy shuffling machinery and equipment around my shop. Certainly don’t regret the purchase.
Nathan
Only question I’d have is how it maneuvers with 1200 plus lbs on it. I’ve used some that flex a bit and are hard to move. Casters overloaded or etc. Modern cars are lighter but a big engine and transmission will still get to the 1200 arena.
Otherwise sounds like it was a great option
Josh R
I’ve used the slightly older version of this crane extensively, and I still use it for blade changes on my zero turn. Only paid $120 for mine with a coupon.
If I ever needed to replace the ram, I would get one with a pneumatic actuator; other than that no complaints.
JMG
I took a bullet through my right arm a bit over three decades ago and lifting aides became an indispensable part of my shop life. Along with the mobile shop crane, that I believe was purchased from HF, I also picked up a sheetrock lift and built three jib cranes as well as a beam trolley that covered an area of around 700 sq ft. I also added a lift table for working on vehicles much later on, along with a two post vehicle lift in my garage space.
The shop crane is stored in a disassembled state as it is only used once in a while. If you fully compress the ram when storing yours, you should not have any issues leaving it a shed for an extended time. Mine has held up fine over the years and has never been stored in a climate controlled space. If I were still running a shop and using the shop crane on a regular basis, I would probably convert it to air actuation, but it currently only sees use about once a year.
The sheetrock lift was useful in assembly and installation of the cranes we built as well as its intended use. The weight rating was just high enough to lift the steel beams into place and is, like the shop crane, another tool that I will never relinquish.
Building the other lift devices needed was the only economical option at the time for various reasons and was a great learning experience.
MT_Noob
Great review, I’ve often wondered about their value in a small shop or garage. I also look forward to the lift table review.
FYI small typo. “most recently to life my new 370 lb” probably should have been lift not life. (I’m not complaining, but I know you like to correct those occasional typos that slip in very rarely.)
Stuart
Sorry – thank you, *fixed*!
That’s a question I had too. Is it worth spending x-amount of dollars (especially when I was looking at pricier competing models) and the floor space for something that might only be used a handful of times a year?
I don’t have an answer to that yet, but am leaning towards “yes.”
Franco
That is an interesting question that we all ask ourselves, concerning certain purchases. For sure, some will have more use than others.
What I have found is that often, once you have something, you end up using it much more than expected, in ways that you had not considered.
Then other products I may have had a lot of hope and anticipation, end up being wasted floor space and money that could have been used elsewhere.
Probably in the next year you will have a pretty good idea how valuable an addition this shop crane is…or isn’t.
MM
I had the earlier version of this crane for many years. I found it surprisingly well made for a Harbor Freight product. I first used mine working on cars, I later used it in my machining business to move heavy chucks, vises, & workpieces.
My version didn’t fold up and it had a single reinforcing strap along the top beam rather than the boxed in section this one has.
My only real gripe is that the front casters (the ones under the hook) are too small and not very good quality. I never had a problem with mine failing, but they are difficult to move under load because the wheels are small and the bearings aren’t the greatest. A very worthwhile mod is to get some better casters for the front; and really the rear ones aren’t worth worrying about so much, it’s mainly the fronts because that’s where most of the load is. If you notch the legs you can fit casters with larger diameter wheels without raising the height of the unit and that will make it even easier to roll around.
A few other things I ended up doing to mine:
-Replace the pin for the lifting arm with one from a farm store with a nice big easy-to-grab handle and a captive locking pin so you can’t lose it.
-Add counterweight to the rear to give greater stability & lower center of gravity.
-Replace the manual ram with a pneumatic one, now you can use your shop air to raise the load without pumping, something similar to:
https://www.harborfreight.com/8-ton-long-ram-airhydraulic-jack-58816.html
-Add a worm-gear type boat trailer winch to the unit to give another means of raising or lowering the load, or to tilt a load lifted with the main hook.
DC
I have the one like yours for several years. Shipping to Hawaii was expensive when they did ship so I went to a Ship To Hawaii freight forwarder for free then to Honolulu via ship. I’ve used it to lift and install a 22R-E engine and several Toyota trannys Just have to move slowly otherwise it’ll tip over. So far it’s lasted and planning to use it again soon.
Charles Tomes
I had the older version with the un boxed strap on top, if i recall it had multi position extending legs that this one doesn’t, which made using at max reach a little less risky. I ended up selling it after not using it for many years. the casters on mine were what I was thinking of upgrading, at full live load rolling it around with an engine/transmission suspended, the casters hung up randomly and made the load start swinging.
Jim Felt
Stuart. Very useful review. Now I’ve got to think on this. Grrrr. Thanks.
And now this in your obvious excitement:
“Locking rear csters”
Alex Peel
I have what looks like an almost identical version I bought years ago by Torin. One tip from Blondiehacks on youtube that I found really useful was instead of trying to move the crane with a big suspended weight put a few boards across the legs, lower your weight onto it mostly, and then move the crane. Much more stable movement without having a big swinging weight.
I just moved a 900lb mill last weekend using this technique and it worked great.
Other useful trick when I had to move the mill through an area that the crane could not fit through was to use a standard furniture dolly to put the mill on. The basic dollies can support 1000lbs. It worked really well for moving the mill as well. Even better rolling than the crane with its metal wheels.
Stuart
Thanks! (*fixed*)
With this type of product, there are two questions.
1) Do I need one?
2) Is Harbor Freight’s any good?
I settled on “yes” for the first one, but that second question was still a problem.
After using it for a bit, the answer is “yes” to that second question, at least in my opinion for my needs and applications. Answering the first question is up to you.
Dave
I have a very similar hoist made by Torin that I bought maybe 20 years ago, same ratings and configuration, lacking a few of the updates this Pittsburgh one has, but it has served me well.
I did add a 6″ caster to mine, just above the T handle on the back. This makes it easy to tilt back onto the tailgate of my truck, then I can lift the base and roll it into the bed like a wheelbarrow.
Mine has lifted everything from engines to entire car shells. It’s pulled fence posts, I made a bracket to use it to lift the cap off the back of my truck. I couldn’t do without it.
Bob
I’ve had the old version for probably close to 10 years. It’s been used at least a few times a month. Stored in a heated but not cooled shop. Hydraulic piston has failed twice. Not easily rebuildable so I just bought new. I think it’s like $75 the last time I bought one a few years ago. Hope the new design uses the same size ram!
Very handy. Reasonably compact for what it is. Casters kinda suck but they are serviceable. We use it way less now that there is a forklift at the shop. Still use it in the field on occasion.
Fold up legs look nice on the new one. Not sure if they are as long as my old one. Less stable if that’s the case. Not sure about load limiting? How is this accomplished? Will it lower unexpectedly when dragging it around? Realistically one should never trust hydraulic rams to hold anything (cranes, load checked rams etc disregard). Think car jack: always use jack stands. However if I’m removing an engine and it’s swinging around as they do when your rolling out the hoist from under the car is this thing going to drop load on my front grill?
JoeM
You have me curious what Princess Auto has as an equivalent up here in Canada. Not that I need a crane, but other medium-sized heavy equipment like this might be useful somehow.
(For my American comrades: Princess Auto is the Canadian equivalent to Harbor Freight. Great bulk equipment, Low/Dirt Cheap Pricing. Questionable COO quality to consider in some cases.)
John
There is nothing compelling about buying off brand junk from Harbor Freight. I surely wouldn’t be using them for anything that holds 2 ton.