OK when i was younger my friend had a tri pod for pulling motors but because we drank more beers than we should have , funny thing always had extra parts when we were done . i need help and or advise about building one , all i can remember is that it had 3 pipes not sure what dia. or what held them together at the top and that it had a hoist at the top . it worked really good because the pipes would sink in the ground just enough that the pipes wouldn't move . any body have pics of one or any ideas ? thanks

 

It was most likely just 3 10' pipes (usually an old swing set) bolted together as a tripod. Greg

 

THANKS FOR THE IDEA , JUST THREW OUR OLD ONE OUT LAST YEAR

 

"THANKS FOR THE IDEA , JUST THREW OUR OLD ONE OUT LAST YEAR"

Good. Caving in a swingset bar could be destructive and painful.
Essentially, what you are looking for (if the "swingset" idea is what you are after) is a gantry crane. There are lots of images of these you can find by google search. Make it with thick pipe instead of swingset junk.

I pull lots of engines etc and wouldn't bother with one of those. Instead, I made an "off road"
engine hoist by welding spindles from the REAR wheels of a front drive car in place of the REAR casters on a common cherry picker cheapo engine crane. They run "space saver" spare tires so it doesn't matter if they go flat. The front casters were replaced with fixed bar axles holding solid 8" diameter riding lawnmower wheels (any wide, solid wheel that works in dirt is fine). The tip of the boom got a steel pulley so I can drop the cable of a comealong over it and down into an engine compartment.

Everything was built from leftovers and it will pull a 460/C6 combo in a sand backyard.
An A-frame will not roll around for convenient drivetrain transport, and isn't nearly as versatile.

 

Or make up oversize pneumatic casters for an engine hoist:

The downside is you need a bit more room under the car to get this in there.

 

"The downside is you need a bit more room under the car to get this in there."

Cool casters!

Nested steel rims under each side supports the truck to provide clearance and is stable in sand or dirt. On any truck high enough to reasonably work on, those casters will clear. Check the "ugly crane" pic in my gallery for my version.

 

thanks but the neighbor said i could his tree