Moving / Lifting big rocks by hand?

Thunder Chicken

I had some grading work done in my backyard which brought up a lot of fieldstones. A friend is building a rock wall in the next town and asked me to put these rocks to the side for him (he hauled an entire farmer's wall off my property last year at no charge, so I'm happy to help him out).

Many of these rocks are liftable by one person, and I can roll them all with a rock bar, but there are a couple that really need 2-3 sets of hands to lift them into the truck, using ramps. The problem is actually just getting a grip on these rocks. Is there any sort of commercial sling or net that we could roll these rocks into and use for handholds? I'm thinking something like a cargo net or wire cable harness.

And, yes, the grading was done by machines that could have easily put these rocks in my friend's truck. The landscapers didn't want to get involved dropping rocks into a pick-up truck.

Mr Chips

I would just get some chain and quick links and make a Tsumaura Sling like they use to lift boulders by helicopter

Take a piece and make a loop around the bottom. Then cross 2 pieces and connect to the bottom loop on each end

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sassyconnie

Yes, you may move those heavy rocks using your bare hands but there are some tools that can be used to help you do the job easier. For moving heavy objects such as rocks, you'll be needing Winch or a Pry Bar. Pry Bar is tool that can be used to help you get heavy rocks out of the ground so that they may be rolled, wedged or moved to a new location. Whilst Winch is a tool for leveraging that will let you move heavy objects such as rock.

Stillwerkin

With a chain sling, you might be able rent an engine crane(put on plywood or something stable) and remove the tailgate.
Back the truck right to the rock and location.

Bud Cline

There are also web-strap slings made for two men to use to lift boulders and balled-trees. Nurserymen use them.

Thunder Chicken

I have a rock bar and shovels and such, and I can lever the rocks around without too much difficulty. It is just the lift up into the truck that is a problem. A ramp really isn't an option as the ground is really rugged.

Thanks for the pictures of the slings. Are the nursery ball slings available commercially or are they a home-brew sort of thing? Fabric straps would be ideal.