Genuis or Idiot?

I am either a complete engineering genius....or a total idiot! I'm actually not sure which yet. BUT...I think I've figured out a solution to a home improvement dilemma I've had for months---how to move a couple 'several hundred pound' rocks. In the front of my yard I have this flowerbed w/ some rose bushes and 2 rocks in it. I decided at the beginning of the summer that said rocks needed to be moved. One rock (darker) needed to be removed completely and put in the back yard or something and the other (lighter) rock needed to be pulled out of the bushes and put in the front center in order to later put a number address on the rock. (Yes I always have another plan behind everything.)


Well, realizing right away that I wasn't going to exactly be able to just pick up these rocks and move them...I started scheming. My first attempt was with my truck. Hooked a strap to the rock and to the front of my truck and pulled. SNAP! Strap no more...

Second attempt...chain! Pullllllllll! Nothing? Truck not powerful enough...rock wins round 2. (score: rock-2, me-0)

Third attempt--Turn truck around, hook chain to bumper, throw truck in 4x4LOW...time to get serious! Pull! Nothing... Pull again! Nothing! Get a running start and SLAM chain tight with truck....VICTORY! Yes, I successfully pulled said rock out into street. Tried again with second rock and same result. Yes....I'm so smart. Innnnnngenuity!


Pretty quickly afterwards however, I realized thinking it through a step further might have been beneficial. Now that rocks are out in street....how do I move said rocks back? Hmmmmm...

More innnngenuity! Yes, I rigged up a tricky little Y-anchor pulley system using the tree as one anchor and my truck as another. Oh yea....rock-2, johnny-2! Scores even....as long as it works... Well, as you can see by the video, with my handy-dandy little 5million to one ratio hand winch, I yanked that puppy back into place. But the only problem is moving these rocks back and forth #1 dug them deeper into the ground, and #2 has still not removed the second rock. (rock-3, john-2) =(



UPDATE: Yes...I'll admit, for several months, a rock (two rocks actually, working together to increase brain power) has outsmarted me...til tonight. For absolutely no apparent reason...not even thinking about the issue....the solution suddenly popped into my head! "What do I have available for this issue?" I thought to myself....a truck, a chain, and a bunch of wood beams from the ongoing decking project. Hmmmmm...... Innnnnngenuity to the rescue! Here is my plan:

1. reinforce truck's bedrails with wood planks



2. attach 4"x4" crossbeam across planks as pivot point



3. use long 4"x4" as lever to pick rocks up off ground



4. use truck to move rocks around wherever I need (carefully of course)

Yep...so simple...I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner! This will either work like a charm and I'll feel utterly validated in my ingenuity or it'll fail in a spectacular way that will undoubtedly cause serious damage to my truck, me, and/or my ego. Either way it should be interesting! =) Stay tuned viewers...I'll report back with pics/vids with the outcome... (hopefully not from a hospital bed though) Genuis or Idiot? To be decided....