Metalworking , sorta

Yep... if I ever have to install a lift pump in a 90s 3/4 ton Cummins Dodge pickup again I am just going to take the bed off the truck. Dropping the tank and getting it back in place is a crazy pain in the butt.... and I wound up dropping the tank three times.

Yep... if I ever have to install a lift pump in a 90s 3/4 ton Cummins Dodge pickup again I am just going to take the bed off the truck. Dropping the tank and getting it back in place is a crazy pain in the butt.... and I wound up dropping the tank three times. Bob La Londe

------------------------------------ The bed has been off my 1991 Ranger many times. I cut a 2x6 to catch the inner lip of the sides and put a used (straightened) house electric drop eyebolt in the center. The shop crane rolls under either the side or end far enough to hook the eyebolt with the boom retracted. The bed is light enough to turn upside down to repair lower edge rust easily. A few years ago I removed the gas tank and replaced the brake line that ran past it with NiCopp, the fuel pump, level sender and fuel filter, and greased the replacement U joints, all done easily from above. With practice and lubed threads removing the bed takes only about ten minutes.

It helps a lot that older Ranger beds bolt on from above. I use the bolts to attach the jib crane mount. My logging trailer isn't heavy or stable enough to benefit from the crane but it was a great help for winching logs back to the truck, over the slash and skidder wheel ruts that blocked using a wheelbarrow.

I seriously considered pulling the bed , but I don't really have the lifting equipment for that . After checking what that bed weighs - less than I thought - I may revisit that idea . It would definitely make part of the exhaust work easier . Still plan to do the gear swap inside though .

Definitely spring for the posi - it will go almost anywhere a 4wd without posi will go.. Takes a bit of getting used to though - you no longer have a "rudder" when the wheels break loose and you MIGHT find yourself getting crosswize occaisionally untill you get used to it - particularly on an unloaded pick'm-up. I have posi on the Ranger but also a fiberglass cap and bed liner to hold the backside down a bit. Mixed blessing if you get it rotating thogh because there is a larger moment coaxing it out of line!!

I think it can be a definite advantage here . I don't drive a lot of dirt/gravel roads except the mile or so up to the highway . It can be challenging after a good rain . It'll also help when I let the neighbors coax me into a drag race . They're all putting flowmasters and loud mufflers on stock pickups . Mine's relatively quiet . Until I open the header dumps . I understand that it doesn't really give you any more power , but the psychological effect on the other guy ...

I seriously considered pulling the bed , but I don't really have the lifting equipment for that . After checking what that bed weighs - less than I thought - I may revisit that idea . It would definitely make part of the exhaust work easier . Still plan to do the gear swap inside though . Snag

------------------------------- A neighbor fastened a plank between two forest trees to lift heavy equipment on and off trucks with a chainfall. 1 ton has proven to be a handy size, 2 tons is much slower and a lot of awkward weight to hang up with one hand while on a ladder. I store them in unbreakable rubber farm buckets that are easy to carry and they keep the hand chain out of the dirt/mud in use. Both are imports similar to the ones HF sells and have given no trouble. I've loaded the 1 ton to its rating and the 2 ton to at least 2800 Lbs, likely much more.

I move the bed off the truck but except for not being street legal the bed-less truck could be driven to a more convenient place to work on it. On mine removing three screws disconnects the gas filler from the bed and the locking cap can stay on to keep water out and gas in. There is one lighting connector behind the bumper that's accessible with the bed slightly lifted. If the bed was left hanging outdoors I'd put sawhorses under the front to keep it raised enough to not fill with rain water. A board on the frame between the bed and cab will protect the paint from scratches.

My shop crane is a commercial one that was easy to modify into a towable off-pavement trailer. The mast end caster is a trailer tongue jack with added wheels and a tow bar for manhandling on an extended axle. I don't know how well the HF shop crane would do for this.

paid $100 for it at a local auction. The boom extension was bent and wouldn't retract so I turned it over, chained it to the legs and straightened it. It's hoisted some V8s and engine-powered welders for neighbors.

I have the A frame that I used to pull the motor and a pair of cable hoists ... I was thinking about this early this morning while the dog was trying to get me out of bed ... I can use one hoist on each side and

4 of my ratchet straps (one on each corner) to pick the bed up high enough to drive out from under it . I was surprised to find the bed weight is around 500 pounds or a bit more , I thought it was more like 1000 pounds . I'll have to figure out where the wiring plug is but I think it's at the rear of the bed . I still think I'm going to pull the axle and work on it inside the shop . And having the bed off will make it a lot less work to do the remaining welding on the exhaust system without removing it from the truck . Six of one and half a dozen of the other , either way I think this is going to have the truck down for a month or more . What the hell , I did without a truck for five years ...

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See if this image helps with wiring:

Also give your fuel tank/s a hard look. I changed out one of mine from below and cutting an access hole in the bed for hoses/wires. It was a pain but far easier than taking the bed off...

I have the A frame that I used to pull the motor and a pair of cable hoists ... I was thinking about this early this morning while the dog was trying to get me out of bed ... I can use one hoist on each side and

4 of my ratchet straps (one on each corner) to pick the bed up high enough to drive out from under it . I was surprised to find the bed weight is around 500 pounds or a bit more , I thought it was more like 1000 pounds . I'll have to figure out where the wiring plug is but I think it's at the rear of the bed . I still think I'm going to pull the axle and work on it inside the shop . And having the bed off will make it a lot less work to do the remaining welding on the exhaust system without removing it from the truck . Six of one and half a dozen of the other , either way I think this is going to have the truck down for a month or more . What the hell , I did without a truck for five years ... Snag

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The tricky part is aligning the bolt holes when you reinstall it, there isn't much to go by from above except lining the bed up to the cab. However it's suspended, it should be fairly free to swing or turn in all directions and be lowered and raised a little at a time.

If the A frame is 2" pipe, strap clamps for 2-3/8" chain link fence posts should fit it to let you tie the two widely spread feet together. They need to be further apart to lift the bed clear of the frame than to pull an engine. I didn't use mine to lift the bed because the heavy pipes are too liable to be dropped while trying to set them up. The hoist for a 2" pipe frame can be a boat trailer winch attached to the pipe with muffler clamps.

While I had the bed off I bolted tie down eyes to the web of the frame below the cab-bed gap.

It's a lot less work than I was thinking ... one plug for the wiring , 4 screws on the gas filler , and 4 bolts into the chassis . I'd probably have it off by now if the battery hadn't died this morning . Well , not such a big surprise , that battery is 8 years old .

The A frame is actually 2 2x8 A frames with a double 8 foot 2x8 crossbeam . I might have to move one of the 2x4 angle braces a little for clearance . Actually that brace can go away since I'm not on a slope this time .

*** WARNING - MANY TANGENTS INCOMING ***

Except for some of the crew cabs any pickup truck without a load is likely to let loose on you in marginal conditions with only mildly aggressive driving or even "frim" normal driving.

My first car was a 1967 Ford Cortina (English) GT. It had been in a rollover before I got it, and I never fixed it up more than was necessary to pop the windshields in and not bump my head on the roof. I did slap 60s tires on it all the way around for more stability and better traction which was totally wasted until I put a couple bags of concrete in the trunk.

Pickup trucks almost always handle better with a load.

Most of you old guys probably know this too. If unloaded they will climb a steep dirt grade better in reverse. Even with some load. My dad once pissed a guy off who tried three times to top a hill in his old Ford F100. My dad said, "I bet I can do it."

The angry retort was, "I'll bet you $100 you can't." 1st try, good run, in reverse. Right to the top.

I knew it would work, because when I was very little I saw my dad do it to come up out of the canyon at Virgil Corly's old mining claim on Lynx Creek. We had camped down there (with Mr Corly's permission). His 1957 Dodge step side with the split hood just wouldn't make it up the hill. He made my mom and I get out, and then he reversed it up the hill at speed. That was with some load. It had our cooler, camping equipment, and placer gear in the back.

That was also the truck my mom taught me how to drive with. You wagged the steering to go straight, and it had such a loose shifter that it was further than I could reach without leaning over to put it in reverse. That was already with a pop crate on the seat behind me so I could reach the pedals. My dad traded that truck for a 42 Willys. I'd rather have the truck today, but he has been offered (and turned down) stupid amounts of money for the Jeep.

Dad had a '57 Willys Jeep pickup ... my brother gave it away after Dad died - or so he said . This truck probably won't see inclement conditions so much , it's a toy and I'll probably only play with it in nice weather .

Where we are now its only 1/4 mile to the paved road. My gravel and crushed concrete driveway is better than the road in front of our property, but the road isn't bad. I do worry about my wife sometimes. She is from wet country (Michigan) and she gets annoyed with local drivers who "don't know how to drive when in the rain." Any old biker should know this, but when it starts to rain the dust, oil, and sludge on the road turn into super lube. Because it rarely rains here that happens every single time it rains. People here (some of them anyway) do know how to drive in the rain... HERE. I'm less worried about her on dirt, because dirt and sand drives like snow. Super lube doesn't drive. Best you can do until it washes away is sort of herd your vehicle. Since often it just rains enough to get the road a little wet and stop... I have to remind her of that every time I ride with her in the rain and she starts complaining that Yumans don't know how to drive in the rain. Bothers me that I always have to say it. I take roads that drain well when it rain, and still almost always see accidents from people who think driving in Yuma rain is like driving in Oregon rain.

I remember the first time somebody told me their dad had a Jeep pickup. I had never heard of such a thing and thought they were pulling my leg.

I've lifted an almost 3000lb boat off a trailer with an engine hoist (cherry picker) and set it on cross beams setting on saw horses. I'm sure you can manage a pickup bed if you decided that's the easiest way to do what you need to do.

Never mind those pesky wires. That's what side cutters are for.

Dad embarrassed more than one hotshot in a hopped up 4X4 with that Jeep . One time in particular , we watched truck after truck attack this one hill . Dad had swapped the stock flathead mill for a Tornado 230 OHC motor . He popped the hand throttle out to about 1500-1800 RPM , dropped the jeep into low range/2nd gear and proceeded to crawl up that hill without once breaking traction . We could hear the screams and curses and "How did he do that!" as we putted of into the sunset . It ain't always what ya got as much as how ya use it . Those boys thought that if ya got 600 horses ya gotta use 'em all ...

If it was a '57 it didn't have a split hood. The 56 was the last split - the '57 was the first "alligator" hood, the first with pull out door handles and the last with single headlights. I had a '57

I wish I still had the old "penguin" too (it was metallic black with a pearl white roof and mirrors and a white tonneau) Had a quarter million miles on it in '76 when I drove it to Tulsa for the street rod nationals - sold it a few years later - had the "big" flathead six and

3 on the tree

Not necessarily the easiest , but gives me the best access to what I plan to do . Got a couple of exhaust joints that aren't fully welded and I'd like to install a crossover pipe . Oh , and that wiring disconnect is right out in the open and easily accessed . I'll pass on the side cutters .