Metalworking , sorta

That Jeep and my old Fargo were both charter members of the SPCA - Stump Pullers Club of America. Could idle the old beast away in second gear.

A couple times we tracked people lost in the desert. Often with boots on the ground, and that old Jeep putting along behind unmanned. Once in a while one of us would go turn in a direction change or take a rest when in the Jeep the trail was clear, but it would roll over just about anything putting along at 2MPH.

I always remember it being called a 57, but I guess it could have been a

1. It definitely had a split hood. I clearly remember my mom with one hood open trying to get it started when it stalled in traffic. I was 7 or 8 when it was traded away. I was 8 when my dad gave me a brand new socket set for Christmas. Right Christmas he told me disassemble the motor with my new socket set that he had pulled out of the Jeep.

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 . Snag

----------------------------- Like a big sawhorse or gantry hoist? That should be excellent for lifting the bed. You could attach swivel caster tongue jacks to the legs to raise it to roll around and then lower it to rest solidly.

My buddy's front end loader on the 165 massey made short work of swapping the box on the Ranger

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It's nice to have a neighbor with a front end loader he likes to play with, instead of paying for and maintaining one yourself.

A couple times we tracked people lost in the desert. Often with boots on the ground, and that old Jeep putting along behind unmanned. Once in a while one of us would go turn in a direction change or take a rest when in the Jeep the trail was clear, but it would roll over just about anything putting along at 2MPH. Bob La Londe

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If you want to see what Jeeps are NOT good for, drive one on the Autobahn. They didn't handle tight back road corners fit for BMWs very well either. The wreckage was hauled back and left in its assigned space in the motor pool as a reminder. The one I drove towed a water tank trailer to keep up with the leaks because we couldn't order replacement parts, everything went to Nam. There weren't aftermarket auto parts stores in Germany because the vehicle inspection demanded that everything be factory stock, down to the OEM brand of spark plugs, and of course all hardware was metric.

On the plus side, as the supply of working vehicles dwindled it became easier to take my own car and stay overnight at quaint village inns instead of Army posts.

I think my dad's Jeep has the original motor. With your foot planted firmly on the floor it doesn't do much more than 50-55 mph anyway.

Yup , just like a giant sawhorse . But as far as rolling it around , it would take a pretty big wheel to roll around on the ground here .

Three neighbors have front loaders , but I got nowhere level to set it down . And then I'd have to have one of them lift it to put it back . I can lower it close to the ground and leave it hanging on the A frame .

I think my dad's Jeep has the original motor. With your foot planted firmly on the floor it doesn't do much more than 50-55 mph anyway. Bob La Londe

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For a while we had a C10 Carryall (Chevy Suburban) that would cruise comfortably at 100 MPH. Cars still passed it. While flying above a little-used section of Autobahn cut off by the Iron Curtain I watched cars passing us pretty quickly below.

A nearby museum has a WW2 tank that can keep up with a Jeep. They have driven it in MA traffic and tell me it's the only vehicle that gets respect there.

Three neighbors have front loaders , but I got nowhere level to set it down . And then I'd have to have one of them lift it to put it back . I can lower it close to the ground and leave it hanging on the A frame . Snag

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I lean a board or plywood against the cab for protection when moving the bed into place to reinstall it. It's useful during removal if you don't know where the bed's center of gravity is.

The lower edge of my Ranger's bed doesn't seem solid enough to rest it on but it's fine up on end or upside down on timbers. Upright on three jack stands works.

I can get some concrete blocks from a neighbor if I need to ground the bed for some reason - the jack stands will be used to support the axle while I'm working on it . I think the CG is going to be just a couple of inches to the rear of center with the tailgate on . The plan is for one ratchet strap from each corner to a cable hoist in the center on each side . That way I can adjust a little bit front/rear to balance it .

I made an offer on a posi unit this morning ...

After chatting with a neighbor that's done this before I'll be using his chain falls and a 4x4 caught under to top ledge of the bed . Once I find the balance point I'll clamp the timber so it can't shift unexpectedly . This has advantages over the way I was going to do it with straps and cable hoists . I can lift it more if needed plus I can lower it all the way to the ground if I want/need to . Additional plus is I won't be dealing with 2 lifting devices , running around the truck to raise/lower evenly .

After chatting with a neighbor that's done this before I'll be using his chain falls and a 4x4 caught under to top ledge of the bed . Once I find the balance point I'll clamp the timber so it can't shift unexpectedly . This has advantages over the way I was going to do it with straps and cable hoists . I can lift it more if needed plus I can lower it all the way to the ground if I want/need to . Additional plus is I won't be dealing with 2 lifting devices , running around the truck to raise/lower evenly . Snag

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I thought you had a good solution with what you have, you're lucky your neighbor has that equipment. Here it's me who owns and uses the lifting gear and stack of 6x6 cribbing (construction & demolition scrap).

The top ledge is high enough above the cg that the bed won't tip much if it is slightly off center, and I haven't needed to clamp the plank and scratch the paint. The wood won't move from hand pressure.

The centered chainfall allows you to correct misalignment at all corners while lowering the bed into place with the other hand and you won't need stepladders to reach the cable hoist lever. Being slightly off balance is actually an advantage, you can deal with aligning one corner at a time.

Having the bed exactly balanced and centered while lifting and lowering is virtually impossible and not necessary, you won't know until you remove the last bolt and then it's too late to change. You need only to be able to shift the partly suspended bed into place with one hand and start the first and second bolts with the other, on whichever corner/end of the unbalanced bed lands first. The continuous motion of a chainfall is better for this than the ratchet steps of a cable puller. Adjust the chainfall so the bed to frame friction is low enough to let you move the bed by hand and high enough that the contact point stays where you put it. I do the same to center and level 1 ton logs on my sawmill.

After chatting with a neighbor that's done this before I'll be using his chain falls and a 4x4 caught under to top ledge of the bed . Once I find the balance point I'll clamp the timber so it can't shift unexpectedly . This has advantages over the way I was going to do it with straps and cable hoists . I can lift it more if needed plus I can lower it all the way to the ground if I want/need to . Additional plus is I won't be dealing with 2 lifting devices , running around the truck to raise/lower evenly . Snag

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If you read the tag on a screw eye you'll see a load rating much lower than the size of the metal suggests; it's the pull-out strength of the threads in pine. A through bolt eye and a shackle large enough for the chainfall hook (why I used an electric drop eye) should be fine.