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My Tractor hauling mods to a truck...


SmilinSam

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I used to have a nice 82 F-350 with a 14' flatbed and heavy ruger industries crane on the back. Could haul 3 garden tractors at a time and then some. Let go of it years ago when I shouldnt have. So, heres the contemorary version I am slowly getting together of late.

99 F-250 with one ton rear springs someone else installed before I got it. 7.3 diesel , manual transmission with  5 forward gears and reverse.

Was going to put a flat bed on it, but the truck is rust free, and I didnt want to go to the expense of swapping beds. So, instead I bought a 5x8 dump trailer which I can use for a number of things other than  and including tractors.

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The trailer has a box on the front for the hydraulics and the battery. I have added a solar battery charger that I periodically set out and charge the battery back up. I bought the tarp kit for it which fits in the stake pockets welded to the top front of the trailer. I amd also in the process of  building a wich mount that can be mounted in the stake pockest to. This to mount a electric wich to use with some arched aluminum ramps to be able to winch dead tractors into the trailer. will run the winch off the trailer battery.

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Bought a chineese  jack type crane off Ebay. Added a long piece heavy square tubing to it to lengthen the boom enought for a tractor to clear the ruck during the lift. Basically just slid the new heavier and longer tube into the existing tube and bolted it in. The new tube runs the full length of the existing boom and then extends out beyond that. As you can see it works out fairly well.

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Made a support leg/outrigger to transfer the load down through the crane right to the ground. Keeps the ruck from tipping and keeps the stresses off  the bed. Everything ties in together above and below the bed. The jack assembly just slides into  a extension attached to the tubing  of the reese trailer hitch. The crane itself is bolted into the corner of the bed through a 1/4 or 5/16(cant remember) thick sheet of iron which is held in place by 4 of the bed mount bolts.

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On the crane base, I added some bronze bushings to take up the slop between the crane mast and the mount base. Alsi added a grease zerk at the base where the bearing sits and up  at the top where the bushing is.

Got a heavy headache wrack installed to keep from busting the window out of the truck and some tail light protectors just incase there too.

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None of my joints work like they used to and my back is shot, so a ladder that folds up agains the tailgate  added to accomodate the effects of the aging process..

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Also to accomodate my back I changed out the horrible original seating. I have found that 06 and newer Ford ranger seats fit and support my back perfectly. So, I have scoured the junk yards and custom fitted those seats into both my other vehicles. This truck and my 200 Merury Grand Marquis too...

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Coming alterations for this outfit also include converting the crane to an elctro-hydraulic setup instead of the jack. Will run a power lead from the truck bateries back to the pump assembly. This is what I had on the old F-350, and it worked out super good. With that you can have a corded control button in one hand and a rope tied to the end of the boom in the other. Just raise it up with the controller and swing it around with the rope, able to be clear of the load at all times...just in case...

Edited by SmilinSam
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Sam that's an awesome set up, you could make a fortune with that folding ladder. It seems that all the new trucks are higher and more difficult to climb into the box when you need to rearrange things.

With my back I refrain from jumping down off of the truck deck and removed the wallet from the back pocket years ago. so that the spine is more correctly aligned.

Read that article about the wallet in Reader Digest years ago,

Thanks for the heads up on the Ranger seats.

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56 minutes ago, SimpleOrange said:

Sam that's an awesome set up, you could make a fortune with that folding ladder. It seems that all the new trucks are higher and more difficult to climb into the box when you need to rearrange things.

With my back I refrain from jumping down off of the truck deck and removed the wallet from the back pocket years ago. so that the spine is more correctly aligned.

Read that article about the wallet in Reader Digest years ago,

Thanks for the heads up on the Ranger seats.

I actually bought the ladder off Ebay..along with alot of the other stuff ...

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I have that same ladder set-up on the tailgate of my 2500HD Silverado. 

With the factory 2" body lift my 60 yr old body has to really work to get up in the bed.

 

When I saw the post , was kind of wondering why you got rid of the previous truck?

Edited by GregB
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3 hours ago, Chris727 said:

 Beats pushing around dead tractors with flat tires. 

I got somethin for that problem too. I use the Ryobi 18v one plus line of lithium tools. When I go to an auction I take a 18v tire inflator withdOd

 

 

52 minutes ago, GregB said:

 

When I saw the post , was kind of wondering why you got rid of the previous truck?

When I quit selling parts in 07 I was about burned out on the tractor hobby. Truck needed an engine to keep going and I just wasnt in the mood for it.

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Nice setup.  I cant believe how clean the metal is underneath the box.  Whats the deal Sam, was that an old municipal vehicle?  I'd love to find something that nice @ 20 year old.  There are 7 year old trucks here in Wisconsin that are absolutely rotten.

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12 hours ago, MercerRec said:

Nice setup.  I cant believe how clean the metal is underneath the box.  Whats the deal Sam, was that an old municipal vehicle?  I'd love to find something that nice @ 20 year old.  There are 7 year old trucks here in Wisconsin that are absolutely rotten.

My son came up with this at the custom diesel shop he used to work for. They bought it from a asphalt company in Minnesota. Apparently it didnt get used in the winter. Was a  foremans truck  that wasnt used to haul a lot of weight or heavy trailers. 300,000 miles on it, but it must have been kept up and well maintained. Drives straight, stops without pulling to one side or the other. Hasnt been using any oil, dont see any leaks.  I added a cold air intake and a programmer.. 7.3 gets 18+mpg even pulling a loaded trailer around. Almost as good as my 6cyl Ranger....

Last week I finally glued the drooping headliner back in and swapped out the base radio for a premium stereo with cd player from a xlt my son junked a while back. Added the 2 back speakers too while the headliner and panels were out.

I really wasnt loooking for another truck but the boy thought I needed it . I plan to keep on keeping  it out of the salty winter roadways..

..I dont want it to look like the nearly completely rotted out yellow Ranger I have been driving for almost 10 years now.

Edited by SmilinSam
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If I owned that truck and setup, I wouldn't be able to afford the storage costs from all the heavy and large items I would buy. At least now the size / weight issue keeps me in check. dOd

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32 minutes ago, fishnwiz said:

If I owned that truck and setup, I wouldn't be able to afford the storage costs from all the heavy and large items I would buy. At least now the size / weight issue keeps me in check. dOd

Yeah.....

I keep looking at the barn my wife an daughters horses use & keep thinking "such a waste of space"..

....I could fit 50-100 tractors in that building&:)

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When my wife had her horse, she would on occasion rag me about my collection.

 

I would reminder her though, that when my tractors stayed in the barn they did not cost me a dime, unlike her horse since she was paying board.

 

Eventually she stopped that line of conversation dOd

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12 hours ago, SmilinSam said:

Yeah.....

I keep looking at the barn my wife an daughters horses use & keep thinking "such a waste of space"..

....I could fit 50-100 tractors in that building&:)

you did at one time with another 75 parts tractors outside on the concrete and then the damn hay burners started showing up.

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7 minutes ago, fishnwiz said:

You think tractors are an expensive hobby? I would imagine horses aren't cheap.

At least you can eat a horse after its worn out. :D

:smilie_happy:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0id3HDjV9Y

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0id3HDjV9Y

Check out these videos. I used the wax and boiled linseed oil on my truck three years ago and that stuff stays put. The only place it comes off is where it is sand blasted off by the gravel thrown up by the tires. Then all you need to do is touch it up in the fall.

There is a place on the side of the truck where the paint is bubbled up. I put the wax mixture on both the inside and out three years ago and it hasn't changed in that time.

I can't recommend this enough, I am going to do this to every vehicle I get from now on.

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8 minutes ago, Hick said:

Just remember to remove the support jack before driving away!!!

Already forgot to fold the ladder up and shut the tailgate once. Luckily its hooked up loose and can take being dragged a little.O.o

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