The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Removing Dump Body

I'm about to take the dump body off my '48 2t. Have to do it single handed, so I'm going to wedge the raise lever back and hoist the body with my tractor's loader and bock it up so I can get at the ram, hoses and subframe. Lower the body, jack up everything on 6X6's crosswise and set it on oil drums and pull the truck out from underneath. Sound reasonable?

You should not have to raise the body to remove it. Hoses needn't be removed from the cylinder, only at the pump if it is remote from the cylinder. If it is manifold mounted to the cylinder then you need only remove the driveshaft from the PTO, disconnect the subframe attachment plates & bolts to the frame and lift it off as a unit.

I have more years of experience with this sort of thing than I care to remember and it isn't difficult, just be careful and have the proper equipment. Don't take any chances with this kind of weight as it is very unforgiving.

I would remove the bed first, then the lift equipment,
Scott

53moneypit, sure enough, (my last truck project was a '64) crawled under and it's just as you said. Pump and ram stay with the subframe. Now comes the fun part. Guess I'll pull it back to the balance point, let it slide down 'til it hits the ground, build some ricking under the front, and then pull the truck forward. Lift up the back end on some more ricking. Thanks.

Whatever you do, think about it twice before you make your next move. Alot of weight to be slinging around....

If you really have to do it alone can you at least find a spotter to watch and dial 911 if something goes wrong?

Or get someone here waiting to get news that you've finished successfully, and equiped with a local emergency number? Take your cell phone underneath too.

I've heard of a few too many serious injuries with this kind of project and we sure don't want you to be the next!

Thanks guys. I do tend to be a little impulsive. The latest plan is to detach subframe, build serious ricking (I used to jack up houses to replace sills) on both sides of the truck, SLOWLY RAISE the frame and body up until I can slide 6 X 6's under everything, and then pull the truck out. That way, if it goes south, I'm no where near the thing...safety first, right?

When it came time to remove the dump body from my 1964 Chevy C60 I ended up renting a heavy duty fork lift from our local rental place here in town. The fork lift had a 10-ton capacity and 9 foot long forks. It was $150 for 4 hours, but it was the safest (and easiest) way to remove the bed from my truck. (That's another problem about being 2000 miles from home. If I were home I would have used my brothers Cat 235 excavator to lift it off...free of charge too )

I lifted the whole assembly off at once...bed, rails, hydraulic assembly...everything. After all the bolts were removed...I came in from the back of the truck, spread the forks and then drove in. There was sufficient space between the bed and rear tires to allow the forks to slide right in. Having the fork lift allowed me the opportunity to place the bed exactly where I wanted it too!!!

That's the problem with owning a Big Bolt...every time you need to do something it's always much harder or more costly...but I value my safety...so I paid the money and did it the right way . I can save money in other areas of the restoration...

There is a rental place about a quarter mile from me. I hadn't thought of renting a fork lift! Thanks for that idea.

I have friends with selfloader log trucks. For prodjects like that it's worth $100.00 and a case of beer. And I always help them drink the beer. :p

Like I said...there are other areas during the restoration where I can save money...but sometimes you have to spend the cash.

Actually, I had done a complete brake job, coolant flush and tranny maintenance on a friends Chevy pick-up and pocketed $600 cash...so I used the money from an afternoon's work to pay for the rental !!!

Money spent to do something safely is money well spent!!!

When I took mine off I took the body off the subframe.Then I took the piston/pump out, then all the arms and pins, and that made the subframe not so bad to handle.I did it this way so I could work on each part and paint it before it went back on the truck.If you take the whole setup off at once it'll sure be hard to work on and get cleaned up.I took mine off with a floor jack,a 4x4,and a hunk of pipe to roll the body back a bit.I put it up on stands of oversized concrete blocks and rolled the truck right out from under it.