The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop PTO question

I am wondering if anybody could help me out. On my GMC, there is a PTO output shaft that I thought belonged to a hydraulic dump mechanism. as I crawled around under the truck, I notice that the bed is clamped to the frame so that it won't flop around. The rear attaching point is hinge pins. I can't find any holes or mounting brackets to suggest that there was ever a dump on this truck. Am I drawing the wrong conclusions or is this a common setup.

yes the pto is for a hoist it probable drove a pump with a drive line to a self cotained pump. The hoist might have been mounted on a seperate frame

Sounds as though there was a hoist outfitted to your chassis at one time but has been removed. Your assumption of the PTO operating a hydraulic pump is correct but it seems the cylinder(s) and or hoist mechanism has been taken off and the body U bolted to the chassis. It would be common to leave the hinge attached in such a removal. You will likely find holes drilled in the frame where the cylinders attached. If the body longsills are sitting directly atop the frame then chances are it had twin cylinders attached to the frame and the body. Look closely at the longrails and you may find evidence of that. If the hinge is incorporated into a subframe then it was likey to have been an underbody twin arm or scissor frame hoist wherein the cylinder(s) and mechanism were also included into the subrame. It would not be necessary to remove the PTO from the transmission and it may still be useful.