The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Cab Removal: I wouldn't try this at home (again)

Here is one way to remove the cab that I would not recommend.

I am doing a frame-off rebuild of a 59 Apache. One thing has led to another, the front clip was already off the truck for IFS install:

[IMG]http://thumb19.webshots.net/t/65/765/2/4/39/2194204390100598759aVUbFf_th.jpg[/IMG]

I have read the posts about sticking a 2x6 through the cab and lifting it from inside with an engine hoist (“cherry picker” as some call them). I was concerned about the end of the hoist slipping off the 2x6 if the cab tipped one way or another.

So what I came up with was a pretty stout steel beam in lieu of the 2x6. I had a ¼” 3x4 lying around, it was way overkill. First thing I did was fix on two hooks on either side.

[IMG]http://thumb19.webshots.net/t/72/72/9/17/39/2902917390100598759RUnYql_th.jpg[/IMG]

Then I pulled it up to the top of the windows and strapped it to the top with a ratchet strap.

Then I hooked two chains from the hooks to the engine leveler and to the hoist.

One problem with these hoists, the arms move in an arc as they travel up and down. The higher they go, the closer to the hoist the object you are picking up gets. At first, as I pulled on the cab, the hoist was getting too close to the door. OK, I just let the frame down to the ground and off the jack stands.

Things are going pretty good. The hoist is pretty close to the door, but I throw a 5 gallon plastic gas can (new and clean) between them. This gas can saved my bacon…

[IMG]http://thumb19.webshots.net/t/72/72/2/85/49/2327285490100598759bdHtRT_th.jpg[/IMG]

The front of the cab wants to be the heavy part, so it is hanging front-down. I move the steel beam all the way forward to the vent windows, but this did not fully compensate.

[IMG]http://thumb19.webshots.net/t/69/569/9/21/72/2614921720100598759PTXxIQ_th.jpg[/IMG]

Then about this point is where near-disaster struck. The cab was tilted forward, and as I moved the hoist around, the whole cab tilted and the beam slid all the way to the back of each window. Now the cab was REALLY tilted forward. [IMG]http://thumb19.webshots.net/t/65/765/5/15/16/2205515160100598759XInMSr_th.jpg[/IMG]
Not where I wanted things to be. Now I had to get the cab off the hoist. My initial plan was to roll it outside and drop it on my 16’ car hauler for temporary storage. The hoist arm was way too high to go under my 7’ garage door.

On to Plan B. I thought about getting 3 or 4 of my neighbors over to just pick it up and carry it to the trailer. The more I looked at it, the more I realized that sitting it down and a flat surface would place the weight on the running boards and not where it needed to be on the mounting points.

On to Plan C. I happened to have this strange contraption lying around that I never knew the original purpose of. Some kind of rotisserie for who-knows-what, is my best guess. [IMG]http://thumb19.webshots.net/t/71/71/4/65/38/2826465380100598759JXrxjh_th.jpg[/IMG]

I managed to get it under the cab, but it was not high enough for the cab to sit down on it before the running boards set down on the hoist legs.

On to Plan D. OK, nothing left to do but measure the mounting points from the frame and concoct a cab dolly. Leaving the cab swinging on the hoist, after some bandsawing a welding for several hours, I had converted the old contraption to this cab dolly. [IMG]http://thumb19.webshots.net/t/69/569/5/71/33/2325571330100598759vtgxdU_th.jpg[/IMG]

(By the way, if you are ever cutting something open that has not been capped on top and has been sitting outside, first drill a hole in it and let the rain water drain out, BEFORE you start cutting on it with plasma. Don’t ask me how I found this out.)

It has slots for the front mounts for the front cab bolts to rest in. As I lowered it onto the newly minted dolly, things were looking pretty good. Well almost. No matter that I measured twice (or three or four times), I was off about 2” in the rear. Out with the welder again. [IMG]http://thumb19.webshots.net/t/72/72/4/4/66/2069404660100598759jaJLqo_th.jpg[/IMG]

Finally, the cab is back on the ground and mobile. [IMG]http://thumb19.webshots.net/t/50/750/5/72/29/2617572290100598759OmSgJf_th.jpg[/IMG]

I would not try this again. While I only got some paint scratched off the top of the cab with one of the chains, this technique could have gone much worse. I am going to come up with a different approach for re-install. Fortunately I don’t care about the paint scratch, but a nice paint job would not have survived this method. I will do some body work (toe-boards, cab corners, and door hinge pockets) while the cab is off and I don’t want any new patch panels dinged up putting the cab back on the frame.

The other problem is working alone; this wasn’t the safest way to do things. I will go to a “inside the cab” method for re-install, but will weld up a fixture to bolt to the hoist and figure out how to get it balanced better.

Oh well, everything turned out OK. Next, start on the Fatmans’ front end.

By the way, current plans are to run a late-model computer controlled 6.0L GM motor and 4 sp. overdrive transmission, 9 inch Ford rear in this. Bed is coming off too and while the frame is there I can put in front end, boosted master cylinder, fit motor and trans, add gas tank under the bed, rear end, plumb gas and brake lines. Then reinstall. Or that's the plan...


P.S. Before anyone gives me grief about any of these welds, I know there are some bad looking ones, but also some are OK. Bad ones are due to the shakes, dehydration, late hours, etc. Good ones are more on the pure luck category. They will hold, we are only talking about a few hundred pounds here…

Sorry to hear you had such a problem. I was one that posted the 'one man cab removal' technique. I have moved my 53 AD cab on and off the frame a couple of times. But based on your experience, I will take more care with my rigging to make sure it is not able to shift next time. Thanks for making me think about being safer.

R BO
You had a lot of excess weight there- glass & doors for sure add at least 200-300 pounds. I like 49chevyman's 2x6 inside opposed to your steel, less likely to slide as metal on metal will.

I am almost to the removial point and your experiance helps make everybody safer. THANK YOU for posting. The best part is you did not get hurt.

What do you think about large rachet straps, I have some rated at 5K to hook to the hoist? Bulk of weight on the beam and straps to reduce nose tilt?

Brad

I always wondered what a tilt cab was! Seriously though, thanks for showing us the perils of that arrangement.

Brad,

I would have no problem with a 5k rated strap picking up a cab. Even with doors and glass, one can't weigh over six or seven hundred pounds, at a guess.

I will have this figured out before I put it back on the frame. Meanwhile it rolls around grandly and I have everything stuffed back in my garage waiting for the hurricane.

Appreciate your words on safety.

With the doors off and inside gutted I used the 2X1 method, two illegals and one cab.

Maybe it's the pic,but it doesn't appear to me that your crane lift arm is extended it's full reach,usually to the 1000# length.
That would have put your lift further away from your truck.It wouldn't have prevented it from swinging toward the lift, but it
would give you more room to control the cab.

Drew,

Valid point about hoists, in this case the arm was all the way out. I don't know if hoists are made to standard sizes or not, but in my case going from inside the cab will give me the most room.

I used the 4x4 plan but decided to cut grooves in the boards so it would not slip off the ends, after that I centered the weight the best I could and clamped everything down before lifting, I was by myself when I did this and had no problems. When I put it back I may have my son around just in case.

Ed

I meant also to add that somewhere on Stovebolt(I couldn't locate it in Tech Tips) a post was made by a member who built a 4 point hanger,that is 4 point to the cab, with a center hook up for the hoist.There is also in Tech Tips a movable hoist system that use a 12V winch to raise the cab. It is very strong. You just need the driveway space.

I'm thinking a T bar suspended over the cab;using the 2X6 or metal beam through the windows,as mentioned before,(throw a shipping blanket over the roof for protection),set a T shaped bar on the roof with the arms chained loosely (12-18 inches of slack) to the 2X6,the remaining arm forward. A chain or strap goes down from that arm and attaches to the center of a bar bolted across the front cab mounts. Using a ratchet strap here would give you some up/down adjustmentof the nose. A large eye bolt bolted through the T bar could be moved to any of several holes the length of the third arm until the balance point is found. It would be the lift point. Then the cab can be lifted squarely regardless of its weight distribution. The big problem is the short reach ot most engine hoists,so probably a gantry crane of some sort is the best way to go. It isn't too hard to build-two A frames and a strong cross bar to lift from-,and can be as basic or fancy as you have time or desire to make it.
Dutchman threw a basic version of this together in about a short day to set the cab on my truck,Mad Max,when he built it,but we were in kind of a time crunch and didn't have time to do much refining of the design. This set up saved us a lot of time,stress and damage to the cabs. Might seem like a lot of work if you only intend to do one cab removal or install,but once you're set up for it,chances are you'll use it more often than you ever thought you would.
Speed

I've had GREAT success using my cherry picker and renting another one from a tool rental place.
I've removed the bodies on a '56 Chevy 2dr post, and a '57 Chevy 2dr station wagon.
I jacked the body up off the frame with my floor jack, just far enough to get a 4x4 beam under the body as far forward as I could, and as close to the rear wheel opening as I could.
Each 4x4 had a very stout eye-bolt through the ends. The bolts were drilled all the way through and secured with nuts and BIG washers. I didn't trust using the lag-bolt style threaded eye-bolts, for fear the threads would pull out of the wood.
I ran a longish chain from the eye-bolt in front to the eye-bolt in back, on both sides. Then I slid the cherry pickers in on both sides of the car and lifted from the center of the chains. On the sedan, it worked VERY well. On the wagon, with all the rear overhang, the car wanted to tip backwards, so a neighbor was employed to hold the back end of the car up while we rolled the old chassis out and the new, finished chassis in. All told, the whole procedure took under 20 minutes to swap chassis on the wagon.
The key is that second cherry picker.
-Brad

Speed,

I'm liking your thinking. Northern has a 1 ton gantry crane, Jet trolly, and chain hoist for around $620.

That setup might be nice to store the bed in the garage, roll the frame under it to keep everything inside. It is getting tight for space with the cab off

R-Bo,

If you go to the Miller Welding site under projects you will find this: http://www.millerwelds.com/interests/projects/ideagallery/project/966760928/

I made one for my hoist that holds an adjustable spreader bar that I use to pick up my cabs. I have a flat bar on each end that goes in the cab and picks up on the top of the door frame.

The nice part about this set-up is that it remains perfectly level throughout it's lifting range. I won't be home for a few days, so I cannot upload any pictures of my hoist for you.

Lane

That thing is cool!!

I had the same problem with my cab, i actually rolled all the way over on it's nose... so I left it that way and did as much work as i could in that position... then i used a chain hoist from the ceiling to lift it back into the correct position, then later back onto the frame... (by myself, no helpers).