The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk How to rig an AD cab to lift.

How to rig an AD cab to lift.

So my cab shows up Wednesday after a cross country trip to its new home!

I've been looking up old threads on how to lift cabs but most are either using an engine puller which doesn't apply for me or the picture links have long disappeared...

Cherry picker doesn't apply because I have to lift it off the back of a steak body 40" off the ground.

I have available: skid-steer
full size tractor with a bucket and hook for chain attachment
plenty of chain and straps.

When they loaded it I guess they put two straps all the way around the body, lifted it on an a-frame/gantry and backed the truck under it. one strap along the back and one up toward the cowl so they would lift from the bottom. Don't ask me what made them not slip off...

I was thinking instead of side to side, I could run two straps all the way around but front to back right where the frame goes. This way you'd have the overhang of the cab over the frame to hold the straps on....

Thoughts?

This is a complete/full cab besides having the doors removed.

I'd use straps thru the doors, lift it with the tractor bucket

Bill

I've heard that going through the door openings can tweak door alignment.
doors are off so that is not concern but also read you can crimp the gutter that runs along the door opening if you run the straps over them.

I lifted the old cab through the door openings but it was stripped and the floor was basically gone so it was light besides not being concerned with damaging it...

Tj M
Use a spreader bar.
As Bill is telling You,but dont put the strapback to itself as such it pinches the roofline and wants to crush the gutters by pulling to the middle.
If the sling/strap or whatever runs thru the cab and padded at the top and go,s STRAIGHT UP to a Spreader Bar of sorts,
You are lifting Strait up not pinching the roof line.
Can be done with the doors on also.
Key is spreader HAS to be equal to the Total Width of Whatever You are Lifting.
Regards,
steve sr.

Very correct, "spreader bar", I have seen many that wrap a strap around the top, not good practice, as it multiplys the force against the gutters and top of cab. And likely will tweek something. DO NOT USE STRAPS.
Lifting on the upper part of the door opening in the cab is how the factory did it, at least on TF style cabs, and I suppose on the AD's as well. Do not do like others do and lift through the windshield opening and rear window resting on the pinch welds.
The cherry picker deal will work just fine, the trick is how the adapter is made. Mine has 2 parallel 2x6's that run just past the 2 door openings with angled (about 3 -5 deg) to miss the gutters 2x4's to make sure nothing slides off when picking, bolted between the 2, in the center is a stack of 2 short 2x6 to space the 2 long boards,
and then on each side of the stack making a T to the long boards is vertical 22 inch long 2x6's this whole stack has 3 long bolts holding it all together with long boards on the outside of stack. At the bottom center of the verticals up 3 inches is the hole that pins it to the cherry picker. I haven't measured how high it will go but I'm sure I could pick a cab easily out of a pickup and or a flat bed truck. Extending the 2 vertical boards down from the ones that support against the top of door openings is the trick to getting height in the lift. You just don't want to go to low and go below the center of gravity of the load.
My lift setup works great.

Thanks for the advice on the spreader. I was thinking about that. Maybe I could just run the strap from the corner of the bucket through the cab to the opposite corner. ( bucket is wider than cab)

Is all this safe for a 500+ lb compete cab and not just a 250-300 lb stripped one?

Wait a second here...

Why not just use fork attachments on the skidsteer and slide right under where the frame goes and strap it down? That seems simpler...

Tj

If I had a skid loader I'd just C-clamp a 4x4 to the bucket,
slide it thru the door openings on the CG and lift it off to
where ever wanted to. You're only talking about four to five
hundred pounds total weight. Four straping boys can lift them
off a frame.
Guys have been lifting them off with a two by something thru the
door and a cherry picker since they were invented. I must have
seen a few dozen examples here on the 'Bolt over the past decade.

Denny G

Come on Mark, that looks like the production line at the GM assembly plant. But you'll never find a better way to lift a cab
than that.

DG

My 2 nephews lifted my cab off the frame and placed it on stands for me.
...click...

DO NOT use this method, ....use 4 nephews.

hmm... I have a loader available but I find it unlikely ill have 75 ft overhead to have the strap angle that vertical... lol

I'm pretty sure I'm going the fork lift route... seems the safest to me.

if you have 2 machines I would use something like a 2"x12"x14' flat with a 2x6 on edge on both sides of the 2x12 for strong backs. Block the ends so the 2x6 cant role. Run it through the doors and lift it with both machines then drive the stake bed out from under the cab. Then lower it down to a safer height.

hmm. that's a thought

Move went great! just used the forks to slide right under the cab. Went off without a hitch!

This cab is in great shape.... I got an AMAZING deal and am psyched about how nice it is...

pictures to come tonight or tmw.

Tj

I pulled acab the other day by putting a 4x4 threww the cab. (no doors) I put a chain across and padded where ever it needed. Sucked it up and swung it to the side.

A little late, but here is my home made rig for lifting cabs on and off.

http://s783.photobucket.com/user/jo...p;_suid=13650769187870033075457135156694

Thanks John. I might make something like that to lift my cab for access under during cleaning/painting...

We always use a flat strap through the door openings, then close the doors on the strap. Hook it to a tooth on the skid steer bucket (ours has vertical lift) and it works great. Works just fine for us and have never had a problem with punching the drip rails.