Homebuilt Pickup Bed With Dump Hoist

1988 - Volume #12, Issue #3, Page #24

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Larry Mensen, Manchester, Iowa, decided 2 years ago that his 1975 Chevrolet 3/4 ton pickup's bed, equipped with racks, was no longer was usable. So, he removed the bed and built an enlarged box, which he can raise and lower with a scissors hoist borrowed from an old ear corn wagon.
Mensen uses the box to haul hogs, and to dump firewood so he won't have to remove it by hand.
The box, equipped with a 1/8 in. deck plated floor, is 6 1/2 ft. wide and 8 ft. long. With racks down, it's 2 1/2 ft. high; with racks up, it's 4 ft. high and can hold twelve 240 lb. hogs.
"When I bought the truck 2 years ago, its fenders, rear cab corners, rocker panels and bed were badly rusted," says Mensen. "In fact, the bed was so rusted it no longer was safe to use. I decided it would be cheaper to partially rebuild the pickup than to buy a new one, so I welded in new fenders, cab corners and rocker panels. Then I removed the pickup bed, built the box frame, and cut the racks to fit the bed."
Removing the bed was simply a matter of unbolting 4 bolts from the frame.
To build the box's frame, Mensen welded two 6 1/2 ft. long "stringers" perpendicular to two 8 ft. long sections of 2 x 4 in. channel iron. The channel irons are set4 ft. apart and parallel to each other. Around the channel irons, he then welded together sections of 3 in. angle iron as a framework for the box floor. Inside this framework, he welded 1/8 in. deck plating over the top of the channel irons, cutting holes along the sides as stake pockets for the wooden rack.
Mensen welded the bottom of the hoist to the truck frame, behind the cab, and also welded the top of the hoist to the stringers.
The hoist is powered by a motor and hydraulic pump, mounted inside a metal box welded, to the truck frame behind the driver's door. By pushing a lever inside the metal box, Mensen starts a motor which powers the hydraulic pump to raise the box.
Altogether, Mensen figures he spent about $600 on the project - $300 for steel used to make the box, and $300 for new fenders, cab corners and rocker panels.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Larry Mensen, Rt. 2, Manchester, Iowa 52057 (ph 319 927-2618).

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Homebuilt Pickup Bed With Dump Hoist PICKUPS Modifications 12-3-24 Larry Mensen, Manchester, Iowa, decided 2 years ago that his 1975 Chevrolet 3/4 ton pickup's bed, equipped with racks, was no longer was usable. So, he removed the bed and built an enlarged box, which he can raise and lower with a scissors hoist borrowed from an old ear corn wagon. Mensen uses the box to haul hogs, and to dump firewood so he won't have to remove it by hand. The box, equipped with a 1/8 in. deck plated floor, is 6 1/2 ft. wide and 8 ft. long. With racks down, it's 2 1/2 ft. high; with racks up, it's 4 ft. high and can hold twelve 240 lb. hogs. "When I bought the truck 2 years ago, its fenders, rear cab corners, rocker panels and bed were badly rusted," says Mensen. "In fact, the bed was so rusted it no longer was safe to use. I decided it would be cheaper to partially rebuild the pickup than to buy a new one, so I welded in new fenders, cab corners and rocker panels. Then I removed the pickup bed, built the box frame, and cut the racks to fit the bed." Removing the bed was simply a matter of unbolting 4 bolts from the frame. To build the box's frame, Mensen welded two 6 1/2 ft. long "stringers" perpendicular to two 8 ft. long sections of 2 x 4 in. channel iron. The channel irons are set4 ft. apart and parallel to each other. Around the channel irons, he then welded together sections of 3 in. angle iron as a framework for the box floor. Inside this framework, he welded 1/8 in. deck plating over the top of the channel irons, cutting holes along the sides as stake pockets for the wooden rack. Mensen welded the bottom of the hoist to the truck frame, behind the cab, and also welded the top of the hoist to the stringers. The hoist is powered by a motor and hydraulic pump, mounted inside a metal box welded, to the truck frame behind the driver's door. By pushing a lever inside the metal box, Mensen starts a motor which powers the hydraulic pump to raise the box. Altogether, Mensen figures he spent about $600 on the project - $300 for steel used to make the box, and $300 for new fenders, cab corners and rocker panels. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Larry Mensen, Rt. 2, Manchester, Iowa 52057 (ph 319 927-2618).

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