Well guys , Trying to fore see how i'm gonna lift my cab/ box of with out smashing stuff and me. the place I'd rather work on my truck.. has a bobcat. but nothing thats actually high up to lift the big parts off. And ideas? If not i'll be doing the work at a different place, and i'm not sure how often the owners gonna be there to help out lift with his big machinery. Idea's pics explanations all welcome thanks folks

 

4 buddies and a case of beer!!!

 

Well maybe you an i an two alike haha but i'm a bigger guy my friends aren't. well the one's that will probably show. Plus both frames trucks have suspension lifts. frame i'm using has the 3 inch.. and frame of truck i was gonna use is a 6 inch lift. The good cab i'm using will have full clip still attached. and i plan on removing the poor cab+clip together as well. like i said.. i know the bob cat can lift it weight wise.. but its not very agile right. and isn't tall enough to hang over top and lift up. hmm

 

get 4 or 5 friends to help you. lifted the bed off the donor truck and carried it about 50 feet to my truck there were 5 of us to do that, i wasn't much use, i'd just had surgery. they're not really that heavy. same goes for the cabs, jack up the cab, get some 2x4's and slide them through to the other side and lift the cab using the 2x4's as handles

 

I have swapped numerous cabs. They can be moved around quite easily with you and 3 of your buddies. If you dont have buddies available, you can roll the windows down and use a heavy yellow ratchet strap. Loop it though the windows, and over the top of the cab and hook the ends together. slide it up towards the vent windows and ratchet it tight. Now you can hook on with an engine lift or cherry picker and pick it up. I have done this numerous times. I have done it with both a stripped down cab without doors and windows, steering column, etc. I have also done it with a complete cab, but you have to be a little more careful because of the extra weight.

 

the pros use a cherry picker attached to a lifting frame to remove the bed. It's basically a "H" frame with the ends going under the bed lip. The cross bar of the H is where the cherry picker is attached. Lift slowly and adjust to find the center of gravity.

As far as the cab, A DIY method is to first raise the bed off the frame by installing wood spacers (like stacked 2x4s) and then insert long 2x4s crosswise and then nail those together to create a cab pallet. Once the pallet is built and supported, raise the cab and then the frame rolling chassis can be moved out.

Okay, so now the cab is up in the air and the frame is out the door... build a cab table (with wheels) so the cab can be lowered/moved on top of it - three friends, a case of beer, and two large pizzas.

 

lol thanks folks comedy an idea's both.

 

i have a 4x8 flat trailer that sets pretty low. i'm usually by myself. just me and the pregnant girlfriend so she can't do much lifting but i usually use a 2x4 to pry it off and a rachet strap somewhere sturdy and she can ratchet while i'm pushing and wiggling trying to get everything loose....

idk if pizza and beer would do it for my friends...they're all kinda lazy.

 

Get two 4x4 posts 10ft long, jack the body up a little, put the post in from the side. Get 4 55 gallons steal drums and some shorter wood blocks for a little more height. Put the drums out far enough to roll the frame out. I've done this with a supercab on 35s and had enough room to back my car trailer underneath the cab and put it on the trailer.

 

I've always had to do everything by myself ( I don't drink so the beer thing never works. lol) I have always used 4x4"s under the cab and bed letting the ends rest on blocks outside the wheel width. I raise and add more blocks one side at a time until the body clears chassis and then just roll the chassis out from under the body. Works great and best of all you can do it without any help. You have to be careful to slide the 4x4 that supports the front of the cab as far forward as possible because the extra weight makes it front heavy and could roll forward if placing isn't correct.

 

With you on the do it yourself. For the bed I took a 4x4 post and two 2 x4s and wide as the underside of the top rail, and four 2 foot long 2x4s. Nailed it together like this...

Front of Bed
|--------|
.......|
.......| Hook lift here
.......|
|--------|
Tailgate
Then lifted it off with a chain fall

(ignore the dots, text wont show leading spaces )

 

ah ic .. ok no that sounds good. And as long as i get the blocks up high enough i'll be able to put the post's under it , far enough forward. good idea.

 

I wanted to build a gantry to hold a chain hoist for stuff like this, but then I realized I don't have a garage or even a paved driveway. so what I've been thinking about is buying a beat up used trailer or just a trailer axle, and building one onto a trailer axle with an I beam sticking out 6' off the back with a 2" hitch on the front so I could hitch it onto a truck for weight, and then pull the cab (or motor or whatever) up with the chain hoist and use a trolly to slide it back and center the weight over the axle. If I did this, then I could move cabs and engines and stuff way easier since I have a couple different trucks in a couple different places. It would be a good winter project. We'll see!

 

I have done this by using 4x4 posts and jacking the body/bed up and rolling the chassis out from under it. Haven't done that since I put a gantry crane in the welding shop.

Doug

 

if you dont have a crane that will be high enough, get at least 3 other friends. really try for more. most of the weight is in the front of the cab. we rolled the old cab off, then stepped the new cab on from the side with help from a cherry picker. put one side on the frame, picked up the side on the floor with the picker, then passed it across to get it in place. good luck, remember, more people is better than not enough. its not that theyre super heavy, but they are awkward. also, remove as much as you can before you remove the cab. doors, glass, seat, carpet.....all add a couple pounds to what your lifting. if you have a high enough crane or whatever, wrap a srap under the front cab mounts, up under the cowl corners, and put a 2x4 or 4x4 in the top front corner of the door jam. wrap the strap under the 2x4 so it pins it into place when you put load on the strap, meet in the middle over the cab roof, and pick it up that way. it should pick straight up. remember, all the weight is in the front, so you want to bias any lifting points toward the front.