mounting a bed crane in a 70 f250

[eraser5]

The guy across the street mounted his crane/hoist sideways right behind the cab and just moved his flatbed back. folded down, it looks like a funny shaped headache rack. He runs a salvage supply business, moves truck beds and cabs with it.

 

[[486]]

And if the frame there isn't boxed in, box it in.

nononono
this makes the ford frame crack
they need to flex

 

[Filthy McChevy]

nononono
this makes the ford frame crack
they need to flex

At the rear of the frame?

Anyway its not that important, bracing it well between the bed and frame is the important part

 

[lagunaMS]

any good reason not to just cut out a section of bed floor? I'm thinking of cutting the floor out where I have the plate laid in this pic and a little extra to the left to expose the driver side frame rail

then a subframe w as outlined in green welded to the top of the frame, putting it an inch or so above the bedfloor level. then the plate on top of that, probably just stitch welded instead of bolted. then add gussets from the outside of the passenger side truck frame up to the bottom of the subframe, assuming no interference from the leaf spring which i'm sure there will be. the blue is the line of the frame rails if the bed bolt holes aren't noticeable

here's a pic underneath for reference

 

[Dethmachinefab]

 

[[486]]

just get a piece of 4" plate flame cut to size
it'll clearance the sheetmetal when you set it in there

 

[Dead Pool]

We are a Liftmore distributor but I have zero experience with the small cranes. I could reach out to a tech if you wanted. However, I would add some sort of structure under the bed to support this. Tied back to frame would be good. Something solid that won’t give way. In case you don’t have specs or basic info on that crane, I did take pics of what’s in my distributor manual and will attach here.

 

[plym49.2]

any good reason not to just cut out a section of bed floor? I'm thinking of cutting the floor out where I have the plate laid in this pic and a little extra to the left to expose the driver side frame rail

then a subframe w as outlined in green welded to the top of the frame, putting it an inch or so above the bedfloor level. then the plate on top of that, probably just stitch welded instead of bolted. then add gussets from the outside of the passenger side truck frame up to the bottom of the subframe, assuming no interference from the leaf spring which i'm sure there will be. the blue is the line of the frame rails if the bed bolt holes aren't noticeable

here's a pic underneath for reference

But why not move the plate a couple of inches to driver so that it also catches the frame rail?

 

[lagunaMS]

thanks for drawing that out, this is a nice way of doing it and would save my bed floor and would be simple to remove later, which I like

We are a Liftmore distributor but I have zero experience with the small cranes. I could reach out to a tech if you wanted. However, I would add some sort of structure under the bed to support this. Tied back to frame would be good. Something solid that won’t give way. In case you don’t have specs or basic info on that crane, I did take pics of what’s in my distributor manual and will attach here.

thanks for all the info!

But why not move the plate a couple of inches to driver so that it also catches the frame rail?

yes, sorry forgot to add that part. I would do that also

 

[arse_sidewards]

But why not move the plate a couple of inches to driver so that it also catches the frame rail?

Presumably he wants to keep his 4ft between the wheel wells for palletized shit.

 

[GM Guy]

Make it a bigger plate or get a bigger plate.

 

[lagunaMS]

now that the truck is running well i'm back on this again. here is what I have so far, based on arse's suggestion. 2x3 .25 wall for the crossmembers and a 2x2 piece at the front of the piece of 1/2" plate, notched to drop down some to keep the plate level. the frame at the front of the plate is 3/4" higher than at the rear.

after looking back at arse's post I don't have the crossmembers as far apart as he suggested, but I was focusing on keeping the plate flush with the bedfloor and also avoiding interference with the leaf spring and shackle rotation. it's close as-is but should still avoid contact. now that I notched the 2x2 piece and see how it fits, I could always notch a piece of 2x3 to put there instead.

this is my first fab project ever so feel free to criticize and call me retarded

this is the passenger side where the crane will mount. the holes are already there as you can see. I was planning to weld the 1/2" plate to the crossmembers at every point I can reach and just have this plate be a permanent part of the bed floor surface, even though it is separate from the bed and I can still remove the bed without cutting this back out. with the plate being fully welded to the crossmembers and the crossmembers to the frame, I think I should be fine to just attach the crane through the existing holes, so that the crane is only bolted to the 1/2 plate, not the crossmembers also. and in doing so, welding nuts to the bottom of the plate so If I need to remove the crane it's simple to zip out 4 bolts from the top and unplug the electrical plug, and done

here is how the plate will sit, nice and flush with the bed floor. i will add a strip of sheetmetal on the passenger side to fill in that gap later

here is the 2x2 that will support the front of the plate and tie it into the frame some more

 

[lagunaMS]

more of the front piece of 2x2

my plan is to weld the 2x3s everywhere with the plate out. weld the 2x2 directly to the plate and then shimmy it into place. then weld the the 2x2 to the frame, and 2x3 to the plate. then add gussets to the crossmembers where they overhang on the passenger side of the frame.

 

[lagunaMS]

What am i doing wrong on these welds? This is welding the 2x2 to the bottom of the 1/2 plate

Hobart handler 210
Flux core .030 wire - just trying to finish the roll it came with. I have a full gas bottle and mig wire ready for whenever the flux is done
Heat 5-6, wire speed 50. Like 3/4" of stickout

 

[[486]]

don't use up all the flux core just to use it up, good to have a bit rolling around on hand for when you run outta gas

polarity is right? the settings on the sticker are usually pretty okay, but I usually run the voltage higher than 'normal'
you're probably going to want to preheat the 1/2" stuff a bit

lots of guys back off the wire feed thinking they'll get more penetration because it is welding slower, but the wire speed is your amperage dial
more wire, more amps

 

[zlathim]

don't use up all the flux core just to use it up, good to have a bit rolling around on hand for when you run outta gas

Or you need to weld something outside in the wind.

 

[lagunaMS]

don't use up all the flux core just to use it up, good to have a bit rolling around on hand for when you run outta gas

As it turns out the spool is tapped and have another unopened one so it's time to switch over to gas

polarity is right? the settings on the sticker are usually pretty okay, but I usually run the voltage higher than 'normal'

Yes I made sure to triple check that before using the machine the first time

you're probably going to want to preheat the 1/2" stuff a bit

lots of guys back off the wire feed thinking they'll get more penetration because it is welding slower, but the wire speed is your amperage dial
more wire, more amps

I don't have an oxy torch so I'll have to do a little at a time with propane. Will add some speed and heat and try again

Or you need to weld something outside in the wind.

Great point, would've never thought of that

 

[[486]]

I don't have an oxy torch so I'll have to do a little at a time with propane. Will add some speed and heat and try again

don't waste oxygen or acet on preheating
weed burner torch, or toss it in a shit fire like a paki would

 

[Steve300xcw]

I know nothing about flux core but that looks cold as hell

 

[ANGRYBLACK]

I know nothing about flux core but that looks cold as hell

Flux to me burns colder, When looks matter I change my pattern to semi circles, or horizontal figure 8s. And i only pay attention to the puddle and the science.

 

[CarterKraft]

It doesn't look bad to me but .030 flux core doesn't have a lot of deposition to it so you have to make a lot passes on material that thick.

 

[lagunaMS]

We are a Liftmore distributor but I have zero experience with the small cranes. I could reach out to a tech if you wanted. However, I would add some sort of structure under the bed to support this. Tied back to frame would be good. Something solid that won’t give way. In case you don’t have specs or basic info on that crane, I did take pics of what’s in my distributor manual and will attach here.

does any of your paperwork show a wiring diagram for this crane?

 

[Dead Pool]

does any of your paperwork show a wiring diagram for this crane?

I can probably get one. Do you have a serial number?

 

[lagunaMS]

I can probably get one. Do you have a serial number?

I'll add it here as soon as i get home and look at it

 

[Dead Pool]

I'll add it here as soon as i get home and look at it

Sounds good. You should be able to get a complete manual online with a serial number. It's not dealer protected. If you need anything that's not in the manual, I'll call my tech and get him to break it down further for me.

Liftmore isn't a huge company, you can call service for help directly too if you need to. I would recommend only talking to Russel for issues though, he's by far the most knowledgeable guy in the service department.

Owner’s Manuals – Liftmoore, Inc. Truck Cranes

liftmoore.com

 

[lagunaMS]

Sounds good. You should be able to get a complete manual online with a serial number. It's not dealer protected. If you need anything that's not in the manual, I'll call my tech and get him to break it down further for me.

Liftmore isn't a huge company, you can call service for help directly too if you need to. I would recommend only talking to Russel for issues though, he's by far the most knowledgeable guy in the service department.

Owner’s Manuals – Liftmoore, Inc. Truck Cranes

liftmoore.com

Awesome thanks!

 

[lagunaMS]

Fixed my gas flow issue with the welder and got some welding done that's less shitty than before

this is where im at now. Filled some holes with weld. I'm thinking the bottom of the 1/2" plate doesn't need to be welded completely along the crossmembers. I really don't feel like doing that and I can't reach some of the spots anyway

Somehow managed to wrestle the heavy bitch into the bed by myself. If only i had a nice crane to lift it

 

[lagunaMS]

I decided to not be lazy and welded everywhere i could possibly fit the gun. Primed everything and painted the top side today. Have to pick up some new hardware to bolt it down

Then I will start on the gusset. I bought a weld-on trailer hitch also so that will go on first, then the gusset for the crane will go from the side plates of that to the underside of the 2x3 crossmembers. It will he a nicer surface welding to the hitch side plate rather than the truck frame