Getting Vee box out of the truck

[Alan]

We spent the weekend making up a system to unload our new vee box from the pickup. The K2500 is my son's daily driver and he did not want to be married to the vee box all winter. Can't say that I blame him, that extra hanging out the back makes for a clumsy rig in a parking lot and sure would make it hell to load his 4 wheeler.

We ended up welding some tube to the spreader hopper that lets us slip in some extensions and long legs. We can jack up the box and pin the legs and drive away. One man operation and about ten minutes to either mount or dismount the spreader.

It would have been a LOT easier if we had a loader or an overhead hoist, but this looks like it will work pretty well for a quick and dirty rigging.

 

[GeoffDiamond]

That sounds like a great system Alan. I remember when I was a kid, dad had like 1 or 2 v-boxes. This was also when we didn't leave them on all winter like we do now. He built an oversized swing set like frame, chain fall in the center. Back the truck under, he added a hook in the center I think, put the chain fall on the hook. Then just lift it up about 2" drive off. He used to store the v-boxes like this all summer.

When I took over and added more v-boxes. I got lazy, his system kinda got removed, also the frames he built were not tall enough as trucks got newer.

Now, I have 2 I beams, that are about 3' off the ground. I just use my cat 312 exevator to pick up the v-box, and set it in the truck. It works fine for the 3 yard models, however the 7 yard one on the F 650 is a lot harder. However this system is very large, and is placed out in the "back 40" out with a lot of outher junk.

As for tailgate sanders. I have them inside the shop, hung on a peice of angle iron, that is level with the body of the truck. Then I just piviot the angle iron over so it is behind the truck.

Geoff

[Edited by GeoffDiamond on 12-04-2000 at 03:11 AM]

 

[Alan]

At some point I'll get some pictures of this contraption and see if I can manage to get them posted to here. With a little bit of welding ability it would be pretty easy for anyone to make.

 

[GeoffDiamond]

Alan, BTW how is the 10' western plow doing?

Geoff

 

[Alan]

Haven't even messed with the Western yet. Maybe this coming week if I can get to it. It's not one that I'm counting on, but it will make a good backup once it's on the truck. I was going to make a new plow frame on the truck but I think that for this year I'll run the old Western frame, in the interest of getting it up and running sooner. I really need to blast and paint the moldboard, it has about a half dozen layers of brushed on paint that is all blistered and peeling and making the moldboard rough as all get-out, wet snow would ball up on it, the way it is now, and not slide at all.