building a "landscaping truck" for shop use

[fordf150]

turns out my deal on square tubing wasnt such a deal....it was 2x4 channel so back to square one. I need 2x6 to fit inside the existing frame so I put in a call to my steel supplier to price out 2x6x.120 tubing vs 2x4x.120 + 2x2x.120. Will see how it works out. 4 link and the remaining air suspension components are ordered and should be here this week.

 

[Dub11]

turns out my deal on square tubing wasnt such a deal....it was 2x4 channel so back to square one. I need 2x6 to fit inside the existing frame so I put in a call to my steel supplier to price out 2x6x.120 tubing vs 2x4x.120 + 2x2x.120. Will see how it works out. 4 link and the remaining air suspension components are ordered and should be here this week.

Is the square tubing going to double as air tanks for the air bags?

 

[angelo c]

Nate,
A buddy of mine has a box truck that he uses for landscaping. I thought he was nuts..."how do you get the equipment out ?"
easy...liftgate. real good in traffic as its a cab over Isuzu that turns in circles in driveways. they can be had cheap as delivery people burn through them at around 100k. cheap easy and usable. plus if you want to you can still hook up a trailer and load more chit.

 

[fordf150]

Is the square tubing going to double as air tanks for the air bags?

thought about it, wouldnt be hard to do and each frame rail would be between 4 and 6 gallons of air storage depending on which size tubing i end up with. Main problem with doing this is sealing up the bolt holes that will go thru it to attach it to the existing frame, all the brackets and such can be attached to tabs welded onto the outside of the rails. could simply sleeve the holes but all that assumes i can weld good enough to not have any pin holes in my welds. I also wonder about the tubing holding the pressure, I assume it would be plenty strong but i dont wanna be around if it isnt and it would blow out.

Main reason for wanting tubing is that it has a radiused corner that matches the existing rails vs the channel iron. going with a formed C from 3/16 flat doesnt save any weight or money vs the 2x6x.120 so might as well go with the tubing and the increased strength it will provide.

 

[fordf150]

Nate,
A buddy of mine has a box truck that he uses for landscaping. I thought he was nuts..."how do you get the equipment out ?"
easy...liftgate. real good in traffic as its a cab over Isuzu that turns in circles in driveways. they can be had cheap as delivery people burn through them at around 100k. cheap easy and usable. plus if you want to you can still hook up a trailer and load more chit.

I looked at those, either leaving the box on or taking it off and adding a flat bed. compared to what i am going to have in this ranger those would still be 2 to 3x the price. I think i am into this ranger for $600 now with all the repairs i did to make it a reliable daily driver, add another $1000 for the suspension and bed and this is something i can drive around as a daily driver and send the GF out in if need be, cant say that for the Isuzu

 

[Dub11]

thought about it, wouldnt be hard to do and each frame rail would be between 4 and 6 gallons of air storage depending on which size tubing i end up with. Main problem with doing this is sealing up the bolt holes that will go thru it to attach it to the existing frame, all the brackets and such can be attached to tabs welded onto the outside of the rails. could simply sleeve the holes but all that assumes i can weld good enough to not have any pin holes in my welds. I also wonder about the tubing holding the pressure, I assume it would be plenty strong but i dont wanna be around if it isnt and it would blow out.

Main reason for wanting tubing is that it has a radiused corner that matches the existing rails vs the channel iron. going with a formed C from 3/16 flat doesnt save any weight or money vs the 2x6x.120 so might as well go with the tubing and the increased strength it will provide.

That should be thicker than an air bubble. Or you could make some round tube bumpers like I've seen on some off road vehicles that double as air tanks?

 

[Lightning Performance]

That should be thicker than an air bubble. Or you could make some round tube bumpers like I've seen on some off road vehicles that double as air tanks?

The pipe bumpers also clear trees

 

[usmcbuckwild]

Its too bad you couldn’t find one of the older Toyota 1 ton pickups. Dual rear wheel, 7.5 ft bed (typically a camper retrofit) 4 cyl/5speed (22R/22RE/22R diesel) with 4.11 or 4.56 gearing. Some were 4wd as well.

Point is they were a low boy setup with heavy duty frame and rear axle. The older Toyotas were almost bombproof and severly under-rated (1-ton actually was capable of 3,200 lb payload) and parts are still readily available. A vast amount of stock Chevy parts were bolt on for those old Toyotas to include rear leaf springs.

Good luck with your build. Keep in mind that you may need to add counterweight to the front of the Ranger if you will be putting a larger mower on the back. Pulling/driving a 1,500lb mower up the ramp may lift the front of the truck off the ground.

 

[Fpatd]

I would not modify the frame of the truck, in many states any “ non factory welds” are illegal, plus dealing with liabilities of any injuries from accidents leaves you open for other legal issues.
I would more likely just build a flat bed or ramp body on this small truck with tie downs and safety caging!