Landscape truck build

[fordf150]

rims and spacers came in...still need to order tires to know for sure but i think i may be ordering 1.5" spacers and using these 1" on the front.

 

[fordf150]

exhaust is snaked thru the mine field that is this rear suspension, its ugly but since its a brand new tailpipe, muffler, and i have 2" exhaust pipe in stock I couldnt just throw it away so now its modified to fit.

Also managed to get the air tank mounted along with the leveling valve and a quick release valve so with the flip of a switch i can dump the air. Still need to hook up the rod from the leveling valve to the rear axle housing. I have all the air fittings to hook everything up except they are for 3/8 NPT and the air tank/quick release valve both have 1/2 NPT, only thing that had the correct thread was the drain valve so it is installed.

 

[fordf150]

tires, driveshaft, 1 crossmember, fuel tank, finish bolting the frame sections together and she can go for a test drive. going to aim for that tuesday since thats when my tire delivery will be here

 

[Dolmar Junkie]

tires, driveshaft, 1 crossmember, fuel tank, finish bolting the frame sections together and she can go for a test drive. going to aim for that tuesday since thats when my tire delivery will be here

That qualifies you to be "The Man". Looks very good.
By all appearances you have done this before, and once your landscape customers see it, will probably be asked to do it again. Be prepared for the onslaught of " build me one"...

 

[fordf150]

That qualifies you to be "The Man". Looks very good.
By all appearances you have done this before, and once your landscape customers see it, will probably be asked to do it again. Be prepared for the onslaught of " build me one"...

never did anything quite like this before but so far its going pretty well, already have one of my customers asking how much to build one like it....spring ride with air bag helpers instead of 4 link tho and on a 3/4 ton with 10' of flatbed. Not sure i want to build one of these for someone else.... very time consuming making sure everything is square so it doesnt dog track....maybe i just over thought it and doubted myself a little too much since it is the first time doing this.......i bet i measured wheelbase and that the new frame section was square 150 times

 

[Dolmar Junkie]

never did anything quite like this before but so far its going pretty well, already have one of my customers asking how much to build one like it....spring ride with air bag helpers instead of 4 link tho and on a 3/4 ton with 10' of flatbed. Not sure i want to build one of these for someone else.... very time consuming making sure everything is square so it doesnt dog track....maybe i just over thought it and doubted myself a little too much since it is the first time doing this.......i bet i measured wheelbase and that the new frame section was square 150 times

I hate to say that I told you so, but I told you so. How did I develop this physcic ability, easy cause if I was one of your local customers, I would ask you ifin you'uns might a build me one! As far as time goes, if you've never built one or something similar, I'd say that your rate of design and assembly are on par with most, especially since you have a real job without unlimited hours to invest!
Lastly I am a firm believer in the old measure twice and cut once theory, it doesn't matter if you measure 150 times like you said or 1500 times,like I would, it is empowering and allows you the confidence to move forward without second guessing. Very impressive, if I was local you would be forced to get a restraining order, due to me hanging around wanting to help turn bolts! Count your blessings, Matt

 

[Dolmar Junkie]

I hate to say that I told you so, but I told you so. How did I develop this physcic ability, easy cause if I was one of your local customers, I would ask you ifin you'uns might a build me one! As far as time goes, if you've never built one or something similar, I'd say that your rate of design and assembly are on par with most, especially since you have a real job without unlimited hours to invest!
Lastly I am a firm believer in the old measure twice and cut once theory, it doesn't matter if you measure 150 times like you said or 1500 times,like I would, it is empowering and allows you the confidence to move forward without second guessing. Very impressive, if I was local you would be forced to get a restraining order, due to me hanging around wanting to help turn bolts! Count your blessings, Matt

There is one problem that my anal retentive self couldn't let slide with such great looking work,

Put some spray paint or under coat on that rear end, but that's just me and you probably already have that planned!
So I'll go back to my corner...

 

[fordf150]

well next issue came up....I ordered the wrong tires. tires that were on it were 30-9.50-15 and i got in a rush because of a busy day and remembered i needed to order tires about 5 minutes before the cutoff.....from memory i entered the tire size and pressed submit, didnt catch it until they were mounted and installed on the truck. They look good and since i cant return them i am just going to build around them and deal with it. might have to order the correct(much smaller) tires for the front because i have some serious doubts about these clearing.

 

[jmester]

Sharp and clean. Great job. Glad to hear you checked for square redundantly. Nothing worse than watching a sidewinder going down the road.

 

[fordf150]

brake lines, charcoal canister, wiring is all on an done. missing the fittings to run the air lines but i figure i should probably wait until the bed is built to do that anyway.

 

[fordf150]

still waiting on a driveshaft, just no time to make a junkyard run and spend a few hours measuring to find the best fit. made plans to do it a couple times this week but just never worked out, maybe next week....thats the only item left to make this a running driving truck again and thats what i am waiting on before the next step of ordering steel for the bed.

 

[jmester]

Looks good Nate. I think that is going to look real nice and work even better. Are you going to do a hydraulic lift for the ramps or are you going to man handle them. I guess the ramps won't be bad since you are going to have a beaver tail.

 

[J_M____]

Hopefully those tires fit, they look better that size.

 

[fordf150]

Looks good Nate. I think that is going to look real nice and work even better. Are you going to do a hydraulic lift for the ramps or are you going to man handle them. I guess the ramps won't be bad since you are going to have a beaver tail.

plan for now is to man handle them....i have a couple small springs I am going to add to help but if the ramp ends up being more than i want to manhandle i can either do a split gate or add some other kind of assist. typical tailgate assist like pictured below wont work because there wont be sides on the bed, since this is a ranger i can only go 72" or so wide with the bed and 72/84" deck widths are fairly common now i need the decks to be able to overhang the side of the bed.

 

[fordf150]

in the process of googling the above pic i found something that might work pretty well for my needs.

http://www.diymetalfabrication.com/self-lifting-trailer-tailgate/

 

[jmester]

That looks like a pretty neat setup.

 

[Dub11]

in the process of googling the above pic i found something that might work pretty well for my needs.

http://www.diymetalfabrication.com/self-lifting-trailer-tailgate/

That looks slick and easy especially since you have a few leaf springs lying around. And that site has some good stuff on it too.

 

[Locust Cutter]

Fabbing something up to fit a peculiar need has always been a passion of mine. Great work Nate!!! And VERY jealous of the shop with the lift...

 

[fordf150]

been working under a lift for the last 10 years or so....first under a cheaper Atlas or something similar then when i started this shop i bought the Bendpak, I will never go back to working under a cheap unrated lift and never go back to working on the ground! everything is easier when its up in the air at eye level.

The price difference between unrated lifts and a certified one is also one that isnt worth debating now that i have had the chance to work under both, that extra $1000 is money well spent

 

[fordf150]

put off doing some other stuff that needed done to get this finished up today. driveshaft is in it and now its just a waiting game.....gotta find time to get the bed itself built. front tires rub ever slow gently at full steering lock when its twisted up a bit but other than that they clear the mudflaps and tuck just inside the fender lip, ended up going with slightly smaller tires on the front....255/70-17. i took it out for a spin tonight and was driving around.......amazingly the thing goes great in the snow even with no weight.....had it in the parking lot next to the shop driving thru unplowed areas and even across 12" tall windrows without a hitch. Seems to drive straight down the road and no vibration from my homemade driveshaft