Dump Truck! Installing a Scissor Hoist Kit
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- čas přidán 30. 11. 2023
- This is a project I've been planning to tackle ever since I bought my 1997 Ford F-Super-Duty flatbed pickup truck, and the time has arrived. It will finally realize its destiny to be a dump truck.
I live on an island, and I'm developing vacant land for a homestead build. After I had my first (and only) load of gravel delivered, I realized that the equipment necessary to haul my own stone was going to pay for itself and then some. The delivery costs to get trucks across the ferry were just too high.
The most apparent solution was a dump trailer, but my ferry charges by the foot, so that extra fare would have added up pretty quickly. So I set out looking for a small dump truck. I found there were two options: incredibly expensive, and clapped-out farm-trucks that can barely go 30 miles per hour. Since I'm cheap and my quarry requires some freeway driving, neither appealed to me.
With a little research I learned that hydraulic dump conversion kits could be had for less then two thousand dollars, so I bought a medium-duty flatbed (ironically badged F-Super-Duty) with the plan to convert it from the truck I could afford into the truck I wanted.
There are a number of videos so far on this channel documenting the various work I've done (shortening the bed, adding stake-sides, tailgate hinges, and general wrenching):
• Truck
But all of that has been leading up to this project. I bit the bullet, placed my order with PrimaryMover.com, and got to work.
Side-note: Primary Mover has been great. There are bigger brands out there for a lot more money, and I wasn't able to find a ton about these guys so I was a little apprehensive about the purchase. I figured I was getting a Chinese knock-off. But for the savings I was willing to risk it. What arrived seems well thought-out and well built, and is badged as "Made, assembled, and tested in the USA". What's more, some bits were lost in shipping, and their customer service was responsive, helpful, and promptly sent out replacements at no cost to me. I'm a happy customer.
(Do I have to say it? Not sponsored or affiliated. Seriously, look at my subscriber count. I don't get sponsors.)
Anyway, this was one of the biggest fabrication projects I've ever taken on, and I had a blast doing it. I removed the bed, fixed a lot of long-standing structural issues/damage, figured out the packaging and kinematics of the new lift, fabricated the brackets and gussets necessary to securely integrate it into the structure, mounted/wired/plumbed the hydraulic pump, and got everything working great.
It's been a few months now and I'm extremely happy with the result. I've hauled over a dozen of loads of stone (some dramatically over-weight) with no major issues and the conversion kit has more than paid itself off. I fully expect the entire truck to turn a profit in the next year.
What's more, I'm finding it incredibly useful just moving stuff around the property. Even if I'm only taking it 30 yards, moving dirt is way faster with the truck than the excavator. And I will often back the truck right up to a downed tree, limb it directly into the bed, then drive up and dump straight into the bonfire, which is an enormous time saver when you have as many trees to clean up as I do.
So this project has been a huge win. It has been a gigantic improvement to the utility of my truck, and, at least in my market, there was absolutely no cheaper way to get a freeway capable dump truck of any size.
Don’t worry about pretty welds, strong welds are important. My shop teacher in HS told me I welded like a gorilla, ugly and strong. He said if he needed pretty welds I wouldn’t be the first pick but if he needed a plow repaired on the farm he’d give me a call.
Sounds like a smart guy. So far all of my welds have been holding up just fine, so I guess I did good enough.
Grinder and paint makes you the welder you ain't!😂
If you're smart enough not to post all your ugly welds on CZcams, no one ever needs to know.
You have very intuitive camera placement that records the work being conducted and doesn't sit in one static position and makes the project interesting as your work progresses !
Wow, thank you! I feel like I struggle with the filming and camera side of this whole CZcams thing, so I'm really glad to hear I'm at least getting it kind-of right.
Nice. Now add a chained dump gate on the back that allows you to spread the dirt/gravel evenly. That will make less work for a grader.
It's not chained, but when I designed and built the tailgate hinges I made sure I could raise it slightly for exactly that reason. The plan was to add a lift mechanism later after the dump was up and running. You can see what I'm talking about during the first dump test with crushed concrete, around 45:48. While it does work, since my rear end is only rated to 10,000 pounds, the amount of gravel I can realistically haul makes tailgating it out a waste of effort. By the time I start rolling I'm already out. It's much easier to just dump in a pile where I want it, then nudge it around a little with the excavator. For a bigger truck, though, you'd be absolutely right.
Love seeing this! Problem solving at it finest! Keep up the good work!
Thanks, glad you liked it!
Go Uncle Mike , nice job adapting that kit !
Always make sure the majority of weight is directly over the axles, that pivot point doesn't make the hydraulic pump work as hard. The closer the dirt/gravel is to the cab, the harder the pump has to work. The position of the load makes a huge difference.
You're right, but it's a balancing act. The further aft the load is, the easier it is on the hydraulics but it's harder on the rear suspension and axle. If you bias it forward you get the load shared between the axles a bit and the truck handles better, so effectively it can haul more weight per trip. For me, though, since I'm almost exclusively hauling aggregate, it's kind of a moot point. The bulk of the material spreads evenly across the bed, so I have little opportunity to control how the load is distributed.
@@UncleMikesCustomThings Get rear airbags for around $350
That'll take some of the strain off the springs, but won't change the load distribution. Also the axle and tires have load ratings of their own I have to be mindful of. Luckily for me, my hoist kit is substantially oversized for this application. It showed some signs of struggling when significantly overloaded, but even then it did the job, so I don't have to baby it.
@@UncleMikesCustomThings Lol you're determined to struggle.
Haha, not the first time I've heard that. Seriously, though, do you disagree?
Was looking for DIY dump bed videos, found this, watched it even though I couldn't ever afford this kit... nor do I need it because I can carry only 2600 pounds. But maan, great work, subscribed 👌
Glad you liked it, and thanks for the subscription!
I like the video and found a used complete flat bed I can put on my 2011 Silverado 3500HD. I think If I can load 3 yards of dirt that will be awesome, I believe the Gross weight posted was 13,000. I made a flat bed with skirts and well might try to get some money out of it now.
Mine's 16k and I top out around 3 yards of stone. Dirt is a fair bit lighter though, as long as it isn't too wet. Go for it!
Nice job. Well engineered install.
Very good informative video, thank you.
Very nice work , now a set of air bags and your done. Alberta,Canada
Thanks! What would air bags do for me?
what a nightmare of welding 😉
As far as twisting in the frame is normal. Even full size dump trucks do the same thing. Your bed seems slow going up and down, you may want to check your amps to the pump. That is a long way from your batteries to the pump, and not ver big wire. You may wanna put another battery next to the pump. Low amps is really hard on the motor and with it running thst long could be bad. But nice work on everything.
Thanks! Do you have experience with these aftermarket scissor hoist kits? I had never used one before this so I have no point of reference for how fast it should be going. It would be great to hear from someone who knows.
Hey there. Yes, I don't know about that brand but having that long of a cord is not the best. Really hard on the motor. It should go faster then that and definitely with the truck engine going
Just for giggles throw a battery behind the seat and run short leads to thr pump and run your truck battery leads to that battery. I bet you will notice a different on picking power and speed.
@@Jacob-zd4gjThat's a really good idea. I can't really say for sure if it's running "slow" without any frame of reference for how fast is should go, but if I put a helper battery on it and see a significant difference, that would definitely tell me something.
Awesome. Let me know. That is partially why that pump came with short cables. Same as a winch. I learned that the hard way lol.
Wow really cool
try looking on some old dump trucks, they have a hook with a draw bar to keep the bed down to the frame.
maybe mount the draw bar on the side of the dump bed, or set-up a place inside of the cab. remember to up-hook the draw bar
before u dump the load out of the bed. best of luck.
Thanks for the tip!
Amazing!
Nice fab
Very nice Truck,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks! Still needs a lot of work, but very useful in the mean time.
thanks
Very interesting...really appreciated the filming and commentary. Thoroughly convinced me I probably shouldn't tackle this job. Lol. Is that a Hobart 140?
Haha, yeah, this probably isn't the best upgrade if you're not up for a big project. But it sure is nice now that it's done. Yeah, that's my trusty Hobart 140. Great welder. Almost 20 years old and still kicking. This project pushed it pretty far, but I've found if you're good about bevels and pre-heat, you can get good strong welds even on pretty thick steel.
I’m guessing you spent as much or possibly more time editing the video as the actual work on the lift…..😯 nicely done job, I love to see custom fabrication..
Haha, not quite that bad, thankfully. But it is true that putting together a video like this take a lot more time than most people realize!
Great video really great editing, question if you don't mind me asking where do you get your b roll music I've heard that song befor and id love to use it
This music all came from the CZcams audio library. It's a surprisingly deep selection and all free to use, which is pretty cool.
22kgvw - wow. I've got a '96 SD, sticker shows 15.5kgvw - registered at 16k, it'll carry 4 ton just fine, even if she grunts a little. Didn't know they had a 22k version. Nice mod job!
I have no idea who put those stickers on the doors or why, but this is a 16k truck just like yours. Axle, tire, and spring ratings all agree. I got so overloaded once it weighed out at 24k; I definitely don't recommend it.
ahh, ok - that means I don't need to look for ways to hit that number, lol. Totally agree on the uses that come up with having a dump, sure, it's a big wheelbarrow, but I never knew how much I needed one until I had one. ;) Enjoy! @@UncleMikesCustomThings
Add a cage attached to bed that is over the truck cab to solve the bounce big enough for the spare tire if you need even more weight to hold bed when riding empty.
The more dead weight I add the less I can haul. The "bounce" is annoying, but I'd rather live with it than a reduced capacity.
@UncleMikesCustomThings you said it lifted more than enough, lol... and 1 inch or 1.5 square tube with the Dimond mesh as the basket won't weigh more than 80 pounds. Great spot for shovel broom, chainsaw. Don't forget the bungee to hook them secure.
UMCT, the only thing that i woulda done is to paint the truck frame and paint under the bed.\, to make-it last longer. great job otherwize..
It's hard to see under all the grime, but the frame had a pretty tenacious coating on it already that wouldn't take paint. I ground it off where I needed to weld and then painted those areas, but figured I'd leave the gooey stuff be for the most part.
The hoist is made for an underbody frame
Good job...but did you reinforce the c- channel of frame..i didnt see it...just a thought not a criticism.
Just under the hinges. I didn't want to do any structural welding between the axles, and didn't really see the need because the load path is pretty favorable.
Anyone that knows how to fix a welding machine is smarter then the average bear.
That ruck would be great if 4x4..........
Thanks! Yeah, a few extra drive wheels sure would be nice, but for the price I'm not complaining. The only time I ever get it stuck is around my own property, and I've got an excavator to pull it out.
Good content but the repetitive music made me shut it off
Agreed!
What about your rear fuel tank filler?
Some previous owner abandoned the rear tank for reasons unknown; the filler and vent hoses were just cut and tucked into the frame. When I had the bed off I opened it up and it was about half full and looked surprisingly clean, but I decided it wasn't worth the risk to hook it back up. I never go far so the utility of the extra range would be marginal at best, whereas a bit of nasty junk or something getting sucked into the engine could cause all kinds of problems, so I just plugged the hoses, disabled the selector switch, and left the tank disconnected.
@@UncleMikesCustomThings if the plastic tank isn’t damaged I might be interested in it.
No damage as far as I know, unless you count the cut filler and vent hoses. Let me know if you want to make me an offer.
Seems the hoist was installed wrong way
The wrong way for what?
The hoist is upside down
What makes you think that?
👍👍👍👍👍💪