I had a home built "crane" on my 74 K2500 that had a flatbed--mounted in the right rear corner of the bed..I had it bolted on with 6 3/4" threaded rods that camped the base and a 3/8" thick plate under the 4" channel iron the flat bed was made of..
I picked up garden tractors with it often,I could swing a 1000 lb one right into the bed alone..I got a lot of free tractors and "junk" other scroungers couldn't budge using man power alone,especially in winter when they had 4 flats and were frozen to the ground..
I used that thing for scrapping metal too..but I almost got myself killed with it several times,it had a habit of not wanting to STOP once you got the boom to start swinging,and I dam near crushed myself between the bed and the load I was hoisting in it more than once..I had to use a retractable "foot" under the bed to the ground,so the leaf spring would not get flattened down to the bump stops when lifting a real heavy load ,and me NOT using it often ,led to the spring getting weakened,and when I finally scrapped that truck,the frame rail on the right side was 2" lower than the left side was..!..but it always drove fine and tracked straight..so I'd highly reccomend using the "foot" before lifting anything more than 500 lbs...I used it a lot to work on garden tractors,I'd use it to hoist them up like a big tuna at the peir,when it was belt changing time!...it was handy at the junkyard too,and it made me some $$$$ hauling customers parts to their homes,when they had no truck of their own,or way toi unload a motor ,etc..I still have the bed and crane,but its been rusting out in the back yard for 5+ years sitting on a trailer made from a '62 GMC 3/4 ton chassis ,and I really miss it..
