Lifting a blazer tub with an engine hoist?

[Cntymnty77]

im laying out my plans to pull the body off and I’ve heard of guys doing this but wasn’t sure how big of a pain in the ass it is?

 

[dyeager535]

I've got it in my head that with one engine hoist, using a 4x4 bolted to the tub body mount locations at the rear, should suffice for picking that end up.

For stability I think you'd want/need something additional up front just in case the balance wasn't perfect, but once the rear was up aways, block it in place, then move up front and using something like a 4x4 under the front of the tub, jack it up and then block it, repeat until needed height.

How high do you need to get it? I'm intending to take the tub and front clip off in one piece, and leaving the drivetrain attached to the frame to roll out underneath, so that will require a lot more height than if you just have a rolling frame to put underneath it.

I've done it in a field, with just a floor jack and some wood...but it shifted, and once that thing starts to go, get out of the way.

Homebrew gantry crane isn't a bad option either.

 

[Cntymnty77]

I've got it in my head that with one engine hoist, using a 4x4 bolted to the tub body mount locations at the rear, should suffice for picking that end up.

For stability I think you'd want/need something additional up front just in case the balance wasn't perfect, but once the rear was up aways, block it in place, then move up front and using something like a 4x4 under the front of the tub, jack it up and then block it, repeat until needed height.

How high do you need to get it? I'm intending to take the tub and front clip off in one piece, and leaving the drivetrain attached to the frame to roll out underneath, so that will require a lot more height than if you just have a rolling frame to put underneath it.

I've done it in a field, with just a floor jack and some wood...but it shifted, and once that thing starts to go, get out of the way.

Homebrew gantry crane isn't a bad option either.

I’ve had different ideas about doing a crane but then started thinking about this idea the other day. I remeber something about someone saying they took the doors off and lifted it from the side so the pick height was lower and allowed them to roll the frame out. That’s reall all I’m needing to do is get it up high enough that I can roll the frame out and then let it rest on some cribbing.

 

[diesel4me]

I've lifted pickup beds off trucks with my engine crane--its best to use a custom "load spreader" rather than 4 chains (one on each corner),because its tough to balance it with the chains and you lose a lot of the lift ..

A whole K5 tub weighs about 1000 lbs roughly,and needs to be supported with bracing if the doors are off,otherwise it'll want to fold up !..an engine crane might not have enough lift height and it would be very cumbersome to move the tub around even if it would handle the weight and have enough height...

I have used an engine crane to take car bodies off rolling frames by lifting each end separately,then put 4 saw horses (We used 55 gallon drums half filled with water instead,to help stabilize them )--put them along each side and lay a 6x6 timber across the horses or barrels that was wide enough to allow the chassis to be rolled out from under the body.

 

[6872xtc]

I’ve had different ideas about doing a crane but then started thinking about this idea the other day. I remeber something about someone saying they took the doors off and lifted it from the side so the pick height was lower and allowed them to roll the frame out. That’s reall all I’m needing to do is get it up high enough that I can roll the frame out and then let it rest on some cribbing.

I guess that I don't see how to lift it from the side and still be able to roll the chassis out without going up and over the engine hoist legs. Maybe go forward some, then use a floor jack under the rear differential to take the back end out and away from the hoist? I wouldn't want to move the hoist with the tub hanging up that high unless it's on nice smooth concrete.
Just for reference of the pick point, here is how I did mine. The beam was almost centered in the door opening, towards the rear a little. Rear seat out, hood off, radiator out, A/C intact with compressor hanging from a bar across the fenders.
A gantry crane would be good, if you used 2 hoists to keep the rigging short for lifting height while avoiding pulling inboard against the door opening.

EDIT! I forgot that this first lift I had a strap going to the bed rails to make it less tail heavy. I hadn't pulled the trim panels at the back of the door, only the center ones, so it tipped to the tail some. After pulling more trim, I could move the beam back and eliminate the strap.

 

[K588]

I used an engine crane to put a new 8' bed on my crew cab put boards under the bed rails, then side to side and one in the middle with a big eye bolt. Worked fine for that. I dont think you could balance a k5 tub correctly, I remember having to stand on the crane to counter balance the truck bed.
If it's all you have I'd be inclined to do as said above pick up one end at a time and set it on something going across.

 

[MWjr]

I pulled the tub on mine by lifting the front high enough to clear the frame. Slid a piece of steel tube underneath and used a 55gal drum on each side for stands. Move engine hoist to the rear and lifted enough to roll chassis forward

 

[wheels87k5]

I used my engine hoist to get it to the height needed to build this frame under it. All 6x6 posts.

 

[Magikal]

Just got doing this exact project. Built two large sawhorses with a come-along in each corner attached to a strap that ran underneath a 4x4 under the body. Totally stable. Made sure to run the 4x4s far enough out so the straps aren't crushing in on the body. Had to use bottle jacks to lift it far enough up to insert the 4x4s under it. I removed the core support so i only needed to lift it up about 18in or so to roll the chassis out from underneath the body.

This is the second time i have done this operation and it works great. Sorry, no pics.