making a cab dolly

[NEK5]

I have this truck sitting it my driveway, and I need to cut it up to make room, well the frame of it. Right now its a 1ton 2wd, chopped a few feet in the rear, with a cab on it. I`m wanting to take the cab off, so I can get rid of the whole frame, and gain some room back. Is it possible to make a dolly that would be enough to support the cab, and keep it off the ground? What materials would you use?

TIA

 

[thedrip]

I'd use 2 lengths of 4x4, bolted to the cab mounts, with casters on the ends of each 4x4, done. I'd also run the 4x4 front to back, so they could extend a little past the firewall and back wall, for more stability.

 

[NEK5]

I'd use 2 lengths of 4x4, bolted to the cab mounts, with casters on the ends of each 4x4, done. I'd also run the 4x4 front to back, so they could extend a little past the firewall and back wall, for more stability.

Awesome. Nice and simple. Thanks mang!

Any idea where I could get the casters? Probably want 4" or bigger, right?

 

[NEK5]

Any idea how much this cab could way? Just a cab, no interior, well, theres a bench seat and a couple boxes, and door shells. TIA!

 

[chiefheaphy]

I have four casters from the depot that Im not gonna use.

 

[NEK5]

I have four casters from the depot that Im not gonna use.

Really? What size?

I`m thinking, if I can`t have someone take the whole frame away, it would be alot easier to cut it up with the cab off the frame.

 

[chiefheaphy]

around 4 inch hard rubber. They were like $15 ea. at home depot.

 

[chiefheaphy]

Ben, a cab dolly would be real easy and cheap to make, I can help you next Sunday if you want.

 

[NEK5]

Ben, a cab dolly would be real easy and cheap to make, I can help you next Sunday if you want.

That would be cool. I`ll probably do it like thedrip said, two lengths of 4x4 bolted to the cab mounts. Maybe I could swing over to your place, or meet up somewhere, and we can exhange parts? Fender and stickers, for casters

 

[chiefheaphy]

sure

 

[thatK30guy]

I'd do it differently.

I'd cut the frame behind the cab and in front of the firewall. Get some tubing and weld them to the sides of the frame at each corner and get some flat stock to weld on the bottoms of each tubing to which you can mount or fasten the casters to. Point the long ends of the tubing downward so the casters have a mounting point to fasten to.

Why waste the frame when its already got the bends on it to where the cab can sit right on each mount? Much easier to do this and weld scrap to it along with the casters and be done.

 

[NEK5]

I'd do it differently.

I'd cut the frame behind the cab and in front of the firewall. Get some tubing and weld them to the sides of the frame at each corner and get some flat stock to weld on the bottoms of each tubing to which you can mount or fasten the casters to. Point the long ends of the tubing downward so the casters have a mounting point to fasten to.

Why waste the frame when its already got the bends on it to where the cab can sit right on each mount? Much easier to do this and weld scrap to it along with the casters and be done.

The reason for getting rid of the whole frame, is because in order for me to cut it, i`ll have to pull the gas tank off of it. Either way, the frame will be getting scrapped, so I figure why not do it all now. Sure I could pull the tank, but its not something I want to bother with, when its just going to get tossed anyways. I`m just looking for something to put this on for the winter, until I use it in the spring. I figure making a simple dolly, like thedrip suggested, would be good enough. This way, we only have to lift it once. I`m aware of the frame difference, but how much will it be off enough to make it lean too much, or be unstable?

EDIT:

If I go ahead and take the tank off, then cut the frame, would I be able to just mount the casters on the bottom of the frame rails, or am I going to need something to go accross the frame for support?

 

[NEK5]

I just went out again and looked at it. I don`t even think a 4x4 with a 4 inch caster would enough be enough to reach the ground, and not have the rockers hit the ground. I`m not even sure if just putting the casters on the bottom of the frame rails would work. I`m not sure I understood what you described, Wes..

Those of you who have stored cabs, what did you do with them? Put them on some blocks?

The point of making the dolly was just so that we don`t have to lift the thing twice, as I`m sure it isn`t very light.

 

[thedrip]

This is how I stored my cab (sat in the grass for about a month this way)

 

[thatK30guy]

Ben, copy & paste my PM so others can understand what I told you.

 

[89yimmiJ]

Walk behind a Home Depot and borrow one of their large flat banged up carts that they're going to toss into trash. Cut the handles off and you'll have a nice large 3 x 6 dolly. Weld some pipe on the end so that you can put the handle back on when needed. Also weld loops onto all the sides so that you can grap it from underneath when needed. I used the same cart for two truck cabs, k5 cab, my '63 Nova Body, and a fiero. Always worked well.

 

[uao85]

I have this truck sitting it my driveway, and I need to cut it up to make room, well the frame of it. Right now its a 1ton 2wd, chopped a few feet in the rear, with a cab on it. I`m wanting to take the cab off, so I can get rid of the whole frame, and gain some room back. Is it possible to make a dolly that would be enough to support the cab, and keep it off the ground? What materials would you use?

TIA

I had to do this a few months back when I did my cab swap on my m1008. Just go grab a pallet from behind home depot or walmart or whatever, go inside and get 4- 3" casters which can easily hold the weight, and 16 self tapping 2 1/2" wood screws or sheet rock screws and your set. When I did the swap, my cab was stripped to the shell and pb weighed about 450 lbs. My roommate at the time helped me manuver it onto the pallet after I assembled it and it was tough, but we got it on there with a little grunt work. Goodluck with handling the cab, I would guess that with the things you listed, it could weigh as much as 750 or 800 lbs.



Remington

 

[NEK5]

I had to do this a few months back when I did my cab swap on my m1008. Just go grab a pallet from behind home depot or walmart or whatever, go inside and get 4- 3" casters which can easily hold the weight, and 16 self tapping 2 1/2" wood screws or sheet rock screws and your set. When I did the swap, my cab was stripped to the shell and pb weighed about 450 lbs. My roommate at the time helped me manuver it onto the pallet after I assembled it and it was tough, but we got it on there with a little grunt work. Goodluck with handling the cab, I would guess that with the things you listed, it could weigh as much as 750 or 800 lbs.



Remington

did you have a problem with the cab leaning at all? So with a pallet, and 3" casters, it was off the ground enough to not have the rockers hit?

 

[uao85]

did you have a problem with the cab leaning at all? So with a pallet, and 3" casters, it was off the ground enough to not have the rockers hit?

It will lean from being front heavy- mine wasnt too noticable since it was bare bones-but before I got it stripped down, that was a different story. Just set something heavy inside the cab on a rag or something, or just bungy it on the backside to the pallet. With 3" casters, it cleared the ground by 3-4", but my pallet was also 8" thick top to bottom. If the pallet isnt thick enough, just strap 2 together. It came in really handy a couple of weeks later when my parents were moving a custom length cast iron tub into their new house, lol, no way I could have carried that thing, even with 2 or 3 other people.

Remington