Pics of an '81 C20 flatbed I just got to scrap, but maybe I should keep it?

[divorced]

This is my '81 C20 that I just bought. The guy who I got it from was going to scrap it, so I bought it from him to keep the good parts and scrap the rest. All it needs is a motor and transmission. I have a few transmissions but no extra Chevy motors. It has an all steel homemade bed and winch/hoist that swivels to pick stuff up and set it on the bed. After playing with the hoist I am considering just keeping it.

 

[dhcomp]

haha, i looked at the first picture, and was like, why is there a light post growing out of the bed?

 

[divorced]

I mounted the light post on the bed so I could see to work at night.

 

[diesel4me]

Similar to my K20 I just scrapped..

I have a very similar flatbed/crane setup that was on my 74 K20,but I decided to save it from the crusher..mine has an electric winch..I put the flatebed on an old 62 GMC 3/4 ton 2wd chassis made into a trailer,so I can still tow it with my other trucks and use it to pick up and deliver heavy stuff..
It still needs work,but it was so handy and such a backsaver,I could not see junking it...

If I had that C20,and needed a "yard truck" to do chores around the ranch with,I'd fix it up and use it!..you could find a 250 six or a V8 pretty cheap that would run good enough to do that...or maybe you could chop it up into a trailer like I did,and use it that way instead...the crane is VERY useful,even though yours is a bit bent,its easy enough to bend it back and weld a strap and a spacer on the masts(like an engine crane has) to help stiffen it up good...I'd do that before lifting and real weight with it,it might have been weakened where its bent...but ya,I'd keep it!--at least the crane and flatbed,if not the whole truck...

 

[jhellwig]

MMMM. 14bff.


Good tow rig.

 

[divorced]

...the crane is VERY useful,even though yours is a bit bent,its easy enough to bend it back and weld a strap and a spacer on the masts(like an engine crane has) to help stiffen it up good...I'd do that before lifting and real weight with it,it might have been weakened where its bent...but ya,I'd keep it!--at least the crane and flatbed,if not the whole truck...

After some thinking I may just keep it and throw a motor in it. The guy used it to haul scrap and says he has lifted quite a bit of weight with it. Theres a place near me that sells running Chevy 292's(?) with the cast pulleys from old combines for about $100, I might get one of them. I had thought about making it a trailer also - no maintenance, no registration, no insurance and I can still pull it anywhere with one of my other trucks. The only thing about making it a trailer is that it will be sort of like a tripod instead of having 4 corners (tires). Will it still be stable if I lift off the driver side, the side that the boom is mounted to?

MMMM. 14bff.


Good tow rig.

Yep, the 14 bolt is the main reason I bought it, but I already have a couple 14 bolts (and matching front 10 bolts) laying around just collecting dust, so I will probably leave it whole. I have only $50 in it, so it's worth it no matter what I do I guess.

 

[diesel4me]

needs a "foot"...

I know that the crane I had on my K20 would lift 1000lbs fairly easy,but yes,it is a bit scary when you have that much weight on one corner of the truck only,and then it shifts to the other side when you swing the load into the bed..I once lifted a dodge ramcharger's rear off the ground completely so we could cut the rear axle out,and my K20's drivers side front tire was 6" off the ground!..(my crane is on the passenger side rear of the bed..)...

I did make a "foot" out of square tubing that slid inside each other with a bumper jack base on it,bolted right under the crane,to the frame of the truck,that I could adjust and pin into position, to keep the weight off the springs and frame..its similar to a trailer jack--one of those or a bumper jack would work as well...but I often lifted things in without using the "foot",and learned though its very possible,its not the best thing for your frame rails....when I junked the K20,its passenger side frame rail was 2" lower than the drivers side! --I guess it didnt like the weight I put on it..--funny thing was the truck still drove fine,and would go straight ahead when the steering wheel was "straight ahead"..but my frame was paper thin in places due to rust,so that was probably a major factor...still a good idea to use the "foot" though,to prevent bending anything..

If you do make a trailer out of it like I did,I'd be sure to ALWAYS use the "foot",and only lift things while the trailer is attached to the trailer ball on the "tow" vehicle..you might need to bring a few jack stands to place under the corners of the trailer frame(or make something similar) to stabilize it and keep all the weight off the springs,and keep it from wanting to pop off the trailer ball....

.My trailer has COIL springs!!--not my first choice,but I already had it--I'll just have to be more careful to set up the "foot" and jack stands at each corner(if needed) to make it as safe as it was on a 4 wheeled truck.(if nessasary I may modify it to leaf springs,or maybe just "dead axle" it--it might be too "bouncy"--wont know until I get new shocks and do a test tow!)...

...I'd prefer to have it on a driveable truck like I used too in a way--but like you noted,a trailer needs no insurance,and its a lot cheaper to register than a truck,and you can tow it with most ANY vehicle thats capable...since I did not use my K20 every day,it was an uneeded burden to have it registered and insured all the time,just to use it a few times a month..Either way,the crane and flatbed are a handy thing to have around--it saved me a lot of hernia's,and paid for itself many times over--I bet I scrapped 1000 bucks worth of stuff I got for free with it,when people called and wanted heavy stuff removed,after learning I had the crane,and would do it for cheap or free.. ...one of the FEW things I made that actually worked good,and turned a profit!!