Rolling on Drums

[Amtek]

Within the next week or so, I want to start painting my truck but its too tall to fit into the garage as is. I was wondering if its okay to roll the truck on the 14-bolt 13" drum brakes? If I mounted some 16" wheels on the front and aired down the tires with no wheels on the rear axle I might be able to squeeze it in.

The drums look super beefy, and I would tighten the lug nuts to keep it snug against the hub, just wondering if the weight of the truck would bend them out of round or something. Its 1980 K-20 Camperspecial single cab long bed with nothing in the bed except an old-school double/double roll bar.

Going to be rolling on some Rustoleum white gloss on the body and black gloss on the bumpers/roll bars and want to do it in a 'clean' environment while also being able to work at night.

 

[dremu]

Must be an SF, if you're talking about the lugs holding the drums on.

Were it me, I'd put crappy wheels on, no tires, so the wheels take the load and any damage... unless it's THAT tall that even on wheels it wouldn't fit. Also take into account the friction, or lack thereof, and the truck will want to roll. (I live on a slight incline and have had ... issues ... in the past with rolling trucks.)

You might instead consider something like car dollies

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-vehicle-dollies-67511.html

I've never actually used mine for entire trucks, only for motors and trannies and whatnot, but they would allow you to scoot the truck around a bit -- again, predicated on your surface being smooth & level.

Just some food for thought.

-- A

 

[dyeager535]

While I think I'd try sitting on the drums as a last resort, why not put a floor jack under the differential and roll it that way? Reviews on the HF dollies I read were not pretty, and the things just weren't cheap enough for me to try.

You can *also* rent reinforced furniture dollies from u-haul for like $13 a day. Used a couple to roll/drag a K5 body and frame onto a trailer and down a concrete driveway. Amazingly they didn't break and actually worked good.

 

[Blue85]

You might find some ultra cheap 15" wheels at a junkyard. I don't think you'll find anything smaller in 6 or 8 lug, even if 14's would fit. Sometimes they just use them as stands to prop cars up on. The drums are pretty beefy - probably thicker than the wheels are, but they are cast iron.

How close are you to fitting? I can see the appeal of getting the rig low to paint the roof. Why not just air down to fit through the door, then take all 4 wheels off and set it on 4 jackstands?

 

[ktmoutfront]

HF dollies are junk for heavy vehicles. A 3k lb car might be OK. But not a truck. Been there, tried that.

 

[wasted wages]

cut out some disks from 3/4" plywood drill to match bolt pattern
glue together double thickness..... bolt them on...

or manhole covers...... worked on mythbusters.....

 

[xenomarine]

I figure I'll clutter up this thread a little bit. I have 4 wheel discs and clearance issues with my garage, anything wrong with rolling on rotors into the garage, on top of, say, 1/2" plywood?

 

[dyeager535]

I think it would be way cooler to drive in on them.

 

[str8axle55]

I wouldn`t roll them on drums, or rotors, if you plan to re-use them. The drums could crack, and rotors should have backing plates in the way. Just bolt on some old steel wheels with no tires.

 

[sweetk30]

i did stock 8 lug rims and 205/55/16 stock subaru car tires bald all 4 and 35 psi . my k30 1ton with 9" of lift and 454/4l80-e/205 fits in my 7ft tall garage door opening just fine by 1/2-3/4" gap on top to roof .

 

[Amtek]

Thanks for the replies, I guess I should have included more information:

It is a really tight fit. The truck has a 6 or 8 inch lift. If I throw on the 16.5 junkyard wheels and tires and air them down till they're almost totally flat there is about 1/2" of clearance but there could be a bit of error due to how the cab curves.

I want to remove the rear wheels completely for that tiny bit of extra clearance and roll it maybe 10 feet on smooth level concrete into the garage, where I can then put it on jack stands. I'll have 1ft of clearance once i get past the lowest part of the garage. Its a 14-Bolt FullFloater with the big 13" brake drums. I mentioned tightening the lug nuts so it doesnt try to pull the studs out or separate from the hub due to the off-center load of riding on the drum's edge. I would take the tires off the rims but I need them to roll another truck around.

But I think what I might try instead is take the front wheels off and put two jacks under the backing plates and drive it in that way since that will drop the height of the cab more than no wheels on rear.

 

[Blue85]

I figure I'll clutter up this thread a little bit. I have 4 wheel discs and clearance issues with my garage, anything wrong with rolling on rotors into the garage, on top of, say, 1/2" plywood?

Is this really possible? In the front you generally have a dust shield hanging down as far as the rotor, so you would have to remove that. In the back, the rotor has to be large enough that the pumpkin doesn't drag. 3/4-ton rotors are like 12.5" and I think the 14BFF hangs down about that much. Anybody have a measurement?

 

[xenomarine]

Is this really possible? In the front you generally have a dust shield hanging down as far as the rotor, so you would have to remove that. In the back, the rotor has to be large enough that the pumpkin doesn't drag. 3/4-ton rotors are like 12.5" and I think the 14BFF hangs down about that much. Anybody have a measurement?

I have a Dana 60, and no dust shield. The only problem, which I just realized, is that the pumpkin would hang lower than the rotors at least in the rear. Damn. Only thing I would be worried about is the rotor cracking at the 'hat' area, since it isn't solid material.

 

[82355]

Must be an SF, if you're talking about the lugs holding the drums on.

It's a 1980, so I can't see someone down grading from a full floater to a semi floater. Maybe he just isn't aware how they come off?

Martin

 

[82355]

Oops. Should have read the second page first......

Martin

 

[82355]

Why not just ditch the roll bar? That has to be the tallest point, not?

Martin