What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

tow truck ice spade's ____ I made

sweetk30

sweetk30

Back to play nice .
 Premium
GMOTM Winner
Joined
Nov 1, 2004
Posts
43,026
Reaction score
25,481
Location
in the back of your brain
so up here in the northern snow/ice belt we get nasty roads and dumb drivers.

so I and few others drivers decided it was time for ice spades . 1st guys truck has a odd size for wheel lift L-arm tube . 1.5x3" . . . so no production spades we could find easy .

I said get me the steel I whip them up easy .

he got some tube 3/16" wall and some 3/8" plate.

I cut the teeth pattern in real easy with my port-a-band & swag off road table kit . did the teeth @ 3/4" tall and left the bottom points a tad dull/flat not super pointy . end teeth did get outside edge ground back a hair to make better shape.

then he wanted 2 holes per tube to dial in were they hit when clipped in the wheel lift .

last pic you can see the 3/8 bar stock on top I added to take up the play in his L-arm box's . in ice spade use you don't want play . in tire catching/towing you do want some play . with out the spacer he was loosing 70-80% of bite down pressure.

0210161103a.jpg

0210161118a.jpg

0210161147a.jpg

0210161223a.jpg

0210161453a.jpg

0219161208a.jpg
 
Last edited:
so he liked them a lot . made his flatbed tow truck stay where he parked it .

I said fine I am making a set for mine and other truck we use a lot .

so these 2 sets were the common 2x2 tube . could have purchased them but were is the fun in that when I already knew just how to make them and they work. . . .

0223161602a.jpg

0225161131a.jpg
 
skunked said:
I have no idea what these are but they look destructive so I'm interested to know more.
Click to expand...

here is the L-arm

and were it goes on a wheel lift at the back of a tow truck .

these just go in inplace of the L-arm and you put the lift down on the ground and they bite the road so the truck resists movement .

wheell9.jpg

3020000132_1.jpg
 
and I did all the welding with my Lincoln 140 mig .

pre heated the 3/8 plate and tube were the weld was going to go in up to around 450* . then layed in a good weld and then a real good second over it . root weld multi pass its called if I remember correctly .

and I know I did good as the plate is not flat anymore . . . it has a slight square tube shape bend around the weld point and a good burn in heat mark .
 
skunked said:
ah...that makes sense.
Click to expand...

we sure could of used the hell out of these last winter in the north east . this season was a walk in the park from last year tho .

but now we are prepared.

I just need to make up 1 more set but of a totally different style for 1 truck that has pivoting L-arm points . you cant use this style on them . will post pics when done.
 
I saw a wrecker with aluminum plates about 2ft x 3ft. They had tigged 12 4-5" angled spikes on the bottom. The plates had been attached to the truck with 4' chain. He put the plates behind the dually wheels and backed up till the chain stopped the movement. He pulled my friends jeep 30ft up from a creek bed no problems.
 
1st shop I use to work at just retired there old f-350 with that style bed on it as I was starting . said the parking brake setup was a P.I.T.A to keep somewhat adjusted and didn't hold worth a crap when tilted.

there cut behind the cab and a massive hinge installed on the frame to let it tilt like that . . .
 
just showed my boss at work and he said run fast away from them style . . . he remembers those short lived monsters . . . he said he don't care how clean it is no thanks . and only 17ft bed that's not much usable these days for vehicle lengths . 19ft is bare min most guys run . . and 21ft is the norm .
 
Round 2.0 started .

New truck needs a different style . So we decided 3x3 tube inside for a slide over and skip the other design .

I got a chunk of 4x4 1/2 inch wall tube I could get fast and semi cheap.

The used some 1" x 3/8" thick bar stock to make the teeth . There cur 1/2" deep and just 45* cuts lined up end to end for the teeth pattern .

Need to machine out the weld yet then burn them on and deliver to the old boss .

That's a quarter on the tube face for size reference. :eek:

20201110_153718.jpg

20201117_153407.jpg

20201117_153419.jpg

20201117_155434.jpg

20201117_155436.jpg
 
Finished up the 2nd set of teeth . Then put all in the blast box in prep for weld and paint . Then I turned up the BIG lincoln 216 power mig to power level E and wire speed 225-230 range and 045 size wire . Next is chuck them up in the bridge port and nock out the weld inside and check the weld face the teeth are on for flat . Then spray then NEON GREEN for his favorite color .

20201127_200648.jpg

20201127_200708.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom