Screaming ford tow truck assembly

[King of Obsolete]

i have decided to add an attachment for turning the Screaming Ford into a tow truck. a little thought is reguired on making the "A" frame to support the vehicle that i'm picking up.
since it was raining off and on today in the Kingdom, i was able to hide in my little shop and get a good start on the top pulley for the weight box. i then started to cut out the 1" plate for the hinges on the "A" frame part before it got to dark to see.

i have whipped up a simple picture on what is going to happen plus included a picture of the weight box from last winter when i brought home a broken axle from a semi truck.

more to come.

thansk
KoO
Published Author

 

[King of Obsolete]

here are some pictures for td25c who is helping me through the message box thing.

i borrowed these pictures from this website which features 2 old oil field trucks. this is the "A" frame thing i would like to build.

http://nicholasfluhart.com/tag/oil-field-winch-bed-truck/


thansk
KoO
Published Author

 

[td25c]

Thanks for the pictures KoO .

Yes I have seen tow sling / A frame's like that in the past . They work , only thing I might do is incorporate a swivel joint on the end so the pipe can pivot left or right though a sharp turn or on uneven terrain .

I see now why you were asking about how they corner . Sometimes due to the geometry of the boom & sling when you make a hard turn , the towed vehicle will also lean in to the turn . Some times quite a bit . Has a twisting effect on the towed vehicle .

This is what the Homes sling looks like turning . Depends a lot on where the boom sheave is ( cable angle ) in proximity to the sling .

http://s1016.photobucket.com/user/td25c/media/100_3096_zps90c95b8c.mp4.html?sort=3&o=0

 

[td25c]

This is a typical hook up KoO .

Use high grade 5/8 chain & 1/2 inch aluminum angle across the frame . Safety chains between the sling hook to spring hangers .
https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=123961&stc=1&d=1410137798

 

[King of Obsolete]

thansk, i had to wait till morning to do anything on the internet because it was so slow last night. i also finished the stick people drawing so everyone can see the whole truck.

td25c can you replay back to the PM i sent you.

thansk
KoO
Published Author

 

[King of Obsolete]

i had a good day today building pieces of the "A" frame for the Screaming Ford. the day started off raining so i was able to watch td25c video several time before i went outside to start building. lots of good info in the video which gave me lots of ideas on how to build the cradle thing for the great white north. i'll be sending td25c a couple of books for helping me out as an early xmas present. just need your full name to go with your address because the post office people want all the details now days.

i was able to make the hinge pieces for the back of the Screaming Ford in my little shop because of the rain. first i got a little wet cutting out the pieces and did a little grinding to get them ready for assembly. next i tack welded the pieces to the work bench and then welded the jig steel in to place. with the jig steel in place i can now weld the whole unit to the back of the Screaming Ford without worrying about a bunch of measurments. less thought required at my age, lol.
next i found some 2.25 shaft with 3" bushing to make the cradle thing pivot. one thing i hate the most is grinding so i free hand cut the holes for the shaft so i didn't have to do a bunch of grinding. i needed a tight holes and that is what i got. this saved on a lot of welding being tight. by 8pm at night it was dark and i used a flashlite to finish welding the pivot to the cradle thing.

thansk
KoO
Published Author.

 

[td25c]

Yeah KoO . Don't know if I would worry about the weight box . The old Ford will have plenty of weight on the rear with another truck hanging off the back .

I would build a solid mast that rests on the rear frame of the ford , snaps in to the fith wheel ( just like a trailer ) and go with heavy brackets off the front down to the truck frame with a long bolt or all thread to tie the mast down snug to the Ford frame .

 

[td25c]

Excellent work on the hinge brackets KoO ! Pay attention all ..... That's the work of a true fabricator:thumbsup

 

[King of Obsolete]

i thought of that too and did research on the internet on those style of fifth wheel tow truck assemblies. only problem up here is the rocks and more rocks. the weight box came from the nickel mine when they shut down and it is made of 1/2 steel plate. i figure it weighs about 2 tons and gives the ford a nice ride plus protects the truck from flying rocks. my winter snow tires with the big grips can throw rocks every where. also with the pulley stick welded to the back of the weigh box i will be able to use it for lifting things that need to be welded up on the winter road.

thansk
KoO
Published Author

 

[King of Obsolete]

Excellent work on the hinge brackets KoO ! Pay attention all ..... That's the work of a true fabricator:thumbsup

"i work with the metal and do with what i can", not sure who the famous person who said that would be but it sounds impressive, lol. if i had a lathe then i could make things that i need but i don't have a lathe to i work with what i have. up in the great white north everything has to be heavier and stronger then anything in the south. it was easy making things today because everything was well thought out from the thickness of plate, how much material is required around the pin holes. also the pivots were easy and if i drilled all the holes with a hole saw, that would have taken another 6 hours. it is easier to torch a tight hole, less grinding and less welding. when i torch the plate all i do is use the grinder to "buff" the slag off. i hate grinding, lol.

thansk
KoO
Published Author

 

[King of Obsolete]

the missing picture.

 

[King of Obsolete]

here is a picture of the weight box the night i installed the $1000.00 work light. the wieght box holds the welder, tools and lots of blocking for when we head up the winter road. with all the tire chains on,the weight box protects the back of the cab and decking from snow and rocks.

thansk
KoO
Published Author

 

[dieseldog5.9]

Nice job, your hole cutting ability is impressive, I have an issue with your picture, an L9000 has a shorter slopping nose, you drew a W900 A model long nose, thinking a 1977. I almost pissed my pants when you added the people to "finish the picture". I will send you some graph paper, I assume your address is on the website.

 

[King of Obsolete]

thansk for the kind words on the torching. i learned a long time ago to cut the pieces perfect and less grinding. grinding is what takes up all the time fabing up a job. it was td25c who started off with the simple draws because it was just PM between us both, then i decided to share with the rest of the world.

thansk
KoO
Published Author

 

[King of Obsolete]

it took about an hour to free hand cut the 2 pipe for the "A" frame on the cradle. i weld the pieces to the rafter trailer then worked away at getting a nice fit on the first pipe then copied it to the second pipe. another hour was spent welding up the "A" frame then joining it to the cradle. finished up tonight with the "A" frame and cradle mounted on the Screaming Ford. will slip the weight box on in the morning then i can figure out where to mount the pulley on a stick.

thansk
KoO
Published Author

 

[Diagonal Brace]

Looks great!

Need to paint the rest of the truck frame now.

 

[JDOFMEMI]

KoO

Nice work as always.

You are well on the way to another very useful tool.

 

[overworked]

Nice work. KoO does the weight box attach to the frame? Or just sit on fifth wheel, I'm thinking if it sits on wheel and attached in front of wheel the the weight would be on wheel and not come off the steer tires like if it puts weight on after the fifth wheel? Overworked

 

[King of Obsolete]

Diagonal Brace -- i'll be splashing more paint as i go along with this project. it has taken me over 20 years to get the truck painted almost one colour, lol.

JDOFMEMI -- thansk, the Screaming Ford keeps on getting better every year.

overworked -- the weight box just clips in to the fifth wheel and then i chain the back of the box to the frame to keepit straight and from bouncing around. once i'm done i'll make a quick video of how this all works.

today was a busy day in the Kingdom, the history channel released a 3 minute video of Ricochet Hill and the phone has not stop tonight along with the emails.

http://www.history.com/shows/ice-road-truckers/videos

i don't know how many times i have missed the corner on Ricochet Hill but it does look good on camera for some reason, lol.

after supper tonight, i got to slip the weight box on the Screaming Ford and do a jimmie rigg on the pulley on a stick. everything looks good so i then flipped the weight box to start welding better frame anchors on the box. more to come.

thansk
KoO
Published Author

 

[Old Doug]

Looking good KoO but i wonder if the pulley being so far back of the sling frame if the truck being towed will want to ride up and hit the weight box. I have built 3 wrecker units for pickups. My cusin after seeing the first one told me you never want your sling frame to go higher than level he has build several wreakers.