The old farm truck is a 1967 C600, has PTO hydraulics, and long single-stage cylinders on the outsides of the frame rails to lift the 18' bed. The truck hasn't run in a hand-full of years; the headboard has a catwalk which extends forward just enough as to not allow the cab to be tilted...

So, I'd like to lift the bed manually, perhaps only 6-10" or so. Might a handyman jack lift the bed, or will I likely damage something? Should the control valve be put in a 'half way' position to let the fluid flow freely? or?

Thanks for the thoughts, Joe

 

I would put the control in the float position so fluid can flow. Then depending on if you could put a piece of steel beam or channel across the frame rails, you could put a jack between that and a crossmember near the front center of the bed. If not, I would use wood blocking on the ground to position the jack under that bed crossmember. I would use at least a 12 ton hydraulic jack. After the bed was raised enough I would use blocking between the frame and the bed to hold it in position and not rely on the jack to hold it.
Good luck and do it safely.

 

Awesome - yes that worked. In fact, once I strong-armed the old stiff control cable into neutral, I was able to walk the bed up gently side by side, first spaced up w/ 2x4, then to 4x4, which is enough to tilt the cab