Im pulling the cab/front end off my truck next weekend as an entire unit and taking it to my storage building via trailer while I restore the frame.

How many people have y'all used when removing the cab?
Has anyone done it at a unit?

What is the bed way to put it on the trailer? On top of some tires?
I was planning on setting it on jackstands when I got it to my storage building.

 

i've never removed the whol thing as one piece, but that would be the easiest thing to do possibly. i put my cab on and needed four people. and that was almost not enough. if it were me, i would probably want 3 on each side of the cab, two at the front corners, and one in the middle. your gonna need like 10 people depending on how much people can lift.

 

when me, my uncle, and my brother changed the cab on his ranger we did it the easy way- took the front end loader and lifted and carried it that way... we werent foolhardy enough to try to do it with only 3 people... also when you put it in storage- unless the cab is pretty rust-free i wouldnt use jack stands... id use cinder blocks- less chance of warping the metal because the pressure is much more spread out

 

I have taken them off the frame, but was scrapping, so it wasn't a concern about damage, and did it myself. That said, two strong guys could maybe do it.4 max 2 per side, would be all you need. You would want something tall enough that it doesn't ride on the rockers unless they are real solid, but just to be safe, I would try not to. It depends how complete the cab is as well, if you take the doors off and the seat out, it makes it a lot lighter.

 

Pull the front clip seperatly I just did this on a 77 took about an hour total remove the hood ,unplug the wiring, drain the cooling system if you got A/C you'll have to drain the freon remove the hoses. there are two core support bolts next to the radiator ,two boltsunder the fenders at the rear two on the inner fender to cowl ,two inside the fender by the door hinges and three hold the fenders to the cowl on each sidewe took a 1 inch angle iron and bolted it across the hood hinges to stablize the rear and lifted it off with a cherry picker type engine hoist. For the cab you got the four mounts steering shaft,tranny linkage,brakes,(I use a bracket to hold the master to like the shock tower) speedo cable and emergency brake cable maybe a few wires. When I've lifted cabs by people power I removed the doors and seat this lightens the cab by close to two hundred pounds it will still weigh in at 400 plus pounds with glass and all (6 guys) the front has about 75% of the weight so put the strongest guys there I've also slid them on 2x6's from frame to a trailer still took 6 guys but it was less work. Once it's on the ground/trailer you can rest it on the front mounts and use blocking to hold up the rear about 10 inches will do put it where the rear cab mounts are.

 

I would say at least 6 people.It took 4 people struggling to lift my 6 foot bed.



Tim

 

i still think my suggestion would be the best if you dont want to damage it. the more people you get the better off you are

 

i say get a big front end loader or forklift... nothing beats power tools

 

I usually use the loader, but the one occasion I did it myself, I had the doors, front clip and seat outm then just lifted it to tip it off the frame. I of course did not care if it got damaged, as it may have been lightened by all the rust holes... I didn't have the luxury of equipment, and noone was available to help.

 

It took 6 people to get my crew cab frame off and onto a trailer. Remove the doors, you would be suprised at how much one weighs with all the glass. And remove the front clip separately. Its not that hard to take off or put back together.

 

when the donor 76 supercab was removed from its frame for my 78 F-250, the guy used a large strap through the door windows, and used a comealong in a tree to hoist it off the frame, then he set it on a skinny trailor..you can see the trailor and how we hauled it here:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...&albumid=17740

i dont have a tree big enough to hook a hoist to to get it off the trailor..so my friend loaned me his camper jacks (for an in the bed camper) i opened the doors, and put them under the rocker panels..it was real easy to lift it up and pull the trailor from under it...i sat it down on four large tires on rims for storage....when i was ready to put it on the frame (this is where is gets all redneckish) i put 2 15' long 4"x4" pieces of square tubing sideways under the cab, and set the ends of them on the camper jacks on either side...then with a few people keeping the cab balanced we jacked it up,(about 6 feet in the air ) rolled the frame under and lowered it down onto it...worked like a charm, but it was super dangerous and one wrong move coulda hurt someone....i wish i took pics cause describing it just doesnt do it justice to how hillbilly the whole thing was... your best bet is to find a large tree that is big enough to hold the wieght and use a suitable hoist and strap...

 

If you are using manpower, 4 people safely for cab only(without doors) , a lot easier if you are all close to the same height! As for trans porting, you should use a flat bed ,but I have seen it done on a ramp style car trailer, use a rubber mat, (bed mat) or something else to absorb road vibration and set it right on the rocker panels. If you are transporting the front clip with it , you might as well bolt it back together and support the rad support on a tire. Setting the cab up on tires allows for a lot of movement and cab should shift on you. I have moved/transported so many cabs off old Fords, I've lost count.
If you can take cab front complete, and have a chain hoist/loader/whatever to lift it, use a 2x10 in the front corners of the door with windows down a little and remove hood, tie off totop of rad support and end of 2x10s there should be no damage if you adjust cable/chain until it lifts up level.
Good luck. No beers until after you've moved the cab!

 

Thank you for the input.

The reason I am leaving my front clip on is 1- alot less to take apart now. 2 I have a/c and custom wiring that goes into the cab that will be a pain to disconnect. 3 It will take less storage room and not get banged up 4. the front clip will be done by the body shop so I dont want to get involved with that- less cooks in the kitchen keeps things from getting lost.
I'm thinking 10 people can pick it up and set it flat onto my flat bed.
For storage when I meant jack stands I meant placing them on the factory body mounting points.

Thanks for the info guys!

Nick

 

heres a question, is the motor still in it?? cause i know for a fact you wont lift it up that high with only manpower...if its out then get however many people it takes to lift and hold it for several minutes, then have a couple more people roll the frame out from under it...you could even have a trailor go right in after the frame is moved, but thats if you have enough guys to hold it up for a minute...

 

I ended up pulling the front end off...never tried to take it off the other way.
I got to thinking since Im having everything dipped anyways I have to pull wiring, etc out and I dont want to be crawling all over the trucks cab and what not with it on jack stands.

If it will warm up enough this weekend I'll get whats left of the harness out and the doors off and brace the cab and get it off and over to the dippers so it can be going thru body work while I do the entire frame/running gear so it can go back on and make the harness before the exterior gets painted.