Adding a crane to my truck

Blazemaster · Sep 30, 2018

I have a 1993 f-super duty(f450) with a 12'x8' flatbed for my shop truck. Putting things on the bed is always a pain if one side doesn't have a lift of some sort so I've always wanted a crane. The other day I picked up a nice unit for the right price so I've started thinking about how to mount it to my truck.

The crane in question is an Auto Crane model RBC-5. This is an all electric crane rated for 3 tons, with a 14 foot boom. The minimum rating for this crane is a 14,500 gvw truck, mine is 16,000. The motors are 24 volt so I will have to figure that out. The base for this crane is about 17.5"x17.5".

I was hoping to get some opinions/ideas on how you would go about mounting it and where. I plan to do all the calculations to make sure the base is stout enough but the basic plan was to mount it in the middle of the bed right behind the headache rack. I have some 24" tubing with a 3/4" wall I was thinking about using to make a short pedestal that goes through the flatbed and ties to the frame, but sticks up above the flatbed about a foot with a heavy plate on top. May as well tie it all in the to the flatbed as well. I will have to make some manual outriggers.

Any reason why this is a bad idea? Anyone have a small flatbed with a crane like this?

Here are some pics I found of the same crane, but the manual pic is of the RBC-4 (one size smaller)

Thanks for any advice

john.k · Oct 1, 2018

Did you get any outriggers with the crane?...With a stiff boom crane like this,you will have to be very careful to have the truck perfectly level before lifting.Otherwise ,get the first lift on Utube ,cause it will get a lot of hits.And maybe pay for chassis repairs.

Peter from Holland · Oct 1, 2018

Wrong thing to put on a truck IMHO
Better get a hydraulic articulating boom crane
Available in all sizes
Mounting them on the far end of the bed or on one side of the bed gives them the most lifting capacity
The ride empty is not that good though

DDoug · Oct 1, 2018

Peter from Holland said:
Wrong thing to put on a truck IMHO
Better get a hydraulic articulating boom crane
Available in all sizes
Mounting them on the far end of the bed or on one side of the bed gives them the most lifting capacity
The ride empty is not that good though

Why ?

These are very common over here, and on that size truck.

To the OP, next time you see a "Mechanic's" truck or a "Large tire" truck,
that has these on them, stop and do a little looking.

Poke underneath with a camera, should help most of all.

thermite · Oct 1, 2018

What Peter said. Articulated. Usually mount right back of the cab, frame, outriggers, the whole shebang all planned for it and professionally integrated.

Your Klew is what is already seen all OVER the place. That's because it works. And doesn't kill folks nor destroy goods.
Not all that often, anyway. Always somebody as can destroy a steel ball with a wet noodle.

Best way to have one?

Trade the truck for one that already has it.

The "other option"? A self-loading/unloading rough-terrain forklift.

Way more useful, all-day any day, truck involved or not.

And you only take it along when you need it.

john.k · Oct 1, 2018

The OPs crane can work,but will need hydraulic outriggers capable of levelling the truck.It wont be ideal ,because of the long boom,will be tricky to operate.If the OP has driven old pin boom P&H s with 150 foot of stick,he will have no trouble,cause he will know what not to do,instinctively....I have an old truck with an Atlas crane,capacity 8 ton metre,which isnt great,but it sure picks up old machines quickly....On the free ads,I see a 8 wheel Mack with a Palfinger 27somthing.....27 ton meter .....now that can pick up some old machines ...for only $10,000.

DDoug · Oct 1, 2018

I agree the articulated ones are a better choice.
However, in that small size, they arent' very common on the 2nd hand market
around here.

So, it appears the OP has found something local and affordable,
and would like to "make it work".

I was wrenching on a 3500 hd (19.5 tire sized truck) with a small bucket
(ex Verizon truck) the other day. Very similar superstructure,
it had NO outriggers.

The main column/slewing ring was mounted right behind the cab.

FWIW allot of the cranes the type the OP has posted, on mechanics trucks, are mounted on the extreme rear right side.

However, with all the toolboxes, I suspect the parts they are lifting,
don't ever get set on the truck, rather pulled off the machine, and onto a pallet,
or other truck.

So mounting behind the cab & centered sounds about right for the OP's usage.

thermite · Oct 1, 2018

john.k said:
The OPs crane can work,but will need hydraulic outriggers capable of levelling the truck.It wont be ideal ,because of the long boom,will be tricky to operate.If the OP has driven old pin boom P&H s with 150 foot of stick,he will have no trouble,cause he will know what not to do,instinctively....I have an old truck with an Atlas crane,capacity 8 ton metre,which isnt great,but it sure picks up old machines quickly....On the free ads,I see a 8 wheel Mack with a Palfinger 27somthing.....27 ton meter .....now that can pick up some old machines ...for only $10,000.

Serious outriggers on those, too:

PK 272 SH High Performance | PALFINGER

thermite · Oct 1, 2018

digger doug said:
So mounting behind the cab & centered sounds about right for the OP's usage.

Aye but then he needs a second truck anyway.

Even the articulated ones eat up a lot of space AND payload.

This rigid puppy here may be less mass - or probably not once safely outriggered - but it still has to "be somewhere", whether used on any given go-fetch run or not.

Will all potential loads even still be possible if the load and the stowed boom have to compete for space whilst in-transit?

john.k · Oct 1, 2018

I dont doubt it,but without outriggers will end up on utube for sure.....My old truck is a heavy tandem drive,plated under the crane ,which is behind the cab,and I would not dare lift 400lb at full 90dg reach(20 ft) without putting the outriggers down.....In fact ,even unloaded ,over the side full reach to grease it gives a lean....bent springs,bent chassis,truck tipped over...I dont want any of these.

Peter from Holland · Oct 1, 2018

digger doug said:
Why ?

These are very common over here, and on that size truck.

These cranes you see nowhere in europe And with good reasson
All articulated boom truck
With that thing on the truck you have no space for cargo anymore

Peter

DDoug · Oct 1, 2018

Peter from Holland said:
These cranes you see nowhere in europe And with good reasson
All articulated boom truck
With that thing on the truck you have no space for cargo anymore

Peter

Again, not too common over here, so expensive even if it could be found.

"When in Rome...."
"Bloom where you are planted...."

sealark37 · Oct 1, 2018

We used to mount these cranes on the left rear tool box of an F-350 service truck. No outriggers, but you have to be careful in setting up a lift. Most weight was possible in a reach across the bed. The F-350 required a reinforced left rear spring was required. I do not remember if the service bed was reinforced for this crane. Regards, Clark

thermite · Oct 1, 2018

digger doug said:
Again, not too common over here, so expensive even if it could be found.

"When in Rome...."
"Bloom where you are planted...."

?? Common enough in the high-density areas of the US, Doug.

Plenty of articulated booms on heavy truck and off-road construction equipment tire service vehicles alone.

No shortage of the self-loading RT forklifts, either. Roofing, drywall, stone, lumber, etc.

DDoug · Oct 1, 2018

thermite said:
?? Common enough in the high-density areas of the US, Doug.

Plenty of articulated booms on heavy truck and off-road construction equipment tire service vehicles alone.

No shortage of the self-loading RT forklifts, either. Roofing, drywall, stone, lumber, etc.

"A bird in hand....is better than 2 in the bush"
From the OP:
"The other day I picked up a nice unit for the right price so I've started thinking about how to mount it to my truck."

Unit is already purchased.

gbent · Oct 1, 2018

I've never seen a light truck crane around here with a rigid boom. They are mostly hydraulic squirt booms and a few cable extending booms. Most mechanics trucks have the crane mounted on the right rear corner. Tire trucks usually have a center front mount crane, with the box set back enough to clear the crane.

Outriggers will be a must. They should be attached to the same substructure you fabricate to hold the crane base.

Done well I'm sure you will love it. I do think booming up to set something on the bed will be a pita.

thermite · Oct 1, 2018

digger doug said:
"A bird in hand....is better than 2 in the bush"
From the OP:
"The other day I picked up a nice unit for the right price so I've started thinking about how to mount it to my truck."

Unit is already purchased.

So what? Truck ain't the only place it could be useful.

I could put it to far better use off the sidewall of the lower driveway, meself. Stow it right along the top of the wall, not even all that much "in your face" between uses. Abom79's old shop, he had a jib crane, strategically placed near the concrete apron to the shop door.
Serious useful that one was.

Good job our man doesn't have a Bass boat as well as that Ford.....crane might be installed on the BOAT instead of lifting it!

tomjelly · Oct 1, 2018

That's going to require some engineering to the truck. I wanted a knuckle boom but on further analysis figured most of the truck loads were pretty small anyway and the big stuff would go in the box truck or trailer, then this 1500lb lift turned up for $400- zero modifications to the truck ( I made an adapter of angle that goes across the front lower mounting tabs and bolts thru the OEM bed front 2 mounting bolts, then rest of it just lays in the bed) The gantry reaches way past the tailgate when fully extended and can still fit 4x8 of plywood. Wouldn't be too hard to make something similar integrated into the edges of a custom flat bed that would lift more. I bought 2 of these and sold the other to a guy overseas who put it on the roof of his hummer for jet skis!

alskdjfhg · Oct 1, 2018

Peter from Holland said:
These cranes you see nowhere in europe And with good reasson
All articulated boom truck
With that thing on the truck you have no space for cargo anymore

Peter

Ya'll have different road laws than we do.

It's common for tractors for have 3points on the front as well as rear in Europe as equipment has to brake down for very narrow roads. Here that would be cool, but kinda pointless, so it's not see too often in the States.

Those big Palfingers are so heavy, way heavier than a comparable hydraulic boom crane, you probably wouldnt't have enough truck for the crane an a heavy load.

To generalize based on your POV and not the quy asking the question's POV won't give you an optimal solution. He's got a rigid boom cable operated crane, that's what he's going to use.

I can see plenty of scenarios where a articulating boom would be super nice, but I can also think of plenty of scenarios where a rigid boom with a hoist would be better.

One advantage with the OP's set up, is no need to worry about seals or leaks. Don't have to idle a truck all day when your working on a machine.

OP: Figure out a way to attached outriggers to the truck, and you'd be fine. The mechanic's crane truck outriggers don't generally shoot out like a real crane anyway. They just go from the corners of the bed down.

DDoug · Oct 1, 2018

alskdjfhg said:
OP: Figure out a way to attached outriggers to the truck, and you'd be fine. The mechanic's crane truck outriggers don't generally shoot out like a real crane anyway. They just go from the corners of the bed down.

I would shorten the bed, or slide it back about 12" from the cab.

I would then take 8" channel , back to back with a spacer plate (top and bottom)
intermittent, where needed.
This would get anchored on top of the frame, extend out on each side.
simple leg jacks from a semi trailer would be overkill, but offer the 2-speed
crank option, and are available.

This (back to back channels) would put the jacks in between them, and make a nice wide mounting flange surface in the center for the mounting of the crane.

Add cover flange plates & diagonal web plates where needed to handle the torsion.

The whole affair would be bolted onto the frame much like the bed is, with U-bolts,
and can be pre-assembled complete, on the bench.

Lightweight must be in the back of mind when building this, or you'll run out of
tag before the the thing carries any load.

Adding a crane to my truck

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