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"Shorty" Utility Truck Built Out Of Old Bronco
You won't find a commercial utility truck anywhere like the one built by Ken Brittin of Petersburg, Ill., who cut off the back part of a wrecked Ford Bronco, attached part of a Ford Ranger pickup cab, and added his own home-built, remote-controlled hydraulic tilt bed.
Brittin uses a remote control button on his k
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"Shorty" Utility Truck Built Out Of Old Bronco TRUCKS Modifications 21-4-2 You won't find a commercial utility truck anywhere like the one built by Ken Brittin of Petersburg, Ill., who cut off the back part of a wrecked Ford Bronco, attached part of a Ford Ranger pickup cab, and added his own home-built, remote-controlled hydraulic tilt bed.
Brittin uses a remote control button on his key chain to tilt the bed up or down. "I can operate it from as far as 300 ft. away. It fascinates a lot of people when they see the bed going up and down but can't see who's controlling it," says Brittin.
He paid $800 for the 1985 Bronco II which had been in a wreck. Only the rear part of it was damaged. He cut off the body at the window post behind the front door. He made a steel frame for the 5-ft. wide, 4-ft. long bed and installed a wooden floor. The back of the bed rests on a pair of big hinges on each side. A 24-in. long cylinder is used to raise or lower the bed. Electronic solenoid valves, activated by a switch off a remote-controlled winch, control an electric-over-hydraulic pump that operates the cylinder. He used exhaust tubing to build guard rails behind the cab and mounted the Ranger bumper behind the bed.
"I use it mostly for light yard work. It also works great for hauling parts for my auto-mobile repair business," says Brittin. "I mounted a Reese receiver hitch on back so I can pull my boat. I also use it to haul and dump grass clippings. I pull a sweeper behind my riding mower and dump the clip-pings right onto the bed.
"I installed a new air conditioner, tilt steering wheel, axle assembly, driveshaft, and a posi-traction rear end. I cut down the running boards on the Bronco and mounted splash guards on front and back. My total cost was about $4,000. Doug Baum, who operates a body shop, did the cab work. I already had the pickup and was able to save money by using parts from it - all parts on Ford Broncos and Rangers that don't have to do with the body are interchangeable.
"The Bronco is powered by a 2.8-liter V-6 gas engine and equipped with a 4-speed automatic transmission with overdrive."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ken Brittin, Rt. 1, Box 290-1, Petersburg, Ill. 62675 (ph 217 632-2062).
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