6-WD Pickup Built From 3/4 Ton Model

6-WD Pickup Built From 3/4 Ton Model PICKUPS Modifications 22-1-2 "A lot of people thought I was crazy to cut up a perfectly fine pickup, but I'm glad I did," says Dan Hampton of Ten Sleep, Wyo., who converted a 1977 Ford F-250 3/4-ton 4-WD pickup into a 6-WD pickup that's equipped with walking beam rear axles and a 12-ft. 3-in. long steel flatbed. The flatbed is equipped with a headache rack with chain hooks for easy binding of loads and can be quickly converted into a box with 6-ft. high sides. "It works great as an all-around ranch truck for hauling hay, machinery, and live-stock. I often use it to pull a 23-ft. gooseneck trailer. I've hauled loads weighing up to 33,940 lbs. gross, including the weight of the trailer. This truck has 233,000 miles on it but it's still going strong." Hampton cut off the pickup frame about 3 ft. behind the cab. He then welded on a 12-ft. long frame he took from an early 1970s crew cab pickup. He fitted the new frame with the original rear axle and the rear axle off a 1973 Ford 3/4-ton 4-WD pickup. He also mounted an extra transfer case 2 1/2 ft. be-hind the cab, positioned so it faces backward. A pair of driveshafts on the transfer case are used to power the mid and rear axles, with one driveshaft going to each axle. A carrier bearing mounted next to the differential on the mid axle supports a single driveshaft that powers the rear axle. A local machine shop worked on the frame modifications, walking beam suspension system, and driveline for the rear axles. It consists of a set of leaf springs off a 2-ton truck that are supported by a steel "hangar" bolted to a frame made from 2 by 4 rectangular steel tubing. The hangar connects the two axles together and also serves as the pivot point on the frame for both axles. Hampton used 1 by 3-in. heavy channel irons and 2 by 4-in. heavy rectangular steel tubing to build a frame for the flatbed and bolted it to the pickup's frame. He used 1/8-inch deck plate to build the floor and 1 by 2 rectangular steel tubing to build stakes that support 20-in. high wooden sideboards. Steel racks slide into the tops of the stakes to make 6-ft. high sides. The pickup is powered by a modified 460 cu. in. gas engine off a 1974 Ford LTD car. Hampton added 429 heads and 9:1 compression pistons to boost the power. He also re-moved the original 4-speed manual transmission and replaced it with a direct (no over-drive) Clark 5-speed transmission. "It does everything a 1 1/2-ton truck can do, yet it doesn't look like a monster truck," says Hampton. "I spent about $10,000 to build it, but it works better than a new 1-ton 4-WD pickup that would cost $30,000 or more. The pickup itself weighs almost 9,000 lbs. because of the steel bed. I've hauled 20-ft. long, 12-in. dia. irrigation pipes on the bed. "The pickup empty by itself gets about 10 mpg. Pulling a trailer it gets about 5 mpg. "It's amazing what I can tow with this truck. One time I pulled a semi truck and pup trailer loaded with straw up a hill after the driver spun out on a snow-packed road. I had chains only on the front wheels. I also used it to pull out our Versatile 276 II bi-directional tractor when it got stuck in mud. It works better than a dually pickup on side hills, especially if the ground is muddy, because the rear wheels follow directly in tracks made by the front wheels instead of straddling them and slipping and sliding around. "I added a shift lever inside the cab in order to engage or disengage the far rear axle, which allows me to put the pickup in 2-WD, 4-WD, or 6-WD. I use 2-WD on the high-way, with only the mid axle driving, or switch to 4-WD with either the two rear axles driving or the front and mid axles driving. To switch to 6-WD I engage the far rear axle. I use 6-WD a lot in mud and snow. "Because of the walking beam axles it rides a lot smoother on rough terrain than a conventional pickup. However, it does ride rough when it's empty. I had to remove the 2-ton truck's original overload springs be-cause they made the pickup ride too rough. The suspension system is a miniature version of th

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