Rancher Turns Pickup Into Forklift

Rancher Turns Pickup Into Forklift PICKUPS Modifications 24-1-10 Richard Eddings, Coalgate, Oklahoma, builds all-steel buildings and runs a few cattle, too. When he needed a forklift to use at job sites he decided to build one himself. He started with a late 1970's Chevy Luv 4x4 pickup that he bought for $100 at an auction. "The engine was shot, but my brother-in-law had one that would fit it," he says. Eddings then bought an old hydraulic forklift mast from a neighbor who had adapted it to fit on his tractor's 3-pt. hitch. "It's a 3-stage lift, and even though it's only about 5 1/2 ft. tall, it will lift about 12 ft. into the air," he says. He cut the pickup frame off just behind the rear wheels, then took off the rear springs and welded a 10 in. wide length of 3/8 in. plate steel to the spring mounting and to the frame. "I had to take the bounce out of the rear end," he explains. He fashioned a mounting bracket for the mast from a steel plate. He mounted a hydraulic pump on the engine to raise and lower the lift. "There was a place to mount it so it could run off the fan belt," he says. To see the rear-mounted forklift, Eddings moved the seat, steering wheel and pedals for the clutch, brake and throttle 90 degrees to the right, so the driver faces the passenger side. "You can't look straight ahead, but by turning your head either way, you can easily go forward or backward with it," he says. He left the floor gearshift lever for the standard 4-speed transmission where it was, but now has to shift with his left hand. Eddings says his forklift pickup is quite maneuverable, but does wish it had a slower reverse gear. "Even in low range, when you're trying to position it just right, sometimes it's a little too fast," he says. "It's small and lightweight, so we can haul it easily on a trailer," he says. "Or if you need to, you can drive it short distances." "It'll easily lift a couple thousand pounds, too," he adds. And it's stable, too. He's had no problems with it rocking or tipping. One of the best ways he uses it, Eddings says, is as a moveable scaffold. He built a cage of expanded steel that attaches to the forks. With this, one or two people can work safely and easily as high as it will lift them. "It works as well for me as any forklift," he says. "And in total, I probably don't have more than $500 invested in it." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Richard Eddings, Rt. 4, Box 1605, Coalgate, Okla. 74538 (ph 580 927-2409).

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