Any Tacomas with a pickup bed crane?

It would definitely work but I don't think it's necessary and these frames aren't very strong (as far as frames go) and I think I'd have to tie into both sides of the frame.

Like I wrote before I haven't put a ton of thought into it yet but that's exactly what I'm thinking (using the rear 2 bed bolts, middle 2 bed bolts, and the rear 2 bed bolts that hold down the tie downs) with a lot of contact area on the beds floor to disburse the weight. I thought it might help the plastic bed if I fab in bed side supports (bed stiffeners) into it at the same time.

Most of the engines are less than 500 pounds but some get into 700+ pounds. A total guess is that the crane itself would end up around 200 pounds so now it's getting around a ton of weight total. I don't think the leverage adds any weight in this case but I could easily be wrong.

That's something else that's crossed my mind (gussets). I'd have to use some seriously thick steel plate because if it flexes at all it will lose the benefit of a large contact area on the beds floor which I think is the only thing that would actually allow it to work long term.

I'm already way past due on a rear suspension upgrade. I can't believe it hasn't broken a leaf spring yet. Rear springs are the recalled 2 + 1 still. It has an insane amount of axle wrap. The leafs are turning into a S shape. I'm hoping I make enough cash this summer so that I can do a 4wd conversion this upcoming winter. It won't have leaf springs after that is completed. I'm considering Dana 60's front and rear.

At the very least I need to pick up some 3rd gen leafs with an AAL to get me by until the conversion is done and I need to do it soon.

 

Leverage doesn't add weight, it adds torque. It's like using a breaker bar instead of a stubby ratchet. 700 lbs in the bed is probably fine. 700 lbs hanging off a crane that's extended 4 or 5 ft is gonna put a lot of stress on whatever the crane is mounted to.

 

700 lbs 3' out at an angle of 90 degrees is roughly 21000lbs of force on the mounting bolts. Think of a torque wrench. Lb-ft

@2DaMtns exactly what I was thinking!

 

Holy crap! That's why I started this thread, to get some brain power instead of relying solely on crazy and stupid power hahahaha!

 

I'm getting this image in my head of my Tacoma with 21,000 pounds hanging off its butt lol

 

I think I will use the crane that I already have off of the hitch before I put a ton of hours into something that may not work at all, that way I can get a visual on what does what first.

 

I think that's a good idea. Years ago when I used to be into scrap I put alot of thought into putting a crane or wench in the bed and nothing short of 1/4" plate reenforcing the whole bed floor would have worked, but in practicality doesn't make much sense.

 

Why can't you just do a flatbed conversion and slap the crane on it? This would the route I would take.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/flatbed-information-thread.558179/

 

I never considered it but I am now. Thank you.

 

What's the maximum tongue weight for the hitch? Nowhere near 700 lbs is it? I think things might get bendy.

 

I built a custom hitch a few months ago so it doesn't have a weight rating. I'm much more concerned about the factory Toyota frame bending. But the maximum weight the hitch will be supporting will be closer to 950 lbs when adding the weight of the crane itself. Plus another TW member pointed out that the crane has a boom which adds leverage to the weight. I'm having some serious second thoughts about doing it at all now. Making my job a lot easier would be great but if it trashes the truck then I'd be worse off than before I added a crane to it.

 

it gets drilled through and mounted to the frame. I wouldn’t worry about that. But I would worry about drilling through composite because that does weaken it.


I was thinking about doing a hitch mounted one for moving wood. Also means I can just take it off and put it on another vehicle in the future.

 

It mounts to the hitch but has legs that drop down to the ground for support so it’s not all tongue weight.

 

So how does that work? I would think once you dropped weight into the bed that would effectively transfer at least some of the weight through the hitch and then to the dropped legs. How do you release the legs then? Are the feet hydraulic or have some type of crank like a trailer jack?

 

That is what I was getting at.

 

https://www.etrailer.com/Truck-Bed-Accessories/MaxxTow/MT70238.html

yeah the legs will take some weight. But the full weight of the load won’t be on the tongue when being lifted. Not sure about the leg fold up.

I think part of this though is we need to consider the weights we’re talking about here. These are Tacoma’s and basic cranes we aren’t talking HD trucks and moving pallets of shingles.

 

I like that, going into my memory because up until today I didn't know this existed and may need it in the future. Cool cool cool.

 

Sounds like a job for a trailer with the built in crane to be perfectly honest.

 

That's pretty cool, and very reasonable priced. Looks like that's what the OP needs. If for some reason the suspension squatting makes it impossible to retract the legs, you could just raise the truck slightly with a jack under the hitch.

 

Thats what I'd think too. I think these beds actually have steel inserts right where those big T55 bolts go through. So in theory those would actual transfer the force right down to the frame itself.

Wait, wut.. Seems like a lotttttt of work lol