Deuce Crane Truck Thread Hi-jack Cont'd

[spicergear]

I had mentioned on Bjorn and Justin's thread about selling 'Blue,' my M977 crane deuce truck soon and pics were requested. Here are some pics, here are some specs...it's not quite for sale yet...but soon.

Quick specs front to rear: 20K Garwood, front Vice, recored and banded radiator, Mack air filter on fender, 225hp 1160 CAT V8, Hydro-MAX braking (stopped 32,000 GCW with big toe), 3053A w/PTO, REB kit manual shift T-case, T-case rear PTO, Commercial 25X hydraulic pump, M977 Crane, shortened dropside (97" inside length), 20K Garwood mounted under rear of truck- no drive yet.

Front winch needs new front seal, some wiring is getting old, brake light switch needs installed, a little rust in bottom outside cab sheet metal, not inside or in floors and I have diamond plate pieces cut out to repair or cover, one rear dog bone link bushing needs replaced and I have replacement. Truck needs painted!

Below are a bunch of pictures of crane at work. Also you'll note where the name 'Blue' for the truck came from. Yeah...it's come a long way.

 

[spicergear]

More pics...

 

[spicergear]

Many more pics...

 

[spicergear]

Still more...

 

[spicergear]

Cripes...more!

 

[trukhead]

Many more pics...

Wow, You found a silver UFO!

I got 4 corn cribs to take down and 2 grain bins as well. Wish you were next door!opcorn:

 

[spicergear]

We took that top part and the bottom part in two pieces 8 miles on a friends gooseneck to his Dad's farm and put it back together. That was a pretty wide load.

The crane specs are 2,500lbs at 19', 4,500lbs at 9' and just under 3 ton right off the deck. I saw one ship mounted for loading cargo off a dock and the capacities were more than doubled. I know I've had a couple pretty good loads on this and didn't care. The weakest part of these cranes is the object that moves them from place to place. The way I mounted mine and the outrigger section, I have an extended area of the frame reinforced with basically a pair of factory frame mounts per side which bolt onto the outside of the frame and bolted together. I have 28, 5/8" bolts securing the mounts to the deuce frame, 14 per side, 7 per plate.

 

[73m819]

The pics 7/8 in post #4 give the idea of a GREAT tractor

 

[spicergear]

Those two are a pair of my favorite pics! I nearly went that direction...but happened on a good priced dropside.

 

[Danger Ranger]

The truck looks great Spicer. I wish I had the dough to take it off your hands, but I am sure it'll go to a good home.

Got to be one of the most useful trucks around...

 

[spicergear]

Thanks Danger Ranger, the truck is real handy...but time to step up. I was using it today to pull the mocked up knuckleboom off of the 931 tractor. I'm going to be able to get a lot more use out of the larger 939 series heavier truck. Blue has done a lot of work, hauling, 3 GL deuce runs 100mi plus round trips, lifting etc for me and never left me stuck anywhere. The 636 cubic inch V8 CAT with it's 2,800 governor...it pulls well when kept spooled up.

 

[Speedwoble]

That is a beaut of a crane. I like how it tucks down low compared to the knuckle booms.

 

[spicergear]

Yes, they really nest low. They're also a touch heavy to the passenger's side but no so much it changes how the truck acts. I may not be able to get 'Bruiser' the big 931 into my shop because of the K-boom. ...it's gonna be close...may have to put the CTIS on 'sand' mode to clear.

If I had another of the M977 or M984 (?? I think that was the number) I would use that solely for the lower clearance.

 

[nf6x]

What do you think of the M977 crane vs. various knucklebooms? I just got my first M923, and I'm interested in making it into a crane truck. I haven't decided upon which crane to use, whether to keep the original bed or not, whether to cut and/or move the bed to accommodate the crane, and so forth.

 

[spicergear]

I hadn't until recently (thanks derrickl112) viewed the later trailers with the Grove M977 like cranes on them. Those would be the ones most likely you'll want to use as they have the outrigger tube located on top of the frame nested with the crane base...like I had to do which was a LOT of work. My M977 original HEMTT crane originally had the outrigger tube mounted below the frame which wasn't an option mid-mounting the crane on the truck. The only limiting factor on the M977 crane is the length of the stick. 19' disappears real quickly but they're super strong, nest well, and have a spool on them. Because these are built by Grove and because they're mostly not that old being in the 90's (the few I've seen) people usually get a decent buck for them still.

The Knucklebooms are a different animal. The one thing that I feel limits them a little is the fact that they don't have a spool so you have to get the hook to where ever you need to hook onto. The nested height can get a little tall too. That said though...the K-booms are real good cranes. The k-boom I have for my 931 only goes out, I think, to 21' so not much of a super big advantage there but it has a very high load rating. If you have the cash to hold out...get a big enough truck and find a K-boom with multiple telescoping section so you can really get out there. Also, the previously truck mounted ones will be easier as they'll have outriggers where some of the deck or trailer mounted ones won't. I'm going to see if I can mount some sort of spool on my k-boom so maybe I can hang a heavy snatch block at the end and have the best of both worlds.

 

[spicergear]

Example of K-boom on my truck now that you've seen all the deuce pics...

 

[nf6x]

Thanks! I missed an opportunity to bid on one of the batch of trailers in Barstow with either Grove cranes or Palfinger PK19000M knucklebooms on them a few years ago; I "accidentally" blew my budget on a pile of CUCVs the week before.

I see one of those PK19000M cranes for sale on eBay not too far from me; the price is heart-stopping, but maybe fair? They look very heavy duty and appear to nest low, but I think that the boom length may be too short for what I want. They also appear to take up more frame space than other knucklebooms I've seen. The bed on my new M923 looks so nice that I would really hesitate to cut it up or replace it with a shorter bed.

I don't know if it's even remotely practical, but one idea I'd like to explore is to mount a crane in the bed area, such that the cargo cover can be put on over it and the bed looks mostly normal when everything is stowed. I assume that I'd need to do something tricky to the bed sides to get eh outriggers out. One of the reasons that the PK19000M interest me is that the outriggers appear to swing up above the top of the frame rail height for stowage, as opposed to most k-booms I've seen where the stowed outriggers dangle below the frame rail top.

I hope that you don't mind my threadjack of your threadjack!

 

[gimpyrobb]

The Knucklebooms are a different animal. The one thing that I feel limits them a little is the fact that they don't have a spool so you have to get the hook to where ever you need to hook onto. The nested height can get a little tall too. That said though...the K-booms are real good cranes. The k-boom I have for my 931 only goes out, I think, to 21' so not much of a super big advantage there but it has a very high load rating. If you have the cash to hold out...get a big enough truck and find a K-boom with multiple telescoping section so you can really get out there. Also, the previously truck mounted ones will be easier as they'll have outriggers where some of the deck or trailer mounted ones won't. I'm going to see if I can mount some sort of spool on my k-boom so maybe I can hang a heavy snatch block at the end and have the best of both worlds.

That is a big selling point on the K-boom I am looking at. It has a bunch of hydraulic ciruits with it. Not just the crane movement, but also a rotator, a leveling fork, and the control to move the base itself (forward or backward) on the bed of the truck. That one will be taken off for sure. Now I am left to wonder how to install a milemarker hydro winch on the end of my boom. I'll probably use some quick connects on the hose and make some kind of "pin in place" mount for the winch.

 

[Derrickl112]

I hadn't until recently (thanks derrickl112) viewed the later trailers with the Grove M977 like cranes on them.

They are also rated for 11k

 

[cranetruck]

......

The Knucklebooms are a different animal. The one thing that I feel limits them a little is the fact that they don't have a spool so you have to get the hook to where ever you need to hook onto. The nested height can get a little tall too. That said though...the K-booms are real good cranes. The k-boom I have for my 931 only goes out, I think, to 21' so not much of a super big advantage there but it has a very high load rating. If you have the cash to hold out...get a big enough truck and find a K-boom with multiple telescoping section so you can really get out there. Also, the previously truck mounted ones will be easier as they'll have outriggers where some of the deck or trailer mounted ones won't. I'm going to see if I can mount some sort of spool on my k-boom so maybe I can hang a heavy snatch block at the end and have the best of both worlds.

There are of course many optional add-ons for the K-booms. The "winch" will get you the lifting by wire rope and the reach is easily extended with tubular steel.
I have had a max reach of close to 40 ft for special applications.
IMHO, the only drawback is the nested height, puts the deuce at 11ft, which I have stenciled on the dash...