The #7 wrecker set is rated for 3000 lbs. The rail is lower and shorter than on the "bomb hoists" (and these are rated for 1000 lbs).
I guess you can use it to pull engines and transmissions. I could see it lifting something long if it can brace the load against the truck, maybe a long log or an I-beam. I think I saw a pic on here with someone lifting a Deuce bed with one.
Despite the military label frowning upon it, the hoist should be ok for use as a "poor man's tow truck" to lift the front end of a car or light truck and tow it, using a tow bar to prevent the towed load from smashing into the rear of the truck.
Worth...what is someone willing to pay?
My personal view is that this is a curiosity, an interesting artefact. Almost any other lifting device, such as a used knuckleboom or even just a used electric service truck crane, would be on a different planet when it comes to practicality. A harbour freight "crane" upgraded with an electric winch could probably do almost as much, using a fraction of the space.
The pro is that all one needs to do is lift this contraption onto the truck bed and bolt it down. No hydraulics, no power needed. And it sorta kinda does a sorta kinda useful job.
A few hundred bucks?
