A bomb hoist for the rear bumper

[rotorwrench]

I've seen several styles of those type 1/2 ton capable bomb loader winches. Some are set up to go on top of the wing like the PBY and others are set up to fit onto the side of the bomb rack. This link has photos & a bit of info clear at the end of the document. Those are very good quality winches for certain. Just make sure your wire rope is in good condition.
https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN...ent/index.html

[D. Jones]

Fifty years ago when I worked for a local propane company all of our service trucks had one of those mounted in the bed. We used them to load empty 100 gallon propane tanks. Wish I had one today.

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by Los_Control

Found a photo of Grandpas truck, get a idea how he mounted it.
Also cant see it, there was a pipe that would drop to the ground had a foot on it, used a bolt to pin it in place. When you picked up weight, it would squat a little til pipe was firm on ground and then solid.
Not sure, but think it may slide up into the mast for storage again held in place with a pin. Very simple but efficient.

That's a great photo. I like the idea of the drop down leg. Thanks!

[GB SISSON]

Along the way I built the jalopy of ford parts on my toyota landcruiser chassis. Today I am in the process of installing the ww2 bomb hoist on my reinforced rear bumper. Rebuilding a weak rear bumper was the hard part. Once it was made Heavy Duty, I built mounts for the bomb hoist and to sort of even things out I mounted an old Athol vice on the left side. Things tend to balance out when you take your time and do it 'your way'.

[51504bat]

Did you decide not to go with a drop down leg? Regardless, looks great.

[GB SISSON]

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Yes, its a pretty solid hoist, I added multiple leafs on the rear, I'm Ok

[Los_Control]

You all good. Just depends what you want to do with your truck & hoist.
I am not sure what "your" intentions are. I know what my wife Grandfather did with his old 1951 International 1 ton with the bomb hoist. I have used it several times myself.


Grandpa worked on large trucks. 2 speed rear ends, 5 speed transmissions, brownies etc. He had a shop truck with a bomb hoist & he used it.


My experience using the truck 6 years ago, the hoist was kinda worthless without the drop down foot. Picking up a flathead V8 block in the yard was a pain without using the foot.
You have the long arm out back swinging around. You picking up weight and it is multiplied.
Not like a engine was just set in the back of your truck with a forklift ... The arm and weight 3' behind your truck matters.


The other issue was Grandpa picking up too much weight. The hoist would pick it up.
But since the mast was so high and then the weight out on the end.

He ran a cable from the mast to the front of the bed to hold it up straight when picking up a load.
The body panels were really bent. Really sad because it was a 9' bed with rear duels. Brother in law decided to go a flatbed. Bed could have been fixed.



Your truck looks great. To be functionally period correct, I think you need the foot ...you want to abuse it get the cable.
Or just drive it and love it.

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by Los_Control

You all good. Just depends what you want to do with your truck & hoist.
I am not sure what "your" intentions are. I know what my wife Grandfather did with his old 1951 International 1 ton with the bomb hoist. I have used it several times myself.


Grandpa worked on large trucks. 2 speed rear ends, 5 speed transmissions, brownies etc. He had a shop truck with a bomb hoist & he used it.


My experience using the truck 6 years ago, the hoist was kinda worthless without the drop down foot. Picking up a flathead V8 block in the yard was a pain without using the foot.
You have the long arm out back swinging around. You picking up weight and it is multiplied.
Not like a engine was just set in the back of your truck with a forklift ... The arm and weight 3' behind your truck matters.


The other issue was Grandpa picking up too much weight. The hoist would pick it up.
But since the mast was so high and then the weight out on the end.

He ran a cable from the mast to the front of the bed to hold it up straight when picking up a load.
The body panels were really bent. Really sad because it was a 9' bed with rear duels. Brother in law decided to go a flatbed. Bed could have been fixed.



Your truck looks great. To be functionally period correct, I think you need the foot ...you want to abuse it get the cable.
Or just drive it and love it.

OK you are tempting me to do the foot...:Perhaps even one that cranks down like a trailer tongue... but that's too modern.

[flatford8]

Your hoist will save the ‘ol back for a few more years!.....looks good Gary !!......leaves are starting to change in New England......hope you and the family are well !!!........Mark, from way over here....

[Los_Control]

iirc, the the main pipe for the hoist was hollow on Grandpa's.
He just had another pipe that would slide up inside of it.

That pipe had some plate welded on the bottom for a foot. Then several holes drilled through it and a hole drilled through the main mast.


Reminds me of the old cheap jack stands we use to buy in the 70's. Where you would raise the center pipe and push a pin through to hold in place, then lower car onto it.

Same idea just upside down on the bomb hoist. Pull the pin, foot drops to the ground, raise the foot up a couple inches off the ground line up with the closest hole and insert pin.
Now when you put a load on the hoist the suspension will go down til foot hits the ground. When you put the load in the truck, the weight comes off the hoist,foot comes off the ground ... Pick it up into home position and pin it. Simple.


If you drop the foot and it is lined up with a hole and pin it .. Then pick up your load and suspension sinks 2" from the added weight ... the foot is still sitting on the ground.
Now you either get your jack out and take the weight off the foot, or you unload and raise the foot higher off the ground before loading.


I have no clue where Grandpa got the idea, this is just how he did it. Kind of primitive, but worked really well once you got use to it.

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by Los_Control

iirc, the the main pipe for the hoist was hollow on Grandpa's.
He just had another pipe that would slide up inside of it.

That pipe had some plate welded on the bottom for a foot. Then several holes drilled through it and a hole drilled through the main mast.


Reminds me of the old cheap jack stands we use to buy in the 70's. Where you would raise the center pipe and push a pin through to hold in place, then lower car onto it.

Same idea just upside down on the bomb hoist. Pull the pin, foot drops to the ground, raise the foot up a couple inches off the ground line up with the closest hole and insert pin.
Now when you put a load on the hoist the suspension will go down til foot hits the ground. When you put the load in the truck, the weight comes off the hoist,foot comes off the ground ... Pick it up into home position and pin it. Simple.


If you drop the foot and it is lined up with a hole and pin it .. Then pick up your load and suspension sinks 2" from the added weight ... the foot is still sitting on the ground.
Now you either get your jack out and take the weight off the foot, or you unload and raise the foot higher off the ground before loading.


I have no clue where Grandpa got the idea, this is just how he did it. Kind of primitive, but worked really well once you got use to it.

Unfortunately my pipe has a half-cut in it to sit on the bumper. Another pipe wont fit. How 'bout If I use a trailer tongue jack, the type with a crank and it mounts to the rear bumper on a stub of 2" pipe and a pin locks it on? I could weld the pipe mount right alongside the hoist on the face of the bumper. It comes on and off easily with a spring loaded ball type 1/2" pin. Also doesnt add weight to that corner as it would only be there when needed. In your opinion would that give the type of support needed? I plan to add a steel gusset to the mast as right now I have a strap of 3/8" x 1 1/2" steel at the top. Edit: I just found a weld-on pipe mount Reese sidewinder trailer jack. Square tube body, 5k capacity. 12" lift. Sidewinder configuration lets me mount it a close as possible to the mast.

[Los_Control]

I revisited another photo of the truck. First let me say your project is 100 times better then Grandpa's old yard truck. While this photo is about 6 years old and still being used around the yard, Grandpa drove the truck for 30 years this way. Today it is now a flatbed with new paint & wiring. Just sad the brother inlaw was to cheap to do the bodywork to keep the bed.


In the photo we can see what he did was weld some channel to the frame and sticks out. Then a smaller channel for a foot that sticks out further. But it tucks right up into the bigger channel. Also a bracket further up connecting it to the bed.


They have a modern version of this, with a electric hoist, the foot is still very important.
Like a backhoe with outriggers. You may use it to do a small job like move something. You would not use it to dig a ditch without the outriggers down.


Thats all the foot is, a form of a outrigger. Help you do your job.
The trailer jack actually sound like a better option because you can turn the crank and raise or lower it.
Question is, do you get enough travel from the jack? Why they turn sideways. Drop them down and then crank it down ... not very attractive.



Another option would be to create brackets to attach a pipe to the side of your mast, then the foot inside to drop down ... just one idea.


Another option would be to throw a bottle jack and a wooden block in your truck when you go to pickup a load. Just set it up under your frame. Will do the exact same thing as creating a foot.


There really must be 100 other ways to create a cure for the issue. Will be interesting to see what you come up with.

[GB SISSON]

I took a picture of the type of jack I would use on the rear bumper. This is one I already have in use on the rear quarter of an equipment trailer. For mt 47 tonner I would used one with a side crank so it would be coupled close to the mast. Same mount. It is not attractive on a vintage truck so it would be stowed elsewhere until needed for lifting.

[PeteVS]

Do you have some sort of anti friction thrust washer to allow you to rotate the boom with a load hanging on it?

[D. Jones]

Great score. You'll wonder how you ever got by without it.

When I worked in LP gas repair and installation we had several of those bomb hoists mounted in the back of our service trucks. If I could find a good one today I'd make an offset mount for a class three hitch with a jack leg on either side and use it to load our yearly freezer load of free range organic meat, (elk) in the back of my truck.

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by PeteVS

Do you have some sort of anti friction thrust washer to allow you to rotate the boom with a load hanging on it?

I have a coffee can with old throw-out bearings in it but of course couldn't locate it when I needed it. Right now the mast sits on a 5/8" bolt cross drilled through the base tube. I will need to weld a disc on the mast's bottom end when I get to that. Max OD of the bearing would be 3 5/8". On one hand there is very little flat terrain on Orcas Island. If there were too little friction I could have a wildly swinging load. I also have a couple of those 1/2" thick nylon cutting boards used in kitchens that I have made 'bearings' from.

[38bill]

Gary, I'm loving the work bench, vise, hoist, bumper thing going on but what the heck is on the trailer in front of the truck?

[rustythumb]

if anyone in o.c,ca. wants one of these hoists for free, i have one!

[Los_Control]

I love this truck @GB sisson, We all have different ideas of a dream vehicle.
I love utility vehicles I can use. I have a project truck and what you have is the direction I am headed.
In another thread I was advised to dump the 11" clutch, I shot back that I really want the 11" clutch for a shop truck. To each our own.


Yeah what is that on the trailer .... you building 2 speedsters next?


Hope someone takes you up on that Rustythumb, myself too far away in TX.

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by Los_Control

I love this truck @GB sisson, We all have different ideas of a dream vehicle.
I love utility vehicles I can use. I have a project truck and what you have is the direction I am headed.
In another thread I was advised to dump the 11" clutch, I shot back that I really want the 11" clutch for a shop truck. To each our own.


Yeah what is that on the trailer .... you building 2 speedsters next?


Hope someone takes you up on that Rustythumb, myself too far away in TX.

Ok Los, They are two Vietnam era drop tanks. I got 5 of them a few years back when they were clearing an old property here for a new home. I went around that night dumping 4 of them on friend's properties, so they'd wake up to a surprise in the morning. I got one back so now have 2. Thinking catamaran with a 239 and an aero pusher prop.... That's gonna have to wait. Oh and this red tonner has a 210 cu in cummins 6at 120 hp turbo diesel coupled to a gm sm 465 and stock rear end.