Work on the baby HEMTT grinds to a start.

Just so's you guys don't think we fell off the edge of the earth; here's some fresh pictures of the baby HEMTT project.
Good ole' dma251 got me hooked (a crane joke), and so I'm working on a Grove MHC M977 for the back of the baby HEMTT.
After pestering him to death for dimensions and layout of the crane turntable with support and the outriggers, the first order of business was to re-locate the rear axle 12 inches forward. Here's a picture or two for you to enjoy.

Next is the bed shortening. About 40 inches needs to come off of the rear to accomodate the crane. The rear bed mounts needed to be relocated to the next frame pad forward so new top pads were fabricated and welded on and everything was reassembled. I've laid out all of my tram points and drilled holes at each one so that I can mark my cuts with a chalk-line. A friend of mine is gonna come down to help out and we'll send the trimmed pieces off in his next scrap drive.
More pictures and updates soon.

As always your fabrication skills and attention to detail amaze me. Makes my fingers itch to start cutting and welding on something...

Just think what we could make if we were both working on the same project!

Nothing like a new project.
Have you located a crane yet? Dozens were sent to the scrapper in 2006 when I worked on the 757 in Oklahoma, nobody wanted them at the time, not even for $250/ea....

Thanks for the kind words, Lanty; but I think I'm just lucky. I work on the same principle as the Bumblebee... without even the vaguest notion that I'm incapable of doing this stuff, I just march right in.

The thought is scary, Damon. Are you thinking something like the Wright Brothers gone Wrong; or our own spin on Dr. Evil and Mini-Me? And do I have to play the bumbling side-kick... again?

Having decided on a Grove scissor-crane over a knuckle-crane-- I'm still casting around for the best price, Bjorn. They seem to come in all conditions and levels of completeness. A drop-on would be nice-- so I don't have to go scrounging or end up buying a second one just to finish out the first. And I figure the Murphy's Law of Shopping will cut in here too. A month after I bite the bullet and make my purchase; a better, more complete one will surface... for less money. Still, it's nice to be back in the saddle with a wrench in my hand.

Its looking great Leonard. You have to watch the valvebanks on the Grove. Replacement parts small enough to fit in your pocket can easily outcost the crane. Spicergear has experienced this firsthand with his.

Thanks for the tip Kenny. I've had to make replacement spools for obsolete stuff at the shop and it ain't no fun. Tolerances so tight that the spool just sits at the top of the bore until you remove your finger from the bottom orifice, then it slowly slides down in under it's own weight. I haven't had to contend with a valve body where the bore is bad yet. That would be a real treat.

don't be afraid to buy one with broken spool handle mounts, i am having them made for tom (spicergear), 4 for about half the price of one from grove.........

Good to know, Tom. I may be in touch.

cranetruck said:

Nothing like a new project.
Have you located a crane yet? Dozens were sent to the scrapper in 2006 when I worked on the 757 in Oklahoma, nobody wanted them at the time, not even for $250/ea....

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Folks in easy driving of Oklahoma would have been interested. :/

Well, Several sidewinder cut-off discs and a pack or two of SawzAll blades later; the bed is close to being just a bare deck... and a short one at that.
The rear 40" or so is gone and both sides are off; headboard is coming off as soon as I get another free day. I saved the top rail of one of the sides and am bending it into submission to become the rear end-plate of the bed. The two stake pockets will eventually hold a removable tailgate.
I salvaged the top half of some tailgate hinges from several scrap beds and made the bottom portions to go on the side edges of the bed deck to give me drop-sides when I'm done. I'll lay out, shear and fold the sides, tailgate and headboard next week if all goes according to plan.
The headboard will bolt in place and I'm going to set it back about 16" to form a shelf to carry the hydraulic reservoir for the crane. Found a nice Muncie 56 gal. tank that looks like it belongs on a military vehicle.

Is the full 40 inches required by the crane of your choice, the HIAB only uses 24?

I don't think a knuckleboom crane wouldl look right on the back. They don't fold up quite as nicely as the flat-topped telescoping boom on the Grove mhc-977. It seems that uncle sam liked the way the hemtt would fit into a C-130 cargo plane with the tightly-stowed Grove crane.

Just my .02 though.

Hmmm...I'm sure that I have seen low profile HIAB's (knuckle booms) too....

Sure, just not quite as tight or as low when stowed.

Somehow I guessed you'd be a knuckle-boom fan...

I based the dimension on dma251's HEMTT as well as specs. provided by Oshkosh. 36" from end of frame rail to tailgate (40" of bed due to overhang) gives room to support the crane with outriggers and clearance to let the crane work. To the top of the cranes, the M985E1 HEMTTs with the Hiab knuckle cranes are over 3' taller than the M977s with Grove scissor crane. Hiab cranes are good for 340 degrees of rotation to the Grove's 370 degrees. The Hiabs weigh more and tend to give trucks a sway-backed frame over time, unless heavily reenforced.
Seemed like a pretty simple choice to me.

Jones said:

...... Hiab cranes are good for 340 degrees of rotation to the Grove's 370 degrees.... .

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Minor correction here, (at least my) HIAB is good for 410° ....and it's more than a crane, actually, more like a mechanical arm, I can park a load within about a foot of the base of the crane or maybe I should say manipulate, since there is no wire rope involved, well you may have seen the posts over the years.

How much does the Grove weigh? The crane on my deuce weighs 3,000 lb plus hydraulic tank and pump, about 3,500 in total?

Crane with outrigger assy.+ tank are 3,110#. Add another 45# or so for PTO with hydraulic pump attached.

More pieces and parts are coming down the assy. line.
Here are the side supports for the crane turntable. 1/4" steel plate construction throughout. More webs will go in as I figure out where the mounting bolts locate but this first one puts back strength after notching out for the rear spring shackles.