Cab removal help

[JORGIE95961]

Morning Folks.. so Im am in need of a ton of ideas in removing my cab..... I hate the fact that I have to call buddies up to give me hand, .. truck is in the garage. .. .. i figure once i get it removed i can put it on a small trailer and move it to the back yard which is where my donor truck is .. i gues Im just a bit intimidated at this point by lack of muscle. any advice is appreciated

[dave2953]

They are pretty heavy for sure. I used a John Deere to move mine, but I was fortunate enough to have a tractor at my disposal since I had nobody else to help me. I've removed my bed by myself, but cabs are a different story. I'm sure some of the guys on here have come up with some inventive to remove their cabs without having three or four buddies to help them out.

[no moa]

I used a lift on the last one, but my 68 i used a John Deere 410 backhoe. Didn't even have to unbolt it! lol

Got a strong tree and a comalong.

[cdowns]

for ease of cab removal it is best to remove whatever you can glass doors accessories and then make double sure everything is disconnected steerting wiring brakes etc// is the cab being saved or discarded? if it is to b a discard all you need to do is remove mounting bolts then with a jack lift one side up to get a start then just lift and push to tip it off the frame// if you are saving cab stripped they arent hard for one guy with an engine hoist to lift and move off the frame

[ChevLoRay]

I stripped my old cab of everything but the doors and front/back glass. My son and I pulled the doors, then cut the windshield and back glass rubber on the inside of the cab. The WS was already cracked so breaking it was no biggee. The back glass we saved.

With the cab stripped of everything possible, we took the mounting bolts loose and out of place. Then, he and I slid the cab forward until we knew that we needed help. So, he enlisted a couple of neighbors and we picked it up and carried it out of the garage, beneath the open overhead door (7-ft high). Since my firewall was toast, and my 4.5x9.0 trailer wasn't big enough, we put the firewall side down and I secured it for the trip "to town".

I think we tend to equate the overall weight of the complete vehicle to the size of the cab and figure it is the heavy part. I doubt seriously that the bare shell of the cab weighs 300-lbs....certainly not more than 400 at the most.

[HavinSomeFun]

You can to a Harbor Freight type store and get a 2000 LB chain hoist and hang it from a A frame or a big tree. It makes it a one man job. I also cut a 4x4 and put heavy eye bolts in each end and ran it through the cab. It keeps the chain off of the cab. Works great.

[BATurbo]

I've seen photos on this site where an extension arm was added to the boom of a cherry picker and the cab was lifted off using the picker for the lifting muscle. (not sure if they had extended the bracing legs). You'll need to use some creative ingenuity to spread the load of the lift arm as the photos I saw showed the arm lifting up against the underside of the cab roof. I haven't tried this myself, but with some thought I bet you could turn this into a one man operation. (one mighty careful man that is). My $.02...

[JORGIE95961]

tHANKS Y'ALL. GOT'ER DONE!!!

[Operation No Budget]

Glad to see you got your cab off safely!

I do have a question regarding this, I am going to be shortening my frame (lwb to swb) this summer so I need to lift the cab off the frame a few inches. When I unbolt my cab mounts, is it just the rear bolts I need to remove, or all four cab mounts?

Also, my front clip is still on the truck along w/ cab....is there any concerns here when I lift the cab w/ doors hitting fenders, etc. or can I lift a couple inches without any issues?

My thoughts are as of now that I can unbolt the cab mounts and lift w/ a jack and a large wood stomp from the cab floor, I'll then support w/ 2 jack stands as I work on the frame...

Thanks for any advice you might have!!!

~ Chris

[JORGIE95961]

Honestly just to be on the safe side why not just undo all the mounts so that doesnt happen . you probably have enough romm just leaving a few threads on.

[ChevLoRay]

My suggestion was for folks who have already removed anything that is between the firewall and the front bumper. Kinda hard to slide the cab forward when it bumps into the distributor.....right off the git-go.

[JORGIE95961]

Originally Posted by ChevLoRay

My suggestion was for folks who have already removed anything that is between the firewall and the front bumper. Kinda hard to slide the cab forward when it bumps into the distributor.....right off the git-go.

lol gotcha!!! and the issue was not having to get peopl eover.. My buddies love to drink and bs so when it gets to helping we get'er done but then athts it for the day.. the cold ones start flowin!!