i am thinking of attempting it.. if you've seen my recent thread i want to pull the bed of the ranger and clean up the frame and smooth out the ripple on the passenger side. of course there's no friends that i could call to give me a hand so i was wondering if anyone pulled their's off by themselves and how they did it.. i was thinking about unbolting it of course and unscrewing the filler neck then grabbing the passenger side and pulling.. i have some enough room to the right (pass side) to set it on the ground. then i want to flip it upside down and through some sawhorses under it to do bodywork on it..

we have a big chain hoist but its laying down and i cant stand it up by myself. then i would rig something up for that but unfortunately...

 

Its definitely best with two guys dude. They're not terribly heavy, but they are awkward cause you're jiggling it around stuff as you're pulling the box off and reinstalling it. You have to lift it off the truck, unfortunately it can't just be dragged off to the side cause the box sides hang down below the frame rails.

Too bad I wasn't still hauling back and forth between Calgary and Vancouver cause I'd stop in and give ya a hand. I think your best bet would be two tow straps, lift it from all four corners and drive the truck out of the shop. Then lower and/or rotate the box on to the sawhorses from there so you don't risk banging it against the truck. BTW, you can do some wicked *** burnouts with no box on your truck... just in case you're interested! LR

 

haha i forgot about the over hang crap on the sides.. hmmm.. guess i'll have to think about this one for a while.. 2 guys is definitely easier... dad and i grabbed the bed off the s15 quite easily.. ya there not that heavy there just "awkward" haha lol

 

i pulled the bed off my 1st gen myself but i wasn't to worried about damaging it.....i just lifted one side and let it rest sideways on the roll bar.....pushed the truck out of the way, and set it back down

 

since im doing this outside(not in a shop, too many lawnmowers in there right now haha) in a flat field this method could work, since i dont really wanna scratch it too much (other than the ****ed up area) i could put some rubber mats down lift it onto its side, let it sit there and roll truck out of way and set it back down like you said... sweet thanks..

 

You can't do it by yourself without damage. Remember to disconnect the wiring.

 

Yeah. You probably cant do it by yourself. I took the one off my '83 and put it back on by myself, but I wasnt worried about scratching or denting it. I personally wouldnt try it.

 

I did mine. But I use a cherrypicker.

 

I've taken mine off alone a couple of times. I suspended it from the garage ceiling using 4 motorcycle tie downs, inched it up, then rolled the truck out from under it. Because the box is large and awkward, it helps to tape floor mats or cardboard between the cab and box to help prevent dents or scratches. Also tape cardboard inside the bumper ends for the same reason.

 

do you have an engine hoist?

 

you could lso use a couple come-alongs attached to your roof rafters... or a LARGE tree.

 

we have a big *** (stands prolly 15' tall) hoist but its laying down right now, not standing up, and i cant pick it up myself.. i'll figure something out... just wing it and see what happens.

mom is gone in the morning tomorrow for a while so maybe i'll try to peel it off then.. truck doesnt have a rear bumper on it right now so maybe, (big maybe there) i might be able to slide it off the back.. oh well still gotta pull the tail lights out unbolt the filler neck then i'll stare at it for a while think about it.

 

its easy, i did it alone on my 99 took 20min and it was off

 

did you lift it straight up tho with the aid of a hoist or something??

 

ya need to think with your dipstick jimmy.

your going to need four saw horses or something of equal height. two long 2x4 and a pump jack with something to help lift the bed. unbolt everything and slowly jack the bed up. now slip a 2x4 at both ends of the bed, between the bed and frame. now just gently lift each side onto a sawhorse at all four corners or both sides. check for clearance and drive/push your truck out from underneath...

working solo on things sucks, but where there's a will, there's a way.

 

My suggestion was gonna be a a tree, and a pulley system, and crank it up.

 

ok i just thought this through in my head...
un bolt and disconnect everything, then from tire well to tire well run two long boards or something and lift them and place them on chairs or something higher than the tires so you can drive out...

 

remove rear bumper, take all bed bolts, tail lights, filler neck, tailgate(air tools are awesome) then place cardboard,rug, or anything alse on ground
pick front of bed up,
slide back onto ground,
stand straight up and down on back.
move truck forward
then lay bed down.

done

installed opposite of removal

 

why do you guys remove the tail lights? cant you just unhook the wires undernieth the back end of the truck thats how i did mine. but you could just get saw horses or block it up and drive out from under it.

 

good idea..

this would work also..

im gonna try this method first, if its not going so well then i'll something different..

 

if you look in this picture right above the passenger tail light and between the tailgate and hte corner of the bed there is a dent, it was bigger but i've pulled most of it out. you cant fix this with the tail light in. and plus if your like me and dont have a friend that can help ya out, i dont wanna risk busting the other tail light..

 

pulled the tail lights out, and the tail gate is off.. and started on the bed bolts... wow those arent fun. i got 2 loosened but it wasnt easy using an L shaped star wrench and a piece of pipe for leverage. whats an easier way of doing it???

also got the **** behind the truck out of the way (some logs, rear bumper, canopy etc) and 2 sawhorses set in place..

here's the plan, once i get all the bolts out, im going to grab the front and lift up, push it towards off the back of the truck and so the front is behind the tires. then im going to grab the back and pull until the rear end of the bed is on 1 sawhorse and the other is on the truck, then grab the front again and push.. might set some 2x2's or something on the sawhorses so it slides better and doesnt catch.

 

so was thinking about it just now using my "dipstick" (haha) and there is a little piece of chain hanging from one of the roof rafters in the shop, so i could take the chain mechanism (used for the chain hoist we have) and attach it to the piece of chain and then back the truck into the shop (has no insurance but i can drive it around the yard) take a couple straps and "sling" the bed off the truck and set it right on some sawhorses.

haha i think thats what i'll do. then find a spot in the shop to put it..