A system to lift the bows and cover off

[Plugugly]

I did some searching and found nothing. My 923A2 came with the bows and vinyl cover, and while it's very nice to have that covered space most of the time, sometimes I'd rather use it like a flatbed.

My wife is a reluctant and small soldier B, so I'm thinking I'm going to make something in my pole building that I can raise the bows and the tarp off using pulleys and rope. Has anyone done this and got any helpful advice? Any guess on the weight of the bows and tarp? I'm planning on using 2x6 by 16' boards to span front to back, having them stick out a foot at each end to attach the pulley system. I'll leave the troop seats in place, just lifting the tarp and bows straight up.

If I survive my system and it works well, I'll post it up.

 

[VPed]

I think you will have a heck of a time putting it back on in one piece. You have to individually guide the staves into the pockets at exactly the right height. I'm not saying it can't be done, I just questioning whether it will save effort in the long run (remove and reinstall).

I have removed and reinstalled mine by myself several times and while I do not enjoy it, it's not that bad.

Most recently, I installed my deuce troop seats, bows, and cover on my 927. That gives me the best of both worlds. The front twelve feet are covered and the rear eight feet can be used as a flatbed. The drop sides on my truck are unusual as the front twelve feet match the deuce and comprises one part of the drop side and the last eight feet has a separate drop-side section. Pretty cool, in my opinion.

 

[Jason O]

The tarp and bows can be installed and removed w/o a helper. It's not "that" bad after you get the tarp lifted up on to the truck.

 

[gunboy1656]

Do you have the bows for a dropside, the ones that come apart with a flip of a latch? If not find some. I have very little issue taking my covers off with that setup. Only issue I do have is the wood swelling up.

 

[juanprado]

Do you have the bows for a dropside, the ones that come apart with a flip of a latch? If not find some. I have very little issue taking my covers off with that setup. Only issue I do have is the wood swelling up.

my experience with those bow corners was that when I hit bad enough ruts and potholes, The metal bows (probably a lot heavier than wood) would come off one end and droop down because the latch would flip off. I went ahead and ran 2 bolts into each hole and have them screwed together as I did not trust the latch by itself.

 

[gunboy1656]

Ran mine for 6 years and never had them come unlatched. A large zip tie would solve it if it does that

 

[wreckerman893]

You would have a lot of problems with the individual staves coming out of their respective holes.....most of the time they will bind when you try to pull them.
Years ago I was in a National guard unit that had fabbed up a metal frame that took the place of the bows and staves. It did not go into the stake pockets, it bolted to the top of the bed (made out of 3 inch angle iron).
It was not light and they used the unit wrecker to take it off and on. Since the deuce belonged to the Supply Room it was seldom taken off. With the tarp on you could not tell the difference between it and a truck with the regular tarp and bows other than it was high enough to stand up in.

 

[Plugugly]

Do you have the bows for a dropside, the ones that come apart with a flip of a latch? If not find some. I have very little issue taking my covers off with that setup. Only issue I do have is the wood swelling up.

I do have those, I noticed because some were unlatched and I zip stripped them down. I have a mix of wood and fiberglass where they go into my wood sides, they all seemed loose enough to wiggle easily.

I marked the 2x6's on the top edge so I can put a shallow notch in to receive the bows. I think that will keep them close enough to lower it down below the actual install height, then lift them in place one by one. I'm going to put two pieces of half inch conduit between the boards to add some light weight coordination between the sides.

 

[m16ty]

To me, the bows aren't hard to deal with. The cover itself is a nightmare by yourself though.

If you could just figure some way to lift the cover off would be a big help.

 

[Plugugly]

Yeah, the tarp is the part I don't want to spend an hour taking on and off by myself. That's why I want a system that incorporates the bows, to keep it in the shape I'll install it in. One thing I'm thinking right now is keeping the tarp from slipping off the frame as I lift it. I can probably use the straps intended to roll it up some how. I've already rolled the front and the back up.

One thing I think is important is I intend to have a lot of leeway in the system, I don't intend for it exactly lift and replace it just pulling a rope. I just want a system I can raise and lower the whole assembly close enough to get in the truck and make it happen bow by bow.

I do something similar with the fiberglass topper for my truck and it works great.

 

[emr]

I have done it by myself so much , It is not hard at all ) the trick is the way one folds the tarp so when one lifts it in the truck and over the center bow one can just un roll it towards the front then back and then flip the sides down, it actually does not take long at all ) You will ju mp in and maybe out twice and around the truck to center the tarp, But these are tactical trucks LOL) So it helps not to be how should I say ... In shape ))) The tarp is like 10 to 20 minutes to finish max... Wont be as easy as the top )) for sure,

 

[Plugugly]

I built it finally, had a lot going on and didn't make the time until now. It works well, but I can see that doing it with a helper would still be easier. Both jobs would be easy, but it would save me all the trips in and out of the truck if I had someone to pull the rope or just watch to make sure nothing is getting snagged when I drive out from under it. I'm happy with it, It stores it ready to go and out of my way at the same time.

 

[Coffey1]

Good job. I like it

 

[JohnnyBM931A2]

I built it finally, had a lot going on and didn't make the time until now. It works well, but I can see that doing it with a helper would still be easier. Both jobs would be easy, but it would save me all the trips in and out of the truck if I had someone to pull the rope or just watch to make sure nothing is getting snagged when I drive out from under it. I'm happy with it, It stores it ready to go and out of my way at the same time.

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Sweet