combat jump
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- Raleigh, NC
Combat Jump Bed Mount Farm Jack Bracket
I like to have a Hi-Lift jack (farm jack) with me, but hate to leave it rattling around in the bed. It fits in the cross-bed tool box, but its big, and I want to put other stuff in there.
My front grill has a PA/siren speaker and bridge plate in the way, so that was not ideal. I decided to fab up a bracket to mount the jack on the left side of the bed, which is unused space.
Some challenges are that the bed wall is double layer sheet metal, and its tough to get a nut in back of any bolt hole that's drilled into it. I started with the heavy end, and welded up a vertical support from 1x2" 0.120 wall rectangular steel tubing, that sets on top of a an 11 gauge steel plate. The plate has an additional plate of 1/4" steel welded to the back halfe, to fill the gap from the bed corrugation (see the photo). I drilled two holes for bolts that are backed with nuts underneath the bed.
I also found that the stake holder (or whatever its called) directly above the wheel well interfered with where the jack would extend, so I had to cut a few inches off of that with an angle grinder. There are also some spot welds, that I used an air chisel on. A sawzall could do the job, or even a hack saw, hammer and chisel, but it would be less fun.
The top of the main bracket (supporting the heavy end of the jack) has a six inch long 1"x1" steel angle offset from the top of the vertical piece, that sets up next to the top of the bed rail. I drilled three holes here for bolts.
I made some spacers from 1 1/4" round tubing, 0.120 wall, to hold the jack the correct distance from the brackets, and welded them around the bolts. I also made a spacer that goes under the hold down nut on the heavy end.
The light end gets a 4" piece of 2" steel angle (maybe its 3") that is drilled through the top of the wheel well. I probably did not need to, but I also tack welded it to the vertical bed wall. I welded a 1/4" piece behind the vertical piece so it would sit straight, and make contact with both horizontal and vertical areas it touched.
The paint is rattle can Gillespie desert tan. I had painted the truck with an HVLP gun, using a little more than a gallon of the stuff a few months ago, and bought a few rattle cans of the same paint then, just for touch up stuff like this.
The bolts and steel were all on hand, leftover from other projects, so I didn't have to buy a thing.
This bracket is solid! The jack does not move at all.
Tools used:
Miller 211 mig welder
DeWalt angle grinder with cutting blade (for the stake hole), grinding wheel, and 80 grit flap wheel for welds, and steel brush to remove paint.
Ancient Jet 4"x6" horizontal band saw (looks the same as the one Harbor Freight sells)
Big vise
I like to have a Hi-Lift jack (farm jack) with me, but hate to leave it rattling around in the bed. It fits in the cross-bed tool box, but its big, and I want to put other stuff in there.
My front grill has a PA/siren speaker and bridge plate in the way, so that was not ideal. I decided to fab up a bracket to mount the jack on the left side of the bed, which is unused space.
Some challenges are that the bed wall is double layer sheet metal, and its tough to get a nut in back of any bolt hole that's drilled into it. I started with the heavy end, and welded up a vertical support from 1x2" 0.120 wall rectangular steel tubing, that sets on top of a an 11 gauge steel plate. The plate has an additional plate of 1/4" steel welded to the back halfe, to fill the gap from the bed corrugation (see the photo). I drilled two holes for bolts that are backed with nuts underneath the bed.
I also found that the stake holder (or whatever its called) directly above the wheel well interfered with where the jack would extend, so I had to cut a few inches off of that with an angle grinder. There are also some spot welds, that I used an air chisel on. A sawzall could do the job, or even a hack saw, hammer and chisel, but it would be less fun.
The top of the main bracket (supporting the heavy end of the jack) has a six inch long 1"x1" steel angle offset from the top of the vertical piece, that sets up next to the top of the bed rail. I drilled three holes here for bolts.
I made some spacers from 1 1/4" round tubing, 0.120 wall, to hold the jack the correct distance from the brackets, and welded them around the bolts. I also made a spacer that goes under the hold down nut on the heavy end.
The light end gets a 4" piece of 2" steel angle (maybe its 3") that is drilled through the top of the wheel well. I probably did not need to, but I also tack welded it to the vertical bed wall. I welded a 1/4" piece behind the vertical piece so it would sit straight, and make contact with both horizontal and vertical areas it touched.
The paint is rattle can Gillespie desert tan. I had painted the truck with an HVLP gun, using a little more than a gallon of the stuff a few months ago, and bought a few rattle cans of the same paint then, just for touch up stuff like this.
The bolts and steel were all on hand, leftover from other projects, so I didn't have to buy a thing.
This bracket is solid! The jack does not move at all.
Tools used:
Miller 211 mig welder
DeWalt angle grinder with cutting blade (for the stake hole), grinding wheel, and 80 grit flap wheel for welds, and steel brush to remove paint.
Ancient Jet 4"x6" horizontal band saw (looks the same as the one Harbor Freight sells)
Big vise
looks good buddy
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