Pics of the handle attachment?
You can see the handle attached to the "waist" joint of the crane. The shaft to the permanently-attached ratcheting head of the handle sticks out about 8", and then the grip on the end of the handle sticks out about another 4". So roughly, the tip of the handle grip is protruding into the bed cargo space about as much as the folded down troop seat bench is. All of that is permanently attached (yes, you could take it apart, but it's on there with bolts, snap rings, etc., so it's not meant to be taken on and off while using the crane, with the current design).
If you look at the length of the handle toward the floor, you'll see there is a joint in the middle with two bolts. This picture has the longer of the two handles provided installed, and it reaches to maybe 6" off the floor. The shorter handle section provided is about half as long (below that two-bolts joint), cutting another 6" or so off it. I now always leave the shorter handle on it. Once the crane is rotated over the perimeter of the handle's swing (most of the time you're using it), you have to ratchet back and forth.
I haven't tried to take it apart yet, but from the outside it's not visible how the ratchet mechanism is keyed/splined to the shaft coming out of the waist of the crane. The shaft is round, and the bit of shaft protruding from the ratchet is round also. There are no visible splines, square portions, keyways, etc. I'll have to get it off one of these days (looks to be held on with external snap rings), and figure it out.