Am I being a Dumbass?

Why not carefully remove the bed leave it at the house, attach taillights to to bumper, put a couple of trailer fenders on. Drive out buy a little steel, attach to the frame of the truck, drive back. Since chassis width seems to be the problem.
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Trying to suggest something different, how tall is the chassis? Could you lay it on its side between the rambox? They use your pallets to secure it so it doesn't wiggle and strap it down
 
Why not just drive out there and rent a uhaul trailer? Too bad your truck isn't a flat bed, then you'd have plenty of room to load it.
 
Jody Treadway said:
Fly out and drive uhaul back?
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That would probably work too, i think they may hit you with a heavy mileage charge though.

The trick would be to fly out, buy a box truck and sell it for profit once you return. Pretty sure I've seen guys on pirate talk of doing that.
 
jyaks said:
Trying to suggest something different, how tall is the chassis? Could you lay it on its side between the rambox? They use your pallets to secure it so it doesn't wiggle and strap it down
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Chassis is 55” tall too. No go.
 
Chris_Keziah said:
Why not just drive out there and rent a uhaul trailer? Too bad your truck isn't a flat bed, then you'd have plenty of room to load it.
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It’s $900 to rent a u-haul trailer one way home. I’d have better equipment if I just took my own.
 
Jody Treadway said:
drive uhaul back
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I feel like that would probably be the worst possible fuel economy, speed governed, hating life. I don’t even wanna ask what a plane ticket would cost.
 
49willys said:
Why not carefully remove the bed leave it at the house, attach taillights to to bumper, put a couple of trailer fenders on. Drive out buy a little steel, attach to the frame of the truck, drive back. Since chassis width seems to be the problem.View attachment 284999
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That idea seems very intimidating to me. Unwire the whole bed, fuel fill and DEF filler necks whipping in the wind, tail lights zip tied to the hitch. Don’t think I’m brave enough.
 
I went back and looked at the original post, you seem pretty hell bent on using the canoe carrier. I would recommend shortening it up so it falls in the middle of the span between the end of the chassis and the tailgate. Cantilevering that much weight, that far out makes for a lever arm that is going to break something when a big bump comes along. Make the vertical portion of it adjustable to keep the chassis level (or better yet, slightly taller so weight is transfered down, toward the back of the box.)
I would also try to run some straps to the canoe rack back to the tie downs In the bed to take some of the sag out of that assembly.

We have all done it, so we all know....but if it wiggles when you load it....it will come loose when you least expect it in transit.
It will be a cool trip, we did the RT. 66 trip in December. A few years back, speaking of being an ass.....stop in oatman AZ!
 
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shelby27604 said:
I went back and looked at the original post, you seem pretty hell bent on using the canoe carrier. I would recommend shortening it up so it falls in the middle of the span between the end of the chassis and the tailgate. Cantilevering that much weight, that far out makes for a lever arm that is going to break something when a big bump comes along. Make the vertical portion of it adjustable to keep the chassis level (or better yet, slightly taller so weight is transfered down, toward the back of the box.)
I would also try to run some straps to the canoe rack back to the tie downs In the bed to take some of the sag out of that assembly.

We have all done it, so we all know....but if it wiggles when you load it....it will come loose when you least expect it in transit.
It will be a cool trip, we did the RT. 66 trip in December. A few years back, speaking of being an ass.....stop in oatman AZ!
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Seems to be a lot of concern about my canoe rack aka tail light holder. The only weight it’s holding is the flat plywood. The box will be 100% on the truck bed and a portion of the tailgate. Won’t know exactly until it’s sitting in my bed. The chassis is 12.5 feet long and the end of my canoe rack is 12 feet. It’s only there to put lights 6” from the end of the chassis for awareness at night. I will say that when I built it, I set it at bed height already. No need for height adjustment.
 
BigSouth said:
It’s $900 to rent a u-haul trailer one way home. I’d have better equipment if I just took my own.
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Ouch, I'd just tow a small single axle trailer out there to load it on. Not a fan of the chassis loaded in the bed.
 
My thoughts were similar to Matt's.

Is there any part of the chassis that is less than 50"?

I would sit it on the bed rails/fenders rear forward and suck it down/forward as much as possible. Flag the end, maybe hang some lights off the end and roll out.

I believe that is basically your goal. I would want it as low in the bed as I could get.
 
May have already been mentioned in this thread but is it possible to flip it upside down and set the roof on your crate and let the nose hang over the cab almost like a slide in camper? This would keep overhang to a minimum and you could probably even keep your tailgate up
 
BigSouth said:
Seems to be a lot of concern about my canoe rack aka tail light holder. The only weight it’s holding is the flat plywood. The box will be 100% on the truck bed and a portion of the tailgate. Won’t know exactly until it’s sitting in my bed. The chassis is 12.5 feet long and the end of my canoe rack is 12 feet. It’s only there to put lights 6” from the end of the chassis for awareness at night. I will say that when I built it, I set it at bed height already. No need for height adjustment.
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Seems like your mind is made up, not sure why you asked for opinions. Spend today packing, roll out early Sunday AM and you can be there by Tuesday.

Post pics of success/tragedy from the road.
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
My thoughts were similar to Matt's.

Is there any part of the chassis that is less than 50"?

I would sit it on the bed rails/fenders rear forward and suck it down/forward as much as possible. Flag the end, maybe hang some lights off the end and roll out.

I believe that is basically your goal. I would want it as low in the bed as I could get.
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The guy I bought it from just gave me the widest point which is 55”. I’m making the assumption that the widest point is the rock rails. I’m hoping the top of the chassis is less than 50” so it’ll fit upside down between my rails. If that’s the case, I’ll pitch the pallet box in a dumpster out west. I just don’t wanna drive out there unprepared.
 
Silverado_Express said:
May have already been mentioned in this thread but is it possible to flip it upside down and set the roof on your crate and let the nose hang over the cab almost like a slide in camper? This would keep overhang to a minimum and you could probably even keep your tailgate up
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I like this idea! I’ll add it to the list of possibilities. Thanks!
 
shelby27604 said:
Seems like your mind is made up, not sure why you asked for opinions. Spend today packing, roll out early Sunday AM and you can be there by Tuesday.

Post pics of success/tragedy from the road.
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I hope you don’t think I’m being disrespectful. That’s not my intent. I trust opinions on here. I just like debating on which part of my plan has holes in it and then figure out an improvement. Other people’s experiences might trigger red flags or offer up a few success stories that’ll inspire multiple options for me to use sitting at ol boys shop in CA. I really do appreciate your input.
 
Me, my son, and a fella did West Kansas and back in four days. One evening and a 3/4 of the next day was swapping dually beds out.
Wrenching with hand tools in a metal barn half dirt with no insulation. Nebraska to the west was getting a blizzard wind and it was cold. We stopped at the Bass Pro in Tenn. gawked and hammered home.

This was my Christmas break this year. We rotated and slept in a bed every night.

Solo on your time frame will be nothin but work. In my eyes it'll suck unless you just wanna play long haul driver for a week. Snort a line and hammer til the no-do's wear off, drink a gallon of black coffee and repeat.

With a good partner and some looking divergent time it could be fun. Best of luck. It will be memorable any which way it goes.
 
Silverado_Express said:
May have already been mentioned in this thread but is it possible to flip it upside down and set the roof on your crate and let the nose hang over the cab almost like a slide in camper? This would keep overhang to a minimum and you could probably even keep your tailgate up
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This is how I would load it and have something to tie it to other than the bed attachment points. Also, have you even considered bad weather, snow, ice?
 
R Q said:
Also, have you even considered bad weather, snow, ice?
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Mother Nature does her thing and I’ll adjust my trip accordingly. My preps consist of 4x4 and nearly new Toyo Open Country R/T’s. Got a tow strap and few shackles in the toolbox year round.
 
BigSouth said:
Mother Nature does her thing and I’ll adjust my trip accordingly. My preps consist of 4x4 and nearly new Toyo Open Country R/T’s. Got a tow strap and few shackles in the toolbox year round.
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Sounds like an awesome trip except for the timeline. I think you need a couple more days but good luck, have fun, and keep us posted!
 
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