THIS LOOK familiar to anyone???
there are 5 on top of the truck....

All of them loaded by one guy using the lift system I built for the truck,


pic of it from last years hunt

RETRIEVAL this year was "interesting" because of the deep snow and the animals beong so far from the road. I devised a rope retrieval system that can be used with one or two vehicles and you use the vehicle to retrieve the 'boo.
We played out 1700feet of rope on one of them. THe 'boo is rolled into one of those big ice fishing sleds and attached to the rope. Then using snatch blocks, anchors and the truck you back up the truck and out comes the 'boo. Save lots of wear and tear on the body.

THe 'boo are only on the rack till we get them back to camp for final processing where we have power to run the saw.
THe truck is set up so "heavy" the boo on top for the trip back to camp don't really make any difference in handling at the speeds we travel.
When we head for home, the 'boo are under the cap with the rest of the gear. They only ride on top as far as we are from our camp.

The truck is an extended with the rear doors so anything we need immediate access to is inside with us. There is also a front access door for the cap on the drivers side.

With the legs and head on them the 'boo are still too much to lift to the top without the lift system.
Once they are gutted, we regrab them behind the front legs with the winch line, relift to about 2' of the top of the bar then the man on top just pulls back on the side chains and the leverage just brings them to the top. It doesn't take anymore then about 30 pounds of force to put one on top.
THere are lots of ways of doing things but as an almost engineer(dropped out of engineering school with 20 hours left, couldn't see sitting at a desk the rest of my life)I am always tweaking and tinkering with things.
It's a standing joke with the guys I hunt with. It's designing answers to the little problems that is almost as much fun as the hunting.

LAWCOP,
Clever looking rig. Looks like you crank um up and then rotate the "yoke" forward to lay them flat. How much processing did you have to do to get them thru US Customs?

Lawcop the device looks nice but is it really practical? Those tires you have on, although new, don't seem right for icy roads,and that may have been the cause of your accident.

I would feel uncomfortable with so much weight on the roof of the vehicule.Wouldn't it be detrimental to the handling of the pick-up,especially on icy roads or on a 30+ hour drive? The box on your truck does not provide immediate access to your food, supplies and even shotguns.See if you need something during the drive or hunt you just stop get out and reach into your cooler or bucket and get a sandwich,sweater,or a saw.You even have quick access to your shotguns in case you come across ptarmigan roadside.Once you've shot one you degut and toss in the back.We have built a wooden frame with two by fours and steel attaching hooks that takes on the shape of the bottom of the bed and serves to organize are equipment while keeping our meat off the liner for air to circulate.Our stuff is secured down useing shockcords-very practical,especially in cold weather.Going back to your device,I find that caribou once they are gutted are not that difficult to lift on to the truck's bed.I lift all four on to ours with very little help.It's dragging them in deep snow for beyond 50yds that is hell.I mentioned your tires because I have had bad experiences with snow or off road threads on ice or wet asphalt.One tire that really does the job is the Michelin m/s-more of a four season thread.Last,Why do you need to lift them to de-gut?

I would feel uncomfortable with so much weight on the roof of the vehicule.Wouldn't it be detrimental to the handling of the pick-up,especially on icy roads or on a 30+ hour drive?

THE CARIBOU ARE ONLY ON TOP UNTIL WE GET THEM BACK TO CAMP. FOR THE RIDE HOME THEY ARE UNDER THE CAP. IT'S JUST EASIER TO TRANSPORT THEM BACK TO CAMP THAT WAY.


The box on your truck does not provide immediate access to your food, supplies and even shotguns.See if you need something during the drive or hunt you just stop get out and reach into your cooler or bucket and get a sandwich,sweater,or a saw.You even have quick access to your shotguns in case you come across ptarmigan roadside.Once you've shot one you degut and toss in the back.We have built a wooden frame with two by fours and steel attaching hooks that takes on the shape of the bottom of the bed and serves to organize are equipment while keeping our meat off the liner for air to circulate.Our stuff is secured down useing shockcords-very practical,especially in cold weather.

THE BOX ALSO HAS A FRONT ACCESS DOOR. THE TRUCK ITSELF IS AN EXTENDED WITH THE 4 DOORS. EASY ACCESS TO WHATEVER IS INSIDE THE CAB OR INSIDE THE BOX. ALSO THE REAR IS BROKEN INT O 2 LEVELS UNDER THE CAP SO THEREARE 2 PLATFORMS TO SPREAD THE GEAR OUT OVER MAKING IT EASIER TO FIND.


Going back to your device,I find that caribou once they are gutted are not that difficult to lift on to the truck's bed.I lift all four on to ours with very little help.It's dragging them in deep snow for beyond 50yds that is hell.

ONE GUY CAN LOADED ALL THE CARIBOU WITH ALMOST NO EFFORT. tHE ELECTRIC WINCH TAKES THE CARIBIO UP TO THE SWING POINT AND THEN ALL YOU DO IS PULL BACK ON THE SUPPORT CHAINS AND THE 'BOO FLIP ONTO THE UPPER DECK. THERE IS NO ACTUAL LIFTING INVOLVED. AS FOR THE RECOVERY OF THE ANIMALS, I WORKED OUT A ROPS RECOVERY SYSTEM THAT USES THE VEHICLE POWER TO RETRIEVE THEM. OUR DEEPEST IN THE WOODS THIS YEAR WAS 1700 FEET OFF THE ROAD AND THE ONLY DRAGING WAS TAKING THE SLED TO THE ANIMAL. ONCE IN THE SLED, THE TRUCK DOES THE WORK.

I mentioned your tires because I have had bad experiences with snow or off road threads on ice or wet asphalt.One tire that really does the job is the Michelin m/s-more of a four season thread.Last,Why do you need to lift them to de-gut?

DON'T "NEED" TO LIFT THEM, JUST MAKES IT REALLY EASIER TO DO EVERYTHING WHEN GRAVITY IS WORKING WITH YOU. IT IS EASIER FOR YOU TO KEEP CLEANER AND OUT OF THE BLOOD AND AGAIN NO REAL BULLWORK, JUST CUT AND LET IT FALL.

Lawcop, That is one fine looking lift!! Any chance I could get the plans for it? Thanks, Mike

quote:

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Originally posted by FourTails:
Lawcop, That is one fine looking lift!! Any chance I could get the plans for it? Thanks, Mike

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THE PLANS were a piece of scratch paper and a talk with my local fabricator and then getting the hell out of his way.

Best I could do is take a bunch of pics and send them off to you if you want. I can also call him and find out what dimension steel was used in the tubing.

I showed him the pics from this year and he said I was crazy for having that much weight up top. I told him when he built it I wanted it to be able to take at least 1000pounds. He figured it was good for 800.

It weighs about 250 lbs off the truck and is not bolted on. It has drop feet that go into the bed rail pockets and then just a whole bunch of camper clamps.

Lawcop, the size tubing and a picture or two of the side bracing would help me greatly in plagerizing your design. Again, it looks very practicle and hopefully not too hard for a "dob it on welder" like me. Give me a PM when and if you get the pictures I will send my email address.Or if you want to post them here that would be great as others may want to copy it too. Thanks, Mike