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IH Dealer's truck.

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Wardner

05-24-2004 17:33:22

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Occasionally, I have seen old pictures of a local IH dealer delivering new Hs or Ms to a proud farmer and his family. Of course, the dealer was using his IH 1 1/2 or 2 ton truck. My problem is I can't remember what kind of body these trucks had. Roll back weren't around in those days so I assumed they probably had platform dumps and long ramps. This would seem kinda of dangerous even if the tractors were loaded and unloaded with a winch.

Can anyone describe how the dealers set up their trucks and how the farm equipment was loaded onto them?

I have a KB-5 with a 12' stake body that I could use to haul tractors. I also have a sissors hoist and several winches, both chain drive and hydraulic. What should I do to convert the truck into an authentic 1940-50 dealer's truck?

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Old Dutch

05-25-2004 18:54:53

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Re: IH Dealer's truck. in reply to Wardner, 05-24-2004 17:33:22

Mr Wardner: Hauled many tractors on an old KB-5. As is probably 4-5 years anyways. Not overpowered by any means with an M under a picker or a G John Deere on the back. Yes they were hair raising days and we did use heavy white oak planks 3 1/2 inch or so thick. Oh yes they did bend a lot, and if it was a little wet, you occasionally slid off one or the other sometimes both. I remember many times putting a M on with picker and half of each rear tire was hanging on the edge of the box. One thing you didn't worry about was spinning out. Don't dig the hole you back into to deep when loading and unloading unless you have someone to pull you out. Those engines were only about 220 cubic inch if I recollect right that's some 50 years ago. What a brute to grind valves on. Good luck buddy.

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Wardner

05-25-2004 20:32:58

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Re: Re: IH Dealer's truck. in reply to Old Dutch, 05-25-2004 18:54:53

Thanks for the comment Dutch. I am cheating a little. My KB-5 has a 4-53 Detroit Diesel with a five speed and 2 speed rear end. I am not too worried about low speed power.

Did you winch on or drive on?

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Old Dutch

05-26-2004 16:45:14

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Re: Re: Re: IH Dealer's truck. in reply to Wardner , 05-25-2004 20:32:58

Mr Wardner: No we didn't drive them on we backed them on. You know with a picker and all backing on could get pretty interesting. Picked them up, repaired them and hauled them back. Those days we had to be mechanic and truck driver. Often times took the tool box right along and if it was repairable on the farm did it right there. We did have a fairly heavy duty hand winch mounted right behind the cab to help if it was a little steep loading. Often times you started spinning a little past halfway up. That is if you had an extra man to run the winch. Scares a person to think about it now. Wish I could see your setup. Where did you find the room for the Detroit? Must be a little crowded. Have fun be careful.

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jeff

05-25-2004 08:44:27

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Re: IH Dealer's truck. in reply to Wardner, 05-24-2004 17:33:22

Time for my $.02. The wood of today is not the best to use for ramps! If you want to recreate a nice old toy you must use old wood. Here is what I mean. My folks farm has a lot of older growth wood on it. Many of the trees are 120 years +. You want straight grain clean OAK planks that are 2" thick and they will need to cure for about 2 years. After they cure and the water is out of them you can move them with out a team of oxen. Good old local saw mills can help you out. Ask for bridge planks. On the farm we have a brige down by the brook and it has a deck for over 60 years. The planks last about 15 years and if you coat them with drain oil they last even longer. EPA loves that one. We have a big dirt bank out by the barn and it works very well. There is nothing like a good roll back. Just understand that most are for lite cars and not heavy tractors. Heavy Duty means it is built to do work not play! Jeff

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Allan

05-25-2004 08:50:35

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Re: Re: IH Dealer's truck. in reply to jeff, 05-25-2004 08:44:27

Jeff,

Two inches? Must be loading some fairly light tractors.

Most bridge plank is 3 1/2" to 4" stock.

Allan

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Wardner

05-25-2004 10:22:37

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Re: Re: Re: IH Dealer's truck. in reply to Allan, 05-25-2004 08:50:35

If your an adrenelin junkie, the 2" planks would be a good choice. I would prefer 3"-4" straight grain southern yellow pine. That is a wood species that deflects very little. It was commonly used in truck body decks. It was exclusively used in the old multi-story mill buildings in the Northeast for beams and flooring.

On the whole, I think that planks on the end of a truck is a technology that should be buried. Better that than a tractor broken in several places.

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Buzzman72

05-25-2004 07:02:29

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Re: IH Dealer's truck. in reply to Wardner, 05-24-2004 17:33:22

At my dad and grand-dad's IH dealership, up thru the 1960's they used a 1944 K-5 with a 16-foot flatbed. The truck had loading ramps/boards that were made as Harold described...boards were almost as long as the bed, and had a "H"-frame of 1" steel bolted to the board with hooks that hooked into a lip at the rear of the bed. Of course, our truck also had a 20-ton PTO-driven Tulsa winch to load the dead ones. Loading one with the boards in the rain was a matter of taking your life in your own hands, but it sometimes had to be done. And of course, if we could access a bank or a loading dock, the job suddenly got a LOT easier.

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Harold H

05-25-2004 05:49:58

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Re: IH Dealer's truck. in reply to Wardner, 05-24-2004 17:33:22

Long wooden "skid boards" were used to load or unload, with the winch, whenever there was not a loading dock available. The "skid boards" had large metal strap hooks on the top end that hooked over a steel bar, usually about 1" or bigger, which ran across the rear of the truck bed. Not the safest way but it was necessary and worked.

Harold H

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Allan

05-24-2004 18:25:42

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Re: IH Dealer's truck. in reply to Wardner, 05-24-2004 17:33:22

Hi Wardner,

Back in those days everyone had a loading dock. If the local enterprise didn't have one, they would use the one down at the railhead.

When the truck got out to the farmers place, the closest bank was were it was usually loaded or unloaded.

I've also seen farmers dig a "dock" into the ground. Trouble with this was that it had to be rather long, 'cause those old trucks had problems crawling back out when they were loaded.

We used to have neighbors drive for miles to back into our bank to load or unload their tractors.

To my mind, this is still the safest way to haul a tractor, but then, I'm an old guy too.

A side note: The tractor was always backed on.

Allan

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Wardner

05-24-2004 21:22:06

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Re: Re: IH Dealer's truck. in reply to Allan, 05-24-2004 18:25:42

I guess you are right about the loading docks. Of the five dealers in this area, I know that three had docks. Only one dealer had a IH designed building and he eventually converted the dock to parts storage in the late '60s. The two without docks may have had something like a car lift to load tractors. All but one of those five dealers are out of business.

Back when I was using the KB-5 alot, I also dug a "dock" into a hill on our property. I only had one tractor then but it never left the property. Used the dock to drag stuff off the truck. This was forty years ago. Fork-lifts have made alot of docks obsolete.

It seems like I will need to build a "roll-back" or "slide-back". I have a long double acting cylinder out of a rubbish packer that I could use. When it slides back far enough, the body will tilt. I will probably use the hydraulic winch for loading as well. I am doing alot of "pipe-dreaming" at the moment.

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nebraska cowman

05-24-2004 18:13:05

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Re: IH Dealer's truck. in reply to Wardner, 05-24-2004 17:33:22

I'm just a youngster but I don't guess too many of them had hoists or winches either one. Sounds like you've got some good ideas though and winches and hoists were available after the War.

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JerePa

05-24-2004 18:11:48

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Re: IH Dealer's truck. in reply to Wardner, 05-24-2004 17:33:22

All the photos I've seen had them loading at docks or used wood ramps. Safe-no, but it got the job done.

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Dick Davis

05-25-2004 06:51:36

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Re: Re: IH Dealer's truck. in reply to JerePa, 05-24-2004 18:11:48

Wardner, My memories of tractor deliveries were all about ditches and banks. So I guess to be true to life you might just wire a couple of shovels to your KB 5! Dick Davis

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Wardner

05-25-2004 10:05:52

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Re: Re: Re: IH Dealer's truck. in reply to Dick Davis, 05-25-2004 06:51:36

How about an entire barrel filled with shovels. When pulling into a tractor show, I could pass them out while wiping off the road dust from my tractor. I suppose I will need to pack some beer as well.

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Dick Davis

05-26-2004 04:06:15

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Re: Re: Re: Re: IH Dealer's truck. in reply to Wardner, 05-25-2004 10:05:52

Ya beer, that should help.

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