how to remove a truck from what was its final resting place?

[41/53dodges]

kind of wondering if any of you guys with some salvage experience had any tips on pulling a 41' dodge WF-32 out of the woods. it has been there for 30 years, and only one wheel turns. there is one wheel that is still holding pressure, rotted out split rim. should i stab the tire for my own and the trucks good to prevent an explosion or bent frame? how should one go about pulling one of these trucks out? any ideas appreciated. im kinda new to this.

[HanksB3B]

archeologists do when the find a Wooly Mammoth.

Start digging!

What a find!

Best of luck!

Hank

[dezeldoc]

Get a buddy with a 4X4 and a 8000# winch, dig the tires out, grab it with a nylon sling around both frame rails and winch it out and on to a trailer. it should slide the frozen wheel.

[Rodney Bullock]

We use to remove trucks and cars like that just to get parts off. We would use a come-a-long connected to a tree. A little at a time can sometimes do wonders also you don't hurt the thing. I have seen cats pull on a car/truck so hard that they rip it apart. In these cases you have to try a little tenderness;)

I don't understand why these trucks were't more popular. They were cool.

[Plymouthy Adams]

Rodney..they were more popular..in their day..most were so used and abused fining one that has just sat around is slim to none..poor things were worked to death..

[Joe Flanagan]

What condition is the floor in? Looks like she's right down to the floorboards in the ground. From the picture, the body looks pretty sound. Great project.

[Young Ed]

I can still see a little light under that running board so the cab might be ok. The truck floors are very basic. Because the cab is so small there isnt much for structural ribs or inner rockers etc. Looks like a good find. I agree with the other post. Did out the wheels to make kind of a ramp in the dirt and hook a come along etc to the front. Make sure the front bumper looks secure. We did this very thing to dads 40 ply only the front frame horns were bad and all we did was tear the bumper right off!

[Robert Horne]

My friends and I go ATVing. When stuck in the mud, it is best to try winch upward at as much angle as possible to lift the front out of the mud or dirt, and dig as much dirt away from all 4 wheels. Put your cable hooks on the axle near the wheels. good luck, Bob

[41/53dodges]

its kind of hard to bring in a trailer, the truck is about 100ft into the woods over rough terrain, but it could be pulled with the neighbor's tractor. on top of that, there is nothing around to lift up from. would it work better to put some wheels that hold air on it and pull it out? and to answer the question about the floor- its rotted out. the funny thing though, is the gas tank is still in prestine condition!

[Young Ed]

The floor probably rotted from the inside out then due to leaky windows etc. A gastank is a great find for one of these trucks. My own truck is down a couple gallons on capacity due to the large dent in the tank bottom. Now if your windshield frame is good you'll be 100 steps ahead.

[pflaming]

Place a truck wheel under the chain, cable, etc., so that the first movement is UP then out and pull on the frame! The wheel works as a fulcrum, being round it rolls with you as you pull. We used to do that to pull tree stumps and railroad tie corner posts in fences. Up then out is the easiest way to go, that will give your truck or tractor LOTS more pulling power. Good luck, would like to help, should be a great deal of fun. Nice way to start 2010.

Edited January 2, 2010 by pflaming

[Plymouthy Adams]

find some good ole boys with four wheel drive trucks..that is what these boys live for...bet them a case of beer they cannot get it out undamaged...very cheap extraction...

[greg g]

I had a trailer withtwo flat tires, I jacked it up and put a couple of those plastic snow sleds under the tires and pull it out over some natural terrain. Now I know the truck is much heavier than a trailer, but perhaps some ply wood with a couple layers of cheap tarping stapled to them could act the same way to lessen friction and make sliding it over the grass. That or some pick and pull wheels and tires with a similar bolt pattern.

Does any one around the area have a tractor with a front loader on it? Then you could lift one end or corner at a time, and either shore it up, or get some wood under the frame to get it out of the ground.

Or you could rent one of those rough surface construction forklifts....

[41/53dodges]

problem with the sliding ideas is the fact that this is not a small truck, and there are large humps that have to be traversed, so plywood would get stuck on these humps. and the problem with the idea of a 4x4 is the fact that the farmer already offered his services for free. the truck is already dug out, these pictures are from last year. i have been slowly working on freeing everything up on it for the last year where it sits, so i was planning on freeing up the rear end somehow and putting wheels on to pull it. any suggestions for breaking the rear end loose that would leave the internal parts still useable?

[Young Ed]

I would be surprised if anything else besides bad brakes is holding it from rolling. Pull the drums then the shoes and see if it rolls then.

[PatS....]

If it's already out and the farmer has a tractor you should be home-free.

If you can get wheels and tires with air all the better. Even if they don't bolt on properly, just to haul it out and on the trailer they would make life much easier.

Try not to haul it by ONLY the front axle, tie into the frame as well. I have seen axles yanked right off by pulling in mud and snow on bigger, newer trucks than yours.

Take some pics as you go...we love pics of old Mopars being saved!!!!

I got this one from this spot at the farm it lived all it's life. Still had 30 yr old air in the tires,and luckily wasn't rim deep in the nice black soil.

Edited January 2, 2010 by PatS....

[Oldguy48]

If it's already out and the farmer has a tractor you should be home-free.

If you can get wheels and tires with air all the better. Even if they don't bolt on properly, just to haul it out and on the trailer they would make life much easier.

Try not to haul it by ONLY the front axle, tie into the frame as well. I have seen axles yanked right off by pulling in mud and snow on bigger, newer trucks than yours.

Take some pics as you go...we love pics of old Mopars being saved!!!!

I got this one from this spot at the farm it lived all it's life. Still had 30 yr old air in the tires,and luckily wasn't rim deep in the nice black soil.

I agree with PatS about not using just the front axle. I witnessed a front axle yanked right out from under a 5 ton military truck, after it got mired down in the mud.

[41/53dodges]

im not sure i could remove the brake drums without some HUGE fancy tools. just the lugs are 1.5". any ideas to just break the rears free? the fronts kind of turn already. as for those of you concerned about pulling out the axle, the truck was pulled into the woods forward, so it has to come out backward. anybody have any ideas where to get brake parts for something with about 18" drums? and, more pictures coming right up. BTW, that looks like the same model truck, WF-32, 1.5 ton?

Edited January 3, 2010 by 41/53dodges

[41/53dodges]

as you can see, it is kind of long.

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[pflaming]

Since it comes out backwards, get a large tractor with a three point hitch. Get a good log chain, lift the back with the hitch and go where you want to go. Now it will pull like a two wheel trailer. I parked a '38 Chevy truck once and that is what I did, works great!

[dezeldoc]

The rears may break loose when you start pulling on it, make sure it is in neutral, parking brake off also. just because the handle releases does not mean the cables are backed off.

[JBNeal]

After removing several antique tractors from their resting places in black dirt with locked up wheels & axle shafts, I noticed a couple of things. First you want to break the wheels free from that cement-like clay by lifting them up out of the ground, with the skull-bustin' tractor jack or a front-end loader and a chain. Be sure to get everything clear of the ground; in this case, I'm concerned if any part of the frame/drive train is submerged. If the tires are shot & don't hold air, then dragging the locked up wheel will break the bead seal on that rotten rubber and the tire will spin on what is left of the rim. Go slow & steady, cuz jerkin' stuff around yields shockingly bad results...watched a purty hefty chain break, and the sling-shot action it took since it was under so much tension just barely missed the guys head on the tractor that was doin' the pulling.

[41/53dodges]

tires and at least one rim are shot. NO part of the drive train is still submerged in dirt. the park brake is stuck, thankfully in "off", because i can still move the driveshaft a little. i talked to a man who offered me some old wheels of the same type with old tires that still hold air for $50 apiece, but they are split rims. are there any split rims that are not widowmakers?

[Young Ed]

Yes there are 2 types. One is much safer. I dont know how to tell them apart though. I believe one is a split rim and one is a lock rim. Also no parking cables on that truck. Trans mounted parking break with solid linkage. If the handle moves its released.

[PatS....]

Most rural tire shops deal with all kinds of split rims all the time. Check around.