Overcoming 'Long Bed' Issues for QuickJack BL7000-EXT Lift Owners...

[mrrsm]

Part One of Two Parts:

Over in my "Hoping for Loping" LM7 Engine Performance Upgrades Thread... I mentioned this issue as described in detail in this excerpt:

"Continuing on the Theme of the S/S Exhaust Installation... I spent the afternoon dragging out the (3) Very Heavy QuickJack Hydraulic Lift Boxes and then went through all of the Set Up Procedures with NO Problems. The Videos covering "How To" set up this BL-7000 -EXT Series and all of the others consisting of QuickJack Hardware are all over Youtube Like A RASH ...so I will not belabor those issues here.

The REAL PROBLEM I encountered after completing this Task though, was that Y2K LONG BED PICK-UP TRUCK HAS NO DECENT UNDER-BODY LIFT POINTS SPACED OUT IN ANY WAY TO ALIGN WITH THE QJ's UPPER FRAMING LIFT SUPPORTS AND SUPPLY A WEIGHT BALANCED OUTCOME.

The Y2K Truck only has VERY Short, Flat sections of Steel Boxed Frame Railing running down both sides of the Truck. They Start just Aft of the back sections of the Front Wheel Wells and then run further Aft for a VERY short length of around 4 Feet or so, then they suddenly Curve and Arc upwards under the Middle to the Rear section of Truck Bed.

This leaves NO "Square and Level" Locations that perfectly align with the Upper Frames of the QJ Lift(s). So I pondered this for a bit while remembering that if necessary... the QJs CAN be arranged from Side to Side to lift any Vehicle. However, I don't want to have to resort to that because placing them in such a position will obstruct my Open Access to the Exhaust System.

When I ran out of Daylight... I put up all of the QJ Gear (Quite Manageable ...Thanks to the Quick Disconnect Hydraulic Hoses in Four Locations on the Rig). A check on the Internet from the QuickJack Site revealed interesting Accessory Platforms that extend its overall length by 6 Inches (which does NOT help me). However, it has Rail Sections along its length that CAN be used in a way that the QJ Engineers may not have thought of... and solve the present problem. These Things are costing me an additional $260.00 w/S&H Included and look like THIS when added on top of the Existing QJ Lift(s). They should be here in about a week:

I'm also looking at their QuickJack CROSS-FRAME SUPPORTS, too since those can be arranged to support the entire vehicle for a TOTAL Front Suspension R&R ...or... to hold up Transmissions during Engine Installs when the need to Raise or Lower them might prove helpful or necessary. Again, If I need to get these too, they'd run another $250.00 + S&H ... but I'm not quite there yet. In the mean time... I'll work on other things in preparation for this portion of the Bigger Project."

So anyways... Recently, @rchalmers3 started a Unique Project involving him creating a "GM-GMC Holistic Engine and Transmission Break In Station" that began with him constructing a Pedestal Roll-Around Base Frame out of a Spare OEM Trailblazer Box Frame. His work touched upon much of what I will be doing to create a Modified Tubular Sub-Frame Jack as an addition to my QuickJack BL7000-EXT Lift ; a job which will also involve Welding up some fairly sturdy "Sliding Block Supports" to extend the places that I'll be able to re-align the necessary Lift Point Supports bi-laterally under the Fore and Aft under-framing of my 2000 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Long Bed Truck and have it resting correctly on the Hard Rubber Blocks:




More to Follow...

 

[mrrsm]

Part Two of Two Parts:

The method I’ve chosen to follow may hold anyone’s interest who wants to get their hands on some Gear that has a HUGE amount of utility in the form of "The Shortest, Strongest Little House Jack YOU have EVER Seen". Please look over these images at the bottom of the Post and you'll understand where I am going with using this very inexpensive Fully Adjustable Pair of Floor Jacks Kit that are Rated for providing up to 9 Tons (18,000 Lbs of Vertical Support).

I actually discovered these things after catching a glimpse of these in the 8-12 Foot Tall versions on a show my Wife was watching where they were being used to fix a Front Porch on a House that was collapsing. So it got me thinking, “I wonder if ‘They’ make these is Shorter Versions?” The Short Answer? YES! And the even bigger surprise was just how little they cost me:

Sold in Pairs as a Full Kit on Amazon:

These are Akron Brand are the ones I ordered:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D1W5IRO/?tag=gmtnation-20

But also, what looks to be an Identical Jack Set are also available from the Tele-Post Company:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LWVWARZ/?tag=gmtnation-20

The idea here is that while I like the design of them “AS IS” ...I’m Very Superstitious about Vehicles being jostled about from accidental LATERAL Motions-Pushing that might literally “Take Them Down a Peg or Two” and allow a 6,000 Lb Truck to fall right off of their possibly precarious perches.

So I’ve also invested in some decent, symmetrical ¼” Pre-Cut Steel Coupons that will fit PERFECTLY inside of the Open Spaces along the Extended Frame Rails on either side of the QuickJack Pairs of Lifts. The other section that needs adaptation is where the the Frame Rail of the Silverado curves Up and Over the Wheel Well and Rear Axle as the place where the “Adjustable Floor Jack” comes in.

As information for @rchalmers3 ...I’ll be using 2" sized ¼” Triangular Plate Steel Coupons by Buttress Welding them in at the N-E-W-S Positions on the Lower portions of these Steel Tubes. These Jacks will also require1/4" Thicker Steel Plates to get blended to the 1/8” factory Jack Lower Plates on as Steel Box Welded sections that will NOT be able to “Tip Over”.

These Steel Plate Items will fit inside of the QuickJack areas that presently cannot reach up and press evenly against the Curved Upper Frames on either side of the Truck. For Welders in need of some Precision Plasma Cut pieces of Plate Steel… there are a couple of companies on eBay that do excellent work with fresh plate steel sold at very reasonable prices right now and who ship very fast, too. I've posted the Images of these Cut Steel Materials over on my "Flickr-Bucket":

https://www.flickr.com/photos/126111508@N07/albums/72157717118673152/with/50667710471/

These Modified Jacks can be slowly and precisely elevated by using the ¾” Flats fitted along the upper shafts on the Hardened Steel Screw Shafts either with a Box End or a Crescent Wrench and then securely “Clam-Shelled” around the “U” Shaped upper Sections that I’ll weld into shape out of the same strong ¼” Plate Steel Coupons. Then I’ll slide those “U” Brackets around the outer flats of the Curved Upper Frames on BOTH sides. This arrangement will provide the Structural Strength necessary to ensure an even distribution of the Truck Weight. I feel good about this being a very satisfying adaptation as a Safe Solution working in this case.



Once everything is assembled and test fitted, I'll follow up with the Shorts Jacks installed onto the QuickJack with the Truck Elevated in order to Demonstrate this Live Application of the Gear.

More to Follow...