Reader input requested on crazy ramp truck project

Many of you already know we dragged home a 1973 Ford F-350 car hauler. The plan was to wait a while and then screw with it. Since it broke, and a. I didn't want a crippled F-350 in my yard and b. I am batE36 M3 crazy, we have nearly completed a blitzkrieg, four week restoration on the truck. The next step is to kit it out as a race support vehicle. We have talked about adding lighting (for safety and to work on cars at night) a generator, air compressor, possibly even an engine hoist. It already has new nice, large storage boxes, and I am adding a trailer hitch and multiple tie downs.

So, assuming we do want to keep this whole thing in the under $10,000 range (which so far, we have easily done) and we want to be sensitive (but not ruled by) the vintage theme and feel of this old truck, what would you do or want in your race support vehicle?

sure it's over budget by $5k and I have no clue how to make it work when mounted on a ramp truck.

Thanks, but I was looking for some more practical advice. Just trying to think of stuff, like a vise mounted in a trailer receiver, that sort of stuff.

Are any of the storage boxes tall enough to fit a 42" or longer butcher block top in? If so having on mounted to a heavy duty hinge setup to allow for a fold out work bench could be pretty awesome and provide flexibility for other additions that would use the bench space (such as presses)

So, every ramp truck needs a heavy-duty winch to pull dead vehicles up the ramp, right?

What about adding a swinging boom arm that pairs with the winch to allow the winch to double as the engine/body/whatever hoist? Would also allow the ramp truck to load and unload heavy objects with ease.

Like this, with a much smaller boom.

Totally would love to see a fold-out grill in one of the boxes as well.

Now we are cooking. Table and grille. check!

I would move heaven and earth to find room for an Engle fridge (or the ARB alternative). I'd also look at some way to hang an awning from the back of the cab area so you can set up chairs on the deck for elevated viewing in the shade/dry.

Welder? Would a winch on the front be useful to extract cars out of ditches or yards or whatever before pulling them onto the truck?

LP fridge from an RV.

captdownshift wrote: Are any of the storage boxes tall enough to fit a 42" or longer butcher block top in? If so having on mounted to a heavy duty hinge setup to allow for a fold out work bench could be pretty awesome and provide flexibility for other additions that would use the bench space (such as presses)

I'm digging this idea.

In reply to pres589:

One winch set up for a 2" receiver with a mount on the bed, front and rear bumpers would probably be ideal.

I wish I had something clever to add. My motorsport activities have been limited to local autocrossing and a few track days. I am watching Captdownshift's suggestions with great interest since he's one the people who does race support professionally.

A water tank with a faucet, not so much for drinking but for washing hands.

Rooftop tent and/or canopy. Also the bench vise should be a vintage wilton "bullet" vise.

I wouldn't do an LP fridge, they're not as effective as a good ol' cooler full of ice.

The vise idea is great, especially with multiple receivers. For water, the classic orange cooler strapped behind the cab is 100% legit.

What's going to impress people is not the sheer number of toys, but the way it's set up. A well-organized tool drawer - the sort you can glance at and instantly identify any missing tools - is going to get a lot more attention than a gimmick.

The two things I need to bring to every track day (besides my QuickJack and tool box, which are both implied or covered here) are a canopy and a set of super-comfy zero-gravity chairs from Cabelas. The chairs take up more room than the usual camp chairs, but they are the envy of the paddock. Find a spot and you will be heroes

The air compressor, jack and toolbox cover my needs but the vice is a good idea! A torch set could be handy depending on the type of racing.

Your ramp bed needs another ramp, a lightweight deck that attaches to the front and can be raised in the rear to make it a level deck at loading dock height. Add a some posts for the corners to mount a tarp as a canopy and you have a perfect viewing, photographing, officiating, or public addressing platform.

Definitely a winch, with means to pull a really damaged car up with a minimum of fuss. Also room for a pit cart and a way to winch it up. I built a long skinny one that goes on from the side, ahead of the car.

oldopelguy wrote: Your ramp bed needs another ramp, a lightweight deck that attaches to the front and can be raised in the rear to make it a level deck at loading dock height. Add a some posts for the corners to mount a tarp as a canopy and you have a perfect viewing, photographing, officiating, or public addressing platform.

the loading dock height thing is a good idea, for picking up or dropping off crap at freight terminals when they don't have a roll out door for the forklift to get to you.

i'm watching all these ideas as i've collected almost everything to build my own, more heavy duty ramp truck. i plan to build a hitch into the back of the bed to pull trailer, because if pulling one car is good taking 2 is better.

Thanks and we will have the full story in the magazine. The truck has a very heavy winch on the front of the bed, so I don't think we need another one up front, plus the truck has the cool, optional chrome front bumper and bumper guards in great shape. The canopy over the bed idea might work, and honestly, most of the bed is already level.

A tire rack/storage box at the front of the deck:

And plenty of chicken lights:

I think that you should accessorize.

In reply to NOHOME:

Is that the stripper model?

Robbie wrote: In reply to NOHOME: Is that the stripper model?

Yep. Row-your-own.

Inverter, pto for a blender out front . Dual batteries. Dual stick overdrive for when you want to stretch out. Safari rack for cab roof. Fuzzy dice.