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55 gallon drum streingth

3

37chief

Well-known Member
Location
California
Would two 55 gal drums hold up my F150front end. I was thinking of making a ramp from a wall with big beams. I would run wood beams to the drums. Think this will work? I will leave the rear of the pickup on the firm wall. Stan
 
(quoted from post at 12:03:17 02/13/19) Would two 55 gal drums hold up my F150front end. I was thinking of making a ramp from a wall with big beams. I would run wood beams to the drums. Think this will work? I will leave the rear of the pickup on the firm wall. Stan
Click to expand...

This sounds quite risky!

If I understand correctly, you want to drive the front end of your truck off of a wall and onto the beams, which are supported by the barrels. Is this correct? If so, please don't try this.

While it will likely work for a while, the drums are not designed for that kind of stress, and it will likely fail at the worst possible time. They might even fail just in the process of the truck moving on the beams, then coming to a stop.

Would be much better to dig a pit and lay the beams across, or support your beams using something more solid.
 
I wouldn't trust them! Have you ever done the stand on a pop can trick? If a can is in good shape I could stand on one, but if you dent the side the least bit it collapses! If you filled the barrels full of gravel then they would be OK. I built something like I think your describing once, I put 2 pretty good size posts in the ground with a RR tie across the top, and then 3 inch planks to drive out on. That's how I worked on the engine in my 46 Dodge pickup.
 
I seriously mean no offense...but go look at the picture of Judge Judy on today's funny.

That would be my response. :)
 
Set a 70 Ford F100 4 wheel drive up on drums on end once. used gin pole truck and backhoe to pickup and set it on. Kinda sketchy way to do brakes but it worked. Used 4 drums.
 
...I had an uncle who broke his back due to being under an empty hay wagon, with the front wheels on barrels.....they collapsed, he was sitting under it making repairs, he never walked again!
 
I depends on the drums . About 40 years ago when I started driving for freight line I saw some drums that I wouldn't be afraid to do that. But the drums that we were hauling when retired were made out of thin material and dented very easy.
 
When rebuilding a 20 flat deck we lifted it with forklifts and drove the truck out. We set the deck down on 4 drums so we could keep the tool boxes and mudflats lights etc from crushing.
But when we went under to cut bolts off and run new wires we positioned the forklifts back just for safety. Probably didn't need it, but I'm not too interested in getting squashed.

I'm more inclined to climb up on something without tieing off than going under stuff.
 
Well, we used to sit 30 ft wood cabin cruisers up on them!

But that was many years ago when boats were made of wood and men (and drums) were made of steel...

I sure wouldn't try it. That's one of those situations where it might hold, but then it might collapse suddenly without warning.

I would use cribbing, alternately stacked wood blocks, like 2 ft long 6x6"s. Even that needs to be approached with caution, everything the same size and square, on a firm footing. Once up there the wheels would need to be chocked or the cribbing under the frame.

Better yet, just don't!
 
I would take the truck to a mechanic with a hoist before attempting to suspend it on barrels, especially one as heavy as a half ton pickup.
 
I would make sure you set up a video camera when you test it 'cause it's bound to be educational on YouTube after you're gone.
 
That is just what I was going to tell him. When done just dump the water out. He can also look on the bottom of the barrel. Those two numbers are the thickness of the metal. One is for the ends and the other is the side of the barrel.
 

We use to set cars and trucks on metal milk crates we worked on door to door milk trucks they were plentiful... No way I would do it again but that was the norm are the way it was in the shop I started working at...

They fetch good money today whodathunkit...

Google Vintage Wire Basket Milk Bottle Crate Box
 
(quoted from post at 15:03:17 02/13/19) Would two 55 gal drums hold up my F150front end. I was thinking of making a ramp from a wall with big beams. I would run wood beams to the drums. Think this will work? I will leave the rear of the pickup on the firm wall. Stan
Click to expand...
wouldn't trust that at all, but.........if you absolutely must take that risk, you can minimize it by using long enough beams that the distance from wall to the position of front wheels is one tenth of distance from wall to barrels. Now the barrels will only need to support one tenth of the weigh on front wheels. Fuel/oil barrels are not very strong.
 
OK...I made a tongue in cheek reply to this below, but it never occurred to me that you would get a single person tell you anything but "NO" on this. Not long ago a girl was convicted of encouraging her boyfriend to commit suicide on the internet. I wonder if those folks below who are making suggestions of how this might work, water or no, would be willing to accept responsibility when you get hurt. This is not really a funny matter. When I work on a combine head I raise it with the hydraulics, engage the safety locks, and THEN pile heavy duty cribbing as described by Steve under both ends until it is withing an inch of the frame. Even then I don't linger under that thing. Imagine yourself under that truck....

Don't do it.
 
A full barrel will hold a lot of weight. I have seen drums of oil on pallets stacked 4 high. That puts the bottom 4 drums holding about 6000 lbs.

With that said the weight is set directly down on the drums. With your ramp you will be side loading the drum so I would say your idea is not a good one.
 
The only way to use the drums would be using four with your beams then lifting the truck with a fork lift and setting it down level. Then if you have the fork truck that would lift the truck you probly wouldn't need the drums. :)^D I have seen heavy truck boxes set on four drums so the truck could be driven out from under them. Neighbor had a can milk route back in the 1950's and had his grain box on four drums and he would set the milk box on another four drums and switch back and fourth as needed.
 
Put 2 soda cans on the floor with a board across them, them stand on the board being careful to keep it flat. As long as it stays flat it will hold your weight. Then tip the board slightly by just rocking your feet, you will see why barrels are poor jack stands
 
They will not if they are empty, fill them with sand or rocks or concrete and they will work until the rust out (concrete would continue to work).

Rich
 
there used to be heavy drums years ago that might have held it. but these thin metal drums , lucky if they would hold the front bumper.
 
Looks like the drum idea is voted down. I guess it's back to the creeper. If I was younger I would invest in a electric four post hoist. Stan
 
dig some railroad ties in the ground or equivalent and build it properly to hold the truck. not hard.
 
Yea, I learned about the barrel gauges recently with the thread I posted about the homemade wood stoves. From what I could find out the barrels vary in gauge from .9mm to 1.5mm.
 
How about this Stan a little more work but you?ll keep the y.t.o.s.h.a department off yer back
cvphoto12843.jpg
 
They're not made to handle much force from inside either. Which is why you don't use them for pressure tanks either - as a bloke around here found to his cost.
 
They're not made to handle much force from inside either. Which is why you don't use them for pressure tanks - as a bloke around here found to his cost.
 
A work pit might cost less than a hoist. A pit has some safety problems too: fumes and fluids collecting in the pit; climbing in and out of the pit; falls into an open pit. A cover strong enough to walk on or drive on will be heavy to remove and replace. How often would you use a hoist or a pit?

Paying someone else to do auto repairs is not the end of the world.
 
Assuming you are talking about a newly used, petroleum barrel with 2" ding hole and vent, sitting on something like a concrete slab and the truck supported such that it can't push them over, fill them to the top with water and antifreeze solution if need be and seal them up tight. The water will equalize the pressure distribution due to the weight of your truck and the bands around the drums will aid in the containment pressure....reason for their existance. I've seen it done before with empty barrels, but not supporting an F250.

On worrying about putting pressure on the barrel with it being completely full, go to "https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/cubical-expansion-coefficients-d_1262.html" and look at the coefficient of thermal expansion of water...last item in first table....aka don't worry about it.

Agree with other posters comments, on seeing them stacked and the stacked ones weren't completely full....aka 5 gallon (volume) of air space at the top for the petroleum contents to change volume with temp and air compresses....aka possibly allowing the barrel to collapse in that area.....water doesn't compress so there won't be that potential if completely full.......check out some of the pictures of supplies sitting on Pacific Island beaches during WWII. or ships holds when the cargo was troop support supplies.
 
Tow your 7-ton tractors on car haulers with F150s, leave all your electrical lugs loose and drive your trucks out over open air supported by old oil drums. Heck, may as well stack some cinder blocks on edge under those barrels to get a little extra height. It'll all be fine, right? Wouldn't want to be accused of being YTDOT/YTOSHA.

Some of this may be fine and dandy if you're in a desperate survival situation, but for crying out loud it's so easy to find a smarter, less likely to fail solution, that it makes no sense NOT to. You can't honestly say that the ONLY thing you have to support these beams are a couple of metal barrels...
 
Ah do you value your life . One can get away with usen drums to hold up a bed of a truck for removal or installation, BUT NEVER TO WORK UNDER . Jack stands on a solid floor rated for the weight you plan to support . I cringe when i use two three ton jack stand under the ft of my dodge one ton as they are being pushed to the limits while doing a brake job and i AM NOT UNDER THE TRUCK . With the prices today on a 7-9000lb lift and if you have a building with atleast a 12 foot ceiling and a min of four inches of good concrete floor that is the way to go , sure a lot cheaper then a funeral .
 
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