Anyone haul livestock in a pickup?

Dick2 · Feb 16, 2015

We had removeable sides for our 1950 IH pickup so we could haul either grain or livestock. I notice now that most pickups no longer have stake pockets in the bed to mount grain or stock racks.

If there are no stake pockets, how do attach a stock rack?

DeltaRed · Feb 16, 2015

Everyone now uses stock/horse trailers. Nothing so 'antiquated' as stockracks. LOL

gene bender · Feb 16, 2015

Great question i guess the old farmers pickups are no longer needed seems like changing of the times

wilson ind · Feb 16, 2015

complete slide in racks with floor

D Slater · Feb 16, 2015

Front or back?

Michael Soldan · Feb 16, 2015

We had a neighbour with a '50 Ford with stock racks that worked at the local salesbarn. He would deliver stock with it and I don't know how he ever managed,he would put a cow in then had a partition and would cram a couple of calves in for someone else..he would make five or six trips after the sale , working as late as 10 or 11 at night delivering to farms. He was well known and knew the area..he never got rich but those old pick up trucks did the job..new trucks..well I think a big cow would dent the floor and if you had stock racks a rambunctious cattle beast would likely take the boxside out...it just isn't going to happen!

dhermesc · Feb 16, 2015

You don't see those much anymore.

Hauling a single large animal in the back of a 3/4 ton pickup always made for some adventuresome driving. They work pretty good for hogs and calves but having a 1700 pound cow leaning against one side than the other can make driving a real handful.

Dick2 · Feb 16, 2015

We only hauled a half dozen market size pigs in our pickup; we used the big truck with a stock rack for anything larger.

notjustair · Feb 16, 2015

We always hauled small quantities in the back of the pickup. Animals for slaughter, etc. With slide in stock racks that meant you had to have a loading chute. We had one on wheels we could pull from place to place, but you never see those now either.

I can also tell you that if any feeder steer stepped on the tailgate of my pickup now it wouldn't be long for this world. They just aren't built like the 73 Chevy we used with slide ins. There's nothing like driving down a two land and the cow moves to the other side and changes the lean of the pickup. I was always pretty sure we were going to die when we put those racks in. I hated them.

We also used to tape up the tail gate on the 73 and haul grain in it when the big truck was backed up at the elevator. They took the lift out of the elevator long ago here, so I am guessing you would be doing lots of shoveling now.

My 07 has stake pockets in the bed. I can't image using them - I'm sure they are cheap thin metal without reinforcements. I would also have to figure out how to pop out the plastic caps covering them without breaking them.

The Dukester · Feb 16, 2015

Omaha Standard used to make a nice convertible rack with fold down sides for long wheelbase pickups. When I was finally doing a little farming in the early 1980's I looked for one to buy or copy, but had no luck. My uncle had a home made cattle rack for his International pickup back in the 1960's. He used it to haul cattle, or hay or straw to the Saturday Fairgrounds sales once in a while...his own cattle or someone else's.

ditchwitch · Feb 16, 2015

Paul Shuler · Feb 16, 2015

I took my old 64 "Olivia" out for a spin Saturday for valentine’s day. You can tell by the bed that she has hauled a lot of live stock in her day. I also suspect by the paint on the bed rails that she spent a good part of her life with stock racks on. I have only owned her a year. My 4 year old granddaughter named her Olivia. She's 51 , goes wherever I want and never complains. Perfect date.

Keith Molden · Feb 16, 2015

My 2011 F250 has stake pockets in the bed. Just pop the black covers and there they are. I do have a set of stock racks that will fit a short bed 6' pickup that I bought at an auction, it won't fit mine 8'bed. I thought all pick ups still came with them, maybe I was wrong, it might just be the good trucks (Ford) LOL (just joking). Keith

Dave H (MI) · Feb 16, 2015

Small livestock, yes. I put a square of plywood down and on top of that sits a contrivance called "the lion cage". Bright yellow, one end is a full swinging door. Has no floor. Made of steel angle and some real heavy steel cage wire...like it would absolutely keep a lion caged if it had a floor. Fella hauled a hog to market a couple times a year for his own use. I don't want to know how he got the hog in the pickup. I would estimate it is 6 foot long and 4 foot high and wide. Bought a turd hearse from a fella and he threw it in to sweeten the deal.

Wheatfarmer · Feb 16, 2015

Up until about 1973 we hauled cows, horses, and anything else in a pickup. Yes the pickup would change lanes by itself. Still have a rack for my 2002 F250, but only for trash. Will use it when I hit it big for cash. LOL

redih55 · Feb 16, 2015

Dad had a slide in stock rack that you had to have the tailgate down to use. He used it to haul hogs to the Omaha stockyards in his 70 Chevy 3/4 ton pickup. I bought a set of wooden pickup grain sides with the fold up stock racks at a consignment auction a year ago for $85. I plan to put them on one of my old pickup trucks.

Super Steve · Feb 16, 2015

I have a cap on my truck and use it to haul up to 10, "day old(sometimes up to a week old)" Holsteins in it. I tie the handle for the back window to my trailer hitch so they cant push it open.

Fawteen · Feb 16, 2015

Not any more, but I did in my '07 GMC.

formenwhogrow · Feb 16, 2015

Used to haul feeder pigs in a 1 ton dump. The Amish at the sale barn always liked it because our pigs were the easiest to unload.

bison · Feb 16, 2015

I hauled once a 2200 lb ornery bull 50 miles in a slide in stock rack on a 1/2 ton pickup. when loaded the bull kept trying to get over the sides,.i had to chain an old bed spring over top to keep him in. I was plumb worn out when i finally drove in my yard.
I never did that again.
the second time i hauled a bull home was in a 3 ton grain truck with stock racks, as soon as i was on the road he to tried bailing over the sides,..i had to speed up or slam on the brakes to make him loose his footing every time he tried the whole 60 ml way home, it was no fun ride to say the least :shock:
From then on whenever i needed a new bull i had them delivered in a stock trailer.

JerryS · Feb 16, 2015

It's interesting how terminology for things varies with geography. What all of you guys are calling "racks" down here in my part of the south we called "side frames" or "high frames". Did the same job. We hauled lots of smaller livestock in pickup beds back in the day ('50s).

notjustair · Feb 16, 2015

That reminds me of when grandpa sold his team of horses. He
had them in the grain truck with livestock sides. They wanted
to climb out. My uncle rode the hour sitting on top of the racks
with a whip to keep them in. I hauled four cattle in my little hog
trailer the other day. It is a 16 foot but has no top. I only went a
mile to another pasture but I had to swerve a couple of times
to keep #8 from climbing over. That trailer is worthless for
anything but butcher hogs.

Dick L · Feb 16, 2015

I haul horses in the back seat of our pickup. I haven't taken any pictures yet. Dandy has been wanting me to take him out of the lot after feeding. I suspect that is what he wants is a ride. Just to cold to mess with him at work now though. I don't even take Rusty dog with me when it is so cold. Most of the time Dandy puts his head between the front seats over the console with the side of his nose on my arm. I get a lot of stares.

State of Jefferson · Feb 16, 2015

Had a girlfriend who rode Barrel racing horses. Always had a BIG,FANCY horse trailer. I jokingly suggested she just get a stock rack for her pickup. I think she was offended at even the notion of subjecting her nags to such treatment...

Ben

john in la · Feb 16, 2015

I have a removable cage made out of cattle panels.
Holds a hog or calf easily.
Anything bigger and I bring out the trailer.

fixerupper · Feb 16, 2015

I hauled hundreds of hogs in the back of a pickup. Had an Omaha Standard wood stock rack on the pickup. Could haul 12 fat hogs @240 or 13 @220 pounds but they were tight. Six big old sows was the limit if they were in the 450-500 pound range. The last two or three were still facing in when it came time to unload so I had to get them to back out first. If they didn't want to back out they would jump up on top of the rest of them and then the first one pointing toward the door would go and the rest would follow. The pickup would be rocking and rolling and bouncing while the acrobatics were going on in back. Two big stock cows was the limit for cows. They would be stumbling on the wheel wells and making the pickup rock around going down the road. Had to be real careful sliding up the end gate with a stock cow in there because she could lash out with a hoof in an instant.
Dad got a heck of a bruise on his leg from getting kicked that way. He stumbled backwards and hit the ground. Two cows worked better than one cow because they couldn't turn around and make the pickup rock as much. A pickup with a wood floor box was better because it wasn't as slippery. Steel floor boxes would dent besides being slippery and the floor had a radius that sloped away from the wheel well making the animal's hooves slip under them if they were by a wheel well. When I still had the box on the 79 Dodge there was a big dent in a wheel well from a stock cow romping on it. I also hauled quite a few hogs in a trailer made from the back of a 70 Chevy 3/4 ton It needed good shocks or it would rock back and forth too much. Yes, those were the days but not necessarily good days. I really did want a low livestock trailer but the dollars weren't there back in the 80's and early 90's.

wilson ind · Feb 16, 2015

Any favorite sheepies get to ride in front??

fixerupper · Feb 16, 2015

Reading all the replies here sure does bring back memories. I had a big old Charolias bull go over the top of the stock rack when I loaded it. The thing went up the chute, into the pickup bed and up over the top, breaking a couple of top boards in the process. It lit on the ground in a heap and I thought for sure it was dead but it got up and I ran it back in the barn. We had a packing plant in our county seat town, still do for that matter, and on occasion I would see a dead fat hog on the shoulder or in the ditch. When a hog goes over the top of the rack at 50-60 MPH it doesn't fare well. Haven't seen that for many years.

PJH · Feb 16, 2015

I've got slide in steel racks for hogs, a little over cab high, with a divider in the middle, and a top. They're tight - I've even hauled loose chickens and turkeys. Haven't used them in years.

Never enjoyed hauling cattle in a pickup. Too hard on my nerves.

Neighbor had a new Ford F-250, and a big sow put dents all over the floor. Really ticked him off. Stock trailer is the only way now.

Bruce from Can. · Feb 16, 2015

Hauled a lot of pigs and cattle in the back of my 3/4 ton Chevy. Had a set of 4x8 ply wood racks with stakes that slid into pockets in truck box. Worked real good. Trucks now are built too light and would fold up under the load, or the stake pockets would rip out of the box. I have a 5 ton livestock truck now.

longmeadowfarm · Feb 16, 2015

Yup, had a 1977 C20 Chevy pickup. Built a stock(cattle) rack with roof, wood floor and escape door. The non-skid tail gate was spring loaded and doubled as a loading ramp. I had a 12V winch mounted up front for those sometimes reluctant critters. Used it for a number of years trucking cattle to the slaughter house and sale barn. Finally decided that a cattle trailer was a better idea.

Case Nutty 1660 · Feb 16, 2015

pic is from 1966 or 1967 my Dad and brother digging out the pickup to haul some pigs, kinda hard to see the pickup with the snow lol

Weldon K · Feb 16, 2015

My dad had a 1954 Chevy 3/4 ton pick-up that he hauled cull dairy cows to auction market. Truck was a narrow bed with a step area on the side of the bed in front of the rear wheels with fenders on the outside over the wheels. Factory wood board floor had steel bands about an inch and half wide between every board to hold boards down as they were bolted to frame cross members. All trucks of that era were made with beds like this. He had removable sides that fit into pockets on the bed. Pick-up trucks with wide beds with steel floors and inside wheel wells came along later.

In the 40's, 50's and 60's a neighbor had a pick-up truck with narrow bed that he used to haul a Guernsey bull around the area to breed farmer's family cows. It is said that after the first time getting the bull into the truck, the bull was no longer a problem to get loaded. Man just cranked the truck and bull would come running. Back up to gate, open it and bull jumped into truck! Guess he knew what was waiting for him!!!!!

rview_ · Feb 16, 2015

(quoted from post at 16:42:18 02/16/15) We had removeable sides for our 1950 IH pickup so we could haul either grain or livestock. I notice now that most pickups no longer have stake pockets in the bed to mount grain or stock racks.

If there are no stake pockets, how do attach a stock rack?

Often. Had a one piece metal full slide in, just tied it on a couple stakes to secure, tailgate left down. Worked good. Cousins permanently borrowed it, haven't seen it in years.

john in la · Feb 16, 2015

Why you need a pickup?

keh · Feb 16, 2015

Welded pipe racks for 69 Dodge D100. Made them in sections so one person could put them on or take them off. Made them over 6 feet high. Nothing ever jumped out. Made cattle trailers with sides 6 1/2 feet high, which keeps me from hitting my head on cross members. Nothing has jumped out of them either.

At sale barn once and man had bought a 150 pound calf, or thereabouts. bodies were not much higher than cab of the 1950 Chevy pickup. He had a rope on the calf which was useful because the calf promptly jumped out of the truck, going over the cab. After some effort we got the calf back on and tied him in the bed.

KEH

big daddy t · Feb 16, 2015

Does a 56 Chevy car count? When I was a kid we use to go pick up feeder calfs in the back of one. We would tie them to the door post and hope they wouldn't freak out to much. The looks you would get as the calfs would stick there heads out the window. The worst part was this was also are family car.

Cole Younger · Feb 16, 2015

Dad hauled everything in the 67 F100 pigs ,cows even a pony once. We would watch the cows if they tried to jump over dad would slam on brakes and they would go down in bed once down they usually rode that way to Peoria Stock Yards

Rollie NE PA · Feb 16, 2015

When the CDL requirement came out my employer sent all the drivers who needed to take the knowledge test to the local community collage for a one day seminar. The instructor went over everything from outage in a tanker to loads that sway. When he asked if anyone new what the definition of sway was, a old farmer stood up and said,"sway is when you have a cow in the back of your pickup truck and you go around a corner and she falls down".

I almost pee'd my pants laughing.

Mark - IN. · Feb 16, 2015

About 4' tall removable wood sides and front, same on the tailgate except it was hinged on one side, locked on the other.

Really? New trucks don't have post holes in the beds anymore? One more reason never to buy one. I'll keep that in mind just in case I get itchy...nah, talcum powder will fix that.

Thanks

Mark

Whoa Nellie · Feb 16, 2015

Dad had slide in stock racks with tie downs for the stake pockets. We hauled calves, cows, you name it in those F-250's. We used stock racks with his 62, 66 and 70 F-250's. He would go to the local sale barns and buy 400-450 calves that we would background. Sometimes he would make 3-4 trips after the sale late at night to get em home. One time when I was in high school I made a couple of trips for him after the sale. Two things stand out. One was how squirrelly it was driving down Hiway 81 and second how all the oncoming traffic kept flashing their lights asking me to dim my headlights!!

495man · Feb 17, 2015

Hauled cattle for years with a slide in cattle box, ramp tail gate to load. Fit in a regular 8 foot box, remove factory tail gate. Could have in and out of truck in minutes.

I would not use one for anything other than small calves or small stock. A large cow or bull in a plywood rack on a 1/2 ton isn't the most stable drive.

Rack is long gone...moved on to cattle trailer.

W_B · Feb 17, 2015

(quoted from post at 17:05:40 02/16/15) You don't see those much anymore.

Hauling a single large animal in the back of a 3/4 ton pickup always made for some adventuresome driving. They work pretty good for hogs and calves but having a 1700 pound cow leaning against one side than the other can make driving a real handful.

We used to do this back in the early 70s, didn't do enough hauling to get a trailer so the '67 Chevy 20 had to do. Once had a hog jump over the top just as we were getting home with it from the fair. Just walked it home from where it landed.

W_B · Feb 17, 2015

(quoted from post at 17:05:40 02/16/15) You don't see those much anymore.

Hauling a single large animal in the back of a 3/4 ton pickup always made for some adventuresome driving. They work pretty good for hogs and calves but having a 1700 pound cow leaning against one side than the other can make driving a real handful.

We used to do this back in the early 70s, didn't do enough hauling to get a trailer so the '67 Chevy 20 had to do. Once had a hog jump over the top just as we were getting home with it from the fair. Just walked it home from where it landed.

Anyone haul livestock in a pickup?

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