The Crane Van

I wanted to show everyone what exactly this crane van is about.  It was new to me, as I never heard of a 53' dry van with a crane in it, and I know a lot of other drivers never heard of it either.  It really is quite neat and makes quick and easy work of moving freight in and out of the dry van.  Most of what we haul would more typically be hauled on a flatbed, and because the freight most of the time goes to construction sites, there is no dock to bump to.  Hence the need for the crane to get the elevators out of the truck.  

Most think the crane would take up a lot of space in the dry van, but it really doesn't.  It rides on rails at the top of the trailer, and only takes up a few inches of the ceiling, and takes up no space on the sides.  For lifting freight out of the trailer there are extension bars that extend outward about 8 feet.  I have a few pictures to show the setup.

Here is a picture down the belly of the trailer. You can easily see the crane riding the rails, while holding a crate.

Here is a picture of the crane out on the extensions lowering a crate down to the ground.