Investing in a pullout Extendo Bed makes it easy for Dirickson to have all hoof-care supplies in easy reach.

When it came time to change shoeing rigs a few years back, Brad Dirickson was not in the mood to spend a large amount of money. As a result, the Bernalillo, N.M., shoer purchased a used 1993 four-wheel drive Dodge Ram 250 pickup with a cap and equipped it with a pullout Extendo Bed.

“That made the working height with the bed in the truck really high, so picking up my 125-pound anvil was somewhat of a challenge,” says the 23-year veteran shoer. “From working in the oil fields for 20 years before taking up shoeing, I remembered how those crews used winches to load heavy stuff on trucks and trailers.

“I thought the same concept could work for easily loading and unloading my anvil.”

Winch Work

Dirickson mounted the 125-pound anvil on a wooden block and added polypropylene skids along the side. Mounting a 500-pound capacity winch on the Extendo Bed, he built a fold-up skid to winch the anvil up and down from the truck.

Designed for use on the front of a four-wheel ATV, the $170 Grainger Supply winch runs off a 12-volt battery. The battery is automatically recharged each time Dirickson plugs in the truck’s electrical system at each barn.

Dirickson mounted the 125-pound anvil on a wooden block and added polypropylene skids to winch the anvil in and out of his shoeing rig.

At the press…