What's That Pickup Doing Up There

1994 - Volume #18, Issue #4, Page #19

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An old pickup wedged between two trees about 30 ft. up in the air has left a lot of people scratching their heads with wonder along a rural highway near Clinton, Wis.
The bottom of the pickup bolts to an angle iron framework mounted between the trees.
"People stop every day to take photos of it. Others honk as they drive by," says Mark Madson, who hired a crane to lift the 1959 Chevrolet Fleetside pickup up between the two trees last spring. "It's an eye-catcher that makes a neat tree house for my 13-yearold son Luke. On windy days it rocks and rolls quite a bit which is kind of a thrill. It's easy to make believe you're out driving around, yet it's mounted so securely we don't worry about it ever falling.
"I bought the pickup intending to restore it but then I got the idea to mount it in the tree. Luke climbs up to it on steel pegs inserted into the trees. There isn't room to open the doors so he gets in through the driver's window. We leave the window open so it sometimes gets a little wet inside. Before we lifted the pickup into place, we redid the interior, repainting it and adding a new seat cover.
"The trees are in good shape and I added 15 tons of soil where the ground slopes away from the trees to reinforce the roots. Actually, both trees are stronger now than they were before because I trimmed away all the big branches below the pickup. Wind resistance is greatly reduced."
Madson bolted 3 by 3 by 8-in. angle irons between the trees. Before lifting the pickup into the trees, he removed the engine and transmission to reduce weight. He found the exact balance point on the pickup, then drilled a hole through the roof, seat, and floor and inserted a 6-ft. long, 3/4-in. dia. threaded steel rod through it and into a cross member on the pickup frame. The top of the rod was fitted with a hook to lift the truck.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mark Madson, 8729 E. Little Lane, Clinton, Wis. 53525 (ph 608 676-4283).

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What's That Pickup Doing Up There AG WORLD Ag World 18-4-19 An old pickup wedged between two trees about 30 ft. up in the air has left a lot of people scratching their heads with wonder along a rural highway near Clinton, Wis. The bottom of the pickup bolts to an angle iron framework mounted between the trees. "People stop every day to take photos of it. Others honk as they drive by," says Mark Madson, who hired a crane to lift the 1959 Chevrolet Fleetside pickup up between the two trees last spring. "It's an eye-catcher that makes a neat tree house for my 13-yearold son Luke. On windy days it rocks and rolls quite a bit which is kind of a thrill. It's easy to make believe you're out driving around, yet it's mounted so securely we don't worry about it ever falling. "I bought the pickup intending to restore it but then I got the idea to mount it in the tree. Luke climbs up to it on steel pegs inserted into the trees. There isn't room to open the doors so he gets in through the driver's window. We leave the window open so it sometimes gets a little wet inside. Before we lifted the pickup into place, we redid the interior, repainting it and adding a new seat cover. "The trees are in good shape and I added 15 tons of soil where the ground slopes away from the trees to reinforce the roots. Actually, both trees are stronger now than they were before because I trimmed away all the big branches below the pickup. Wind resistance is greatly reduced." Madson bolted 3 by 3 by 8-in. angle irons between the trees. Before lifting the pickup into the trees, he removed the engine and transmission to reduce weight. He found the exact balance point on the pickup, then drilled a hole through the roof, seat, and floor and inserted a 6-ft. long, 3/4-in. dia. threaded steel rod through it and into a cross member on the pickup frame. The top of the rod was fitted with a hook to lift the truck. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mark Madson, 8729 E. Little Lane, Clinton, Wis. 53525 (ph 608 676-4283).

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