How many of these, have you ever seen, http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4591788012

Nope, not me. It looks like it may have been a dragline at one time. Or a junk iron mover.

It wouldn't have made a good dragline as it doesn't make for a good vehicle to get into swampy off-road areas. Most draglines are tracked vehicles for that reason. I would go for the regular crane for lifting or the junk iron mover. Shore could have used this truck when building my new house for the steel center beam & the trusses.

You don't know about draglines around here, no swamps we have used truck mounted draglines for years. lifting overburden off of gravel and caliche. But it more than likely was a junk mover. with a electric magnet or a 3 finger bucket. (chicken plucker?) probably had a hoist and a drag. a two clutcher. I would like to have one, rigged as a dragline they are excellent for cleaning drainage ditches and digging stock ponds. Probably a three or four day drive at 25 MPH from Hays to here. I wonder what it weighs, maybe I should ask the seller! (did he say you can pump up the brakes)? It wouldn't be the first time I drove a rig without good brakes, I hope there isn't going to be another time.
yes one of those would be nice putting up metal buildings, and many other lifting chores.

Ain't she a beauty (Beauty is in the eye of the beholder)...... right?

Looks like it says, Logan Co. Hwy Dept., on the passenger door.

Did Chevy offer a half-cab in the 1/2 or 3/4 ton truck, what size truck did it have to be in order to have a half-cab?

Did a regular Chevy truck plant build them or were they sent to someone else to finish up?

A half-cab pick-up would be cool, but not very wife friendly...

I'm pretty sure, this truck started out as a regular single axle truck (factory tandems, weren't available from Chevrolet, until 1956). First sent to Truckstell Co., for the Tandem Conversion, then to Bantom, for the cab modificaions, & Crane installation.

If the truck was used as a dragline usually the crane bull gear is worn heavier in the swing area. I guess Texas is quite different than Michigan draglines have tracks and a wooden platform to sit on and you dig in the winter. A truck with tires would either be stuck or tipped over. I can't tell from the picture does the truck have outriggers?

Many Texas draglines are track mounted Northwest, Bucyras Eire, but smaller ones like the Bantom are truck mounted for easy transport One other thing the smaller cranes rigged as draglines are used for is dumping concrete in road construction and dam work, it is just a matter of changeing the digging bucket for a concrete bottom dump bucket.
The best way to dig with a truck mounted dragline is directly from the rear of the truck, since most of the digging load is on the drag or crowd line, outriggers aren't necessary. Sometimes they will mount skid shoes on the rear, behind the rear wheels. They are mounted on chains of a length so the truck can drive forward dragging the skid shoes, then when the truck is pulled back the skid shoes dig in and hold the truck.

It looks like there are some tubes on the rear that could have held stabilizer jacks.
We don't see many of the old cable jobs doing any digging anymore, most of them are huge hydraulic boom trackhoes.