cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Front Frame Mount Tie Downs Not Working!

HadEnough
Explorer
Explorer
I have gone through so many sets of Torklift frame mounts I want to fix the problem permanently.

Why aren’t there bars run across the whole truck like for the rear tie downs? Those last.

My truck camper is sliding off to the passenger side now and both front frame mounts are broken. Again.

The camper is used on normal tarred roads only and never off road.

What’s are these things so defective/fragile?

Has anyone just run a piece of square tubing across the entire underside bolted to the frame with spacers and square u bolts to make a better frame mount?
100 REPLIES 100

HadEnough
Explorer
Explorer
Kayteg1 wrote:
HadEnough wrote:
travisc wrote:
I’m curious why torklift hadn’t been engaged, I think they might have pertinent feedback maybe some questions for your installers, especially if you’ve done it twice,


Now that we have figured most of this out, I am wondering where TL is also.

Would love to hear their comments on the installation and their best guess on how it all happened to compare with the theories here.


Took you 7 pages to finally disclosure what really happen.
You blame tie-downs for serious issues with your truck.
I don't blame they don't want to step in it.


Excuse me???

Do you have some kind of problem?

I don’t see you figuring out the problem in less than 7 pages. How about cutting me and the people who did solve the problem some slack? We can’t all be at your level of genius and solve a problem in one single post. Some of us need to figure out what happened and ask for help.

Isn’t that what a forum is for??

Kayteg1
Explorer II
Explorer II
HadEnough wrote:
travisc wrote:
I’m curious why torklift hadn’t been engaged, I think they might have pertinent feedback maybe some questions for your installers, especially if you’ve done it twice,


Now that we have figured most of this out, I am wondering where TL is also.

Would love to hear their comments on the installation and their best guess on how it all happened to compare with the theories here.


Took you 7 pages to finally disclosure what really happen.
You blame tie-downs for serious issues with your truck.
I don't blame they don't want to step in it.

jimh406
Explorer III
Explorer III
Pictures of the brackets don’t tell the story. How about a zoomed out picture of how the camper is sitting in the bed which includes how far it is overhanging?

Again, it seems pretty obvious that you have a significant issue with your setup. The brackets breaking is just a symptom.

'10 Ford F-450, 6.4, 4.30, 4x4, 14,500 GVWR, '06 Host Rainer 950 DS, Torklift Talon tiedowns, Glow Steps, and Fastguns. Bilstein 4600s, Firestone Bags, Toyo M655 Gs, Curt front hitch, Energy Suspension bump stops.

NRA Life Member, CCA Life Member

deltabravo
Nomad
Nomad
HadEnough wrote:
deltabravo wrote:
Is this on a flatbed truck? I can't understand how a normal truck bed (with wheel wells) would accommodate a truck camper moving 11" to one side or the other in the front.

When my long bed 811 is loaded on my long bed truck, and centered exactly, there's 2 3/4" between each bed rail and the corresponding side of the truck camper.


It twisted around the wheel wells.


I can see a truck camper possibly shifting like that, but 11" to one side at the front seems impossible. Is there 11" + inches of clearance between the top of the side of your truck bed rail and the side of the camper?

Like I mentioned in my original post, there's 2 3/4" of clearance between the side of my AF and the side of the truck bed.
2009 Silverado 3500HD Dually, D/A, CCLB 4x4 (bought new 8/30/09)
2018 Arctic Fox 992 with an Onan 2500i "quiet" model generator

deltabravo
Nomad
Nomad
HadEnough wrote:
No. They are VERY active here and see the threads.


They used to be... not so much any more. If they haven't reached out to you via PM, then I highly doubt they have seen this thread.
2009 Silverado 3500HD Dually, D/A, CCLB 4x4 (bought new 8/30/09)
2018 Arctic Fox 992 with an Onan 2500i "quiet" model generator

HadEnough
Explorer
Explorer
joerg68 wrote:
Now that we have figured most of this out, I am wondering where TL is also.

Well, have you contacted them and they didn't reply?


No. They are VERY active here and see the threads.

JimK-NY
Explorer II
Explorer II
When I did my installation, I ran into an issue with the size of one of the openings for a bolt. Turns out I did need to ream it out slightly larger. I got on the phone with the Torqlift tech support and they walked me through the process. They offered to modify the brackets for me at their cost, but I would have needed to wait for a return, modification and return mail. Tech support was happy to hear of my issue. They are constantly trying to keep up with model changes from all of the truck manufacturers.

joerg68
Nomad III
Nomad III
Now that we have figured most of this out, I am wondering where TL is also.

Well, have you contacted them and they didn't reply?
2014 Ford F350 XLT 6.2 SCLB + 2017 Northstar Arrow

HadEnough
Explorer
Explorer
travisc wrote:
I’m curious why torklift hadn’t been engaged, I think they might have pertinent feedback maybe some questions for your installers, especially if you’ve done it twice,


Now that we have figured most of this out, I am wondering where TL is also.

Would love to hear their comments on the installation and their best guess on how it all happened to compare with the theories here.

travisc
Explorer
Explorer
I’m curious why torklift hadn’t been engaged, I think they might have pertinent feedback maybe some questions for your installers, especially if you’ve done it twice,
Winnebago Access 24V

Kayteg1
Explorer II
Explorer II
AnEv942 wrote:

As usual AnEv942 goes extra length to analyze the problem.
So from what I understand this is the picture showing bed towers?
They are completely messed up, so is the tie down failure result of tower failure, or the other way around?
Either way, OP needs to fix the towers before fixing tie-downs.

AnEv942
Nomad
Nomad
As near as Ive gleaned-yes those towers are front bed mounts.
If you know (or other member has) someone with simular truck a peek under would verify.
Install inst-likely not exact model but shows tower http://www.hitchsource.com/docs/tl/D2124.pdf
Basically a box

wnjj replied while writing-awesome!

Thats why Im leaning toward a precondition on the towers (used truck?) even with the bolted braces just doesn't seem damage shown could have occurred if everything was as it should be.
I'd also agree since they (Towers) need repair anyway- might not require fabbing belly bar and be better to rework what you have? But thats up to you.
01 Ford F250 4x4 DRW Diesel, 01 Elkhorn 9U
Our camper projects page http://www.ourelkhorn.itgo.com

Bert_the_Welder
Explorer II
Explorer II
Nice to see some progress on the mystery! Would be pretty crappy if some dip-schnitzel used an incorrect bolt and caused you all this damage and grief. Be worth looking into and knocking some heads off if found to be the case. And if it caused damage to your truck frame, then I'd say they are on the hook for more then just brackets. And again, TL will appreciate learning about this.

I had my rear frame/hitch receivers move b/c the dumbschnitz installer put on undersized U bolt brackets that hold the tubes to the hitch cross bar. That was a coarse, one way conversation when I closed the managers door behind myself.
:h 1998 GMC 2500, 10.5 Okanagan, My better/smarter half, George and Finnegan(APBT), all I need.

wnjj
Explorer II
Explorer II
I was trying to say the same thing in my previous post. Things are torn up in your installation and your camper is basically resting on your TL diagonal braces...not good.

Get the proper install and fix the tower mounts and you won't have this issue or need to build belly bars. Even if you add a belly bar, your bed will flex downward horribly there when your camper rocks toward the front without proper factory supports.

Here's what mine look like:



The TL doesn't interfere with the stock bed tower at all. You should have a quality welder fix up the bed mounts and customize the TL brackets to work alongside the stock supports, not butcher them.

You may also want to sight down your bed as it sure looks like a crease just beyond the tower and the TL brace is inboard of where it should be. Both signs of the compromised stock towers. On that really bad passenger side it looks the constant up & down hammering of the camper sheared the undersized bolt, which bent the diagonal brace toward the center, which further hammered the already compromised stock tower.

HadEnough
Explorer
Explorer
AnEv942 wrote:
The style of TL mount is different than shown earlier, and a lot different than mine.

OPs are not welded at top to a piece of angle but end is bent and bolts to bed cross member. Shown in previous thread.
IF the bolt drops, upward force from camper the flat bar brace can 'slide' inboard, that in turn breaks lower weld.
2 issues-1st This style works in conjunction with frame tower and existing bolt plate, Ops towers are shredded.
Second and primary is instead of a 1/2" bolt going thru mount into bed someone dropped a smaller bolt thru.






While there is a lot of torn metal it sure looks like someone cut out the top of towers?
Mount brace is supposed to mount to it. Issue here is from what I gather, the bolt that's supposed to go up thru is also the bed mount...
If OP can fab a belly bar should hold camper, really doesn't take that much.
The existing situation/condition & way it was bolted, only option was to fail. Still need to address bed mount towers, if that is what it also does.



Now this is an interesting post. Yes, that’s the style of frame mount for my truck.

Because I didn’t install these at all and a certified installer did, I am not sure what anything is supposed to look like down there other than the mount should be attached to the frame and in one piece.

I think I’ll go with the belly bar so I don’t need to deal with this all the time.

However, you mentioned the bed mount towers. Those are the ripped up metal, right? Those should be sort of like 90 degree L brackets holding the bed to the frame?