Still Having Problems With TC and Truck

[HadEnough]

I got brand new Torklift forward frame mounts because the old ones were torn apart.

They failed due to the “towers” failing that hold the bed and hold the top of the Torklift frame mounts.

I installed blocks on the frame where the towers normally go and the bed is now at the right height and the Torklift front frame mounts are bolted to these non-moving parts and everything is good up there.

BUT....

The right rear beam that holds the bed up from the air bag air spring is now crushed. So the right side of the bed is like 3”-4” lower than the left side which isn’t crushed.

Also, the side wall of the bed has a rip in it just behind the rear window of the truck on the same side everything keeps going wrong on. It’s ripped where the box of the truck bed makes a 90 deg angle between the forward wall of the bed box and the passenger side wall of the bed box. The rip is about 4” long and has a vertical orientation.

The entire passenger side fender/side of bed box is loose too. It can be rocked by hand a bit.

The TC keeps on sliding over to that side and is uneven. Sits far more to the passenger side and also leans to that side because of the 3”-4” sag.

What’s next to fix so it can keep going?? What would you do to correct all this?

Everything I fixed up front where the front frame mounts are is working well. The bed is kind of falling apart now.

[n0arp]

Continuing on the flatbed discussion:

I have a flatbed with boxes above and below. It's steel - very heavy, but I can do field repairs and modifications with a small flux core welder I carry. I'm always making small tweaks to it. If weight is an issue (and it sounds like it is), you probably need to stick with aluminum. You can also forgo the boxes to keep weight down. I have 19' of 18x18" storage.



I've had my truck up on three corners with the steel flatbed and there was no visible deflection. I'm not sure the same would be true of the stock bed or an aluminum bed - but I think the 4" C-channel with several crossmembers that sits on top of my frame rails certainly contributes to the rigidity. I went with steel for the ability to self-repair and because I'm not so sure aluminum would handle long-term abuse as well. Of course, steel is a pain to keep from rusting without a powdercoat or bedliner, which may come in the future.

[noteven]

HadEnough wrote:

NRALIFR wrote:
Oh, sorry. I thought this was all caused from rust. I guess I have your situation confused with another member’s.

In that case, I’d be reluctant to replace the bed with another factory bed. Maybe a flatbed is in order

:):)

No worries. I just get a little excitable. Appreciate the help and ideas.


Hmmmm. I’ve been intrigued by a flatbed setup. They look kinda weird since the TC is made for a standard bed. Do people usually build some boxes around the edges or something for looks?

I carry campers on an Aluma single wheeler flatbed on a F350. I have boxes under the camper wings - one side is camp kitchen stuff the other is tools and what not.

Aluminum Aluma flatbed pros:

light weight -350 lbs +/-
tail skirt sits above the factory bumper/trailer hitch equipment on a pickup
don't rust
LED lights and headache rack equipped.
Very easy to set up so it can be lifted off the chassis for fuel tank repairs etc
Sills are adjustable for different width frames - pickup truck vs cab & chassis trucks with SAE standard 34" wide frame.
Don't need to be painted but can be.
Frees up all the wasted air space inside a pickup box to be used for storage with a pickup box type camper.
I tie down direct to the rub rail/stake pocket area with short Fastguns - no "tie downs" required.
The whole area of the bed is usable there are no enormous wheel houses stuck up on the hauling deck.
You don't have to reach over chin high best in class box sides.

Cons:
Fenders / mudflaps / trailer hitch / trailer electric connection not included.
Aluma decks do not accomodate or have factory installed gooseneck hitch. They can be modified to use a B&W type.
Some welding and frame attachment fabrications required
Fuel filler fabrications required
Tool boxes can be added below deck. Stock toolboxes are not that common seems like due to the narrower distance from frame to the edge of the deck vs decks made for trucks with dools. $$$ for custom ones where I am at.
Aerodynamics are poorer than fleetside pickup beds.
Some people don't think they look as nice as a fleetside pickup box.
They raise the camper higher in the air by the depth of the sills, bed deck, and mounts fabricated to suit your truck. On my truck the bed is 4" higher than the bed of a pickup.
You cannot haul unsecured cargo.


If your box mounts are damaged you will be into the job of exchanging boxes for repair or replacement of those as well. And then you will have the same equipment that sounds like eventually fatigued and started to fail.

The floor and mounts of a fully loaded pickup bed are being worked and flexing as the truck travels - once fatigue begins to take hold a pickup bed will fail without being rusted. We have a local company that has installed treated plywood box liners in oilfield pickups for years to give the floor especially additional structure to stand up to carrying full payloads of tools, subs, pup joints, valves etc etc on rough pavement, rough gravel, and snow drifted and mud well access roads day in and day out.

Why? Because the stock pickup boxes were failing prematurely.

Anyhoo that's my 2 cents.

P.S. I have seen a left front wheel removed from an 8 month old GMC pickup by a kettle pot hole that was deep enough the tire and wheel fit waaay down in it due to LOW SPEED. Tore the ball joints apart. They had grease.

The truck owner called the little city hall and asked if they intended to plant a spruce tree in the hole if not maybe slide over and fix it.

So do I believe it could damage a 3/4 or won ton fully loaded with a camper in the same manner? yep I do.

[n0arp]

mkirsch wrote:

HadEnough wrote:
This is one of the only forums I know where people make up their own ideas about what happened even when the issues were already stated. Happens all the time here, but the best knowledge of RVs is you guys so this is where I post questions. You gotta nip that stuff weird stuff in the bud to keep the thread on track.

Your problem IS the "weird stuff." Never heard of a non-rusty, non-abused truck bed collapsing under the weight of a TC.

There are a lot of people hauling much heavier TCs than yours over more miles, not having this problem.

Hackjob tie-down install (photos prove it)
Unmaintained ball joints leading to total front end failure
...
Unwillingness to accept any feedback or fault

I think we know where the issue lies.

[mkirsch]

HadEnough wrote:
This is one of the only forums I know where people make up their own ideas about what happened even when the issues were already stated. Happens all the time here, but the best knowledge of RVs is you guys so this is where I post questions. You gotta nip that stuff weird stuff in the bud to keep the thread on track.

Your problem IS the "weird stuff." Never heard of a non-rusty, non-abused truck bed collapsing under the weight of a TC.

There are a lot of people hauling much heavier TCs than yours over more miles, not having this problem.

[HadEnough]

d3500ram wrote:

HadEnough wrote:

I’m at about 150,000 miles, nearly all with the TC in the bed. Should I expect these problems after 150,000 miles of bone rattling holes and bumps?

A properly set-up truck/ TC combo should last this duration (and more!)

Respectfully, could driving habits be in play? The reason I ask this is because of (words to the effect) ... "getting airborne."

This is quite disconcerting to read. A truck and camper should not be getting airborne. Perhaps slow down a bit?

...not accusing, just saying.

I don’t think so. I’m the slowest thing on the roads out here. I barely keep pace with traffic. I have long lines of traffic behind me I pull over for.

Maybe the bed isn’t up to the task?

Is there a difference in carrying ability between the 2500/3500 250/350 beds themselves? I thought the bed was all the same and the difference came down to axles, suspension, wheels.

[wnjj]

HadEnough wrote:
NO ISSUES with the mounts. Please show me where I said there were.

https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/30135864.cfm

HadEnough wrote:
Issues with the bed crushing were CAUSED by the roads and thousands and thousands of miles.

Perhaps on the rear, but the issues with the front of your bed crushing was due to the hack job installation of your tie downs.

[d3500ram]

HadEnough wrote:

I’m at about 150,000 miles, nearly all with the TC in the bed. Should I expect these problems after 150,000 miles of bone rattling holes and bumps?

A properly set-up truck/ TC combo should last this duration (and more!)

Respectfully, could driving habits be in play? The reason I ask this is because of (words to the effect) ... "getting airborne."

This is quite disconcerting to read. A truck and camper should not be getting airborne. Perhaps slow down a bit?

...not accusing, just saying.

[HadEnough]

d3500ram wrote:
I am not seeing OP’s sig for the TC setup in question…

If "the bed is getting crushed from the weight of the TC" then perhaps the truck and camper are mismatched- i.e. too heavy of a camper for the truck or not enough truck for the camper on it… especially if components are breaking.

That’s my fear.

It’s kind of mismatched.

Ram 2500 with Dana Axle, differential cooling fins, extra leaf spring kit, air bags/shocks, aftermarket high load wheels, load range H commercial regroovable tires, exhaust brake, 6 speed manual heavy duty transmission, Cummins turbo diesel, edge performance computer, mods to the front “tower” area that holds the front of the bed up. These crushed and I fixed them by using blocking in place of the flimsy sheet metal. Maybe that’s what I need to do with the rear areas that are crushing?

Arctic Fox TC

[d3500ram]

I am not seeing OP’s sig for the TC setup in question…

If "the bed is getting crushed from the weight of the TC" then perhaps the truck and camper are mismatched- i.e. too heavy of a camper for the truck or not enough truck for the camper on it… especially if components are breaking.

[HadEnough]

NRALIFR wrote:
Oh, sorry. I thought this was all caused from rust. I guess I have your situation confused with another member’s.

In that case, I’d be reluctant to replace the bed with another factory bed. Maybe a flatbed is in order

:):)

No worries. I just get a little excitable. Appreciate the help and ideas.


Hmmmm. I’ve been intrigued by a flatbed setup. They look kinda weird since the TC is made for a standard bed. Do people usually build some boxes around the edges or something for looks?

[NRALIFR]

Oh, sorry. I thought this was all caused from rust. I guess I have your situation confused with another member’s.

In that case, I’d be reluctant to replace the bed with another factory bed. Maybe a flatbed is in order

:):)

[HadEnough]

Rusty???? What?? I don’t have a speck of rust on here. None. Zero. I don’t use my vehicles in places it ices, snows or has salt on the roads. The bed has been getting crushed from the weight of the TC over all the awful roads throughout this country.

No, I don’t over tighten my Fastguns. Tightened as specified, using the little o ring indicator.

The bed just can’t take getting airborne from unmarked speed bumps, potholes that rattle your teeth out, poor transitions on the roads from flat road to bridge, etc.

The roads are so bad I go through front end components too and even had a front wheel fly off from a huge hole in the road. Broke my front end.

It’s the roads and thousands and thousands of miles on them.

[towpro]

your bed probably will be the same as 2002-2008. I bet not many of them sitting in flat bed stores anymore. Is the bed failing because of Rust? Are you over tightening the fast guns?

[NRALIFR]

Flatbed dealers quite often have an inventory of new factory pickup bed take-off’s

Just doing a web search for “Colorado used pickup beds” came up with this. I would think a dealer like this that claims to have “a large inventory of New factory take off truck beds for Chevrolet, Dodge and Ford trucks” would have the ability to get your old bed off and a new one installed quicker than you could do it yourself. Pickup beds aren’t really hard to remove, but on a rusty truck like yours, the hardest part may very well be getting the old bolts removed.

Master craft Truck Equipment Englewood, CO

Salvage yards would be another source, though I would expect those beds to be used, and less expensive.

:):)