Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong

[Jstpssng]

I'm not sure which is scarier, the guy with the way-too-long boards in the pickup or the guy on the motorcycle taking a picture while doing 50 mph.

A Go Pro will take that picture and he can still keep his hands on the bars.

 

[California]

From:

What causes a ute chassis to bend?​

What causes a bent chassis and how to prevent it

What causes a ute chassis to bend? Ron Moon slips under the bodywork to discover the cause of chassis failure.

www.whichcar.com.au

Interesting! So - to simplify - when weight exceeds what the leaf springs can handle, adding airbags concentrates the excess stress on a single point. So the frame eventually breaks at that point.

Looks like heavier spring packs is a preferable solution.

 

[jjeff]

Interesting! So - to simplify - when weight exceeds what the leaf springs can handle, adding airbags concentrates the excess stress on a single point. So the frame eventually breaks at that point.

Looks like heavier spring packs is a preferable solution.

Reading more into it I believe the airbags split the load to three different points per side the front and rear shackles and directly over the bump stops which according to article are where it's designed to take the highest stress when your springs bottom out. However all pictures I saw show frame failure just behind the cab I believe. Anyways I'm not an off-road or suspension expert but I believe most of those Utes are on the Hilux or equivalent chassis in article which in America would be a 1/2 ton truck with a lighter frame?

 

[California]

... pictures I saw show frame failure just behind the cab I believe. ...

At least some of the pictures show the double-cab ending nearly at that bump-stop over the axle. With the weight of the camper farther back than it would be in the single-cab pickup that the the original designers, designed for.

Looks like they need to re-think frame design, now that 4 door cabs are commonplace.

 

[jjeff]

At least some of the pictures show the double-cab ending nearly at that bump-stop over the axle. With the weight of the camper farther back than it would be in the single-cab pickup that the the original designers, designed for.

Looks like they need to re-think frame design, now that 4 door cabs are commonplace.

Good catch, So then why wouldn't airbags in place of the bumpstops help prevent the frame from buckling there? few posts earlier that started this discussion was a 1 ton dually with a mangled frame just behind the cab. Which got me interested in trying to figure out why it happened on a 1 ton? Does dodge use a boxed frame or channel I wonder?

 

[cqaigy2]

Good catch, So then why wouldn't airbags in place of the bumpstops help prevent the frame from buckling there? few posts earlier that started this discussion was a 1 ton dually with a mangled frame just behind the cab. Which got me interested in trying to figure out why it happened on a 1 ton? Does dodge use a boxed frame or channel I wonder?

It sounded in that article that the airbags concentrated the weight in one place on the frame, instead of spreading it out. At least that's what i got from it.

 

[bcp]

My thoughts: It looks like the frames bend just in front of the front spring hanger, as if an overload was added far to the rear. Regular leaf springs support the bed near each end. Adding a center air bag with a substantial amount of weight on it adds an additional center point of support, lessening the support from each end of the leaf spring. This means there is less weight at the front spring hanger. The weight removed from the front hanger has shifted to the air bag which is farther back, shifting weight to the rear.

Add a rough road and/or bouncing trailer tongue weight = bent frame.

Simplified diagram and numbers:

Bruce

 

[aczlan]

At least some of the pictures show the double-cab ending nearly at that bump-stop over the axle. With the weight of the camper farther back than it would be in the single-cab pickup that the the original designers, designed for.

Looks like they need to re-think frame design, now that 4 door cabs are commonplace.

Some numbers (note that while you're unlikely to have both fresh and waste tanks full of the same time, the waste tanks are usually in the back and the fresh tank is usually in the front): Broken Pickup Camper

Also worth noting that there appears to be a good size motorcycle behind the camper on a hitch platform of some sort, that's got to be adding at least 400 pounds out 8 or 10 ft behind back axle, not only is that going to push you on the bump stops quicker it will also give upward leverage at the front of the springs and the frame may not be set up to handle that much upward bending force:

Aaron Z

 

[dodge man]

Air bags are just a band aid for an overloaded vehicle. They shouldn’t be hitting the bump stops except on rare occasions. These trucks that are breaking in half I’m betting are overloaded, maybe just on the back axle. Impossible to say without weighing them.

 

[deezler]

The other thing about air bags.... is that if you inflate them up to max, you are essentially removing suspension movement from your vehicle. So forces that are normally absorbed by mechanical deformation of the spring are now instead transmitted directly to the frame.

An HD dually pickup might be rated for 5000+ lbs of payload, but NOT if there is no suspension!

These guys with $60,000 trucks turned into scrap are pretty SOL.