Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong

[bcp]

Cargo ratings used to be much closer to the truck's designation, and bed centers were ahead of the rear axle.

Bruce

 

[jjeff]

Cargo ratings used to be much closer to the truck's designation, and bed centers were ahead of the rear axle.

Bruce

Understood but would or should channel give you more flexibility to prevent cracking, buckling, and bending? Ex. 2018 4500 gm cutaway still used channel for the frame, common chassis still used on class C motorhome, lots of overhang off the rear axle rated tow tow 5k still.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Don't know about how the changes to the frames have affected integrity over time.

All I know is I have hauled some pretty fearsome loads back in the day with my old school Dodge's (1970's). I never even heard of someone breaking a frame back then. Of course, AlGore hadn't invented the internet yet either, but I had a pretty large circle of friends and "car guys" back then.

 

[duramaxsky]

If boxed frames are better why do big trucks still use channel frames? Because they are not.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I thought the same, but don't know much about towing.

I do know that THIS was BS though... years ago my brother, cousin and I were on our way back from hunting when we came across a Dodge pickup on the side of the road, all smashed up. The odd thing though was that it looked like it had been driven there. Later that night we heard the story. They were headed out to do some hunting and left the road, flipping the truck onto it's side. Somehow, with the frame toward the woods. They called a tow truck but he said the only thing he could do was to roll it over onto it's roof, then back around onto it's wheels. At that point I think I'd have said- Well, never mind what I would have told him to go do to himself.
Anyways they let him do it, he got them back onto the road and left. They tried driving back to town but the engine overheated so badly they had to leave the truck. That's where the story ended for me, but I think that with a wrecker at my disposal and a snatch block I could have gotten it back onto it's wheels without completely destroying the pickup.

Yes, unfortunately, that tow truck driver was a complete amateur as well. Most of the "drivers" were taught what to do "on the job". And if the guy doing the "teaching" is terrible, the new guy is never going to know the difference.

There's almost always a better way to do a recovery than to damage the vehicle more in the process. Sometimes it can't be helped, but that is such a rare occurrence, it should be a "once in a lifetime" type event. Most drivers are either not taught in all the ways of correct recovery (it takes a lot of time, and done over the course of many accident scenes), OR as often times happens, the "driver" is just too lazy to set up the recovery correctly (truck positioning, snatch blocks, rollover chains, etc.).

 

[LD48750]

Yes, unfortunately, that tow truck driver was a complete amateur as well. Most of the "drivers" were taught what to do "on the job". And if the guy doing the "teaching" is terrible, the new guy is never going to know the difference.

There's almost always a better way to do a recovery than to damage the vehicle more in the process. Sometimes it can't be helped, but that is such a rare occurrence, it should be a "once in a lifetime" type event. Most drivers are either not taught in all the ways of correct recovery (it takes a lot of time, and done over the course of many accident scenes), OR as often times happens, the "driver" is just too lazy to set up the recovery correctly (truck positioning, snatch blocks, rollover chains, etc.).

And recovery methods change as vehicles evolve.
Some newer ones are just down right fragile.

 

[jjeff]

And recovery methods change as vehicles evolve.
Some newer ones are just down right fragile.

I bet most folks don't know why there's a small removable panel on your plastic bumper and a small threaded eye hook, usually/ hopefully next to your jack and tire iron.

 

[Eagle1]

I bet most folks don't know why there's a small removable panel on your plastic bumper and a small threaded eye hook, usually/ hopefully next to your jack and tire iron.

Must be something new none of mine (pre 2007 Dodge) have any removable panel in the bumper.

 

[BlueKnife]

Must be something new none of mine (pre 2007 Dodge) have any removable panel in the bumper.

That's not something you'll typically see on body on frame vehicles, like a pickup. Plenty of points to pull from on those still. The hidden threaded hole is a thing on unibody vehicles, since there is often nothing really to attach a tow hook to.

 

[jjeff]

Must be something new none of mine (pre 2007 Dodge) have any removable panel in the bumper.

Not that new. Left towing in 2008.