Bed Alignment

[dwsykes]

I thought I'd share my latest OCD problem......Well for some time now I have been plagued by incorrect spacing between the cab and the bed along with the bed overall leaning to the passenger side. With auto shops and alignment shops telling me it was a warped chassis, I decided to try and fix the problem.

And discovered larger than what I thought holes in the bed. I knew there were rusted out sections of this bed, the dealer put undercoating over the holes when I bought the truck a while back. Going to graft some new bed where those holes are

I have measured chassis to axle and chassis to concrete and the measurements says that the chassis is not bent. Through some searching here I have come to the conclusion that I will shim the passenger side to match the driver.

Any suggestions on how to align the vertical on this bed accurately, other than guess and check? Should I weight it down when shimming? What about the gaps where there are no bolts holding the bed down?

Thanks

 

[zukirider21]

do you have any pics of how far out it was when installed? i know you can't shim too much, i did and then the tailgate won't close right. i believe there's a little adjustment in the latches but not much...

 

[dwsykes]

Unfortunately I didn't think of taking pics before. I do know that it had about a 7/16" extra difference in bed/cab gap and significant drop (don't remember measurement) on the passenger side rear.

 

[shane96ranger]

So is the frame actually tweaked? Or were the shops wrong?

If it's tweaked and it means enough to you, I'd take it to a shop with a frame rack to fix your problem. You've got most of the work done to get it on the rack right now.

Something like this:

 

[dwsykes]

I have measured, and so have others, the height from chassis to axle and chassis to the concrete floor of the shelter and the measurements are the same. So the shops had to be wrong.

This truck was in a wreck at some point in its life. The cab at the rear passenger has been repaired previously. Before I install the bed I will make sure everything is as perfect as it can be...or I will go insane.

Edit: The measurement from floor to top of chassis is 30 3/16" on both sides....and that is one cool machine I want one now

 

[shane96ranger]

If you find a way to align it, let us know. I'm interested in your fix if you do.

 

[doorgunner]

put a jack stand under the left chassis rail and a jack stand under the right chassis rail equal distance from the big alignment rivets with the wheels jacked off the ground. Now level the frame with a GOOD 4 foot long carpenter's level across the width.

Then put a jack stand under each frame rail on the rear of the truck an equal distance from the ends of the frame & jack up the truck til the wheels are off the ground. Level the rear of the truck across the width.

(even though the chassis is not level back-to-front....the 4 corners are level)


Now....eyeball the cab to see if it's leaning on the chassis to the left or right.....if so, replace rubber bushing/or add shims to get the cab level on the chassis measuring from a body-line down to the frame on each side....while you're doing that--measure from a frame-rivet to the back of the cab on the left side.....adjust the cab forward or backward to get the same measurement on the right side of the frame to the back of the cab.

(If you feel like it...adjust the cab so the left/right sides are the same distance from each frame rail)

Now....after you've repaired the rust spots on the bed/braces.....set the bed in place with a wooden shim the thickness you prefer taped to the rear of the cab on the left/right sides so the front of the bed will stop against the shims. Then add spacers between the bed & the frame where the bed bolts go thru and snug the bolts down to get the bed looking even with the back of the cab. Adjust the spacers under the bed as you tighten the bed bolts securely to keep the front of the bed looking straight from side to side with the cab''''''''''''''

WHEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rangerbum]

^^^^ what he said. Bravo doorgunner.

 

[dwsykes]

Alright, so I decided to get the frame checked out by a professional. I really just wanted peace of mind. They put it on the frame machine and everything checked out great, no bends or cracks. He removed my shims and remounted the bed and He called me while I was at work and said that the torsion bars were out of adjustment.....guess the alignment shop wasn't doing their best the day I got it aligned. This didn't entirely fix the problem. He found that the bed of the truck was bent from front to back. The passenger side of the bed is behind the driver's side. In other words the tailgate, looking from the top is askew with the bumper. He said just live with it...I'm happy the frame is straight.

 

[doorgunner]

C-H-I-C-K-E-N !!!!!!!!!!!!




Phase 2: How to straighten a bed.............first you





bring it to a body shop.....



Just Pickin'........glad you're frame's not bendeded!!!!!!!!!!

 

[straycat]

I thought I'd share my latest OCD problem......Well for some time now I have been plagued by incorrect spacing between the cab and the bed along with the bed overall leaning to the passenger side. With auto shops and alignment shops telling me it was a warped chassis, I decided to try and fix the problem.

And discovered larger than what I thought holes in the bed. I knew there were rusted out sections of this bed, the dealer put undercoating over the holes when I bought the truck a while back. Going to graft some new bed where those holes are

I have measured chassis to axle and chassis to concrete and the measurements says that the chassis is not bent. Through some searching here I have come to the conclusion that I will shim the passenger side to match the driver.

Any suggestions on how to align the vertical on this bed accurately, other than guess and check? Should I weight it down when shimming? What about the gaps where there are no bolts holding the bed down?

Thanks

Dude, do you ever wash that truck?? That is dirty and nasty!!!....lol

 

[doorgunner]

Dude, do you ever wash that truck?? That is dirty and nasty!!!....lol

FOCUS............STRAY_............FOCUS! (not on the dirt though.....he's already OCD enuff)