Frame Collapsed While Towing on 2000 4x4

[Frank The Tank]

My boss has a 2000 model 4x4 Off-Road 4.0 ext cab.
It has a level III reciever hitch (square tube)
mounted to frame.

Today we hooked it to a hay bailor to bring it to field, and I said hey "donny" (a guy I work with.... ) is it me or is the reciever bent.
he replies "well i seen it the other day when I was pulling the hay wagon you were riding, but didn't think nothin of it )

anyways, I crawled under, and the rear bolts in the frame were used as a pivot point, and the front (towards the cab) bolts have torqued up and collapsed the frame C chanel (i believe its a c there)

anybody experience this? anybody have any ideas to fix it........
we are prolly going to take it to a local machine shop and have em it, but I want to make it safe for me the next time I am pulling an ANNHYDROUS wagon that could kill me, and wipe out a mile of onlookers.

Frank

btw: I'm a farmer.

 

[RichD]

Frank I'd be more concerned on how it got damaged to start with? Your boss hook it up to something real heavy? I'd pull the class III and then have a body shop straighten the frame where it bent and weld in some reenforcement plating and then buy a top quality hitch.

BTW-farmer too.....watch your a$$ around that Anhydrous wagon...lol

 

[Frank The Tank]

Oh yeah......... we tow/pull the hell out of it. anny wagons..... hay wagons, water for cattle.

(tongue weight would be what got it to torque up like this though) I'm guessing the hay on a 16 foot dual axle did it, I'd figure it happened toward the end of the field when all the hay would be stacked on the very front of the trailor to put enough downward force on it......... and then a small ditch or something to finish it off.
though the tongue weight on the hay bailor was pushing a grand I'm sure.

Knowing my boss...... we'll probably end up using a metal working tip on the Oxy Acetylene....... bending it best we can and getting a machine shop to weld in a ton of reinforcements.

I just never imagined this would happen.... I didn't know if there was a proper step by step to clearing this up or not... because "my safety" is my first concern.

a body shop may be a good idea (if we can find a decent one) but that may cost more than whats left of the truck is worth.

Frank

 

[strvger]

seriously, i'd have to consider getting a bigger truck... imho.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Those anhydrous tanks are heavy, dunno what kind of hay cart you have but they can get really heavy too. Usually neither have trailer brakes, so when you try to stop they push the back of your truck... a big trailer on a weaker truck could very well bend the frame by just trying to stop with no trailer brakes. I have watched some idiot in a 1500 Silverado get pushed halfway thru an intersection he didn't plan for by two anhydrous tanks... it was all he could do to keep the thing from jack knifing in two places.

Both can be more than a load for a half ton, let alone a Ranger.

If the bend is after the springs try to bend it back and maybe try to reinforce it (it is now weakened there) if it is between the wheels it needs to go to a frame shop and get straightened.

 

[Will]

Need a bigger hitch that extends further forward. I have this one, Draw-Tite Ultra Frame. It's about 70# compared to 20# for a Ranger Class 3. It's about $300. Give it to them when they fix the truck and have them narrow it to fit a Ranger.

You can see it uses 4 pairs of 9/16" bolts instead of three pairs of 1/2". It extends much further forward to support the truck frame, and it has a flange along the bottom--and it's thicker by far.

 

[Frank The Tank]

I definantly like that much better!!!!

We'll be taking it to a proffessional welding shop, (same that does our metal fatigue projects on implements)
I will be logging on tomorrow to show him on my bosses fancy computer phone, lol.

Frank

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Ive NEVER seen a frame give out. Never.

Id like to shake his hand.

later,
Dustin

 

[tanbuddy]

Snap a pic of that frame and post it if u can

 

[JohnnyU]

Is this like the wagons you are using?

There shouldn't be much if any of the load transferred to the tounge. That's the purpose of the spread axles like that.

 

[feellnfroggy]

He said It was a 16 ft tandem axle I believe and that puts alot of weight directly on the hitch, Now if you made the frame out of 2x6 solid stock I dont think you would have an issue anymore LOL

 

[Will]

Plow truck failure isn't uncommon. I've bought two that were already broken.

I used to cut wood along fence rows. Fields are rough and it's probably the pounding and jerking and not the tongue weight. I broke a trailer frame pounding across a field with way too much weight on it. But if you slow down, you're humping a mile for a tractor to come get you.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Plow truck failure isn't uncommon. I've bought two that were already broken.

I used to cut wood along fence rows. Fields are rough and it's probably the pounding and jerking and not the tongue weight. I broke a trailer frame pounding across a field with way too much weight on it. But if you slow down, you're humping a mile for a tractor to come get you.

Plowing is probely the single most hardest thing you can do to a truck/SUV. Personally, i think the only things that should be plowing are tractors....did the frame actually collaspe or did it just crack?

....depending on the trailer though, it probely wasnt quite a stout as a truck frame.

As far as the truck goes...I would venture to guess that you musta put an odd stress on it (like making it twist in weird ways). To actually Collapse/Crush a frame ive never seen happen (unless it was wrecked or jumped or any combination thereof) I have seen them crack.

later,
dustin

 

[bobbywalter]

i would have to see it.



likely he backed into something or the truck was hit and no one told em.

 

[JohnnyU]

Since Dustin hasn't ever seen it happen, it must be make-believe.

He said It was a 16 ft tandem axle I believe and that puts alot of weight directly on the hitch,

Who puts hay on a tandem axle car-style trailer? He called it a wagon, and every hay wagon I've seen around here (remember, we have a few farms here in IL) has been the dual spread axle wagons.

I think Will might be right, bouncing around through fields is more than likely the root cause of the problem. If you insist on using a 1/4T truck for this job, I'd be tempted to back-half it with some rectangular tubing. While I was back there, I'd fashion a DMI-style spring hitch under there too. Forget the rigid hitches, they're not meant for this application.