Hd Truck With 'car-like' Bumpers

[seabee47]

I was in a shopping center parking lot and backed-up @ the most 2 mph. Uh-oh, I hit something in my blind spot with my back bumber. It was a couple of 3-inch I-Beams driven in vertical to protect a fire plug. Guess what? I have a dent in my back bumper and the left quarter-panel had a small cave-in also.

 

I thought a 2010 2500-HD pick-up was a tough truck. I guess I was wrong. Well, it's a truck and dents like these will not be fixed by me. Have any of you'se guys had similar body problems.

 

Oh by the way, I've noticed a crack in the chrome under my front lights. It's plastic also. Did the quality on GM trucks from the 'New GM' go out the back door with the 'Old GM'?

[MikeNH]

The bumper isn't designed to take hits, it's designed to absorb energy. It has nothing to do with being tough.

[tyhuck]

Yeah, its all about protecting the driver in a big crash, not protecting the vehicle from anything. Thats why I prefer to build my own. They may not be crash tested, but I can "bump" objects offroad (or in parking lots) and not have to replace my bumper every time.

[greentourismo]

Ive never hit anything and i have no dents. I really cant believe the statement "I hit something and it somehow damaged it!"

[pm26]

A bumper does not have to fold in half when you clip something at several MPH to protect the occupants. Crush zones can still be successfully designed into the vehicle with a relatively sturdy bumper. I seems that GTM800 bumpers are considerably stronger.

 

I though that cars must have bumpers that can absorb a 5 MPH impact without damage to the bumper. Is this requirement null and void now? Does it even apply to trucks?

[MikeNH]

Pretty sure the standard was lowered to 2.5 MPH sometime recently. And light trucks are exempt. 20/20 or one of those shows did an "investigative report" on small SUVs a few years ago and showed how expensive the minor hits were and they mentioned light trucks don't have the same reqs.

[old-chevy-dude]

backup sensors FTW..

[MikeNH]

backup sensors FTW..

 

Only if you use them...

 

I have the sensors and the camera and I was leaving work one afternoon and came within inches of clipping the box truck we have. The edge of the lot is tall grass that sets off the sensors so I had gotten used to ignoring them. A few weeks ago they start beeping and I was just about to write it off when I realized it was too soon and I looked in my mirror and saw the liftgate from the box truck. I slammed on the brakes and by then the sensors were a solid tone.

[old-chevy-dude]

backup sensors FTW..

 

Only if you use them...

 

I have the sensors and the camera and I was leaving work one afternoon and came within inches of clipping the box truck we have. The edge of the lot is tall grass that sets off the sensors so I had gotten used to ignoring them. A few weeks ago they start beeping and I was just about to write it off when I realized it was too soon and I looked in my mirror and saw the liftgate from the box truck. I slammed on the brakes and by then the sensors were a solid tone.

 

 

 

oops.

[Bravo1]

SeaBee Tom,sorry about your accident,on gmpartsdirect.com they carry a rear bumper your truck for $137.00 dallors.As far as the dent goes,if you can not live with it some glass repair & small dent place's can work magic for you for very little cost,and take some of it out too.Good luck on your decision.As far as the strength with CAFE and EPA, and fuel mileage goals set by the White House your going to see more and more were weight was huge in a part they will continued to reduce the weight of the part.And they design the front end to absorb the impact.Long ago front bumbers require 2 men to place then on a truck.The Chevrolet Silverado HD bumper is a 3 part design now upper cap mid and lower plastic much like the Avalance.To get 5 stars these days and with pressure to continue to reduce the weight to gain fuel mileage goals small mph damage can turn into 1000.00 dallor repairs.This is why it is a very cheap upgrade option with bumper sensor system,women love it.Chevrolet offers a rear view mirror accesory kit for HD's for 999.00,some places I have seen it at 789.00,but this would pay for it's self just one time I guess,and this does not included small children playing around the back of your truck,or on the sidewalk out in back of your truck priceless.I have been thinking about this kit,it is view through your rear view mirror left of center.Good luck SeaBee...

[tanked_darren]

I was in a shopping center parking lot and backed-up @ the most 2 mph. Uh-oh, I hit something in my blind spot with my back bumber. It was a couple of 3-inch I-Beams driven in vertical to protect a fire plug. Guess what? I have a dent in my back bumper and the left quarter-panel had a small cave-in also.

 

I thought a 2010 2500-HD pick-up was a tough truck. I guess I was wrong. Well, it's a truck and dents like these will not be fixed by me. Have any of you'se guys had similar body problems.

 

Oh by the way, I've noticed a crack in the chrome under my front lights. It's plastic also. Did the quality on GM trucks from the 'New GM' go out the back door with the 'Old GM'?

I hit a fire hydrant at similiar speed, I only stopped because of noise not feeling the "bump" $2200 later and my truck was fixed!

 

 

My 1989 mustang took hits at speeds far higher than that. Worst damage was a pushed in bumper shock.

[tanked_darren]

Stock, you can't hit anything nowadays, thats just the way it is.

[tyhuck]

The guys at GM can say what they want about safety in a crash, but Im convinced that its all about money. Simple fact is, thinner guage steel and plastic are much cheaper to build, easier to break, and therefore result in more replacement parts sold. JMHO.

[vucelick]

Energy=mass*velocity^2 divided by 450395 so assuming your truck weighs 6660lbs and you were going 2 mph....

E=6660*2.933^2/450395

 

E=890.1 ft/lbs

 

=dent in bumper

[pm26]

I have been rear ended in my '99 Mazda 626 at least 3 times, at speeds well over 5 MPH and never any damage to the bumper, or the rest of the car. It is a typical plastic painted bumper with a hollow polyethylene core underneath and hydraulic dampers, which do a good job of absorbing impacts. One time I backed into a steel sign pole in a parking lot at maybe 8 MPH and the only thing that happened was a scratch on the bumper. No dents or cuts. And no, I did not get hurt by the impact.

 

Years ago I was rear ended in my 1983 Pontiac Boneville by a VW Rabbit at maybe 15-20 MPH. There was absolutely no damage to my car, but the VW had a broken grill, bent hood, and its entire front bumper broke off and fell on the road.

 

I think it is somewhat comical to have tin foil bumpers on a 7,000 lb truck (crew cab Duramax 4X4 dually) that fold in like paper upon slightest impact. Its bumpers should be at least as good for absorbing minor impacts as those on my car, don't you think? And all the arguments about trying to save weight on a 7,000 lbs truck are somewhat pointless. Saving money? A lot more likely reason.

 

I never hit anything with my 2006 truck so far, so I do not know how strong its bumpers are. But just from knocking on the chromed metal parts of both mine and a new GMT900 truck rear bumper, it seems that the GMT900 bumpers are extremely weak.