Jump to content

Bed sheet metal tearing / welds popping - advice

MesaRat
 Share

Recommended Posts

MesaRat Enthusiast

MesaRat

Posted
Posted

Curious if anyone is experiencing this.  

 

The sheet metal on the upper forward outer corners is tearing and my spot welds (4 of them) nearby have popped apart.  The truck has a ladder rack installed, that was purchased through the GM accessory catalog and included with the total purchase price of the truck when bought new.

 

I do live on a mild-moderate bumpy dirt road and maybe the rack isn't allowing the bed to flex.  Not sure.  Also, I have never come close to the max capacity of the rack.  

 

I am taking it to the dealer for them to look at, but may have to call my insurance company.  My belief is that since it is a GM accessory that was sold with the vehicle, then it's on GM.

 

Photos show small tears starting on both sides.  You can see two holes in each corner pic, the metal is loose and the weld is no loner intact, other pic shows roof rack, corner where tears are starting is a few inches in front of base.

 

Any advice is appreciated.

D2FBF310-C36A-47CD-A527-BE3D3AE6C198.jpeg

4BB328B9-2E64-4D9D-A5CE-E09114E9F981.jpeg

8243DBEB-1088-4515-A384-1B4FB9AD4061.jpeg

bass mechanic Enthusiast

bass mechanic

Posted
Posted

I can tell you right now as an insurance advisor of 17 years there’s no way in hell insurance will cover that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

MesaRat Enthusiast

MesaRat

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)
5 hours ago, bass mechanic said:

I can tell you right now as an insurance advisor of 17 years there’s no way in hell insurance will cover that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

why not?  i have comp, collision, etc.  If GM says the rack did it and it's on me then why shouldn't insurance cover?

Edited by MesaRat
MesaRat Enthusiast

MesaRat

Posted
  • Author
Posted
15 hours ago, redwngr said:

Let us know what they say.

local GM dealer doesn't have a body shop and it has to be done by an iCar certified facility.  service called closest GM dealer with iCar who over the phone said they won't warranty it b/c I installed the rack.   they then called the second closest dealer who said they would take care of it (i also spoke with them on the phone) but i need to drive 150 miles for them to evaluate first.  local body shop said they see it all the time for vehicles that don't stay on pavement and have racks installed (all makes too - Ford, GM, Dodge).  local body shop said $1500 - take bed off, weld, paint, install, but the bed will be compromised and they suggested no rack installed afterwards.  $4500 for new bed paint and install.

rblanch Enthusiast

rblanch

Posted
Posted

Around here you can get a bed a lot cheaper from the places that install the service bodies on the trucks. I own a service company and when I have the beds installed they only give me 500.00 for a bran new unused bed they take off my bran new truck. I think they sell them for 1.500.00 I would call around in your area for one of these beds. Google Knaphide or Reese truck beds in your area. 

MesaRat Enthusiast

MesaRat

Posted
  • Author
Posted
23 hours ago, rblanch said:

Around here you can get a bed a lot cheaper from the places that install the service bodies on the trucks. I own a service company and when I have the beds installed they only give me 500.00 for a bran new unused bed they take off my bran new truck. I think they sell them for 1.500.00 I would call around in your area for one of these beds. Google Knaphide or Reese truck beds in your area. 

body shop mentioned used beds also but it is cheaper to fix existing bed and we discussed them reinforcing it better.

 

i am weighing two options and probably will be based on what GM does or if I file an insurance claim.

 

Get bed fixed or replaced and buy a roof rack that I will use with the rear 1/2 of the existing rack as a ladder rack.  I believe if I mount any rack that flexes and puts excessive pressure at the front of the bed I will have the same problem again.

 

Get a utility bed and consider selling existing bed even with damage (body shop said it's a few hours to fix and there will still be demand for it).  I would like to mount the backup sensors and camera on it.  Not enthralled with the look of it but this maybe a better solution for my needs. (construction).

bass mechanic Enthusiast

bass mechanic

Posted
Posted
why not?  i have comp, collision, etc.  If GM says the rack did it and it's on me then why shouldn't insurance cover?

Because comprehensive covers theft flood fire vandalism and collision with birds or animals. Collision covers accidents.
And metal fatigue has absolutely nothing to do with any of these. Your looking for a warranty or a manufacturing defect claim. Insurance is and was never designed to be a warranty or maintenance program if that were the case everyone would be filing claims for that


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
MesaRat Enthusiast

MesaRat

Posted
  • Author
Posted
4 hours ago, Stand By said:

Wondering if you drive around with your tailgate down often?

almost never.  did once or twice to carry some long boards and was on pavement 95% of the time.

redwngr Senior Enthusiast

redwngr

Posted
Posted

Does the rack apply all the load to the top of the bed sides or is there other structure not visible in the pics?

georgecdisc Enthusiast

georgecdisc

Posted
Posted

I'm a little confused how the rack is stressing the welds. is the portion of the rack normally over the cab as your picture shows? if so I can see how bumpy roads might cause that to act as a giant lever and act upon the front of bed.

 

I've got a mesh backrack, but it is not load bearing except for its own weight. mainly there to prevent firewood from bouncing in bed thru the glass window. do you think this would cause similar issues dues to the stiffening (bed can't flex)? seems like stiffening would assist in keeping those welds from popping, but only to lateral loads not front to back. 

MesaRat Enthusiast

MesaRat

Posted
  • Author
Posted
On 8/2/2020 at 4:02 PM, redwngr said:

Does the rack apply all the load to the top of the bed sides or is there other structure not visible in the pics?

no.  there's another tower and cross bar and the back.

MesaRat Enthusiast

MesaRat

Posted
  • Author
Posted
On 8/2/2020 at 6:58 PM, georgecdisc said:

I'm a little confused how the rack is stressing the welds. is the portion of the rack normally over the cab as your picture shows? if so I can see how bumpy roads might cause that to act as a giant lever and act upon the front of bed.

 

I've got a mesh backrack, but it is not load bearing except for its own weight. mainly there to prevent firewood from bouncing in bed thru the glass window. do you think this would cause similar issues dues to the stiffening (bed can't flex)? seems like stiffening would assist in keeping those welds from popping, but only to lateral loads not front to back. 

it was always over the cab as shown.

 

at the body shop, just grabbing the end of the cantilevered part resulted in flexing the bedrails and slightly moving the metal by the welds.  we only put about 20lbs of force on it.  i have never actually loaded the cantilever portion as i haven't had anything long enough yet.  body shop believed damage could be done just by the jostling of the upper cantilever on the bumpy roads.

redwngr Senior Enthusiast

redwngr

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, MesaRat said:

no.  there's another tower and cross bar and the back.

I was assuming there were 2 towers.

 

What I was wondering was are the towers only attached to the tops of the bed rails, or do the towers have structure to put the load (or part of it) directly to where the bed mounts to the frame.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Forum Statistics

    250.5k
    Total Topics
    2.7m
    Total Posts

  • Member Statistics

    342,914
    Total Members
    8,960
    Most Online
    AidenVorpagel
    Newest Member
    AidenVorpagel
    Joined

  • Who's Online   1 Member, 0 Anonymous, 636 Guests (See full list)

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • Grumpy Bear
      Sugar Bears 2015 GMC Terrain SLE-2 2.4 AWD

      By Grumpy Bear · Posted

      286,740 Mile Services   8/6/2026   New AC Compressor. Refrigerant oil and dye, evacuate and charge system.  New exhaust system from cat back.  New Iridium plugs plus replace #3 coil Repair/rewire headlamp wiring (passenger side) and replace all forward bulbs. Polish lenses of both assemblies.  Pull rear rotors, clean and adjust parking assembly. Inspect, clean and grease front calipers. Check pads and shoes.  4 wheel power bleed of brake system. Dot 4 Reset idle speed 50 rpm higher New Serpentine belt.    Will need new pads in the rear in about 5K more miles.    Tax Title and License out the door just short of a grand.    AC clutch had bitten the dust. 1 year warranty on the pick and save replacement. Thing will make a Polar Bear cry Uncle.  He spent quite some time on the wiring. It was in the harness and he does nothing half. I got off cheap. I have considerable more light down the road. Sylvania Silver Star replacements.  Gas seal between the porcelain and shell of plug #3 was blown, cooked the coil. That was the cold miss.  Love the new exhaust. I can sneak into the neighborhood again.  Nice to have a working parking brake again. Belle Tire never got it done. That was disappointing.    This was one of her bigger bills and still way cheaper than a payment even given the oil consumption. This thing cost me under a hundred a month in repairs and normal routine costs. What is my incentive to replace it? 🤔           
    • AidenVorpagel
      cam upgrade in CA

      By AidenVorpagel · Posted

      hello I recently bought a 2012 gmc 1500 with a 5.3 and have a AFM disabler on it I'm interested in doing a cam but I'm worried if I remove the AFM system I will fail smog does anyone have info if they are able to detect that or a work around to it (not talking about hot smogging) please let me know thank you  
    • B14Sierra
      Noise after AFM delete

      By B14Sierra · Posted

      Did you figure it out?
    • B14Sierra
      Possible lifter tick after DOD delete

      By B14Sierra · Posted

      Update. I started chasing down my symptoms. Started first with pulling valve covers and looked at everything. Everything looked good and couldn't hear or feel anything different. Then a compression test. 240 psi or really close on each cylinder. I was worried I was a tooth off of timing. Not bad for an engine with 173,000. Granted I did put new heads on. I sprayed water around the injector area to see if I could hear a change. Nothing. I hooked up my new hp tuner which I should have done in the first place but I don't really know what I'm looking at just yet but am learning. I noticed the fuel trims were way off so that told me I have to have either a bad injector or exhaust leak. New injectors, so I did the shop vac on blower and in the tail pipe. Sprayed soapy water and found the exhaust flange on the drivers side was leaking. I didn't think it would be that considereding I pulled the heads and left the manifolds attached. I did have the transmission replaced not long ago. They must have not seated them properly but I guess I didn't notice. I put in new gaskets on both sides. Which by the way isn't a bad job but I had a hard time getting them to seal right. Took two attempts. Reset the fuel trims and the ticking is gone, engine runs smooth and acceleration has improved. Got to feel the real difference with that stage 1 cam. It's not that big of a difference but it does add a little more. It feels like how the truck should have been from the factory.
    • Grumpy Bear
      Some Assembly is Required

      By Grumpy Bear · Posted

      Can it still be Assembled I?    Stribeck says that we need a certain amount of viscosity under conditions of load and velocity to prevent two surfaces of a know roughness from tearing each other asunder. And we have marketing trying to tell the masses that those two surfaced require less of that commodity due to more exact limits being placed on the same old clearances. We also know that there are limits to how hard something can before it becomes to brittle to be viable and to smooth to 'wet' the surface and that both of those conditions have been known and met since about the Second World War.    That viscosity value shook out at 10 centistokes at 212 F just under a hundred years ago.  Give this a look: [Anton Parr]     What is advertised is the Kinematic viscosity (mm2/s) or that which has been density adjusted but the value we are after is the dynamic viscosity (mPa.s) or true viscosity. You can see that this number is dependent on density thus base stock and temperature. You can also see that an SAE 30 doesn't reach that value in this example. However an SAE 30 that is at the upper end of the SAE 30 range; 12.5 cSt (mm2/s), might. 12.5 * .83 = 10.375 (mm2/s). If you could find an SAE 30 at the upper end these days.   Then there is the complication of viscosity modifiers or VII or VM, whatever you wish to call them. Polymers added to very thin base oils, perhaps 3 to 6 cP oils, that will meet the SAE *W30 spec at 'tested' shear rates and 100 C/212F  target temperature. So a polymer fortified base that is a fraction of the 10 cP requirement Stribeck insist upon.   This could be all well and good if those polymers didn't have two very problematic 'features'. They shear or loose viscosity both 1.) permanently and 2.) temporality. And they do both omitted in the advertised data with the distinct  purpose of deceiving the consumer of the actual operating state of the fluid. I've shown the example of Warren Oils COSTCO 10.91 cSt 5W30 formuation several times where the 100 C HTHS value is 6.9 cP!! That's the temporary shear down and with and SSI or shear stability index of 9.4 cSt. Note the intentional deception in using mixed units?    After a short while that 9.4 cSt oil has a viscosity corrected dynamic value of 7.8 cP. But as the SSI is still within the range of an SAE *W30 whose lower value is 9.3 cSt.    This allows them to continue to call this SAE 16 weight oil a 30 weight, the cake, and still meet the API requirements for fuel efficiency IMPROVEMENT mandated by the EPA. The eating of the cake. By the time you've worn out your motor doing the responsible thing by adhering to the warranty requirements, (the stick), you get deprived of the carrot, wear control. So sad, to bad.   So what can be done? Do I need actually say? [Anton Parr]       Even this must be monitored if the oil is on the low side and the VII an organic or you opt for a 0W40 with an even lighter base oil and more / higher MW VII. (Note the lower density of the 40 weight versus the SAE 30 mono-weight?)    There is another workaround. Temperature. An SAE *W30 run at a bulk temperature of between 180 and 195 F.    Being the belt and suspenders sort I am I do both. Run it cook and run it heavy.    In Part II I'll work the AW package. 

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...