roof sheetmetal

[HuggerOrangeZ71]

just wondering if anyone else felt the same way. my new '05 silverado z71 extended cab does not have the sunroof. i just recently purchased it and was giving it its first bath. while cleaning the roof i noticed just how flimsy the sheetmetal is on the roof. more so to the middle and rear of the roof. you can actually push on it with 1 finger and watch the whole roof quiver. i thought that maybe this was a fluke with my truck but i went back to the dealer and checked '06 trucks and found the same issue. it apparently is just the way they are built. i love my truck but just feel that a truck that stickers for $40k should have a much stronger roof. sunroof equipped models appear to have a slightly stronger roof, apparently braced for the sunroof. its not something you think about checking when your shopping for a truck, but like i said i was a little disappointed with the cheap sheetmetal being used by gm.

[redvett]

The steel mills turn out the same steel for most automakers is the same thickness. If you have an aftermarket sun roof its the installers fault.

[bigdogxx]

The steel mills turn out the same steel for most automakers is the same thickness. If you have an aftermarket sun roof its the installers fault.

 

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I think you miss read what he wrote down he is complaining about the sheetmetals thickness without the factory sunroof, which he is right i have a 05 and the roof of the truck sheetmetal is extremely flimsy.

[pm26]

On crew cab trucks they actually molded ribs into the roof to reinforce it somewhat. It is still flimsy and quivers when you push down on it.

 

This condition has nothing to do with the thickness of the sheetmetal on the roof. What is has to do with is inadequate reinforcement under the sheet metal, so much so, that the DVD equipped trucks actually have an extra brace under the roof. How ridiculous is that?

 

 

An extended cab Z71 with a $ 40k sticker? That seems awfully high.

[ZZebes]

My Ext. Cab has the same problem it pisses me off

[Jasonsupafly]

Ive noticed it on my truck also, but guess thats just how it is

[CoastyAV8R]

I have a 99 ext cab and the roof metal on my truck flaps in the breeze. Today for example, I was driving about 70 mph in a 20 mph headwind and every once in a while the flapping of the roof would scare the crap out of me. I also have a 2004 Dodge quad cab diesel that never does that, no matter how fast you drive it, and it doesn't have any reinforcement ribs on the roof.

[pm26]

Imagine what would happen if you flipped your vehicle on its roof. Heaven help us!

 

Somewhere I read that the manufacturers are still using archaic 1970's roof safety standards on full size pickups and SUVs. Do you remember those old Volvo car commercials from the 70's where they show an adult elephant standing on top of the car's roof and it does not cave in? Somehow I would be reluctant to submit my truck to this kind of testing. Even with a 200 lb baby elephant instead of a 4 ton one!

[freakyt]

Which would you rather do, have a flimsey roof, or pay another $2 grand for your pickup? Me, I can handle a flimsey roof if it saves me money.

 

Oh, and your truck still has door pillars and a saftey cage, so if you do roll it, it won't collapse.

[mmmikkke]

On the extended cab trucks, there's a structural beam that goes up and over the driver's head and back down the other side, about half way between the front and back of the roof. This structural member is fairly strong, but it's spaced about 1/2 below the actual roof and there is some foam at about the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock positions that help keep the roof in some sort of proper position.

 

When I installed my Whelen Strobe I had to deal with this. I used plastic to shim between the beam and the actual roof, and it tightened things up considerably. The strobe unit doesn't dimple the roof now that I have the shims installed.

 

Maybe those of you who have too much flex might want to drop your headliner and spray some Great Stuff up there and that would probably fix the problem.

[bigdogxx]

Which would you rather do, have a flimsey roof, or pay another $2 grand for your pickup?  Me, I can handle a flimsey roof if it saves me money.

 

Oh, and your truck still has door pillars and a saftey cage, so if you do roll it, it won't collapse.

 

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Actually where is choice c) Getting rid of the uaw so gm does not have to lose on avg of over a a grand per vehical sold!Mabey if gm did not have to pay close to 80 dollars an hour per highschool graduate line worker we could see that money put back into the cars and trucks to be made better.All the top executives have cut there salarys across the board some by as much as 50%, what has the uaw done absolutley nothing!

[redvett]

Which would you rather do, have a flimsey roof, or pay another $2 grand for your pickup?  Me, I can handle a flimsey roof if it saves me money.

 

Oh, and your truck still has door pillars and a saftey cage, so if you do roll it, it won't collapse.

 

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Actually where is choice c) Getting rid of the uaw so gm does not have to lose on avg of over a a grand per vehical sold!Mabey if gm did not have to pay close to 80 dollars an hour per highschool graduate line worker we could see that money put back into the cars and trucks to be made better.All the top executives have cut there salarys across the board some by as much as 50%, what has the uaw done absolutley nothing!

 

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The Exec's are the ones who made all the bad decisions on style and poor products not the workers. The line workers only get about $25 an hour and most are more than hi school grads. Even the skilled trades dont make that kind of money and they too just work there. No decisions on product design.

The Exec's and salary screwed up GM let them fix it. Who in the heck is worth 3-4 million dollars a year. Plus a golden parachute.

[bigdogxx]

Which would you rather do, have a flimsey roof, or pay another $2 grand for your pickup?  Me, I can handle a flimsey roof if it saves me money.

 

Oh, and your truck still has door pillars and a saftey cage, so if you do roll it, it won't collapse.

 

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Actually where is choice c) Getting rid of the uaw so gm does not have to lose on avg of over a a grand per vehical sold!Mabey if gm did not have to pay close to 80 dollars an hour per highschool graduate line worker we could see that money put back into the cars and trucks to be made better.All the top executives have cut there salarys across the board some by as much as 50%, what has the uaw done absolutley nothing!

 

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The Exec's are the ones who made all the bad decisions on style and poor products not the workers. The line workers only get about $25 an hour and most are more than hi school grads. Even the skilled trades dont make that kind of money and they too just work there. No decisions on product design.

The Exec's and salary screwed up GM let them fix it. Who in the heck is worth 3-4 million dollars a year. Plus a golden parachute.

 

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Actually your wrong the avg line worker salary is well over 30 bucks a hour and with all the added health care and pension cost it ups it to over 72 dollars an hour cost for gm!The executives are not the ones that build the vehicals that falls on the line workers shoulders and we all know how gm's reliabilty has been bashed into the ground!Like i said the executives have already stepped up to the plate and cut there pays by a large amount what has the uaw done to try and get gm back into shape?

 

Here you go avg gm non skilled salary line worker

makes on avg of 31.35 a hour!This link says everything about why gm is sinking while toyota is swimming in profits!How can gm survive when they lose over 2 grand per vehical?Yes it's the execs fault but alot of that blame should go straight to the people that build them also!

http://www.npr.org/news/specials/gmvstoyota/

[CoastyAV8R]

GM is screwed, they will never be able to kick the union out. The only way they will be able to do it is to keep closing US plants and start going abroad for cheaper labor, which is a black eye for the company. Back to the flapping roof, right now the DOT has a law that a full size truck is suppose to hold up to 6000 lbs before collapsing but they are working on increasing that to 10,000 lbs. The way my roof sheet metal flaps doesn't instill confidence in the roof in the event of a roll over, I just hope that rollover bar will suffice in the event I do wind up on the roof...

[pm26]

Which would you rather do, have a flimsey roof, or pay another $2 grand for your pickup?  Me, I can handle a flimsey roof if it saves me money.

 

Oh, and your truck still has door pillars and a saftey cage, so if you do roll it, it won't collapse.

 

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To reinforce the roof would not be that expensive. Several hundred dollars more per vehicle at most. And yes, I would gladly pay that much more just to have a safe vehicle.

 

Now I am curious: does anybody offer a rollever bar that would mount inside the truck to protect the occupants in the event of a serious rollover accident? Something similar to what they mount in a Jeep Wrangler.