I will say the frame difference between my 3500 RAM and 350 Ford is definitely noticeable. The ford rode better emtpy, you could see the flex in your side mirrors much more. It "moved" bed to cab a lot. The fram on this RAM is stupid thick though. I don't see how that photo is even real.
Yeah, that picture baffles me. The way those RV cabs sit in the chassis of trucks they try to put the weight onto the axle. You would think the force needed to break the frame like that would have to be applied near the rear of the chassis. This either has to be an absolute OOOOF on the quality department (I believe the 2500, 3500, 4500, and 5500 are produced in Mexico) Or someone did something very wrong when installing the topper camper. I'm pretty sure the 3500 frames have like 7 or 8 cross members. lol I have pals that are working the oil fields with these 3500's and 4500's... They're buying or custom building huge ass work boxes on them that I would guarantee weigh more than a camper topper. Full steel, loaded down with welders, leads, consumables, tool boxes, spare parts for truck/welder/genny etc.. Not only that, a few of them pull toy haulers/RV's out there as well to save up on hotel/per-diem payments... They also have to take these trucks through some rough terrain a lot of times too. That camper topper incident has to be a fluke. lol I am curious to see what Chrysler offers them (if anything)
You're truck is awesome man! I really want to put wheels/tires/small lift on my 2500... But I pull my toy hauler all over for racing and camping.. and I only have the 68rfe trans. Taller tires are what kills those things. especially when bolted to a tuned/bluetooth emissions 6.7 lol Also, paying $6.25/g for fuel to and from the races a bunch of times last year was not fun..
My vote is the camper is not tied to the frame, just the bed. Looking more maybe frame at which point I vote the welded to the frame - very very badly.
No. You can see the frame mounts in the picture. Those are the Torklift Fastguns. They are the best you can buy. I would guess there is a lot more to the story (if the picture is even real). That truck didn't fold in half just from hauling that camper.
What do the turnbuckles have to do with the mounts they're hooked to? But I agree they are frame mounts from the angles of the cab and bed the frame broke - so final vote is bad welds to frame or someone thought drilling and bolting was a smart move.
Because they are spring loaded. They are made to keep from transmitting the full force of the camper to the frame of the truck if you hit a big bump or something.
Well I own 2 of them now... not sure if smart or dumb. Used prices are definitely coming down. 17 Crew 3500 Aisin 4wd 200k with a welding bed for $20...
My F350 is still in the shop. I finally got the news that they are giving up on remanufactured turbos and going with a new OEM. This saga is going on 3 months old. The ford techs said the vacuum cleaner noise it was making was OK but the new truck never did that, It only started with the first remanufactured turbo and my local ford dealer wasn't happy with Detroit's answer. I guess I have to be happy.....Glad I don't have to get all legal and stuff....
I initially thought might not be connected to the frame at all, just the bed - the part in between the bad tie down point on the truck and the tie down point on the camper would be a moot point
Big problem with the newer fords is some of the engine repairs require you to lift the whole cab off the frame. It's a good idea, and they've simplified it a lot, but there's no backyard mechanic doing some of these repairs now.
That’s actually a blessing. As often as they need to be repaired, the body mount bolts never seize up.
That has been standard practice since the late 90s at least, on fords. And plenty of independent shops do it all the time. Two post lift picks the body instead of the frame. Like old gold wings, every engine repair in the chilton manual starts with ‘step one, remove engine from frame…’
2018 Ram 2500 w/ 125k miles. Starting having Emissions and tranny issues around 60K, so I deleted the whole lot and had the truck tuned. Installed a Babymaker 1000 Valve Body and the truck has been dead-nuts reliable ever since.