Archived 2011 frame rails

[JGoodman]

I'm not stranded, but have a serious dilemma. I just purchased a 2011 3500, single rear wheels, truck to pull my fifth wheel trailer. The dealer sent it to have the Reese rails for my hitch installed. This person welded the rails in place instead of the normal bolting. They have said they have done many this way with no problem. Dealer has offered to give a 3-yr, 36,000 mile warranty, or our money back. What do you think?

 

[Hoefler]

I would get my money back! I would never let anyone weld on my frame! I have bolted all my hitches on my trucks.

 

[surfbeetle]

When done properly, welding is supposed to be okay, but it's always a secondary option to bolting as it has the potential to weaken the frame. Dodge doesn't even want drilling through the newer model frames. They prefer the hitches to use existing holes and clamps around the frame. The dealer is gambling that your truck will be okay for the first 3/36 and most likely it will. But how long do you plan to keep the truck? Get your money back and run!

 

[Bill Stockard]

I too would never let anyone weld on my truck's frame; however, I know of two different TDR members who have had their Reese 5th wheel hitch rail mounting brackets welded to the frame. Both trucks have hydro-formed box type frames and have towed large heavy 5th wheels in excess of 100K miles with no apparent damage to the frame.



Bill

 

[HBarlow]

That stupid result caused by an uninformed Dodge dealership sales or service manager who sent the truck out would upset me greatly but as Bill stated above, it is probably not a disaster.

I think I would investigate a little more and determine the level of skill used by the welder, the type of weld and material he used, and whether he welded it to the side of the rails or the top or bottom. Make a decision after you know these details and review what Dodge literature states about welding to the frame.

If the welding completely destroys your ownership satisfaction and will continue to plague you for the entire period you own the truck I would take it back today and be done with it. New trucks cost too much money to dislike and worry about it.

 

[Jim W]

If the dealer is willing to warranty the truck for three years/36,000 miles. What good is that going to do he if is out of business in a year or two? Will he contact the district manager for Chrysler and have them warranty the truck for a 100,000 miles/no year time limit on the frame? If not then I would ask for my money back and buy a different truck.

It is very difficult to tell how the welding was done on this frame, from your post. There are many welding procedure that a manufacture will do to relief weld stress from the weld process. Such as tailing out the welds at the end of the welds. Grinding the welds to smooth out the transition to the parent material and to the material welded on the frame. Also if there is any transverse welds on the frame across the top rails. Then this will cause frame cracking in the future from the weld stress. Did the welder pre heat the frame and then post heat the frame and welds to eliminate the weld stress that is imposed on the frame from the welding process?

This is why Chrysler does not allow welding on the frame by third party vendors.

Jim

 

[mwilson]

Get your money back and walk away. He is not offering anything beyond the existing warranty. Slick Willy tactics.



Like Harvey said, if it's gonna' worry you everytime you think about it is not worth it.

Pleanty of dealers out there that can get it done correctly or you can take responsibilty for the hitch when you buy the next truck and research the installers in your area, pick and pay the one that will do it the way YOU want.



Welding the brackets on to me is a shortcut to make a fast buck on the install.



Drilling and fishing shoulder bolts via access holes in the frame takes extra time and is much harder to make money on for a quoted job.



I installed the Fifth Wheel on my '06 with a box frame when it was brand new and the instructions from Reese allowed for bolting or welding.



I drilled mine and spent the time needed to make it a quality, long lasting install.



However the welding instructions were pretty specific and appeared to require a professional, qualified welder for a quality install. I have been trained over the years to avoid welding on truck frames and figured I would give my pick-up the same courtesy.



Mike.

 

[mwilson]

I offer an example...



Town Plow Truck, one of the most brutal jobs that a truck can be outfitted for. Constant weight, pushing snow both from the front and the right hand side of the frame rail. There are NO WELDS, all bolted. There is a reason for that.



Second and third picture show the attachment of the wing tower to the trucks frame. No welding to the truck frame. They weld to the channel iron that slips over the frame and bolt the channel iron to the frame. You can see from the rust streaks that it moves and flexes a slight amount, it has to or something will break.

 

[JGoodman]

Thanks for all the help. This has been plaguing me already and I haven't even taken delivery on it! I was leaning toward not accepting it, but your advice has made my mind up. The dealer has said that they will find me another truck or give my money back.

 

[mwilson]

Fifth wheels mounting angles are not welded to the frame on big trucks either.



For those of you with a sharp eye, yes that is an aluminum Holland Fifth Wheel Head. Saves 100lbs. Starting to really catch on up here for highway use.

 

[mwilson]

Last but not least... ...



There is are correct ways to drill as you have seen and Freightliner has guidelines for that. They just don't want people drilling these things willy-nilly or DRILLING THEM AT ALL ON THE TOP OR THE BOTTOM FLANGE as the frame rails have a 5 year / 500,000 mile warranty if all the guidelines are used. Are far as welding , no.

 

[MoparDave]

I'm confused did they weld the bed rails or the frame mounting brackets?

 

[mwilson]

Good question Dave, missed that in his first post.

 

[JGoodman]

Mounting brackets are welded to the frame, then rails are bolted to the brackets.

 

[mwilson]

OK, we are all on the same page then.

 

[Bill Stockard]

A bolt on installation job sometimes isn't done right either. I had an experience with a medium duty truck tow vehicle upfitter/seller popular with some full time RVers who installed a Reese 5th wheel hitch on my brand new '00 3500 DRW. Instead of using the Reese supplied shoulder mounting bolts, they used smaller diameter off the shelf Grade 5 hex head bolts with flat washers. Evidently, they didn't have the correct size drill bit. Also instead of installing 2 bolts in each mounting bracket, they only installed one. After I took the truck home, I noticed what had been done and called them. Their reply was, "We do it that way all the time, and no, we won't change it for you unless you pay more". The techs in their shop spoke limited English which should have been a huge red flag!



I took it to a reputable hitch shop and paid to have the hitch installed correctly. I will never darken the original hitch installer's door again. Live and learn...



Bill

 

[JGoodman]

Went back to dealer this morning. (Peterson Stampede Dodge in Nampa, Idaho). They met us at the door telling us they would NOT sell us that truck since it was defective. They also said that after a meeting last night they decided to change their policy. They would only install Mopar Hitches at their dealership and NOT send trucks out to get hitches installed for customers. They found us a matching truck at another dealer, which we are taking. They would have refunded our money if that was what we wanted. These people were great to deal with. Would recommend them to anyone. Thanks again for all your words of wisdom. I appreciate the TDR immensely. We're headed south to Prescott, Arizona. Will have a hitch installed there. Know any good installers in that area?

'04 3500 QC, SRW, 4X4, SLR, Gray, 135,000 miles
'11 3500 CCab, SRW, 4X4. White
2000 Kountry Star 5th Wheel, 31'

 

[mwilson]

Good news then. I will now retract the "Slick Willy" statement I made... :-laf



Sounds like they are going to do things a better way from now on.