Cracks in truckbed corner near top of the tailgate

[J.Decker]

Left and Right cracks. I drilled a hole at the end of the cracks to try to stop the progression. I've owned this 2004 Dodge Ram 3500 long bed since new. Has just over 107,000 miles on it, just wondering if anyone else has had this type of problem, and how they fixed it …
Thanks John D .

 

[DonFitzwater]

View attachment 114979 View attachment 114977 Left and Right cracks. I drilled a hole at the end of the cracks to try to stop the progression. I've owned this 2004 Dodge Ram 3500 long bed since new. Has just over 107,000 miles on it, just wondering if anyone else has had this type of problem, and how they fixed it …
Thanks John D .

Ditch the topper. Most but not all of the bed cracking problems I’ve seen involve a truck topper or toolbox that hang on the bedside.

 

[Prairie Dog]

I've had toppers on all my trucks during hundreds of thousands of miles and never had anything like that happen. A canopy by itself doesn't create any outward tension either unless you're articulating the truck hard - and that usually results in the canopy cracking. Do you 4 wheel it much?

 

[TRAMPLINEMAN]

Just a thought, but are the clamps that hold the topper down to the bed actually pulling the bed rail upwards causing the corners to crack? I really have no idea, it’s just the first thought that popped into my head.

 

[Regcabguy]

View attachment 114979View attachment 114977 Left and Right cracks. I drilled a hole at the end of the cracks to try to stop the progression. I've owned this 2004 Dodge Ram 3500 long bed since new. Has just over 107,000 miles on it, just wondering if anyone else has had this type of problem, and how they fixed it …
Thanks John D .

Hi John,Dave here. My friend put a m

Just a thought, but are the clamps that hold the topper down to the bed actually pulling the bed rail upwards causing the corners to crack? I really have no idea, it’s just the first thought that popped into my head.

John had a heavy Callen mounted for years. The entire weight of the camper rests on the bedrails thus the reason for cracks. I've seen an F-250 with one where the bedsides bowed out after a Baja run.
A contractor here with a two-three year old metal bodied Superduty has cracks at all four corners.
The Alumaduty's might have worse issues.