2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Crooked cab

[HOSS]

I am just wondering how many of you guys have noticed that if you line up your rear view mirror with the top of the rear window and raise yourself up to see the top of the bed they are at very different angles? I have talked to several people and have yet to find a strait one. One guy even installed washers under the drivers side cab mounts to make his headache rack level with the cab. Anyone else come up a way to correct this problem?

 

[pcarlson]

What does it look like standing from behind the truck looking at the top of the bed to the rear window?



Shim's are the only way I know of to fix it if it's off. Your body shop would have the cups for under the cab and the bed.



I thought this was only a problem with the new Chevy HD's. Everyone of them are low on the left rear the bumper/bed are not parallel and the bed/cab are the same.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Trucked to be Square

There are a number of ways cabs and beds can be out of alignment with each other, with the frame, or with themselves.



1. Cab & bed height can be off (looking from side body lines don't match)

2. Bed is canted sideways (centerline of cab and/or bed are not parallel with each other and/or the frame) or off-center with cab and/or frame (but centerlines are perfectly parallel).

3. Bed is not level with cab side-to-side (maybe it lines up on one side but not the other)





Other problems I've seen

4. Bed is not true/square (looking across from top of tailgate it doesn't line up true with front of bed. . . it's "tweaked"). Could be caused by frame problem or bed supports not welded on correctly (most likely).



Many bed alignment problems can be fixed by simply loosening the 6 bolts holding it to the frame, pushing it to the correct position, then tightening. This will fix #2.



Problem #1: If the cab sits higher than the bed, fix is easy: add spacers between the bed and supports where they bolt together. If the bed sits higher, well it's much more involved. . . it will require adding spacers to the large chassis mounting pads to raise the cab, since the bed cannot be lowered. I don't know how difficult or involved adding spacers and potentially creating problems with door alignment, sealing, steering shaft alignment, etc.



#3 can be fixed using solutions for #1 and/or #2. Same with #4 unless the frame is tweaked.



Hope this helps. In most cases making your truck "straight" isn't that tough, mine is for the most part except the cab sits about 1/3" lower than the bed and will require spacers to the cab. . . something I haven't gotten motivated to do.



Vaughn

 

[HOSS]

3. Bed is not level with cab side-to-side (maybe it lines up on one side but not the other)

This is the case with most trucks I have looked at. A friend of mine built a custom bed and headache rack and found the rear window did not follow the same line as the bed. After a ton of measurements he found the drivers side rear corner of the cab to be low and shimmed it accordingly.

Believe me this guy is a fanatic about the details his rack is PERFECTLY level and now so is the cab. It just drives me nuts to look out my rear view and see a tilted tailgate So I think I will shim the way he did.

Big Dave you have any comments on this?