Had a Little Accident

[Big Rig]

I picked up a pallet of stone today. On the way home I had to make a panic stop & the load shifted & fell forward into the front of the bed hitting the front wall & scratching it & pushing it forward about an inch so it is touching the cab of the truck. It didn't push the top part of the front wall, just the sheet metal between the top & the bed.

My question is: How do I fix something like that. Should I take it to a body shop? or what? I am not sure what to do but I want to get it away from the cab so it is not rubbing on it. Anyone got any ideas? I am not a real mechanical person & too old & busy to do much work on it myself.

I really felt stupid when this happened.



Big Rig

 

[p-Bar]

A body shop should be able to weld some studs on it and pull it with a slide hammer. pretty simple process

 

[SDrake]

A body shop should be able to weld some studs on it and pull it with a slide hammer. pretty simple process

Also consider that the bed is pretty easy to remove. 6 bolts and unplug the wiring. Might be something you can do with someone to help lift it off, or just move it to the rear some for access.

 

[mwilson]

Also consider that the bed is pretty easy to remove. 6 bolts and unplug the wiring. Might be something you can do with someone to help lift it off, or just move it to the rear some for access.

I agree that the body removal would be the easiest and would give the best results. Don't have to take it all the way off, just set it back enough to give you room to work. The body is not that hard to remove.



This is after I reread your post and deleted my first response because I was trying to tell you how to straighten the top rail, this old age thing is really catching up with me.



Mike.

 

[BGlidewell]

I would try to place a sheet of metal between the cab and the bed and pry/wedge the bed back. But this would depend on the amount of bend you have. Pics would be nice.

 

[Yo Hoot]

It holds more now.

 

[Big Rig]

Yep, it definitely holds more now... . :-laf... . but I would rather I didn't have the extra capacity.

I think the bed removal idea is the best. I can't get anything down between the bed & the cab to pry it back because it is up against the cab right now & I would be afraid of denting the cab. So bed removal looks like the way to go. Now all I have to do is find the time & a helper to get this done.

Thanks a lot for the ideas.



Big Rig

 

[SDrake]

Yep, it definitely holds more now... . :-laf... . but I would rather I didn't have the extra capacity.

I think the bed removal idea is the best. I can't get anything down between the bed & the cab to pry it back because it is up against the cab right now & I would be afraid of denting the cab. So bed removal looks like the way to go. Now all I have to do is find the time & a helper to get this done.

Thanks a lot for the ideas.



Big Rig

You can move it back enough to work on it with out a helper.

 

[BHiggins]

I had a similar accident with one of my older trucks, and I can tell you that it takes a surprising amount of force to bend it back. It's definitely doable, but as the others suggested, you might want to remove the bed to do it (so you don't accidentally further damage the cab).