Help, I am trying to save my truck

[quilbilly]

My tale of woe began a month and a half ago when we checked our message machine while we were on vacation on my boat. It included several messages from our insurance company about the “totaled vehicle” which gave us pause. It turned out my daughter had fallen asleep at the wheel of my 93 Dodge diesel towing a horse trailer, crossed the centerline sideswiped an oncoming car, and slid along in the ditch for about 100 feet. Miraculously no one was injured, there was no horse on board and that is the important part. But in the end it left all three vehicles totaled. After a month of insurance company purgatory I ended up with the my totaled truck and not a whole bunch of money. The horse trailer was borrowed and only partially insured. Some of the money went to paying off the boat which I built and launched in July. My truck was truly a thing of beauty. I bought it a year and a half ago with 85K on it. The original owner absolutely adored it, I haven’t had the nerve to tell him the story. So I want to rebuild it.

It was hit hard on the left front wheel. The fender is toast, the left part of the core support crunched ( which I pounded on a long time and is now functional), the radiators and intercooler are fine, the left door sort of crunched and the cab twisted so the door wouldn’t close. I decided that if I could get the cab back in shape it would be a message from the Dodge gods that I should continue. So jacks and timbers in hand I have muscled the cab almost back to normal. The worst part is that the frame is bent in about 4 inches toward the engine and two inches up, right at the supports for the upper control arm. The control arms are are bent but the knuckle appears fine and rotates easily. The left hand frame rail is pushed aft about two inches. Which leads me to my questions, sorry that it took so long to get there.

1. I took a mess of pictures and took them to a body guy recommended to me. He felt for about $1000. 00 he could straighten the frame. But being that this is now my hobby, my boat being done and me being poorer, is it absolute insanity for me to straighten it myself? I don’t mind paying the money but on the other hand it would buy me a TIG welder I covet.



2. I have lots of heavy equipment, I beams, jacks welders and flat place to work. So if you all don’t think it is totally nuts ( I chose to ask you conversion guys because I admire your can-do attitude) About how many tons of pull would I need to pull the frame length wise?



3. Being a 93 what does heating/ welding do to the strength of that type of frame.



FYI I am a competent welder/ metal worker and having lots of boat work experience so I am good a layout and measuring things that aren’t straight. If you want to see my boat, in its early stages look at my web site. http://www.olympus.net/personal/viviannk/ToddsFolder/26FtTrailerSailer.html

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Todd Miller

 

[Thierry]

I would concider replacing the truck with an older crewcab, swapping all the diesel stuff over to the crewcab, this will save you the hassle of trying to fix a bad frame and give you a realy nice truck to carry you, your wife and 2 kids?



email if you have any other questions.



Sorry about your truck, glad everyong was ok.



Thierry

 

[LAlessi]

im a police officer in south louisiana. ive been doing it for 6 years.

my opinion? no dont do it. im currently in accident reconstruction school, and the amount of force required to due that damage has seriously compromised the structural integrity of the truck. i agree that you need to find a donor frame somewhere else. look at it this way... . the next time (if everr) the truck is involved in a wreck it will take less force to due as much damage. and if a friend, family member or yourself are injured or die as a result of it, then how much money did you save. in six years ive seen probably 60 people killed in wreecks, and hundreds injured... . seen a few reconstructed vehicles fail at welds, and frames too.

i wouldnt ride in the truck with you or let my family... .