Junk/Thin metal

[Gene Arnold]

Kid's doing damage to automotive sheet metal is not really a new phenomenon. I recently included the following story in my autobiography that I'm putting together for my children. Sorry if anyone is offended by the God talk. I considered removing it but it was part of the whole story so I left it in.



In the summer of 1965 I was at an old fashioned camp meeting in Ainsworth, Nebraska. As I lazied about, talking with friends the kids played a wild game of tag. As my four-year-old, Scott, fled from one of his pursuers he ran hard into the side of my 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, putting a good sized dent in the left rear door. As the kids were catching their breaths I inspected the damage and decided I could probably repair it by closing all the car windows and then slamming the door really hard, the underlying theory being, the sudden increased air pressure would pop out the dent, and it worked that day. However, I had failed to check the kids positions before I carried out my brilliant plan. Unbeknownst to me Scott had moved, placing his hand in the open door cavity, and when I slammed the door his fingers were trapped in the door. I was sickened by what I'd done and as I held his arm and opened the door to release his hand I truly thought I would see his little fingers amputated by the door. Much to my relief, the fingers were still intact and with me carefully cradling his hand in mine, my wife and and a dear friend joined me in praying an earnest prayer that God would heal Scott's damaged hand. Upon finishing our prayer, I released his hand. He said it didn't hurt anymore and ran off to resume his play! The only after-effect was a rather pronounced diagonal bruise across his fingers where the door had closed on them. There have never been any problems with his hand since that day (he's been a cop for twenty-five years).



Gene

 

[Huskerman]

Good story Gene! I understand folks concerns about thin metal however I think it's largely over-blown. I can remember denting my dads truck hauling wood all the way back into my early childhood which would have been "the good old days" so to speak.



Trucks dent that's all there is too it. I dented my 2nd Gen Dodge climbing up on to the front bumper because I put so much of my fat butt weight on the left fender about 6 inches above the headlight. Luckily for me, it popped out when I took my hand away.



Nice to see another person from BOISE!!



Huskerman

 

[Grizzly]

I recently included the following story in my autobiography that I'm putting together for my children. Sorry if anyone is offended by the God talk. I considered removing it but it was part of the whole story so I left it in. Gene

That was a nice story and it's okay to say GOD. I think most of us believe in him.

 

[ENafziger]

Agreed. Good story Gene! --Eric

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

I searched this thread and didn't come up the most common sense solution... the flatbed... . ta! dah! With Line-X on the bed... two ta! dahs!:-laf



Even with a liner my regular boxes got dented up hauling firewood.

 

[mwhals]

Sorry if anyone is offended by the God talk.

Don't appologize for talking about God. Anyone offended needs more help than you did in turning to God.



As to truck sheet metal, our car is a GM product and it has a dent in it from a simple tap. Thin metal is here to stay. In the natural gas industry, you can use thinner pipe by increasing the metal strength (x35, x42, x52, etc. . ). It will handle the same pressure as a thicker lower grade pipe. Interestingly, they both will exibit damage when you drop a heavy tool on them.



I feel manufacturers are using better metal, just thinner.



Mark H

 

[amsoilman]

ALL of the manufacturers are using thinner metals, not just Dodge! Thin metals are here to stay, until they come out with a different material for LESS cost.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Thinner metals are inevitable - but they DON'T have to be weaker because of that thinness! Decent treatment and alloys CAN maintain sheet strength - and proper sheetmetal design can go a long ways to help resist push-ins and other denting - plus strategically placed reinforcements at special weak areas.



I certainly agree that I expect far more strength in a vehicle supposedly designed for serious WORK than I might one for less aggressive basic transportation and pleasure use. There's no real reason we should receive, or expect less for the serious $$$ these trucks cost.

 

[SLightfoot]

Well, my 99 had a lot tougher side panels than my new 07, that's for sure.



There is no question that the newer ones are either thinner or weaker as all you have to do is push slightly and they bend in. In the 7 years I had my 99, I never once felt that the side sheet metal was thin at all.



My biggest concern is that rust can eat through thinner metal much faster. One pinhole is all it takes.



When I shut the doors on the new ones, they somehow feel flimsy and light.



I'm stuck with it though, since I bought the truck for the engine really.

No way do I want a stroke or a dmax.



For a heavy duty truck, the sheet metal is really too weak or thin. That simple.

Perhaps they've lost interest in making them last too long. Not good for new sales, is it.



Shawn

 

[Smokin Joes 2500]

That is great, so go start your own thread about how robust the Dodge Lam is! Maybe the morons at Dumler will read these posts and do something about it.

Dude yo ugot issues, I agree with the above... If you are so dissatisfied get rid of your truck. The "morons" as you call them, at Daimler are not as bad as you make them out to be. They are still producing the best 3/4 and 1 ton diesel pickups in the whole world. I LOVE every aspect of my truck, good and bad because its got a CUMMINS diesel under the hood. That just so happens to be put in by the "morons" at Daimler

 

[DZLROKET]

Well to just ad to the fire here, It is almost incomprehensible to me that we (automotive manufactures) are STILL using painted sheet metal to fabricate our vechicals with???? Given the usage and the way we drive them (in the city at least) that is SO wrong! Why arn't we making them out of some material tha is resialint and forgiving? God knows there are plenty of man made materials that would just bounce back after an impact or scrape that would render our current vechiles in the body shop for expen$ive repairs. WHY?

 

[Heavyweight]

Smokin Joe

If you are going to paraphrase, do not use ebonics. You are a remedial typist, and that is more annoying. I could care less what you think, I did not ask you for your opinion. So go play with your hot wheels, Mm K?

 

[Grizzly]

If you boys can't play nice, then we'll just have to put you in, "Time Out". Be cool. :-{}

 

[Dieselnut59]

THANK GOD FOR FLATBEDS! I finally HAD IT with my flimsy pickup bed (wih PLASTIC fenders!!!!!!!!!!! and put on a REAL bed! Now I can haul what the rest of the truck is designed to haul. It does not dent, is easy to access from three sides (no reaching over, into), has more usable surface area, and has gotten my truck WAY more compliments then the factory cheesie beer can/plastic pos ever did! Mine also has underbody tool boxes and removable side rails. I added LED lights. I LOVE it! Out of 6 Dodge/Cummins trucks we own (4 company, my 2 personal), I can PROUDLY say NONE of them are crippled by a cheesie arse "pickup" bed! :-laf

 

[JRMora]

Wow, I must have gotten a rare one.



I had my bed Line-X'd after about a year (it came with the "I can't give it away" plastic bedliner.



I have had 2½ tons of 3/4-1" rock dumped into it by a badly aimed front end loader, I have had 3800# pallets of brick pushed into the bed by forklifts with short forks, and I've hauled all sorts of metal junk. Hose off the Line-X and it looks like new.



Now, the <b>PAINT</b> thickness is terrible (someone has keyed my hood and front fender at the apartment.



I use my truck like a truck and it's holding up fine.



Anyway, as mentioned before, thinner metals are going to be the norm. It's not going to get thicker. If you want a beast, buy an old 50's Powerwagon. Otherwise, learn to live with it.



Juan

 

[Heavyweight]

The sheet metal should be thicker.

 

[abdiver]

Every time I have bought a new truck my next stop is to the lumber yard for a 1/2" in plywood sheet to protect the trucks bed. My first truck was a 1950 dodge had a wooden bed. It also had a Caddy V8 in it with a olds transmission Those were the days. Later I owned a 1942 International K series Dump truck talk about body that was built you could climb up on the front fenders with work boots and jump up and down and these fenders wouldn't even flex.

 

[Grizzly]

The sheet metal should be thicker.

Why? I have a 16' Big-Tex Pipe Rail, 7,000 lb, tandem axle trailer, which I use to do all my heavy hauling. It has a 1/4" steel plate on top of the original wood deck. It has plenty of dents and scratches, but it serves me well. I would never put a load of sand, gravel or block in the bed of my truck because I can haul a bigger, heavier loads in the trailer. I can also haul cars in it and have many times.

 

[Heavyweight]

Why are you the thought police? This thread is about thin sheet metal, not the reverse.

 

[Grizzly]

Why are you the thought police? This thread is about thin sheet metal, not the reverse.

I'm just telling you how I keep my truck from getting dented and scratched. The thin sheet metal issue is not going away on any truck you buy. I had a 71 Ford F250 that had heavy sheet metal and it seemed to dent just as easy and it had a serious rust issue, which our new trucks don't.