Not pleased with cheap 05 beds. = JUNK

[Truckie]

I just looked in the back of my bed and saw the bed liner was dipped down about 3 inches in the left rear corner. All I have hauled in the bed is a 186lb fire hydrant. It pushed and dented the bed down about 3 or 4 inches and started to tear the bed floor from the end where the tail gate meets the bed. I got some pics of it but cant and don't know how to post them here. #@$%!

If I had known this with the way the bed is and the AC works on this truck I would have kept my 01. There is NO WAY IN HELL #@$%! this truck is even close to being built like my old one. What good dose it do me to have a million mile engine and a couple thousand mile body. If this is the way Dodge is going to build them with tissue paper thin metal it will be the last Dodge I own.

I only got 2,100 miles on the truck in 2 months.

 

[GFrance]

Thats what you get with recycled metal. I don't think any of todays vehicles have any stronger sheet metal. My 2001 bed got dented in from my 5vr hitch when hooked up. Doubt my 05 is any beter or worse for tensile strength.

 

[2Gen3Gen]

This is nothing new with any truck. My 98 12v Dodge had dents all over it from pine cones dropping 20 feet and hitting the hood and fenders. Also the service tech's putting dimples on my 98 with their elbows. :-laf :-laf

Dodges do it, Fords do it, Chevys do it. Get used to it. These trucks are heavy enough. Could you imagine how much they would weigh if they were made from Campbells soup cans and not Coors cans? Well over 10,000 pounds is my guess

I have a 72 chevy that Ive had since new. You can throw firewood at it and if you miss, it just bounces off the bed side, leaving NO DENT! I love that truck! I have over 400 k on it and it still runs like new!

 

[bmoeller]

Dodges do it, Fords do it, Chevys do it.

Yep. The Fords anyway, I can push the side of the box in with my FINGER! Sure, it pops back out, but sheesh. Can't do that on my '86.



I wonder how long it will last in salt country.

 

[BigEasy]

My 86 Ford was a pile of I TRIED TO BY-PASS THE CUSSING FILTER... you didn't even need to unlatch the hood to raise the hood. the core support, grill and fenders all went up with it til it ran out of slack in the radiator hoses... that was in 92, truck was only 6 years old. The bed was strong tho... God, how I miss that 460. Until I pass a gas station...

 

[Signal73]

Yep. The Fords anyway, I can push the side of the box in with my FINGER! Sure, it pops back out, but sheesh. Can't do that on my '86.



I wonder how long it will last in salt country.

I Guarantee you, I have put WAY More then a fire hydrant in the bed of my 04 Ford and no dents here. 180 lb fire hydrant and the bed dropped 3 INCHES??? I work with a guy with a 03 2500 CTD and there is no comparison between the sheetmetal of our 2 trucks. What does that say on the tailgate of your truck, HEAVY DUTY? rrrrrright :-laf

 

[WyattEarp]

And i thought my '00 bed was crapola, i agree the metal is thinner for sure, i did however last month and i posted it before in another post i had 2755lbs in the bed, it did leave some indentions but only like 1/4 inch if that. But i tried to put the spare tire in the bed from the side, tire slipped(pouring down rain) and hit the side of the bed i have a good dent there, but a truck is used for work not show in my opinion but the metal is way off base from the 80 models and for sure not even in the same class as the 60's and 70 model trucks as far as sheet metal is concerned...

 

[Yo Hoot]

Might make sense to reinforce the bed with a plywood sheet. You can take it out when not needed.



I have seen countless old pickups driving around with beds from hell. Sides spread apart, dented all over. Old ones were stronger for sure but they only make them strong enough today to get through the showroom.



My 2001 GMC was cheap too. A friend walked on the top bed rail and left footprint impressions while we were loading stuff in it. Also the GM trucks require a bed reinforcing kit if you want to install a toolbox on the rails.

 

[Scrappy]

I have had 4000 lbs plus in the bed of mine! (2 full pallets of rocksalt) there are no marks from that but a loose spare in the bed sliding around has dented the fenderwells! That's allright, it will have a flatbed on it eventually.

 

[KBertetto]

I've had 3000 in the back of mine... no probs. As far as the fords go, my buddy's 05 King Ranch 250 just got a dented bed yesterday, he hauled a used fridge from a garage sale and it dented the floor of the bed... looks like a bunch of little door dings all over it. When you walk in the back of his truck the metal flexes. It's not just the Dodge's, they all have ultra thin metal. At least my bumper doesn't flex when I step on one side of it... his Ford does.

 

[DPKetchum]

How high up was the fire hydrent when it got dropped into the bed?

 

[evldsl]

I just looked in the back of my bed and saw the bed liner was dipped down about 3 inches in the left rear corner. All I have hauled in the bed is a 186lb fire hydrant. It pushed and dented the bed down about 3 or 4 inches and started to tear the bed floor from the end where the tail gate meets the bed. I got some pics of it but cant and don't know how to post them here. #@$%!

If I had known this with the way the bed is and the AC works on this truck I would have kept my 01. There is NO WAY IN HELL #@$%! this truck is even close to being built like my old one. What good dose it do me to have a million mile engine and a couple thousand mile body. If this is the way Dodge is going to build them with tissue paper thin metal it will be the last Dodge I own.

I only got 2,100 miles on the truck in 2 months.

Thats why I had Line-x install extra thick coating.

 

[JCrockett]

Bed liners will do some to help this problem on our trucks, I have one in mine, but I also put a 3/4" piece of CDX plywood in the back. My buddy has an 04 with a bed liner in it and he put a axle in the back and it dented as well. The problem is the load distrubution of what you put in. 4000 lb on PALLETS is a well distrubuted load A fire hydrant is not, the flange on the hydrant is probably what did the damange. Add a unsecured load and a couple bumps in the road and you get dents. Spray on liners will do little to help the point load impacts. You have to put something that is rigid in the bed to take the point loads, like plywood or a plastic bedliner. I dented out 03 HEMI w/ a spray on liner with a couple rocks we hand placed in the truck (20-30lbs a piece) once we were home there were dents in the truck bed. I like the plywood, it adds great protection and doubles as a dry place to lay on if you hace to work on the truck out in the boonies.

Just my . 02

 

[Dieselnut59]

My bed was junk on my '96 so I put on a flatbed. The bed is junk on my '03, so I will eventually put a flatbed on it too. The bodies and beds are crap on any newer truck. I still prefer the Dodge interior and powertrain (especially the Cummins) to what the others offer. With the Ranch Hand front bumper and a flatbed, one can have a tough, usable truck.

 

[Huskerman]

How high up was the fire hydrent when it got dropped into the bed?

EXACTLY what I was wondering DP.



Shawn

 

[Truckie]

Well, for all of you who want to know how far it was dropped. Not to dam far infact try more like placing it in there. I had lifted it from the street by my self and then placed it on my tailgate, and then worked it into the bed.

Like I said before I can live with the dent but what really got me bent out of shape is the fact that the metal was pulled from another pice, which left an opening for water, salt and what not to live and rust out my bed. I will try to post some pics later.

 

[DaveK98]

My 05 bed has been pretty tough so far. I've moved/set my 5th wheel hitch around in it with no problems. I'm 220lbs and have walked/jumped around all over my bed. My bed is line-xed though... .

 

[Heavyweight]

The third Gen Dodge Ram Truck has the thinnest sheet metal ever used in the history of Pickup Trucks. I love the heavyduty emblem on the tailgate, what a condescending and misleading piece of propaganda that is!!!!!!!!!



You POS Dodge engineers, you need to get your heads examined…. You sacrifice 100-200 pounds of structural integrity for the “GARBAGE” we bought!!!!! A-holes, the whole lot of you! Now, back to regular programming!

 

[Heavyweight]

Maybe someone will come out with a plastic or composite bed that is twice as durable as the current "foil" bed... My nephew was playing around my Truck, and he was leaning against it, and "POP" it popped in then out. Talk about a close call. A 90 pound kid leaning on the bed and it was almost catostrophic. Trust me, it was not designed to "FLEX"... . I just got lucky... My blood is boiling again,,, better go drink a double on the rocks... .

 

[JCorcoran]

I've had my 05' for a little over a month. Had a heck of a scare when I went to wash the roof and it felt like my hand was going to go right through. My 01' never felt that way. The depth of the bed is different also. When I put my slide-on in the truck it almost sat on the bed rails. I had to put some 1X6's in the bed to keep from scraping the paint off.