Bent Chassis !!

[GraemeW]

This photo was taken outside a mechanic's workshop at Rainbow Beach recently.

[GBC]

Love to hear the story that goes with this.

[snapperbasher]

Thats now the third one I have seen like that.....One onFraser, One on Moreton now this one..... must be an inherent issue??

[GBC]

All pk rangers?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[scottar]

Could be as simple as aftermarket airbags. The chassis are not designed to take the load at the point of airbag placement and "bugger". Not the first and won't be the last.

[snapperbasher]

All pk rangers?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes mate they were

[Greg P]

Yep Ill go with airbags installed & towing over sand wash.

[hungry6]

Look on the bright side, he wont have to lift very high to put gear into the tray

[scottar]

Look on the bright side, he wont have to lift very high to put gear into the tray

:LMAO: I'm guessing once it's in it should be heaps easier to get out as well. Maybe it's not bent - he's just had a tipper "modification" done.

[Apollo]

See a bit of it up here. Travelling too fast, too load and towing a too loaded trailer - hit a washout on the beach = camel ute. Seen rangers, hiluxs, navaras, rodeos all do the same.

[ozscott]

I understand that the cart springs and air bags dont work well on heavy loads? they act like a fulcrum pivot point? no problem with coil springs because they sit inside the coil. I have seen pics of Navaras with the same fast back look.

cheers

[GBC]

My 03 hilux did 5 years on airbags towing boats up Fraser, camper up the cape etc etc. I don't usually go put of my way to drive like a complete dick head, but I didn't exactly nurse the thing either. Plenty of that model were turned into bananas, yet even though I gave mine every chance, it didn't.
i understand the sheer weight of numbers of chassis failures with airbags is overwhelmingly large, but it is also the thin end of the wedge seeing as our 'focus groups' are mostly individuals who have already overloaded their cars and are looking for an easy way out to carry the weight.
my personal reason for them was the constantly different loading conditions affecting the alignment of the front end - I couldn't afford to keep putting tyres under it. Eg. Brisbane to grafton and back towing a trailer and a pair of new desert duellers was scrubbed off to the point of being illegal.
I still maintain that, as part of a matching spring/bag system they are a great tool. I think the problems start when the factory standard springs are retained and people look to a bag as a cheap way to make up for its major shortcomings for heavy load carrying?

[AndrewB]

Pretty normal on twin cabs and lesser extent extra cabs.
Air bags generally the issue and in most cases the air bags have too much pressure.
If you do suspension upgrade in conjunction with air bags it will reduce the probability of this happening as well.
A big % of people just chuck in a set of air bags, over inflate on non bitumen terrain, throw in 500 - 1000kg of camping gear in the back of a ute where all the weight is behind the rear wheels and wonder why this happens.
Just google bent chassis and see what you get, there are thousands of similar stories out there.
A more sensible approach is to reduce the inflation of the air bags when you get off the bitumen, but this goes against the reason for putting them in initially.

[Rip it up]

As I own a PK ranger wildtrak this caught my attention.
But looking at the pictures more I can see why.

Rangers have a 1t carrying capacity as per the GVM. But most people will try to stick this into the tub.

Now looking closely at the photo.
The ute has a kaymar rear bar setup. Tyre carrier and jerrycans. A fibreglass canopy which allows items to be stacked to the roof.
Roof racks on the canopy only.
At a guess a drawer system inside and probably a fridge.
All items which would put the loads well beyond the rear axle.
And if towing a trailer the tow ball weight also adds to the GVM.

So just because the GVM says that you can carry 1t doesn't mean it will do it hanging over the rear axle.

I did a camping trip over Easter and was concerned that I would be getting close to my 3t limit. So when I had loaded the ute to the eyeballs I went over the weigh-bridge to check.
2680kg with driver only. Add wife and child 2780kg.
And here's the photo of how it was loaded. http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/08/20/180afbd9a34cc2e381331f38336a7450.jpg

In summary airbags are marketed as the easy fix to a sagging rear end when overloaded but people are not smart enough to distribute weight evenly over the two axles.


Damo's dodgy boat building factory.

[tunaticer]

It amazes me why the car companies dont extend the wheel base on dual cab utes 40 to 60cm.

Have seen this sort of damage twice before, both were loaded reasonably well and both used a snatch strap to try and pull another vehicle from being buried.

[BeastMaster]

I have a new xlt ranger , great vehicle - but with the 3 odd tonne tow bar loaded up with a boat or box trailer and the huge amount of overhang behind the rear axles loaded up, add in some air bags and a bit of speed into a washout this is going to be a common issue with these and similar vehicles..Leverage is a mighty powerful thing.!
Regards
Beastmaster