Hmmm?
Cinder blocks or Quickcrete?
Tester
Another possibility . . .
The frame is so rusty, that it just collapsed when the mechanic tried to rack the truck
I don’t buy that @db4690
Look on the floor. When a frame breaks from rust you don’t see just a small amount of debris on the floor. But instead rust dust and what used to be metal showers onto the floor.
I live in Minnesota. So I know how much rust can fall to the floor when a frame fails.
There was something in the back of the truck that made the frame fail.
Tester
@Tester
I respectfully disagree with you
I’ve worked on plenty of fleet trucks that were overloaded
Not once has that happened to me when I rack them
Well.
There was the same image years ago on the net where a Chevy truck was put on a lift and the box collapsed.
This guy was a mason. And he had 20 bags of quickcrete in the back along with all his equipment. The result was the same.
I had a guy come into the shop with a Dakota that needed rear brakes. Once I found out that the box was filled with cured oak firewood, I told him I wouldn’t raise the truck until the firewood was removed.
That’s how you prevent this kind of thing from happening.
Tester
I refuse to believe all the mechanics in our fleet are reckless, lucky idiots
But you’re free to believe it if you wish
I won’t be offended if you do
By the way . . . I always look what’s in the bed or utility body before I rack a truck. But in almost every single instance, I literally can’t remove the stuff because it’s bolted down, or I would spend hours removing it.
Better it broke in half on the lift instead of at 70 MPH in rush hour freeway traffic.
Around here, grain trailers hauling wheat and breaking in half has happened more than a few times. One snapped in two right in the middle of a busy intersection as the driver was making a turn. That pretty much snarled things up for several hours after dumping half a load of grain in the roadway.
“Better it broke in half on the lift instead of at 70 MPH in rush hour freeway traffic.”
I agree
I’d sure like to know what’s in the back of the truck that can buckle the frame but not open the tailgate or canopy.
I helped remove a home built wooden flat bed from the frame of a Datsun (which tells you how old it was) pickup a few years ago. The front of the bed had been resting against the back of the cab. About a minute after we had the bed suspended from a chain, there was kind of an odd crunching noise as the frame collapsed without its bed to brace it. It was only held together by the stretched parking brake cable and exhaust. That was the rustiest vehicle I ever saw.
I’m leaning towards the rusted frame. Its a toyota and the frames on those are notorious for rusting in half. It could be a combination of both a rusty frame and heavy cargo too
The biggest clue is that it’s a Toyota truck. My brother had to have his frame replaced because the rust was so bad on his Toyota. He didn’t dare put it on a lift or even go over railroad tracks.
Hijack – speaking of overloaded, do you remember this one from December 2000?
I’ll bet this was one of the rotted Toyota frames. That is EXACTLY where my old '79 broke when it rotted out! Only mine broke in half while I was driving it!
Found another example.
Tester
Oh, man, that Lotus looks sad!
I think it’ll straighten out again once its on the ground. No harm no foul. Gee, that’s the way it was.
@Bing
The truck is sitting on the ground. If you look under the truck the arms for the lift are sitting on the floor.
Tester
That frame must have been pretty rusted out already.
I have been a horseshoer for 35 years and have always had 800 to 1100 lbs of tools, shoes, nails and other gear in my trucks. I’ve had Rangers and Dakota’s for the past 20 years and have never had a frame bend, and I’m one that buys used and I keep them until they are on there last legs.