I just got my new work truck, an 05 Chevy 4 door with a 6' bed.

It is crooked. So are all the other Chevy's of the same body. Am I seeing something wrong, or is their build quality that bad?

 

What do you mean by crooked? they are narrower in the back then in the front if I remember right. Is that what you mean? I doubt anything is crooked in the floor since I know where the floor is made, (my mom works there). Take measure ments and see. Is it an optical allusion?

 

It almost looks like the truck is bent in the upward direction. Then, the bed sticks out on one side, and is sucked in on the other. I have seen a multitude of them this way.

That is my only complaint about this truck.

 

its probably that the frame is twisted on it somehow. go look at teh truth about trucks video you might be susprised and maybe it can answer some of those questions for you. that is kinda rough to say it like that but its the truth. the frames on those chebbie half tons are just weak so i suppose they would be more prone to twisting and bending. maybe someone who had it before you went over a speed bump too fast or something

 

They can't be that bad. I think it was just an alignment problem. All the 4 door Chevy's I have looked at since are misaligned amost identically. I need to mention that I only notice it on 4x4 2500 4 doors.

Off-Road magazine did just mention in an article that the frames are getting stronger and have been problamatic on all trucks in the recent past.

 

Those frames are very weak. Somebody loaded a bunch off weight on the back end off there Chevy truck. Guess what the frame completely broke. If I was buying a work truck Id stick with Ford. Definityl better build quailty.

 

LOL at offroad magazine. Ya the frames are weak.

 

Also on all the 3/4 ton 4 door chevys I see the body line doenst line up on the passenger side from the bed to the cab, the bed is always higher,

 

Most likely in the frame. If these 900 chassis are built anything like previous models, then the frame is a 3-piece contstruction, with small vertical welds holding it together. I don't know about the rest of you, but I know vertical welding is a major no-no on frames.

 

Look at about any mounts on a frame, they are all weld....and yes, a lot are vertical. Why is vertical welding bad? Robots weld these thing, not human. Right?

(As I scratch my head....)

 

It's really simple. This applies for any frame, on or offroad vehicles, equipment etc. Due to the flexing, and stresses put on the frames, vertical welds are more prone to cracking, and buckling under load. There is nothing wrong with mounting objects on the frame throughwelding, but it's a good idea to keep it to a minmum, and parallel with the frame. What we're talking about is completely different since pieces of the frame are being joined. It doesn't matter how good the quality of welding is, the fact is vertical welding on frames is NOT a good idea.

 

Also bear in mind (on Heavier Duty trucks) the chassis can be heat treated... so welding is a VERY bad idea...

 

im sure the reason the frames are so weak is to save themselves some bucks. im sure it isnt cheap to build a strong frame such as fords so if they put a cheap one on people are still going to buy it. no matter how crappy and unsafe it is just because there is a bowtie on it. supposedly gm did put a 200% stronger frame on their 900's. still aint as strong as the f150's several year old design haha.

 

HA HA! I would be willing to bet MONEY that if you laid any of the big 3's BARE half ton truck frames from any previous generation truck side by side 90% of you guys wouldn't be able to tell one from another. You guys' can believe that goofy "truith about trucks" video if you want. But the ONLY reason ford has gone to a boxed frame is they hope to sell more trucks by attempting to make the F-150 drive and handle more like a unibody car through building a stiffer chassis.

C channel frames worked flawlessly for almost 100 years IN FORDS as well as all other mfgs But now all of a sudden a C chanel is cheap and dangeous, I got news for ya loads ain't got any heavier than they were a few years ago and I've only seen 2 broken frames one on a 77 Ford and the other on a 75 Chevy

The ford cracked right above the rear axle and the chevy cracked right behind the cab. Both cases involved SERIOUS abuse and misuse.

 

Good thing they didn't show any older trucks like the pre-2004 F-150's in that video. A light breeze might be all they can handle if a speed bump can bend a modern Chevy frame.