I need some help deciding what to do with my '78 F150's frame. WHen I bought the truck (last year) it was mechanically sound and ran like a top. The price was right and it had been fairly well cared for.

BUT-the truck is a 1/2 ton truck. In order to haul what I need to haul, I need to use a trailer. As I got close to making a decision to buy a bolt-on class IV trailer hitch that attaches to the frame, I discovered that the rear of the frame is rusted almost all the way through. I don't think that there is enough metal there to attach the hitch.

I am not a welder, or machinist, but will try just about anything once-I will stop when I have torn it up too bad to continue on my course. Does anyone have any recommendations about what my options might be? Can I have a patch welded on to the rear of the frame that will be strong enough to pull fully loaded 2 ton trailer at capacity? The entire frame isn't rusted all the way through and crumbling, but it may not be a bad idea to replace it-if this is not TOO labor intensive. Of course, I can always get rid of the truck, but that's not really a good option for me. In terms of dollars and hours, what are my options? I don't want to get half-way into something and get blind-sided with something either-I need this truck running and hauling as soon as I can get it servicable.

Thanks for the input.

Charlie
:-X11

 

OK I am not overly positive on what to do, but since no one else has said anything, I will. These are my thoughts.

You can weld a section on the back, will it work...don't know but it sounds ok.

Junk yards will sell whole trucks the worse they are ie bad or no engine,tranny and difs the better. You may even be able to buy just the frame. This would be my choice, its pretty cheap and you may find other things you want on it or other donor vehicles.

CJ

 

if you want to tackle welding it you will have to find where the frame is in good shape. cut it there and weld a new peice in there. You could just leave the rusted stuff, but why? You may want to hit the area to be welded with a wire wheel on a grinder or just a wire brush to eliminate some impurities that could weaken the weld. It wont be a very difficult task to do. You may want to make a fillet weld with the new peice on the inside of the frame, so the pulling force will be moreo on the entire frame than the weld (just a thought)

 

Get the rear frame section off another truck, I bought the front half of a 4wd F350 frame for $100 so it shouldn't be very expensive. They will cut it with a torch so make sure that they cut it further forward than the part that you need. Make a straight cut where you want to splice the two frames together. Bevel the edges about 30 degrees, so that the insides of the frame touch and the outside portion is about 1/4" apart. Then weld it together as a butt weld, if you don't know how to weld especially a vertical weld practice til you do or pay someone to do it. Any basic welding book should be able to demonstrate the proper way to do this, two passes minimum. Or, it will probably cost you a minimum of $60 an hour to have a guy do it for you, it should only take the guy an hour or two to weld it all up. But you have to get the truck and frame section to him, all prepped up and ready to weld. After it's welded together grind the inside edge flat, and cut a piece of 1/4" or so steel plate to fit inside the rail for at least 18", longer the better. Then bolt this plate to the frame to reinforce the weld.

If you want to make it stronger, make the weld longer by making an angled or fishmouth shaped joint instead of a straight joint. But you shouldn't need to do this if you reinforce it.