Broken Chassis

wow............... love the pic ...... i guess we all need to be very clear on one point, it is nothing to do with the "air-bags", it is what they are fitted to and what they are expected to do ...............
Put landcruiser tyres on a tractor and it wont work .....................
Put tractor tyres on a cruiser and it wont work ..........................
Dont blame the tyres eh ...:-)

At the end of the day it is a Hilux..... i think .... the new models can not take any more that a few K's of beer on the back, add a steel canopy, tray, slides, other crud and it is overloaded......
Want to carry weight ??? buy a nissan or cruiser before 2000 and you will be fine.. yep more fuel but get over it

Cheers

Yes I saw that pic too whilst in Birdsville bakery. Don't know the history behind what caused the problem but I think they welded up the chassis and drove it back out.

Most problems can be overcome very easily if they only followed a few basic steps.... decrease overhang and place weight in the centre and not at the back.

The flex point of a chassis is in the middle of the wheel base and anything past the rear axle increases the loading.... it acts as a lever.

When we set up our service vans we do a fair bit of calculation to distribute weigh left to right and spread the weight over the front and rear axles.

Too many people think by fitting airbags you can increase the weight carrying capacity of the vehicle..... Airbags should only be used to aid the rear springs.

hi all
when you have a good look at the pic you can see that 2/3'd of the load and including the body itself on that hilux is behind the center of the rear axle plus the spare wheel
and there lies the main problem with most ute bodies the weight becomes a whipping action forward of the front rear spring hanger on the chassis rail and on very rough bounsie outback roads each time the load is bounced the weight is multiplied by shear force and hence the resulting bend and/or cracking
and on some bent utes there is 2 spare tyres and extra fuel tank and side water saddle tanks
and the list goes on
plus a towbar and a caravan and /or a camper trailer hanging off the rear as well so that the leverage is multiplyed even more times again and also the whipping weight leverage factor
somethings going give sooner or later
two many owners are expecting far too much of a very lite duty chassis design
as they say ignorance is bliss and the after market moguls have a lot to answer for
their products are mostly great but the vehicles are not designed to carry all that extra weight
so is it any wonder that the chassis's are bending and cracking just forward of the front rear spring hanger
its simply the old lever and heal technology
and it was in the past and still is a fact that the last staw will break the camels back
that my 2 bobs worths
cherrs barry

A Tipper !!! That's Cool !! Michael

That particular vehicle is an extra cab, it makes the rear overhang more pronounced.. I guess a single cab would fare better with more of the weight further forward.. It would be a shock driving along and you and your passenger looking down to the road!! Michael

But that Hilux looks like it's broke in the middle, not between the spring hangers.

Had a bloke getting his nissan ute fixed at mechanics in town here. Chassis was cracked and almost broken in two. Tank, brake lines, electrical lines all smashed. He does not overload it but it is used for outback travel . Not a happy camper.