Got a 'crick in my bed

[Figuarus]

Well, i'm working on my truck the other day, and figured it's time to address this little situation.

I had a wreck with this truck about 10 years ago in Los Angeles. I hit a wall on the 110 northbound at about 60-70 mph. We got the frame checked out, and everthing was still good, and everything was still square.

The bed, however is from a donor truck, and it has sat like this ever since.



The question, is could this be an issue with the bed, or with the frame? Were we lied to?

I was going to shim the right side up a bit, but thought i should ask first.

thanks guys!

[The Rocknrod]

If you have never removed any mounting blocks or shims or moved the bed around . . .
Could it have been like this before and was never noticed?
You could check the height of each mount first to determine if they are different on one of them. Maybe someone put a old piece of ill fitting wood block in there.

[morethanstock66]

Had the same issue with my '67, turned out to be worn out shocks. Check out your suspension components as well

[Figuarus]

i've looked for any existing shims, and i've never noticed it before. I have air shocks on the rear and are relatively new. (about 6 months) both are only holding about 10 psi.

I was going to shim it with some rubber hose, but wanted to check to see if there is/was a proper way to correct this

[jonzcustomshop]

I would jack it up, and unload the suspension, then level the frame rails on the jackstands. then check the bed...
this would rule out worn out springs, shocks, or bent suspension components

[Figuarus]

Thats a great idea. I'll give that a shot tonight. it'll be tomorrow before I can report back. thanks guys!

[TJ's Chevy]

The bed on my 66 c10 does the same thing. lol Same way to!

[Figuarus]

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

The bed on my 66 c10 does the same thing. lol Same way to!

Funny. The bed came off a donor 66 that was totalled in front.

[joedoh]

mine did that exact same thing. turns out that someone in a previous ownership needed to take the bed off and one of the bolts was stubborn so they cut the crossbrace slighty for access. over the years it sagged in that corner. you can see the cut in this picture, the exhaust pipe is pointing almost straight at it.

I redid the bed floor braces for a tilt bed but if this is also your problem (either cut or otherwise compromised) you can jack up the corner of the bed and reinforce the cross brace.

[Palf70Step]

Bed would could be rotted more on one side. As mentioned the rubber shims they came with, but normally are never used again if the bed was removed at all, could be rotten missing or? The cross seal could be bent or rusted ad could the mounting points on the frame.

As mentioned I would put it on jack stands to rule out suspension issues, then check all the mounting points. Since that isn't the original bed I am going to assume that it is something in the bed and not your suspension/frame.

[Figuarus]

OK,

got the truck on stands, looks like the problem may be the bed?

Putting it up on stands and the bed still has a SLIGHT twist to it.

what should I do now?

[jonzcustomshop]

another thing I thought of: how does your cab mount rubber look?
maybe take some measurements from the cab to the frame and make sure that it isn't the cab that is sagging.

apart from that: if it is not suspension, or cab mount rubber, I would look into shimming the bed, maybe check your mounting points on the bed to see if they are level with the frame...

[Slow Build]

The bed seems level with the bumper so I don't think shimming it will work.

[jtrichard]

with the truck on flat ground (slab floor would be best) measure from the top of the rear axle to the bottom of the frame on each side and on the front measure from the ground to the frame and report back

[chevy_mike]

Originally Posted by Slow Build

The bed seems level with the bumper so I don't think shimming it will work.

Originally Posted by jtrichard

with the truck on flat ground (slab floor would be best) measure from the top of the rear axle to the bottom of the frame on each side and on the front measure from the ground to the frame and report back

Agree. Looking at the bumper, it seems to be level with bed, which means the frame and bed mounting is square to each other. My guess is like what jtrichard said, there is a slight frame twist. Check as he said. I know my '65 long bed was really flexy. I could push down on one of the rear corners and almost get 2" of flex/twist out of it.

[Figuarus]

Yep. Frame is twisted. Difference at axle is about .25" side to side, at the rearmost part of the frame its closer to .75"

[jtrichard]

NOT necessarily a bent frame ....Next step put stands under the front frame horns lift at least 4 inches using a 4' level across the frame as close to the stands as you can get shim until it is level now do the same just behind the cab after those 2 points are level check and see what the rear of the frame looks like with the level if it is level then the "twist you are getting is just spring sag from side to side

[Figuarus]

hmmm. I'll have to give that a shot. I'll try to get this done during my lunch this afternoon.

[ChrisDollins]

My bed does the same thing, but in the other direction. I need to get mine on jack stands also and see what's going on. Did you get the chance to look more at yours?

Chris