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My best friend saved and saved and bought a brand new Chevy 4 x 4 3/4 ton HD Duramax w/6 speed tranny.
He has had this truck perhaps 6 months and really takes care of it. He was talking to a dealer and the dealer informed him that no matter what is on the placard stating its heavy duty or in literature saying its HD its justs a step above a standard pickup and not really what GM classes as a HD truck by any means.......its general transportation with the ability to haul something. You have to get up in the solid front axle types for GM to consider it a HD truck........
Then he was inside his pickups bed, and placed his hands (palm down for support) on the bed rail, and swing himself over the side. He had a large ATV in the bed, so it was easier to swing over the side. He evenetually had to crzwl back up to unload it, and noticed two huge depressions on the top rail.......could not for the life of him figure out where they came from. Went ATV riding, and once again he used the bed side for support to exit the bed of his truck. Gets to the house and once again he now sees 4 depressions in the top of the bed on the sides. Now he gets to thinking, it only had two when he put the ATV back in the truck, he knew nothing fell on it, and now two more depressions show up after yet again loading his ATV. Turns out you can just lean on the top of the side of the bed and the metal is thin enough and soft enough it will deform. He showed me what he had done without putting any excessive pressure on the bed like he would have when he swung over it, and now he has 5 large depressions, and they won't push back up. Now that is really pathetic. We walkedon my beds sides top section both of us together, and swung in and out of my 97 GMC and it never flexed, however his truck just look at it wrong and it deforms the sheetmetal. He carried it to the dealer, and in the process of their body shop manager looking at what he was telling them happened, and getting a more or less, we can't control what they are made of only how they function and look, he sort of plopped back against the rear doors skin and it promptly buckled in about 2 inches, right in front of the body shop fellow. Its really sad that simple pushing by a hand will cause an American made top of the line vehicle buckle up like this did. He went on the lot and looked at some others, and it was not a problem to deform their tops with simple hand pressure. GM says its not a fault that was caused by them, and he damaged his vehicle, which he is not argueing happened, his gripe is how thin and soft this steel skin on the vehicles really is. He is a sheetmetal guy by trade, and works on aircraft with skin as thin as .020" and it does not deform as easlily as what we determined to be thicker than 27 but thinner than 24 sheet steel what the truck is made from. Thats right in the catagory of cheap roofing material commonly sold in home builder supplys. It relies on all the stamped portions to make it strong, but the bed itself and doors really do not have much in the line of stampings to reinforce it.
I really feel sorry for him, as he scrimped and saved for a long time to get the money up to buy this truck and its so very fragile its like its formed of lead.
I assume most others are like this too, and perhaps its why Ford and others install that plastic formed top rail cover so you do not see the deformations, and to help sp[read out the load and cover up their engineering screwup on metala thicknesses just to save a buck. I think perhaps save some money and get a made in Mexico tractor or truck is not all that bad of an idea, as the darn UAW workers and engineers sure don;'t know how to make one thats not so touchy!
The days of using top rail tie downs and standing on the top rails are over I guess.its only for looks not function in todays world.
Even his tie down hooks welded lower in the bed have all started to pull outwards, and its only a matter of time until they break or crack in the welded area.
He has had this truck perhaps 6 months and really takes care of it. He was talking to a dealer and the dealer informed him that no matter what is on the placard stating its heavy duty or in literature saying its HD its justs a step above a standard pickup and not really what GM classes as a HD truck by any means.......its general transportation with the ability to haul something. You have to get up in the solid front axle types for GM to consider it a HD truck........
Then he was inside his pickups bed, and placed his hands (palm down for support) on the bed rail, and swing himself over the side. He had a large ATV in the bed, so it was easier to swing over the side. He evenetually had to crzwl back up to unload it, and noticed two huge depressions on the top rail.......could not for the life of him figure out where they came from. Went ATV riding, and once again he used the bed side for support to exit the bed of his truck. Gets to the house and once again he now sees 4 depressions in the top of the bed on the sides. Now he gets to thinking, it only had two when he put the ATV back in the truck, he knew nothing fell on it, and now two more depressions show up after yet again loading his ATV. Turns out you can just lean on the top of the side of the bed and the metal is thin enough and soft enough it will deform. He showed me what he had done without putting any excessive pressure on the bed like he would have when he swung over it, and now he has 5 large depressions, and they won't push back up. Now that is really pathetic. We walkedon my beds sides top section both of us together, and swung in and out of my 97 GMC and it never flexed, however his truck just look at it wrong and it deforms the sheetmetal. He carried it to the dealer, and in the process of their body shop manager looking at what he was telling them happened, and getting a more or less, we can't control what they are made of only how they function and look, he sort of plopped back against the rear doors skin and it promptly buckled in about 2 inches, right in front of the body shop fellow. Its really sad that simple pushing by a hand will cause an American made top of the line vehicle buckle up like this did. He went on the lot and looked at some others, and it was not a problem to deform their tops with simple hand pressure. GM says its not a fault that was caused by them, and he damaged his vehicle, which he is not argueing happened, his gripe is how thin and soft this steel skin on the vehicles really is. He is a sheetmetal guy by trade, and works on aircraft with skin as thin as .020" and it does not deform as easlily as what we determined to be thicker than 27 but thinner than 24 sheet steel what the truck is made from. Thats right in the catagory of cheap roofing material commonly sold in home builder supplys. It relies on all the stamped portions to make it strong, but the bed itself and doors really do not have much in the line of stampings to reinforce it.
I really feel sorry for him, as he scrimped and saved for a long time to get the money up to buy this truck and its so very fragile its like its formed of lead.
I assume most others are like this too, and perhaps its why Ford and others install that plastic formed top rail cover so you do not see the deformations, and to help sp[read out the load and cover up their engineering screwup on metala thicknesses just to save a buck. I think perhaps save some money and get a made in Mexico tractor or truck is not all that bad of an idea, as the darn UAW workers and engineers sure don;'t know how to make one thats not so touchy!
The days of using top rail tie downs and standing on the top rails are over I guess.its only for looks not function in todays world.
Even his tie down hooks welded lower in the bed have all started to pull outwards, and its only a matter of time until they break or crack in the welded area.
