Has anyone else had problems with the box twisting and making contact with the cab? I have a 2000 f150 supercab that this has happened to during crossing of a wash that involved body flex. My rig is still under warranty (12000 miles) but the dealer declines to fix it. I'm looking for a svc bulletin or some acknowlegment, please help.

rob@brucesaz.com

 

Can you elaborate a little on this. Is it still touching? Crossing a washout? Touching where? Bottom, top. left, right?

If it's from crossing a washout, why would Ford be responsible for it? That's no different than hitting a tree and wanting Ford to buy you a new front end.....Right? The trucks aren't designed for either. If you want an off road machine, the F-150 is a great place to start, but it's build your own.

 

I have property in Northern Arizona that I'm building on and to get to it I cross a dry wash and other obsticles. I go slow and easy and nothing is "extreme four wheeling". The bed of the truck simply twisted into the cab. I've crossed that same route with a Toyota pickup and a Isuzu Trooper without problems in the past. I need pickup to carry supplies and when Ford claims to be "Ford Tough" hey, I thought no problem.

See attached photo for detail of damage and location.

BTW you sound like for Ford service advisor I talked to.

 

4x4Crazy,
I did not see the pictures....but if you drove the wash carefully and did not severly overload the pick-up it definitely sounds like a problem Ford should be responsible for. I own a 1997 F-150 SC SB 4x4 and enjoy four wheeling a lot. The body mounts should allow sufficient flex/clearence between the bed and the cab. I have had mine crossed up pretty hard and never had any cab damage. The bed did pop and creak (which is common in a pickup when it is flexing) but did not cause any damage. Maybe some of the body mounts on your rig were not secured properly from day one. Good luck working with Ford. I have many bad experieces with the service managers at my local Ford dealership as well.

Blizzard,
Your analagy below is ridiculous:
"If it's from crossing a washout, why would Ford be responsible for it? That's no different than hitting a tree and wanting Ford to buy you a new front end.....Right?"
I don't think anyone who actually uses their 4x4 would expect Ford to be responsible for the damage due to a tree or any other object that was run into. Let's be reasonable!!! A new Ford or any other manufacturer's trucks should be able to withstand a moderate amount of stress from 4 wheeling without causing damage to itself. Obviously, if you are conitnuously running the most difficult trails you would/should make some modifications. However, ample clearance (even under load/stress) between the cab and bed should be engineered into the design.

I hope that ford does what is right!!!!

 

Hi 4X4

All i know for sure is what you've posted. If that damage did occur as you say it did, i to would be upset.

Im curious...when a dealer denies warranty coverage..it is for a specific reason...This does not mean the dealer is correct..it just means...they have determined there not gonna fix it. Which naturally, remains to be seen.

Ive been in disputes/warranty issues many times...

What were you told by the Dealer/svc.writer along with certified tech....why coverage denied? What did you get in writing that shows what was inspected. What was their decision based on to deny coverage?

Is there other not so obvious damage?

Dont get me wrong, ive blasted Ford svc. depts., but for good reason. So, what did they say. Seems to me there putting the blame on you?

Good luck...OT

 

Crazy, just so you know, my analogy was "offroading", not missed the intersection, hit a tree.

I think it's extreme both ways. The trucks are extremely weak, and you are in fact, extremly crazy. LOL

OK, obviously, you need to stop crossing, or stiffin up your truck weather Ford pays or not.

Remember, these trucks are a uni-body (cab-rad support) sitting on top of a Full? frame. Because Ford decided to unitize the cab and front, they could get away with using a , sorry to say, weaker, lighter frame. This keeps the occupants safe, and the insurance companies happy. But the back is a different story. A flat piece of sheet metal (bed floor)is all that keeps? the rear unboxed frame rails from twisting. And, i'd be willing to bet your other trucks were twisting pretty good to, but they did'nt have the sharp points at the front of the box to dig into the cab, and they had a flat cab back.

I don't know who makes any kind of bracing, if i were to do it to mine, i'd make it myself.

I really think Ford is going to tell you go poop in your hat no matter how loud you scream. There going to keep saying it's abuse. Call Ford and get an appointment to meet your area rep at the dealership. If all fails, report it to your insurance company.

Good luck.

 

I have the same problem on my Flareside. You can avoid this by loosening all 8 (?) of the bed bolts and sliding the bed back as far as it will go, then tightening it down. It looks like your bed is snugged right up to the cab, and it should be moved back about 1.5" to avoid damage.

Unfortunately I found this out after both corners of my cab were munched pretty good.

I have pics of my old 1976 chebby flareside and the frame twisted a good 20-25 degrees from end to end while crossing a deep creek diagonally. My 2000 Ford in the same situation twists about 5-10 degrees overall. Don't think the new trucks are weak or something, they are actually very stiff and durable compared to 20 years ago. Good luck.

 

Good news! After "discussing" the reasons why they should repair my vehicle they finally agreed. Unfortunately the dealer will have it for 4 or 5 days without providing me with a loaner but, hey I'm not complaining. Apparently Ford is aware of this problem and will fix the cab and adust the bed so damage won't occur again.

 

Good to know. Thanks for the info!!

 

I am glad that Ford is going to fix it.....How much "discussing" did it take to get them to admit to the problem? Who did you have to "discuss" it with? Please let us know for future refernce.

This damage is not the same as hitting a tree, rock, or anyother obstacle while fourwheeling. I am happy that Ford relized this and stepped to stand behind their product!!!!

 

I have exactly the same cab corner dimples on my truck. I never even considered trying to get Ford to fix it mostly because I have went through some harsh terrain, and also I figured it was just a design flaw that couldn't be fixed. I wonder how hard it would be to get them to repair it now that my trucks 4 years old?

 

Congrats Crazy! I'm amazed. Stick with that dealer for life.


What does the future hold though? How will you cross it now?

The reason i ask is, to do that job right, the box should be at least unbolted and slid back, preferably taken off. This may not happen being a warranty claim. Ask if the labor for removal and installation of the box is part of that warranty operation. If not, maybe ask them to at least loosen it and move it back as far as it will go. Maybe have them weld up the cross members and rivits while the box is off too. If the box is off that is. Thats a good place to start to stiffen it up a little.

I work at a dealership bodyshop, (big suprise...right?) and there is no way i'd want to fix and paint those corners without having the box out of the way. But many shops would'nt think twice about fixing it with the box on. It's free to you so you may want to think about throwing in some cash to have it done right. Boxed moved, maybe welded up, ect. If you want it done PERFECT, toss the guy whose fixing it a couple of twenties. If a customer does that to me, that shows me the owner really cares about the vehicle and it does'nt leave untill it's absolutely perfect. Just a thought, but it works every time.

Good luck!

 

Before I went to the dealer to request the damgage be repaired under warranty, I began building my defense in advance. I have a list of other cases that have had the same damage and the results have mostly been that the dealer has fixed them. Thanks to message boards like these it's possible to get a feel for how other folks have been treated by the dealer and what attitude works and what doesn't. When the dealer realized that I had done my homework and wasn't going to take 'No' easily maybe that worked. But then again I was told that Ford made the decision not the dealer.

I was told that the bed would be removed to facilitate the repairs and adjust so this won't happen again. Will I drive the truck differently now? No! In fact I went out on a 3 - 3+ trip Sunday just before I brought the truck in Monday for the repairs. The dealer said it would be ready Friday and clean as a whistle. Your right blizzard I will stick with this dealer.

Has anyone seen the commercials recently aired by Ford that has Bill Ford announcing the toughness of their product? Just another notch for my defense.