Colorado / Canyon bent frame

[LimaMikeMike]

I know that I have never used trailer brakes when I towed up to 5k lbs with my 4runner. The 1k limit for no trailer brakes is listed in the Tacoma's manual, not sure if it is also listed in the 4runner's.

But as you point out, most Toyota owners likely aren't aware of that restriction....and I hardly hear about Tacoma or 4runner frames bending or snapping from towing a trailer that was under the max tow and tongue weight ratings. Even if this Colorado owner was violating GM's guidelines by towing too much weight without trailer brakes, it just seems ridiculous that the frame would bend like that from towing an overland trailer that is well within the capabilities of any modern midsized truck.

GM either needs to provide a better response on why they won't warranty this issue or they need to fix the guy's truck.

The issue is the conditions that the OP was towing under.

Yes the trailer was far under the capabilities of the truck, yes GM’s excuse is ****************. This is agreed.

Towing 5k on a smooth highway is one thing. 5k off road is an other.

I’ve posted this article previously in this thread it’s a good read and pertains to the issue at hand here.

What causes a ute chassis to bend?

What causes a ute chassis to bend and how to prevent it from happening.

www.whichcar.com.au

This touches on it as well

RV DAILY | Are we killing our dual-cab utes?

The ute is a versatile vehicle but it has its limits! As some struggle to understand GVM we ask: are we killing our dual-cab utes?

rvdaily.com.au

And an other article:

Is your dual cab’s chassis likely to bend?

Dual cab 4WD’s are far more likely to bend or break chassis, by design. Want to avoid it? Have a read of this

www.4wdingaustralia.com

I’d like to believe Aussies know a thing or two about off road towing and we could stand to learn from their experiences as midsize trucks are the norm down there and just starting to catch on here (again).

When I decided that I needed to sell my commuter RAV4, my one tonne Ram and our giant truck camper and simplify, I had planned on a set up similar to the OP’s.

This is probably why I seem butt hurt. Am I doubting my decision, yup. This is why I’d like to get the full story on this, which will probably never happen.

I was within a rats butt hair of buying a loaded Ranger but the only dealer with inventory lied to me about
x-plan pricing and the other dealers were more interested in selling me a F150 than search for what I wanted. Would have been my first ford since 97.

 

[LimaMikeMike]

First, GM's response:

• Oversized tires - contributes nearly nothing, BS excuse. I say "nearly", because technically heavier unsprung weight CAN induce greater forces back to the frame, but not nearly enough to bend a frame
• Over unbraked trailer limit - again, contributes absolutely nothing. If he hit a pedestrian, then we can argue it's over the truck's braking limits. But a bent frame? How would a set of electric drum brakes on the trailer prevent that?

As to what actually happened - OP, are you willing to let GM have access to your "black box" to prove your innocence? I'm sure modern vehicles track both speed and accelerator readings.

If GM can't prove you were going at high speeds, while coinciding with a high G-load in the UP direction (as in hitting a large bump), then you're not at fault.

If there is such a module I’d assume that the dealer that it was brought to for warranty would have downloaded it and the data would have been available for the investigator to view. If that is the case why would the investigator make up BS excuses?

I also wonder why there was no mention of an insurance claim, technically it was an accident and if the stated speeds and weights are true the driver is not at fault. Insurance companies have deep pockets as well as rabid lawyers and can recoup their costs if there is in fact a defect with the chassis. This would have been far more effective than having your friends spam multiple forums and Facebook (which is essentially a closed audience).

 

[Buddha.]

Maybe since truck manufacturers are leaning toward off road specific models they also need to list capacities for both on road and off road. IIRC U.S. military lists their specs for off road, payload and tow capacity.

From the above article:
And it’s only the rare car company that makes any allowances for dirt roads; most prominently, Land Rover changes their maximum tow weights from 3500kg to just 1000kg when off-road.