Well, I broke it.

[pugslyyy]

It's hard for me to tell from the pictures where exactly the current break is. Is it near the point where the frame turns upward at the front? It's been a long time since I read Doug's thread but my recollection is that the break back then was explicable by a long stretch of frame flexing up and down repeatedly in the location of one of the spring mounts. But if this is up at the front my intuition is that it wouldn't be subject to the same flexing forces--or would it?

This break is aft of where the frame turns upwards - it is right where the sub frame attaches to it, just between the garage and the camper.

 

[kerry]

Have you looked at the other side to see if there are cracks in the same location? Any thoughts about why it would crack at this location? Is it a place at which flex might be induced as a result of a long rear overhang? It doesn't seem to me to be the kind of place where a frame might break as a result of hitting a pothole for instance. You'd think it would break in the vicinity of a wheel if that was the cause. It does seem to me to be a likely location for a concentration of twisting forces.

 

[pugslyyy]

Have you looked at the other side to see if there are cracks in the same location? Any thoughts about why it would crack at this location? Is it a place at which flex might be induced as a result of a long rear overhang? It doesn't seem to me to be the kind of place where a frame might break as a result of hitting a pothole for instance. You'd think it would break in the vicinity of a wheel if that was the cause. It does seem to me to be a likely location for a concentration of twisting forces.

Apparently there was a crack (repaired) in the frame on the passenger side in the same location. I don't think the issue is shocks from the road, but the weight of the camper coming down from above. The sub frame does have some flex in it - and my indication that things were starting to happen was noticing increased flex (the front bouncing up and down) from the truck camper.

 

[haven]

Busbee Truck Parts lists a used Fuso FG truck frame for sale. But it's for a 2004, so it may not be the correct configuration
http://www.busbeetruckparts.com/man...tsubishi-fuso-fg-frame-chassis-1996-2004-used

 

[pugslyyy]

Busbee Truck Parts lists a used Fuso FG truck frame for sale. But it's for a 2004, so it may not be the correct configuration
http://www.busbeetruckparts.com/man...tsubishi-fuso-fg-frame-chassis-1996-2004-used

Thanks, unfortunately that is one model earlier than mine.

If I were going to go the replacement frame-rail route, I would go aftermarket for a stouter solution. Doug did research on that and I have his info.

 

[SkiFreak]

So, what are your plans?

 

[pugslyyy]

So, what are your plans?

Still gathering data at this stage. Truck is safely at home so no need for a fire drill at this point.

Talking with a few welders that I trust / have never let me down, waiting for the professional opinion of folks that are a lot better at this than me. The wrecker guys seem pretty non-fazed (wreckers get frame damage pretty often and they just weld them back up) - they all just seem to say "yep, that's where they break"

 

[dlh62c]

Things could be worse!
Look at the bright side, pieces of the frame aren't missing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBOAPXFlPzQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaIHSd23ZpA

 

[kerry]

Those are shocking videos. What kind of crap steel was used on the frame but not elsewhere?

 

[pugslyyy]

Those are shocking videos. What kind of crap steel was used on the frame but not elsewhere?

Looks like it was used as a plow truck, so that would be damage from deicing salt.

 

[kerry]

But if that were the case (and I don't think Baltimore gets that much snow) why isn't the rest of the truck rusted also? I grew up in Upstate NY so I've seen a lot of badly rusted vehicles in my time but if one part of the vehicle is rusted badly, usually the rest of it is also. I wonder if the quality of the steel in certain years of Fuso trucks contributes to the frame cracking issues. Also, I doubt the FH was a plow truck.

 

[pugslyyy]

But if that were the case (and I don't think Baltimore gets that much snow) why isn't the rest of the truck rusted also? I grew up in Upstate NY so I've seen a lot of badly rusted vehicles in my time but if one part of the vehicle is rusted badly, usually the rest of it is also. I wonder if the quality of the steel in certain years of Fuso trucks contributes to the frame cracking issues. Also, I doubt the FH was a plow truck.

Dunno, I'm just looking at the front of the truck - thought it had the hangers for the plow on the front of it.

I still think the damage is the result of something coming up from the road and not being washed down. It's a lot easier to was the painted areas than to wash between the frame rails. Of course, could have been whatever load they were carrying spilling between the loads space and the cab over the years too.

 

[dlh62c]

January 2014, I looked at a local FG that had been used for plowing snow. The story was that salt weakened the frame and it cracked where the patch was applied.

 

[kerry]

That story seems very hard to believe since that frame does not look very rusty. Was that body always on that trucK? If so the crack is even more inexplicable given the heavy I beam bolted on top of the frame rails.

 

[dlh62c]

Was that body always on that trucK?

They didn't say, I didn't ask. When I saw the patch, I didn't look the truck over much after that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq4HgJ2zFQQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz4AfClVS5I