BajaNomad - Truck Camper Broke Dodge in half

Truck Camper Broke Dodge in half

Mulege Canuck - 1-1-2023 at 07:39 AM

https://www.carscoops.com/2022/12/an-eagle-cap-camper-snappe...

Poor guy had his Dodge break in half in Baja. I thought my camper was heavy at 2900 lbs dry !

Cliffy - 1-1-2023 at 10:03 AM

Would have been interesting to see what each axle weighed at a scale house before the break.

surfhat - 1-1-2023 at 10:11 AM

With that already serious overhang, then he adds a moto to the rear bumper?

He might still be rolling down the road if that moto was on the front bumper. Counter acting weight balance should always be considered.

I doubt additional overload rear springs would have prevented the chassis from breaking with the moto where it was, so far behind the rear axle.

Beefing up the chassis might have worked with some serious added u-channel steel but I don't recall ever seeing that used on a pick up truck.

Overloaded. Absolutely. Live and learn the hard way. Counter balance has its plusses.

I have never owned a pick up truck. Been a van man since my VW days in 60's.

I did carry a Honda 250 moto on the rear bumper of a Ford 4wd van for years and even then, there was one time my rear axle bearings failed and by the time I pulled over, it was glowing red. After cooling down, I limped my way into La Paz and made it to a repair station who after a couple for days could not come up with a replacement axle.

I flew back to SD, came up with a junkyard axle in a days time, wrapped some cardboard around the axle and made it back on the second day thanks to a friend who gave me a ride.

When I showed up with a replacement axle two days later, the mechanics were amazed and had me on the road the next day.

Hanging out in their garage for a few days was an education I have always appreciated since. Masters of making do with what they have is a value I have always held for them. Going out of their way to help is something I will always treasure. Salt of the earth fits the people of Baja. In my experience, for what it is worth.

RFClark - 1-1-2023 at 10:12 AM

Just the weight of the camper isn’t what killed the truck! The camper hangs 3’ off the tailgate! The tail heavy camper is the problem. That spot is where truck frames often fail. Off roaders usually reenforce the frame behind the cab for that reason.

AKgringo - 1-1-2023 at 10:24 AM

I know that in Baja most of us have seen mechanical work and construction that leaves us shaking our heads, wondering "What were they thinking?", but could you imagine getting that disaster moving again under it's own power north of the border?

mtgoat666 - 1-1-2023 at 10:45 AM

Quote: Originally posted by RFClark

Just the weight of the camper isn’t what killed the truck! The camper hangs 3’ off the tailgate! The tail heavy camper is the problem. That spot is where truck frames often fail. Off roaders usually reenforce the frame behind the cab for that reason.

Look at the pics again. The camper hangs 3 feet off the back, and the bike rack extends another 2 or 3 feet, carrying 2 heavy e-bikes.
That pickup is carrying 3+ ton load and has huge weight cantilevered off the back end.
What was the owner thinking?

If you want to carry 7K lbs camping, get a trailer!

TMW - 1-1-2023 at 01:38 PM

I met a guy going into Cocos old place several years ago in a 1st gen. Tacoma pulling a 24 ft trailer that buckled the frame of the truck. He had way too much weight on the tongue. I was in my GMC Z71 and when we hooked the trailor up to my truck my back end went way down. We spent the night at Cocos then I pulled his trailer to Guerrero Negro and he went to a welding shop for repairs.

KaceyJ - 1-1-2023 at 02:07 PM

Looks to be a short bed and a** end heavy for sure

freediverbrian - 1-1-2023 at 04:40 PM

On another site they said he had the camper turnbuckle brackets welded to the frame at the point of failure. The weld could have metal fatigue?

willardguy - 1-1-2023 at 04:50 PM

Quote: Originally posted by KaceyJ

Looks to be a short bed and a** end heavy for sure

the guy took quite a beating, best comment was problem same as Kardashians...too much junk in the trunk!

A picture is worth a thousand words, yes?

David K - 1-1-2023 at 04:57 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Mulege Canuck

https://www.carscoops.com/2022/12/an-eagle-cap-camper-snappe...

Poor guy had his Dodge break in half in Baja. I thought my camper was heavy at 2900 lbs dry !

[Edited on 1-2-2023 by David K]

KasloKid - 1-1-2023 at 05:54 PM

I had to look a second time to see if the truck had a 6 foot box (6'4" to be exact). It sure looks like it is. The center of gravity must be very close to the rear axle??
That would even compound the leverage factor by a lot compared to an 8' box. Even with an 8' box, I wouldn't want to hit a tope at speed with this camper on the back!!

Yeah, sales people are the scum of the earth.... they'll tell you anything you want to hear, just to make a sale. No conscience.

[Edited on 1-2-2023 by KasloKid]

[Edited on 1-2-2023 by KasloKid]

[Edited on 1-2-2023 by KasloKid]

RFClark - 1-1-2023 at 06:28 PM

I checked the camper brochure the dry camper CG is about 58” back from the front or about 18” forward of the tailgate. Probably behind the rear axel. The proof is the back end sank after the break. The camper CG should be in front of the rear axel within the truck’s published CG load range. The dry weight is just shy of 5,000lbs. The weight loaded is probably over 7,000lbs. The camper comes with a red arrow showing the dry CG for that camper. See a red arrow?

Welding incorrectly on a truck frame is probably a bad idea. Some truck frames are labeled “heat treated do not weld”!

[Edited on 1-2-2023 by RFClark]

surabi - 1-1-2023 at 08:19 PM

I know nothing about trucks and campers, axles, welds or any of that, but I could take one look at that rig, see that the back end of the camper that hangs off plus the bikes is actually longer than the truck bed and would never work.

RFClark - 1-1-2023 at 08:35 PM

S,

He probably took the truck to wherever he bought the camper. They didn’t have to sell it to him especially since the camper manufacturer has a lot of very plain language safety and how to stuff to make sure you won’t come back on them. He could have bought it from a private party instead, in which case it’s on him.

The only reason it didn’t lift the front wheels off the ground is the diesel engine is very heavy!

BajaBlanca - 1-1-2023 at 09:44 PM

I think that qualifies as a bad day in Baja. wow.

elgatoloco - 1-1-2023 at 10:07 PM

He should feel lucky he got 25K out of that truck before he broke it.

SOS.

mtgoat666 - 1-1-2023 at 10:24 PM

I am sure that when he first loaded up his camper the truck sagged onto the bump stops :!:

After seeing the truck suspension sag so far, he probably added air bags to level his ride :lol:

He was lucky that he didn’t roll that top-heavy whale before the frame broke :lol:

[Edited on 1-2-2023 by mtgoat666]

Don Pisto - 1-1-2023 at 10:27 PM

a little late but he's eyeing a 5500 now....

mtgoat666 - 1-1-2023 at 10:31 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Don Pisto

a little late but he's eyeing a 5500 now....

After that experience he is probably looking at a 10 wheel chassis to carry his camper and toys :lol:

surabi - 1-1-2023 at 10:39 PM

Quote: Originally posted by RFClark

S,

He probably took the truck to wherever he bought the camper.

Yes, that's what the article said. But if I was making a major purchase like that, with the potential for serious injury if the info was wrong, not just to the vehicle, but to the driver and passengers, I'd do more research beyond taking the word of a business that is making a profit off my purchase.

bajarich - 1-1-2023 at 11:26 PM

It doesn't mention what the road was like or how fast he was going when this happened. Probably not the smooth highway in the photo. Also that camper has a slide which adds a whole lot of weight behind the rear wheel.

Don Pisto - 1-2-2023 at 12:05 AM

Quote: Originally posted by bajarich

It doesn't mention what the road was like or how fast he was going when this happened. Probably not the smooth highway in the photo. Also that camper has a slide which adds a whole lot of weight behind the rear wheel.

At one point, Pavel says he noticed a creeking sound coming from underneath the truck. He inspected the shocks and springs but couldn't find an issue, so he and his wife continued to their designated camping spot. It was days later, on a two-and-a-half-day drive north, that the frame split. They were roughly 100 miles from the United States border.

Pavel describes the truck "surging" forward, like it had a flat tire. He stopped to check everything again but still didn't spot any issues. From there, they traveled at slow speeds of "5-10 mph max," but the problem soon revealed itself as full-on cracks on both sides.

Brudentravel - 1-2-2023 at 08:27 AM

There is a DIFFERENT payload capacity for Campers due to the weight distribution of campers which is MUCH lower than the total payload, hence why his warranty claim was denied. I have No Idea why this was not mentioned in the article or here.

You have to look at the sticker in the glove box for this rating and/or in the owner manual, it is not listed on the door jam with the other ratings, nor in general specs. In addition to weight they also have guidelines for center of gravity location.

Most guys overload their trucks with their campers.

Brudentravel - 1-2-2023 at 08:54 AM

https://www.ramtrucks.com/assets/bbg/pdf/2016/docs/ram/hdram...

The highest rated 3500 on this spreadsheet for a camper is 6744 lbs.

Brudentravel - 1-2-2023 at 08:56 AM

https://en.dodge-club.net/manual_download.php?id=1474

No camper recommended

Brudentravel - 1-2-2023 at 09:04 AM

And in the photos it definitely looks like the center of gravity of the camper in not forward of the rear axle which is needs to be thus overstressing the frame.

The diesel engines create about 62% weight load on the front axle, then add in the crew cab taking space, and put the center of gravity behind the rear axle and you have a heavy weight over the front axle (engine) and heavy weight behind the rear axle AND pop, uneven load loaded at each end of the truck, nothing in the middle but upward pressure from both end loads. POP, CRACK.

A welded frame I had once upon a time

AKgringo - 1-2-2023 at 09:55 AM

I bought a Blazer with a repaired, cracked frame once. It had the opposite loading problem, it was grossly front end heavy!

I bought it because I needed a snowplow to keep several properties accessible in an Anchorage winter. Besides the weight of the plow, the Blazer had the unlikely selection of the GM 6.2 diesel engine. It had a beefed-up suspension, and sandbags in the rear helped when the plow was mounted.

The frame cracked on the driver's side, about in the middle of the driver's foot space. The frame was welded, then a section of plate steel was bolted on to bridge the repaired area.

I had that rig for a couple of seasons, and the weld outlasted the 6.2 diesel!

baja-chris - 1-2-2023 at 12:26 PM

My 95 F350 crewcab diesel 4x4 had the frame crack and split apart between the cab and bed. I noticed the 12" long diagonal crack while underneath doing a routine inspection. We welded it up and added a long gusset plate over it and on both sides. The other side of the truck had a similar crack growing but was only an inch of crack so far. This was around 2015 and with roughly 300,000 miles. Lot of off roading where bed hit cab twisted up. But also a lot of miles hauling the largest Lance camper they made and towing a ski boat. I think the offroading lead to the cracks more than the max loading on the pavement. Anyway its a good idea to crawl under and inspect trucks every once in a while. Unless its a Toyota. But then again a Toyota could not even do what this truck or a big Dodge could do.

bajatrailrider - 1-2-2023 at 12:43 PM

He has something not mounted correctly, or welded on frame in bad spot. Dont know if I need worry my 96 Dodge turbo diesel 5 sp 4x4 still on stock clutch. Pulled 40ft house trailers campers with super heavy rack two big 450 motos on back. Off road everything but none had the over hang he has. Im told mine has heavy C channel frame new trucks box frame. Except thin wall metal

baja-chris - 1-2-2023 at 01:29 PM

You can see his front camper tie down goes to an arm which is supposed to be bolted to the frame. Bet he welded it and created a brittle area. Those frames are designed to flex. But just a wildass guess.

mtgoat666 - 1-2-2023 at 02:29 PM

Who knew nomadlandia had so many forensic structural engineers!

Most of you are guessing from your armchairs,… all you really need to know is that he overloaded his pickup (and probably improperly loaded too), and he broke his frame, and he is out a lot of money.

Driving around with your load maxing out your pickup, doing many miles at >max load, your pickup will break!

What is the point of a slide in camper? Why not just tow a trailer? A full size pickup with 7,000 lb slide in camper is not an offroad vehicle.

baja-chris - 1-2-2023 at 03:04 PM

How do you know it was overloaded? I can't tell what year the truck is or what options are on the truck but some new Dodges have payload ratings exceeding 7500#. Also what does the camper weigh, was it full of fluids, etc. OK, enough from me. I already said it was a wildass guess.

4x4abc - 1-3-2023 at 09:18 PM

Quote: Originally posted by bajarich

in an interview the guy said they were going a constant 55-60 mph through Baja
since most people lie when it comes to speed ...

4x4abc - 1-3-2023 at 09:33 PM

center of gravity for the 102" camper is 61.5" (manufacturer's web site)

not even considering the crap hanging in the back and how the load was spread out inside, the CG is behind the rear axle

Screen Shot 2023-01-03 at 9.30.35 PM copy.jpg - 180kB

Screen Shot 2023-01-03 at 9.30.35 PM copy.jpg - 180kB

Glidergeek - 1-4-2023 at 09:31 AM

I've got a Lance slide in camper like that, they're heavy. Looking at that pic you'll notice that the frame looks intact, not broken. I suspect that where the bed attaches to the frame became unattached and it leaned back.

Looking at the image again I'm thinking I'm wrong.

[Edited on 1-4-2023 by Glidergeek]

PaulW - 1-4-2023 at 09:55 AM

The frame broke -both sides. The picture of the failure can no longer be found. It looked like the frame was factory butt welded to join the two half's and that it broke at that those both locations. No rust was noted - just raw metal at the weld.