Bent Chassis on my MN GRRRRRR

[NitroGLXRin]

^^^yeah, but the square root of a pickle is easy, not sure why you even compared that. But I have to strongly disagree with your comment saying that the moment arm is not the issue. Fact is it is 100% the issue. You bent a beam (or in this case 2 of them) that was loaded at a point and also had load distributed across a certain section. Now there is only one reason it bent and that is because the bending stress of that beam was exceeded due to an excessive moment at a certain point, and that was caused by the load.

Now obviosly the are not going to rate a vehicle saying "maximum load rating = 700kg/m from the front of the tub" beacuse half the people out there would go WTF. So it has obviously been brocken down into payloads and towball downloads so known has to do math. But think of it this way if you put 500kg of solid metal in the tub right against the tailgate, then you are 100% under your legal load limits but there is a very good chance your chassis will bend. So all I can say after looking at this is it is a dicey line with loading the towball and loading the tub together.

Before i would have said "why the hell would changing the suspension affect this warranty claim if under load limits". Well I am assuming the different damping rates of aftermarket susenspension will cause greater (or even lesser) loads to be absorbed and distributed to the chassis and hence out of Mits's specifications. Even putting heavy duty springs in so you can carry 300kg more might sound good, but that extra 300kg has to go somwhere and that is to the chassis. Ulimate - feel free to chime in, and do you guys every look at chassis loading with respect to different g'force acceleration?

Rat, dont take any of this the wrong way I would have done exactly the same as what you did so I completely simpathyse with you. Actually i probly wouldnt have been pro-active enough to get it weighed before the trip. So again I am only posting this because now I am aware that even more carefull consideration needs to be taken when loading the ball and the tray.

Good luck with Mits!

[CairnsGSE]

I think maybe a lesson from all this is yes be aware of your GVM but never mount 2 spares out the back and no air bags .Put the wheels on the roof ,in the back and roof rack for all the other crap. Best of luck with warranty

[sam]

Measured the chassis thichness yesterday with calipers and it is 3mm not 2 .

[4wd26]

Check out the length of the towbar hitch

[4wd26]

Well it has happend at last my NEW 4by is at OL at slacks Creek here in Brissy haveing all the GOOOOOOODIES bolted one it will take 3 days for them to do everything..

spose I better let you all know what I got,
Mitsubishi, 2.5 crdi oiler twin cab with long tray 5speed GLR.

Bit getting bolted on

Steel bull bar (with removable ladder racks)winch type
snorkle
Duel Bats
Main tank replaced with 135ltr Long range
Plus a 75ltr aux tank,
tub liner
full rear bar with twin swing away spare tyre carriers.
steel Razorback tradie canopy keyed alike to the car.
Roof racks on canopy and car (tradie)
Full water and dust seal kit for the canopy and tailgate.
the canopy wont be ready for about 6weeks as it is a brand new modal they have not got them in production yet.
Think that is it .hope to pick it up on saterday.
Cheers
Rat

in addition a winch with steel rope.

[sam]

I can feel another bent chassis coming on

[gregned]

What the hell is a chassic

[Blue]

What the hell is a chassic

A drunk chassis.........chass.........ic

[gregned]

I thought as much ...... good one
I need to remember that one..
It's like when people say pacific instead of specific, vocabulary they are trying to use is out of their depth

[wdw]

I wanted to order a GLXR in December but this makes me a bit apprehensive as well as the rear end crash bent chassis elsewhere on the forum . Is this a weak spot on the Triton chassis . Maybe i should wait for the Volkswagen Amarok

[gregned]

I have an idea on strengthening (dont know if its any good) how about running a wire rope on the top of the rail in tension, attached with clamped brackets at both ends of the rope and bracketed runners on top to stop the rope from slipping wont make the chassis more rigid. Any thoughts?

[NitroGLXRin]

I have an idea on strengthening (dont know if its any good) how about running a wire rope on the top of the rail in tension, attached with clamped brackets at both ends of the rope and bracketed runners on top to stop the rope from slipping wont make the chassis more rigid. Any thoughts?

nah that wont work. 1st the wire rope can still bend/flex between each clamp. 2nd is each clamp will create compressive stresses around themselves and make the chassis more prone to buckling.

You want to increase the beams 2nd moment of area to resist bending in the vertical direction. Most efficient way for this is to add thickness to the verticle sidewalls of the beam. Same thing as what the Fishplate does. other way but which doesnt achieve the same result with the same amount of material is to increase the thickness of the top and bottom surfaces of the beam so that the top can support more tension (like your rope idea) and the bottom supports more compression making it harder for the beam to cripple.

[gregned]

Ok take 2 injecting some material into the rail cavity

[NitroGLXRin]

^^good idea. I have heard of something like this before, carnt remember where though.

But we better keep this a little more on topic, I can see daryn about to have a go at us

EDIT: Just did a google and seems its pretty common for those 'fully sick' rev heads in the VL's to do. It 'stiffens' the chassis but not sure how it would increase the chassis ability to cope with bending stress.

[daryn]

I wanted to order a GLXR in December but this makes me a bit apprehensive as well as the rear end crash bent chassis elsewhere on the forum . Is this a weak spot on the Triton chassis . Maybe i should wait for the Volkswagen Amarok

Out of the 90,000 plus posts on this site there are two posts on this topic, thats it, so I dont for one see how this would stop or should stop anyone for considering a Triton, this stuff can happen to any Dual Cab and a rear end accident can happen to anyone.

You need to look at what your needs and use will be and get the best vehicle to suit, I can still not think of a better Truck other than the Triton which would have suited me.

We are all watching rats story unfold but we are not rushing out to sell our vehicles scared of this happening to ours, but does make us wiser.

I once had Suzuki Sierra designers from Japan and Canada come and visit me at my home because I had the first Sierra 1.3l soft top with factory hard top in the country to see how it was handling being used in the real world. MMAL should be doing the same, own up and get a bunch of engineers to Rats Triton ASAP and sort it out.

[borngeek]

Well put Daryn!
x2

[Diddy]

I wanted to order a GLXR in December but this makes me a bit apprehensive as well as the rear end crash bent chassis elsewhere on the forum . Is this a weak spot on the Triton chassis . Maybe i should wait for the Volkswagen Amarok

Out of the 90,000 plus posts on this site there are two posts on this topic, thats it, so I dont for one see how this would stop or should stop anyone for considering a Triton, this stuff can happen to any Dual Cab and a rear end accident can happen to anyone.

You need to look at what your needs and use will be and get the best vehicle to suit, I can still not think of a better Truck other than the Triton which would have suited me.

We are all watching rats story unfold but we are not rushing out to sell our vehicles scared of this happening to ours, but does make us wiser.

I once had Suzuki Sierra designers from Japan and Canada come and visit me at my home because I had the first Sierra 1.3l soft top with factory hard top in the country to see how it was handling being used in the real world. MMAL should be doing the same, own up and get a bunch of engineers to Rats Triton ASAP and sort it out.

i couldnt of said it better my self well put daryn

[McSumWay]

If the trailer ball mount was extended over standard I don't believe the std Ball weight would apply.

By extending the TBM you would reduce the allowable ball weight.

Trailer ball weights are calculated for fundamentaly static loads on roads. When a car crests a dune and the weight of the trailer is still climbing the dune the ball weight would be dramatically increased. COmbine this with an extended TBM and you have a recipe for disaster. (I suppose thats what we are seeing)

The supplier of the towbar would have to accept more responsibilty for this damage than Mitsubishi itself. They have an obligation to provide asafe item that would not damage the vehice. They must also provide the rating for the system. If they have modified the TBM from std they should have provided a new Ball Weight for the setup.

And even though the dealer arranged for the fitment they are not Mitsubishi.

[NitroGLXRin]

^^^dead right. I read somewhere that ball weights in australia are generally 10% of the max braked towing load. That is complete BS if thats how they determine it

[4wd26]

Thanks for some clarity on the subject, and not a triton bash.....

You are correct and thats why I posted the pic. I have done a bit of searching on the net regarding the ute and the trip (some additional interesting information) including the severity of the corrigations and condition of the aftermarket suspension anyone thinking of raw- have a internet search.

Detailed Description

OL Caddy twin wheel carrier to suit Mitsubishi triton utes with well body. Comes complete with two arms. Suits Mitsubishi Triton ML 7/06 on


Technical Specifications

The catch plate guides have provision to bolt or pad-lock the wheel carrier closed. This TWC bumper has been developed to suit Hayman Reese & Mitsubishi Genuine Tow Bar. (Note: Some trailers need to have more clearance between the bumper and tow ball).

That reminded me to check the specs- he is using a genuine towbar- but by the looks an elongated tongue.

All sounds right (by the specs) but just looking at that vehicle I had to cringe.

[trickydevil]

I have just been to Fraser Island and saw a couple of navara D40's up near Orchid Beach with tray backs that had suffered bent chassis. I was amazed. I had suspicions about the longer bum on the new triton....

(comments after reading the first page of posts)

I would take it to the media.. A Current Affair come to mind.... Get them on the case, you'll get the public aware and MMAL on the back foot. I would even go as far as giving the editor Shaun a buzz at 4WD Action a buzz and fill him in on the issue as i'm sure there will be many readers that would have the say on this matter and also the Aftermarket Accessories industry inthere as well. After all their lively hoods may be under fire...

[daryn]

I suggested that course of action back a bit tricky but noone listens to me..lol.

[Steane]

I wanted to order a GLXR in December but this makes me a bit apprehensive as well as the rear end crash bent chassis elsewhere on the forum . Is this a weak spot on the Triton chassis . Maybe i should wait for the Volkswagen Amarok

Just buy a second hand ML tub to fit while they are still cheap.

Problem solved

Any vehicle hit at 100km/h is going to sustain some damage. The chap who had his Triton rear ended was thankful for its structural integrity if I recall correctly.

[NitroGLXRin]

HEY RAT, why dont you get the chassis that 4WD26 has and switch it out if all your other avenues fail. A bit of work but will be good as new again. Surely that new law on written off vehicles wouldnt matter if you have the good bits from 2 vehicles comming together?

[Naff]

I was surprised there was so little damage to the rear of that triton based on the assumed speed of the vehicle who hit the rear end. There's not much to the tub. The chassis appeared to have handled it quite well!