Quote:
Originally Posted by Ackattack
On a stock style coil spring truck that isn't used for towing, the rear section of the frame is only holding up part of the weight of the bed, and maybe some of the force of the axle depending on how/where the shocks are mounted. The springs are forward of this, and the forward "push" gets transfered up to the trailing arm crossmember.
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You are correct...My true concern about this whole thing is capability of towing. In the other thread Shane and others bashed me for worrying about it. The 1000+lb tongue weight acts as leverage on the rear part of the frame. If it was going to buckle, it is going to buckle at the weakest point. The weakest point with a notched frame is the notched area itself.
I dont have the link in this thread, but it was in the locked one. A pipe notch without backing plate reduces the original strength of the frame to 25%. By boxing the inside with a 1/4" plate (not counting into the fact of the weld quality) you are still at 75% in that area.
I will hopefully have some basic test results soon. I drew up the part in CAD, a buddy extruded it and made it 3d in solidworks. I need to get the frame measurements and get into 3d. Then another buddy who works as an engineer for Cummins will do the FEA load test. Also, there is a board member that may be helping me run the testing as well. Will be interesting with 2 sets of results.