frame stiffeners

[Dzimm]

6 minutes ago, Chargum85 said:

Sorry to revive an old thread, but thinking about getting a set of front and mid stiffeners for my '88.  I've found that if I jack up and support the truck with jackstands in the middle of the frame, the doors are hard to open.  This is a California truck with zero rust and no accidents.

 

I think that once I've added larger tires and other weight, this would get even worse...

That's absolute very worst case scenario there.  It will definitely be worse if you add heavy bumpers and such but as long as you keep from high centering it, it won't be flexing quite like that.  Any vehicle will flex some if you support it in the center.   

 

Adding stiffeners should make it stay straighter in this scenario but you'd have to decide if it's worth your time and money.

[boxyjeep]

10 minutes ago, Dzimm said:

That's absolute very worst case scenario there.  It will definitely be worse if you add heavy bumpers and such but as long as you keep from high centering it, it won't be flexing quite like that.  Any vehicle will flex some if you support it in the center.   

 

Adding stiffeners should make it stay straighter in this scenario but you'd have to decide if it's worth your time and money.

Yeah, agreed.  There is a lot of time that would go into this, even though the full set from T&M is about $350 and I already have a welder.  I'm moving to a snow state soon and was planning on pulling the bed and painting everything with POR-15.  This might be a good idea to take care of at the same time.

[Pete M]

you're going to paint inside the rockers and frame and doors and bedside?

[ghetdjc320]

13 hours ago, Pete M said:

you're going to paint inside the rockers and frame and doors and bedside?

I used Eastwood internal frame coating to do all of mine before I shipped it out here to Guam. After 2 years I inspected for rust and have none. Stuff works really well for internal coating. It has a really long nozzle that sprays a 360 pattern.