Slightly bent Hino

Since I am on a Roll here Just what is a "BACKYARD MECHANIC " I think a lot if not most here would or have qualified for this title,
Yet some of the worst frame work I have seen was done by a local trk . DEALERSHIP , that should certainly have known better than to repair broken cross members by welding to main frame rails - not once but three times - then told the guy to bad ,you need a whole new frame
I repaired it in my back yard - and it was still good when he sold trk 5yrs later.
Another so called qualified trk repair place thought mounting a fifth wheel by means of cutting holes in frame with torch, was quality work
I am trying to say that there is good and bad in every type of buss.
Just because it is one man shop does not mean poor quality. A lot of these small buss. were people that worked at dealerships and were factory trained . Even if they were not it does not make them the village idiot
In my case I went to NHTI passing their course in welding i went to work building modular home transport trailers, then Uncle Sam put me through a welding course in the Army for repairs to their equipment. I passed the bridge welding qualification in 5 states. In the 45 years that I have been working I have both gone seminaries and study on my own to better myself. I believe most on this board try to do this also, or they would not be here
So I consider Hendricks reply about people doing their own work are incompetent an insult to all of us

OneWelder said:

So I consider Hendricks reply about people doing their own work are incompetent an insult to all of us

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You may do all the considering you like but the fact remains that for some jobs you need expertise, seeing you have this expertise perhaps you could enlighten us to what sort of steel is used in truck chassis rails, the type and amperage of the welding rod and then explain how the metallurgy of the steel changes either side of the weld.
The some of us backyarders can really lay into those rails and do some fancy work. I would like to mount a tool box on the chassis of my truck and would just love to weld a frame to the chassis, which would be easier than using the existing holes to bolt a tool box to the truck.
Anyway I have nothing against encouraging people to do things for themselves but.....
For instance I do most things around the house but the one thing I don't do is major electrical wiring. Why? Because if I make a mistake and burn the house down, what do you think the insurance company will say? Good job Hendrik, you had a go, here is your cheque to build a new house.
And funnily enough we have a whole bunch of rules pertaining to electrical wiring but I guess they are more unnecessary rules in an over regulated industry.

Hendrik said:

You may do all the considering you like but the fact remains that for some jobs you need expertise,

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I believe that he just said that he has the expertise...

Hendrik said:

I would like to mount a tool box on the chassis of my truck and would just love to weld a frame to the chassis, which would be easier than using the existing holes to bolt a tool box to the truck.

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So, are you complaining about Oz DOT rules or saying that the US rules are unacceptable to you?

Hendrik said:

Anyway I have nothing against encouraging people to do things for themselves but......

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From this post and the ones about lifting the septic tank I don't believe that statement.

Hendrik said:

For instance I do most things around the house but the one thing I don't do is major electrical wiring. Why? Because if I make a mistake and burn the house down, what do you think the insurance company will say? Good job Hendrik, you had a go, here is your cheque to build a new house.

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And if the structure that you built falls down what will they say then? Did you get an engineers stamp? Was it inspected by a certified carpenter? Are you trained in the workings of a stove with a safety certification before making your breakfast?

Hendrik said:

And funnily enough we have a whole bunch of rules pertaining to electrical wiring but I guess they are more unnecessary rules in an over regulated industry.

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We have rules too and we are trying to get to the bottom of what they really are, not rumors, interpretations or misunderstandings of them. Getting good information to the HEF peeps is what this site is all about.

Truck frames

Dang,My local fire department called me last month to look at a truck that needed the frame shortened so they could mount the pumper body on the newer truck chassis.I guess we will have to start a new thread on stretching & shortening truck frame's & drive shaft's ,drilling holes & double framing for the membors that have not done it .

Onewelder very good information and points. We have done 6 truck in our shop and never had a problem, dump trucks, semi, and roll offs. We cut the frames on a 45 grind the edges to make a v, triple weld and grind smooth paint. A couple we have added an inner frame, and went pass the weld. If you take your time and do the job right it will be fine, we have have several DOT inspections and never been mentioned. We have welded the end of the frames for pintle hitches and hinges for dump beds. In fact we have a dump truck that we purchased new that had the rear frame cut on the flange, and a piece welded in for the rear hinges. We weld on the face and the flanges, but we bolt on any accessories or buck rivets.

This is just my opinion and experiences, I have always heard the stories about modifying a frame, never been able to find the DOT regulations, even ask our local DOT enforcement guys but they done the inspections we no problems. I'm sure I will get some differences of opinions, can't wait to read.

As for the Hino, I think it was way too long of a frame for a dump, to someone wasted their money on the whole set up, would have to be a bulk light payload.

Orchard Ex said:

I believe that he just said that he has the expertise...

So, are you complaining about Oz DOT rules or saying that the US rules are unacceptable to you?


From this post and the ones about lifting the septic tank I don't believe that statement.

And if the structure that you built falls down what will they say then? Did you get an engineers stamp? Was it inspected by a certified carpenter? Are you trained in the workings of a stove with a safety certification before making your breakfast?
We have rules too and we are trying to get to the bottom of what they really are, not rumors, interpretations or misunderstandings of them. Getting good information to the HEF peeps is what this site is all about.

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Expertise perhaps in sticking a couple of bits of metal together, I have that too but don't go thinking I can tackle rebuilding a broken truck chassis and then hope it will hold together. Just because it hasn't broken yet does not mean it will never break.

No point complaining about rules, I just find it kind of amazing that anyone with a welder can repair a truck chassis in the country that put a man on the moon. I actually feel happy that there are standards in place pertaining to the structural strength of trucks going down the highway at a 100ks and weighing up to 120 tonnes (well trains are only do supposed to do 80), furthermore it makes me feel a bit better if I get a job to drive a truck to know it has not been messed with by a back yarder, although a back yarder can fix a chassis as long as he/she has a welding ticket to show the engineer.

If you choose to re-read the septic post you may notice that I have given a fair bit of advice, however the original question left me wondering what the person knows and does not know. There is also a standard of care that has to be practiced on this type of forum, where sometimes it has to be said that the planned job is beyond the capabilities of the individual. The funny thing is that no-one apart from myself even bothered to discuss slinging methods. Someone who can not work out the lifting capabilities of an excavator may well also not be able to sling a load safely. Now if you are happy to have people crushed under septic tanks because someone on some forum said "go for it, you'll be fine" then so be it but I like to put caution into my advice and make people stand back and think it through.

I am pretty handy with my hands and generally build things way beyond what is required and I do seek advice when I am not sure. I do not cut corners to save a buck on material and have learnt a long long time ago that doing a job properly is the only way to go.

There is little point in having rules that no one can understand or even find, that is your problem, we have people that are professionals in implementing these rules.
I do not install septic tanks, that is a job for a plumber, although I could if I wanted to but may well be in trouble with the local council unless if could provide evidence that the structure was inspected by a qualified person.
I do not re wire houses, that is a job for an electrician, although I could if I wanted too but if the house burnt down I would be in the deep end unless I can produce a certificate of standard from an electrician.
I do not fix truck chassis, that is a job for body builder and I could not do that because I am not a qualified boilermaker and a boilermaker is not able to give an certificate of competency because he/she cannot see what is in the weld.
That's the way it is and there is a reason for this.

pffffffffffffffft aluminum frame

Yes Hendrick - I will put up some information - Perhaps YOU could also post some information on Injury's due to frame Failures-? that would help the board decide if this is actually a problem or not ?

25C I am willing t to contribute - I do have some info from spicer on drive shafts, like all things that is a place to get into trouble , if you do not follow basics

Tonka- I have to admit that caught me by surprise - aluminum frame around here is a rarity, the last one I remember was sixty's Autocar
It looks like you certainly have it well under control- nice looking job

There are more than just this way to do this - I used this book because so much info. is all together- Because the majority of trks . I worked on were construction trks. that ran heavy to off road sites (possibly overweight)- I ran face pl. on outside as well as a sleeve on inside- ( keep in mind it would have to be a least double frame) On the less extreme trks I used a sleeve as Bill described- On single frame over the road trac. I have also just put in very small gusset that is welded but not fully

Oh You Diffidently should not weld a tool box to the face of the frame as this would be an accessory

OneWelder said:

Tonka- I have to admit that caught me by surprise - aluminum frame around here is a rarity, the last one I remember was sixty's Autocar
It looks like you certainly have it well under control- nice looking job

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Yeah that is a California, Peterbilt 359 that a guy i know is restoring. It was sleeved with a steel sleeve. The steel sleeve ate up the rails, so he cut them off and had a cert. welder, weld it up or him.

Ok here we go there is different way of doing thing's between the states and here aust, There is a big differences in the way we do truck repairs and also how we operate the trucks, there are also big differences in the way trucks are built here you can not take a US built truck and import to here and put it on the road with doing some modifying apart from converting the steering you also need to change the front axle to heaver spec axle and also change the set up of the air brake system, so as you can see what we think is the wrong way of doing some thing here may be the way it done there,



And god bless all 8 years on after the world changed for ever

You might find an idiot who will pay 2500 for it for a parts truck

According to FMCSA guidelines there is no rule prohibiting welding of truck frame rails. I don't know how to create a link but it's all there on the FMCSA website - maybe one of you more computer savy guys could create a link for everyone to see

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regu...spx?chunkKey=0901633480023963&keyword=welding

(d) Parts and accessories shall not be welded to the frame or chassis of a commercial motor vehicle except in accordance with the vehicle manufacturer’s recommendations. Any welded repair of the frame must also be in accordance with the vehicle manufacturer’s recommendations.

whoever done that al. frame does some pretty work. welded a few steel frames and never had a problem. saw folks have problems just not me, yet. in my youth i tested everything i got near so i trust welded frames. (been told i could tear up a train rail with a marshmallow mallet)