Twisty frame question

All things have a resonance frequency. Just because one stiff frame resonated during operation doesn’t mean all stiff frame designs resonate the same.

The Tacoma Narrows suspension bridge resonated and ripped itself apart. We didn’t stop making suspension bridges. We just changed them so the resonance frequency isn’t the same as an operating frequency.

 

I imagine a lot of that is true. It depends on how they prioritized those requirements. I still doubt articulation was on that list.

 

Are you speaking of those shelf bracket looking things that go at the back of the bed close to the tailgate area? If so,

No.

 

My point (if maybe it didn’t come across) was that an expensive purpose-built vehicle like the Unimog has a C-channel frame simple because that is what the design required to achieve whatever goals Mercedes had. It wasn’t simply to make the Unimog less expensive, as is often implied in relation to the Tacoma.

Hope that makes sense?

 

Mercedes promotes a flexible ladder frame as one of the advantages of the Unimog. I can only speculate about Toyota’s goals.

From below, Unimog has a “flexibile, ladder-type frame, with high torsional flexibility”

 

Take what you want from this
@Norilsk doesn't have bed stiffeners, he has paint scratching off his tail gate where it closes because of the Flex having the side of the tsil gate contact the bed side.

I have stiffener and I don't have said scratching.


If you plan to take it off road though with a RTT the weight and that flexing will likely break your bed without stiffeners

 

Frame stiffness aside, I can't ever enjoy The Fast Lane Truck guys videos. They seem too damn basic to enjoy, and their observations and revelations are never spectacular, or even mildly exciting.

Now, back to the arguing about an engineered design, completed by professionals, by non-qualified folks on the internet!

 

All chassis are designed to flex, some more than others, the flexing is engineered into the chassis. If they did not have some flex then they would fail from stress cracks. The world’s tallest buildings all flex with high winds and storms, it is engineered into the structure or the building would collapse. Bridges also sway and bounce around under weight load, high winds and shifting of the earth. All designed to happen by engineers who are a whole lot smarter than us. lol

 

My understanding is that bed stiffeners strengthen the bed sides near the tailgate. That way if you put a load on the bed sides, like with a bed cap, or loaded bed rack (with say a roof top tent), the stiffeners give extra strength so the bed sides don't bow out or in.

They have nothing to do with the frame strength or articulation.

I reserve the right to be wrong... as I don't have them installed (yet). but that's my understanding of what they are for.

 

it may drive prices down

 

Well, if you call hurting the dealer mark-up-above-MSRP-for-the-sucker-crowd driving the prices down, that could work out.

MSRP? I'll bet not. Unfortunately.

 

No. They are talking about the frame flexing, not the box.

 

I've said this before on here and got laughed at, but its true.

I've had 4 Tacomas and 2 4runners and its one of the reasons I'm back in a Tacoma, they flex and twist a LOT more than 4runners, in a good way, its a LOT easier to rollover in a 4runner I know this from experience this is my old T4R after flipping it 6 times down the side of a mountain:




Go through something like that and you start to really pay attention to your truck's ability to stay on all 4s. I still love 4runners and want my girlfriend to get one so we can have the best of both worlds, but I certainly feel safer in a Taco when navigating steep and technical terrain.

 

^^^ Good Lord man, that is gnarly! Glad to hear you made it out.

Regardless of why the engineers made it that way, cost or otherwise, I'll take the extra articulation. The TFL guys also stated the Tacoma looks dated, which I disagree with. I hate how the Ranger looks, especially the interior.

 

My ex-wife's rear end was starting to articulate that way too. I think it was the salt on the pizzas, not the road.

 

larger pipe keeps it from flexing