The story behind my bent frame and broken coilovers

Well, a few days ago I hit the desert for some shooting with the boys. Despite being 105° we still managed to have a great time and expend more ammo then we probably should have. Around 4pm rolled around and it was time to hit the road home, as all of us worked in the morning. It was about 1/4 mile of soft smooth trail back to highway. Having plenty of suspension upgrades I decided to have a little fun and push it a bit.
I was at 40mph when a huge washed out rut came out of nowhere. I didnt see it coming at all and hit it dead on at about 35mph. Dash cam video doesnt make it look very deep, but watch the rear view and you will see I got airborne.... all 4 tires
Front view - https://youtu.be/-Nilc8tKbdc
Rear view - https://youtu.be/YpbRRwso59Y

Truck was loaded with 3 adult males, a loaded ARB fridge, lots of ammo, guns, targets, beer, tables, etc. After a thorough inspection, I have so far found that both Icon top plates broke and my coilovers shoved up into the coil bucket, my frame buckled and folded down right at the rear bump stops causung my bed to sit at a funny angle and a huge gap between the bed and the cab, and now 150 miles lates I have found sever tire wear on the inside edge of both rear tires indicating a possible bent axle housing and/or axle shafts.

I have been quoted $750-850 from a frame specialty shop to bend the frame back to straight, and box the rear end. This came as a pleasant surprise as I was expecting several thousand. Im at $130 for replacement tophats and hardware for the coilovers, and I havent begun to explore axle options until I confirm if there is damage or not.

The rear AllPro bumper now angles down, the front Demello bumper also bent down creating a gap and popping off the fender flares, and I am sure there is more damage which has yet to be found. The truck has Icon 2.5s up front with Icon UCAs, TC LCAs, Maxtrac Spindles and in the rear is Icon 2.0s, Allpro expedition leaf springs, and a shackle flip kit. Wheelers super bumps all around. I never would have imagined that a rut could do thus much damage. Lesson learned, and now my wallet really hurts. Been saving for my wedding, so you can imagine how mad the fiance is

This is why you box the rear, get hydro bumps, and dont drive like a racetrack in an Expo build

 

Damn dude,

 

Holy....Shit.

 

My steering problem is now the least of my concerns lol

 

Thanks for taking the time to detail the carnage and what went wrong. Best of luck with the repairs. Frame job doesn't sound too bad.

 

Frame shop didnt seem to surprised. They said its a weak spot on these trucks and the C channel frame with a loaded rig doesnt help. A boxed frame likely would have prevented this, but then im sure all that force would have transfered somewhere else and broke other parts of the truck. I am thankful that the camper shell didnt crack, because its literally a month old and was $2500. Im just praying the axle isnt bent and I have found all the damage. You can see that dip wasnt incredible huge, just a really bad angle for impact

 

Oh man Anthony!Appreciate the description of what occurred and hope for the best!

 

I hear you. I boxed my rear frame last year when I had it all apart right before I added a steel bumper plus swing gate. I'm glad I did, I sometimes like to drive spirited as well and I've had shit sneak up on me just like yourself. Last November I caught air in the Mojave by accident. It turns out i deformed an LCA cam bolt.

 

You mightve lost your truck... but at least you gained a GREAT story.

(If you just assume it's a loss from the beginning any news will always be good news... Just saying..)

Best of luck on the best case scenario.

 

Damn, well at least it looks completely fixable. I would plate and reinforce all areas where buckling and straightening occurred as they will now be even weaker from fatigue. Also maybe some other brand coilovers as the second gen top plate for Icons seems like a weak point, glad 1st gen top hats are normal. Look on the bright side, at least you didn't roll it and have to go without wheeling until you fix it....

 

Is rather have a deformed cam bolt then a bent frame haha. But yeah i think my days of "spirited" off road driving will be over after this.

 

Oh trust me, being an 09' and heavily modified, a replacement frame would have totaled it so that was my immediate thought. Im thankful the frame can be straightened though and I dont anticipate repairs exceeding 2-3k hopefully so it wont be a loss

 

That's no way to talk, you build it better, stronger, and you learn from your mistakes. Spirited offroad driving is what these trucks are for, they aren't very good at being actual trucks.

 

Luckily, shocks are already fixed. But yes, a rollover would have been catastrophic

 

Haha, rolling is a one time thing for me hopefully, I might flop, but I never want to roll all the way over again.

 

I'm pretty sure your bent frame is what is causing the alignment issue with the tires.

 

Love it!

 

WTF!!!!

 

I REALLY hope so