Possible Bent Frame??

Hi All,

I was camping and my buddy got stuck in his 2WD Sprinter van (mistake I'll never make again) so I pulled him out by attaching a rope to the loop next to the tow hitch (another mistake I'll never make again). I bent the loop a little and today I just noticed that my bumper is a tiny bit crooked and pulled out (the left side more so than the right side). Did this bend my actual frame, or is it just a bumper bar or something? Any insight would be very helpful

 

I doubt you bent the frame. Your bumper was probably already misaligned and you're just now noticing it, because you're paranoid (no insult intended, we've all been there).

There's a bunch of threads about misaligned bumpers from the factory. Loosen the bumper bolts, align it and retighten them.

 

It likely just pulled the hitch receiver out and it pulled the bumper with it. I doubt it will be any real frame damage as the hitch receiver assemblies are bolted onto the rear of the frame. I'd check underneath where the hitch receiver mounts to the truck's subframe and readjust/retorque them to spec. I've done far worse to my rear bumper and hitch receiver, you shouldn't be worried. My panel gap is messed up too, it's because the factory rear bumpers are really thin gauge steel.

 

Thanks for the reply, I hope you're right. Do you know if it is even possible that I bent the frame from attaching the rope to that loop? I looked at a diagram of a Tacoma's frame and it looks like the back bumper area is a separate piece, so I'm thinking hopefully it isn't even possible?

 

You are more likely to have bent the frame on the Sprinter Van then you would have bent your frame... we had those things at work for a while, with push bumpers to move dead vehicles. Every one had to be scrapped because the frames bent too easily. Follow @Bertw192 's advice...

 

Not really. That loop would probably tear off, before the frame bends. But yes the trailer hitch is attached to the frame.

 

Every Tacoma bumper is misaligned

 

You did not bend the frame.
In the future, unless you know what you are doing, do not pull people out, even your buddy. It could go south real quick.
Watch Matt's offroad recovery on youtube.

 

No, the 2017's are perfect.

 

Very helpful, thank you!

 

Lower your spare tire and have a look underneath. The hitch cross-member is a separate piece that is bolted in place. It is not riveted/welded like the rest of the frame. If you pulled hard enough to have bent that, you’ll likely see some deformation around the bolts that hold it in place.

 

My 2020 came aligned as close to perfect that i can tell.

 

I've gotten some good tips from that YT channel too

 

That's definitely just the bumper being uneven from the factory. Mine has almost the exact gaps.

 

Yeah and the after market ones are just as bad. I have bent the chain points on mine pulling it out of the snow banks with the tractor have even picked the back end up with the tractor no big deal.

 

Buddy of mine was moving my truck and accidentally backed into another parked car. It actually fixed the factory misalignment... lol. All kidding aside, like everybody mentioned above, I doubt there is any frame damage to your truck. If there were, I'm sure there would be other signs or evidence that would lead to the frame being damaged. If you still feel "iffy" here is a diagram for the body dimensions for 3rd gen tacos. Hope this helps!!
**This dimension is for a short bed. Let me know if you have a long bed and I can get to those specs as well**

 

It is totaled.

 

take a sledge hammer and hit that bitch back into shape.

 

Once you are done doing that...bend that tab back.

 

thats the only thing he should be hitting.