Crooked bed?

[WillSquared]

Alright guys, this has irked me for a while now and since Ive added the new bumper Im determined to figure it out and correct it. Ever since I bought the truck the back end has been unlevel or just crooked looking. As you can see in the pic below, the bumper looks bent but it is brand new and straight. The bed is higher on the passenger rear corner by about 1/2" or more. Then the tailgate seems to be sagging over on the drivers side and the triim doesnt line up there which adds to the crooked look of the whole back end.

So having all that said, whats my solution here to get everything lined up and looking nice? I figured maybe some shims over on the drivers side to bring the body up a bit? Maybe some new hinges on the tailgate?

The strange part is that it was worse and I already removed some shims from the passenger side. The tailgate seems to be sitting even on the top but the trim is off on the bottom. Its all just driving me crazy. Any help is appreciated.

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[Skweegle89]

I think you need new body mounts


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[yevgenievich]

I agree, get new body mounts first and then see if it still needs adjustment

 

[CSFJ]

there are no body mounts under the bed though. My older brother tried chasing this problem when he bought his truck new back in '83. I seem to recall he finally found out that it was built like that. someone screwed up a blueprint somewhere in the design stage and no one noticed until they started rolling off the line.

 

[CSFJ]

the only thing I can think to do would be to adjust the bumper to the bed for level.

 

[yevgenievich]

there are no body mounts under the bed though. My older brother tried chasing this problem when he bought his truck new back in '83. I seem to recall he finally found out that it was built like that. someone screwed up a blueprint somewhere in the design stage and no one noticed until they started rolling off the line.

I was just looking at a set of body mounts near a rear bumper, but now realized it was on a suburban. If frame is not twisted, then I think there might some play in the bumper brackets where they bolt to the frame for adjustment.

 

[WillSquared]

The old bumper was off too. So twisted frame? Great


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[PrairieDrifter]

Your leaf springs could be sagging on the drivers side. I'm pretty positive that's what's wrong with my 79, these squares have a lot of box roll when going over uneven ground so a sagging spring could cause that box roll just sitting there. That's my theory haha

 

[WillSquared]

I do think my leaf springs are shot. But I don't get how that could effect how the bumper aligns with the body since they all bolt to the frame?


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[CSFJ]

If you can loosen all the bumper brackets, you may be able to shift it enough to get it closer to aligning with the box.

 

[PrairieDrifter]

How does the box line up to the cab? The trim is really weird and does add to make it look crooked, the tailgate looks like it lines up somewhat decent.

 

[Boonie]

I may just be seeing things, hard to tell, but it looks to me like the trim itself is crooked/bent/drooping on the drivers side of the tailgate. Just what I think I see, idk.

 

[WillSquared]

The bed lines up with the cab pretty decent. It's a little over to the passenger side up at the cab but not horrible. The lines themselves are straight.

And yeah, the trim does look crooked. The top of the tailgate is pretty even, but the trim doesn't line up over on the drivers side. Also, if you look closely the red striping is off over on the passenger side, but the trim itself lines up. It's all very strange.


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[PrairieDrifter]

I would start with tailgate hardware and try to do something about that trim, I think the trim is making it look way worse than it is, then see if you can adjust the bumper after that if it needs it. That's the route I would go then your tailgate will open and close great too!

 

[GTME94]

My bed looks crooked also. My plan, if I ever get time, is to park the truck on flat, level concrete. Then I'm going to start measuring the frame to ground on both sides, then bed to ground on both sides and bumper to the ground on both sides. With all those measurements I'll know if it starts with the frame/springs. It the frame is level then it is time to add shims to the bed or try to adjust the bumper if possible.

Or probably just live with it. It is a nearly 30 year old truck that was worked hard in its life.