Bed not level HELP!!!

[TheMovingBox]

Hey square body junkies. I am new to this forum and have probably a dumb question. Just purchased an 83 sierra classic. I noticed that the passenger side of the bed slopes down toward the rear. The frame is straight without bends. I am posting a pic of the only part of the frame that looks contorted. Since, assuming the frame is straight from my inspection, i was thinking this issue could be related to the suspension. Am i on the right track or could the suspension cause my bed to be unlevel. Thanks for the help.

Here is the pic. It appear to be a crossmember of sort that bolts to the rear port of the frame just above the rear diff.

You must be registered for see images

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PrairieDrifter]

The leaf springs in my 79 sag and my bed leans. It could be the body mounts for the bed also

 

[chengny]

Holy F*CK dude, somebody stole your spare tire!

 

[TheMovingBox]

Its in the bed, lol!!! I wondered what that was


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[firebane]

Holy F*CK dude, somebody stole your spare tire!

Spare tire?

 

[chengny]

The bed is supported by - and bolted to - the frame rails. There is a series of cross rails (welded to the underside of the bed floor) between the bed and frame.

Due to various design considerations, the frame rails are not straight in the vertical plane. They are shaped, and rise about 3" in the middle - as they pass over the axle:

You must be registered for see images attach

The floor of the bed - of course - is flat and straight along it's entire run. To accommodate for these dis-similar contours, the height of the cross rails (discussed above) is reduced in the high areas of the rails:

You must be registered for see images attach

Should one side of a cross rail waste away and collapse, the bed will no longer be supported in that area. The result is an unlevel bed floor.

I am not saying this is your problem but it is a possibility.


Try to identify where the loss of overall height is actually occurring. A good place to begin is frame height:

Park the truck on a surface that is solid, flat & level. Measure the distance from the floor/ground to the upper surface of each frame rail. Do it at a convenient spot and at the same point on each side:

You must be registered for see images attach

Compare the two results and note whether there is sufficient difference to account for the uneven appearance of your bed.

If the frame rail heights are the same (or reasonably close), it would seem to indicate a collapsed bed cross rail. More likely it take a couple of collapsed adjacent rails to allow the bad to sag enough to be noticeable.

If you find that the tops of the frame rails not at the same height from one side to another - that would indicate a suspension issue. Unfortunately suspension analysis is beyond the scope of this post (I am sick of typing) and you will have to come back for help.

 

[smoothandlow84]

My 84 regular cab 2wd bed was slightly twisted as well when I acquired the truck. Over time and with use, the bed will twist and sometimes the frame will twist when overloaded or unevenly weighed down with cargo. After taking some measurements on a level and flat surface, I found it necessary to remove the front mounting bolt in the bed. Once removed I stacked a few fender washers between the frame and the underside of the bed. With the washers installed, the mounting bolt secured, I was able to raise the bed height in the front drivers side section by 1/4" with the washers. Now the bed is back to level and doesn't bother me any more.