Dodge Frame Breaking: What Can Cause This and How to Fix?

Having a truck with a broken frame really is as bad as it sounds. Just think about this: the structure on which the truck's body is sitting is broken. This means that you would be driving a vehicle whose structural integrity is about as strong as the one of a biscuit soaked in water. Scary, right?

Even though Dodge has been making some of the best pick-up trucks out there, even they make mistakes sometimes. In this article, we're going to talk about why the frames break and fail on Dodge pick-up trucks, how to fix such problems, how to avoid them, and if you should really drive your truck like this.

What exactly is this frame?

The truck frame is the main chassis structure of the truck and its purpose is to support the body of the vehicle. Usually, they are made out of two side rails and a few cross members, but their design really does depend a lot on each manufacturer and model of truck.

The frame's strength also depends a lot on the materials it is made out of and on its configuration, so there isn't a standard strength for them.

Basically, as we've said above, the truck's frame is the component on which the truck's body is sitting, so it is safe to say that it is the most important component in the safety structure of the vehicle, hence the importance of understanding how dangerous it can be to have a truck with a broken frame.

What can cause the frame to break/fail?

A number of owners have reported the frames of their Dodge trucks to break, even on more recent models, unfortunately, but we think that the following information would also be useful in the case of other trucks too.

Here are some of the reasons why the frame of a truck can fail:

1) Uneven load distribution

Load distribution is something that is often overlooked since most people still don't understand just how much it affects not only the way the vehicle performs but also its structural integrity. Loads should be equally distributed in the vehicle's bed and they shouldn't be concentrated in just one spot.

To have a better understanding of what we want to say, just think about what would be easier and safer for you to do: carry a heavy load in just one hand or use both of your hands to do so.

2) Modifications of the frame

Many people out there, especially DIY enthusiasts, think that they know better than manufacturers, and so, they think about all sorts of modifications that they can do to their vehicles. Sometimes, they turn out to be quite good, so credit where it's due, but other times the said modifications turn out to be absolute disasters and have a very negative impact on the way the vehicle is performing.

Modifying the truck's frame can result in serious damage to it, which might cause it to break, affecting the vehicle's safety structure. We believe that such modifications shouldn't be done at home, and, if absolutely necessary, you should talk to a specialist about any sort of frame or body modifications.

3) Exceeding the maximum vehicle weight

Ignoring the maximum vehicle weight rating is one of the worst things you could do to it, regardless of the type of vehicle we're talking about. The manufacturer has given a certain number after a lot of testing and will therefore know better what the truck's limits are.

Overloading your truck will almost certainly result in serious damage over the long run and overloading it too much might even have instant consequences, such as the frame breaking.

4) Driving in extreme conditions

By extreme conditions, we mean very wet or muddy environments which could damage the truck's frame. How, exactly? Rust. If you drive through puddles of water and mud which will stick to the truck's frame and you leave it like this and do not clean it, with time, it will start rusting.

In some situations, it will rust so badly that its strength will be heavily affected and might even result in the frame breaking.

5) Driving too hard

What we want to say in this situation is that your truck is probably not meant to go rallying through bumps and mud and by doing so you are only affecting its safety structure. Even if you are going off-road, we recommend you drive carefully, in order to avoid any damage.

6) Towing something too heavy

Asking your truck to tow a lot more than it can, will not only put a lot of stress on its frame but also on other important components, such as the engine, gearbox, differentials, and prop shaft. You should always respect the maximum towing weight, just like in the case of the maximum vehicle load weight.

7) Bad frame quality

This is something that doesn't have anything to do with how you drive the truck or how you maintain it. Sometimes, you can be the most careful driver out there and always keep your truck in perfect condition, yet the frame still decides to break. In this situation, there's a quality problem.

Sometimes, it happens that the quality control is not as good as it should be and various bad-quality components make their way into vehicles and then onto the road. Most of the time, the manufacturers will recognize that there's a problem with the quality of certain parts and might replace the said components free of charge.

How to fix the issue?

Before talking about fixing the issue, it's important to know that you shouldn't attempt any sort of repair or framework on your own at home. No matter how good you think you can cut and weld, we believe it would be best to take the truck in question to a specialist which could tell you whether it would be worth to even attempting to repair the frame. Sometimes, the frame is too far gone and in this case, you would be better off with either another frame or another truck.

It's also important to know that a frame that has been badly repaired will be just as dangerous as a damaged frame, or sometimes, even worse. Another issue a badly repaired frame could give you would be that you wouldn't be able to perform a proper alignment. No matter what you try, the truck will still pull to the left or to the right.

Going back to the question of how you fix this issue, it really does depend on what the actual state of the frame is. If the damage isn't that serious, a specialized shop might attempt to weld the damaged parts or add a bracing system.

Such repairs are usually very expensive and most of the time they simply aren't worth the money, since you are trying to save an already compromised truck frame, that might develop issues again in the future.

How to avoid future problems?

Avoiding frame problems mainly consists in taking care of your truck, as per the manufacturer's recommendations, and avoiding driving through extreme conditions as much as possible.

Another thing you should definitely do in order to avoid frame damage would be to never exceed the limits that the manufacturer gives for a certain truck model since this is one of the main reasons why truck frames break more often than they should.

Going back to the topic of quality, there isn't much you can do in this situation. However, we would recommend you do your research and see whether other owners of the same model of the truck as yours have encountered the same issues and then pay a visit to your local dealer and inform them about this problem. Sometimes, they might already know about the problem and will offer a solution free of charge.

Is it safe to drive like this?

In a word? No. Definitely no. Driving with a broken frame is one of the most dangerous things you could do since you will never know when it will break completely and put you in a very dangerous situation. Just imagine what could happen if your truck basically split in half. Sounds terrible, right?

If you notice that there is any sort of frame damage on your truck, we would recommend you have it towed as soon as possible to a specialized shop or to the main dealer, in order to assess the gravity of the problem.

Final thoughts

Broken frames on Dodge trucks have been reported by some owners out there, which means that this is an issue that should be taken into account when dealing with such vehicles, especially because the frame is the main safety structure of the vehicle. We would recommend you pay a lot of attention to the state of the frame on any vehicle, regardless of make and model, since some problems aren't specific to Dodge trucks.