Dual Cab utes - broken chassis

[oldel]

These dual cab utes are for people that need a 'truck' but only intend to put a lawnmower and a few bags of lawn clippings on the back.

I've got no idea why the world decided short wheel base dual cabs were the weekend/trade vehicle of choice. They look useless in the first place. Can't fit a couch on them, a trailbike or any kind of thing you're usually thinking of when you think of 'ute'

They're for towing when unloaded and that's it. The tray is mostly for decoration E: or a lawnmower and some garden bags, or some eskies. Maybe you want to buy a split a/c for someone licenced to install for you? Too high off the ground to even easily chuck a fridge up!

[4stanger]

Originally Posted by oldel

These dual cab utes are for people that need a 'truck' but only intend to put a lawnmower and a few bags of lawn clippings on the back.

I've got no idea why the world decided short wheel base dual cabs were the weekend/trade vehicle of choice. They look useless in the first place. Can't fit a couch on them, a trailbike or any kind of thing you're usually thinking of when you think of 'ute'

They're for towing when unloaded and that's it. The tray is mostly for decoration E: or a lawnmower and some garden bags, or some eskies. Maybe you want to buy a split a/c for someone licenced to install for you? Too high off the ground to even easily chuck a fridge up!

My family call Dual Cabs "Useless Utes"
From a while ago, the missus got me to move the daughter from home to a flat, we borrowed my other daughter's dual cab Triton, all good until we had to move the queen sized bed and mattress , then had to ditch the dual cab and borrow my brothers hilux workmate single cab 4x2 to move that.
So the tag "Useless Ute" remains from that episode, but we still borrow the Triton for the Green Waste dump run or to move other smaller things around

[Ben73]

They have their uses, but it seems they are now just a trend for people who would get away with a normal car.

I know a few people who use pretty much zero of the benefits. Each to their own I guess.

[XR Martin]

Issues with actual trucks is availability.
If you want one you're looking at a 6 month wait, then months again for whatever body you want built.
Then the are sometimes hard to sell at the end of lease because of limited market.

If you want a ute you can generally get one tomorrow and are easy to sell.

[98TLS]

Originally Posted by oldel

These dual cab utes are for people that need a 'truck' but only intend to put a lawnmower and a few bags of lawn clippings on the back.

I've got no idea why the world decided short wheel base dual cabs were the weekend/trade vehicle of choice. They look useless in the first place. Can't fit a couch on them, a trailbike or any kind of thing you're usually thinking of when you think of 'ute'

They're for towing when unloaded and that's it. The tray is mostly for decoration E: or a lawnmower and some garden bags, or some eskies. Maybe you want to buy a split a/c for someone licenced to install for you? Too high off the ground to even easily chuck a fridge up!

Dunno about the world but i bought one after having two Falcon utes then going to a sedan and missing the space out back for the crap that comes from having a big back yard and removing it from section etc etc,as for towing will repeat i missed the space out back of a ute,i dont want to tow anything nor do i want to put a towbar on the GT-P to do so.Before owning one believe me i didnt have to many good things to say about em but after having one for roughly 8 months i early on took it all back,cheap as chips to run go anywhere i want to go without the worry of ripping the front bar/side skirts off as i used to with the XR utes, case in point pic taken on Danseys Pass road which ive never done as sections of it would have been impassable in either of my Falcon utes,horses for courses i guess and as a second or 3rd vehicle as in our case it fits the bill perfect,someone posted earlier that Tritons sell well based on there price,i can why as for some the thought of shelling out twice the money for a Ranger etc is ridiculous its not going to do anything they cant do in what they bought.Simple really.

[Ross 1]

Originally Posted by oldel

These dual cab utes are for people that need a 'truck' but only intend to put a lawnmower and a few bags of lawn clippings on the back.

I've got no idea why the world decided short wheel base dual cabs were the weekend/trade vehicle of choice. They look useless in the first place. Can't fit a couch on them, a trailbike or any kind of thing you're usually thinking of when you think of 'ute'

They're for towing when unloaded and that's it. The tray is mostly for decoration E: or a lawnmower and some garden bags, or some eskies. Maybe you want to buy a split a/c for someone licenced to install for you? Too high off the ground to even easily chuck a fridge up!

I've got dual cabs and tray back utes for my business and the dual cabs definitely have a place for the trades, if set up properly. I have decent pipe bars and can load 5m lengths of timber on top, tube for spirit levels up top, a large tool box in the tray, rear seat folds up and expensive tools get stored in there and there is still room for bags of cement and shovels etc in the tray. It can easily tow a 1.8t digger or the box trailer. Leaving the tray back utes for sand etc.
When it's not being used for work it is great off road for hunting for visiting relatives in the middle of nowhere that a standard falcon or commodore ute wouldn't get to. The height isn't a problem for the tray and I'm only 6ft, it actually leaves stuff at a good height to handle rather than having to bend a bit for lower trays.
Most utes can't fit a trail bike in the tray without having to leave the tray propped open anyway and half of them have tray lids now that only open so far, making it almost impossible to safely transport anything over 500mm high without removing the lid every time.
It's horses for courses buy what suits your needs and don't overload any style of ute.

[RANGEREST]

Originally Posted by oldel

These dual cab utes are for people that need a 'truck' but only intend to put a lawnmower and a few bags of lawn clippings on the back.

I've got no idea why the world decided short wheel base dual cabs were the weekend/trade vehicle of choice. They look useless in the first place. Can't fit a couch on them, a trailbike or any kind of thing you're usually thinking of when you think of 'ute'

They're for towing when unloaded and that's it. The tray is mostly for decoration E: or a lawnmower and some garden bags, or some eskies. Maybe you want to buy a split a/c for someone licenced to install for you? Too high off the ground to even easily chuck a fridge up!

It's got me stuffed how so many of us can have it so wrong.
I really should buy a.......
My Ranger tows my caravan or my work trailer easily, holds 20 drums of paint, or 4 pushbikes a camping fridge and swags, takes a family of 4 to the local footy or Alice springs reasonably comfortably, and when I was riding trailbikes it even took myself and a mate with 2 trailbikes and riding gear to Alice for Finke, yep bloody useless things they are.
BTW have a look at what the top 5 or so selling vehicles are.

[jstanovic]

If I didn’t have kids I would have a single cab or extra cab ute for work. With 3 kids the dual cab is brilliant with the work canopy on the back, really is a dual purpose vehicle for me.

I wouldn’t get a ute if I didn’t have kids or didn’t need it for work, far more comfortable cars/4x4s out there.

But spend your money as you wish and f$@k what everyone else thinks, they can spend their money as they see fit. But if you get a Ute liar it properly and drive to the conditions...

[Falcon SXR8]

Love my old dual cab, most practical vehicle I have ever owned

[oldel]

Originally Posted by jstanovic

If I didn’t have kids I would have a single cab or extra cab ute for work. With 3 kids the dual cab is brilliant with the work canopy on the back, really is a dual purpose vehicle for me.

I wouldn’t get a ute if I didn’t have kids or didn’t need it for work, far more comfortable cars/4x4s out there.

Yeah, I know what you all mean, I used to have a 4x4 ute and it was handy for my work (oxy-acet, MAPP and various other gas bottles I didn't want in a van or wagon).
But even back then I didn't see the point of a dual cab for work. I had the courier extra cab (or whatever ford called the mazda bravo freestyle cab with rear suicide doors). Enough storage in the back for crates of my test equipment and valuable stuff (or small passengers) but still an almost full length tray for 'ute-ing' things.

Handy on holidays off roading and beach driving, fishing etc as well so I know where you're all coming from - I only ended up with a falcon ute after the courier was written off in a hail storm, but still like I said the dual cabs with tiny tray seem less useful to me and I wasn't ever interested in them 20 years ago. I had to search high and low for the 4 dr extra cab.

If it's not your only car it's a 'jack of all trades - master of none' compromise anyway. Handy if you want to be a taxi on a mine site but they don't make good uber cars or utes ;-)

[Interceptor]

Originally Posted by XR Martin

There was an AU ute posted on here where the chassis broke upwards. It had a frame bolted to the tray and hit something overhead.

Yep, it was a glass carrier that was too high for the portico it was trying to drive under, with predictable results.
The Falcon platform is strong, but not when it comes to stresses it was not designed for.

[Interceptor]

Originally Posted by lra

Has anybody heard or seen a Falcon or Crewman breaking in the middle ?

Yep, I've got an AUII XR6 ute as a parts car that did a *lot* of dirt road work fairly well loaded up.
It cracked the rear wall of the cab several inches above where the rear frame meets the wall, and the crack was right at the tip of where the pressed in strengthening ribs in the rear wall ended.

Styleside utes have an extra bracket that supports the front end of the tub that goes from the front tub/tray mount to the back of the cab, and i've noticed that when the utes are built or converted to flat trays the bracket is missing.

IMO the bracket adds a lot of strength to a Falcon ute as it braces the torque box area at the bottom of the back of the cab where the subframe joins the cab.

The failure is no different to the dual cabs chassis failures from flexing

[lra]

Originally Posted by Interceptor

Styleside utes have an extra bracket that supports the front end of the tub that goes from the front tub/tray mount to the back of the cab, and i've noticed that when the utes are built or converted to flat trays the bracket is missing.

Thanks.
That would explain why, when driving a Falcon ute, you can't see the tray shaking and shimmying around in the mirror like a current dual cab.
I have done a lot of unsealed road driving in my Crewman, but not loaded with more than an extra spare wheel and about 150kg of personal gear, and haven't seen it shimmy either.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by lra

I don't have personal experience, but a quick google search showed that the Ranger is not immune.
So are you inferring that a Falcon ute can break, or that a Ranger won't ?
I find it a bit 'funny' that TV ads for Raptors showed them flying over jumps, but Ford then recommended that owners don't try to emulate what they had seen in the ads.
A bit like the indestructible "General Lee" that never got a scratch on it despite what the Duke boys did to it.
Personally I think that breakages occur due to incorrect loading brought about by manufacturers over-hype regarding capabilities, plus a little bit of cost cutting after initial designs are approved.

In your post I quoted you said "are australians utes engineered better". I just pointed out that both the Falcon ute and Ranger are designed by most of the same people.

Not sure why you would take that as me implying the Rangers won't break if overloaded. No vehicle is immune from that.


And what is funny about their recommendation not to jump them? Yes they can handle it, but they are not going to recommend people do it ,simply cause of the moron fringe who want to push the limits and jump 30 feet in the air. If that was the case, the owners who go too far and break them are obviously going to try to use it against them to get their car fixed.

Same goes with any manufacturer who releases a fast car at a drag day, then voids the warranty of owners who use them on the drag strip.

[Tassie f100]

If people use and load them as intended they are probably very fit for purpose,but,if they get overloaded behind the axle then the serious problems arise.The Tritons with camper bodies on the back really are a very good example of what you should NOT do with them.Why any body building company would consider putting basically the whole weight of the body behind the wheels makes one question where they got their “engineering”certificates from.Put the body on a single cab or at very minimum space cab and don’t put airbags under there to carry the extra weight.As for towing 3 tonne of caravan at 100 km/h on a potholed gravel road just because the manufacturer says it can is really a serious “joke”.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

If people use and load them as intended they are probably very fit for purpose,but,if they get overloaded behind the axle then the serious problems arise.The Tritons with camper bodies on the back really are a very good example of what you should NOT do with them.Why any body building company would consider putting basically the whole weight of the body behind the wheels makes one question where they got their “engineering”certificates from.Put the body on a single cab or at very minimum space cab and don’t put airbags under there to carry the extra weight.As for towing 3 tonne of caravan at 100 km/h on a potholed gravel road just because the manufacturer says it can is really a serious “joke”.

I used to work for a body building company, the engineering was outsourced, we just made **** and the engineer was like yep thats fine, or in the case of some stuff there was no engineering approval.

The big one being a truck used for high pressure cleaning that SHOULD have been a light truck, except was done on a LWB tall roof Mercedes Sprinter.

Said LWB tall roof Mercedes Sprinter weighed 1100kg over its rated GVM WITHOUT the 1000L of water it could carry.

There's hardly any regulations on the aftermarket in this country, its an absolute ****show and the lack of quality on the junk they put out is astounding, you'd only believe it when you see it.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

I used to work for a body building company, the engineering was outsourced, we just made **** and the engineer was like yep thats fine, or in the case of some stuff there was no engineering approval.

The big one being a truck used for high pressure cleaning that SHOULD have been a light truck, except was done on a LWB tall roof Mercedes Sprinter.

Said LWB tall roof Mercedes Sprinter weighed 1100kg over its rated GVM WITHOUT the 1000L of water it could carry.

There's hardly any regulations on the aftermarket in this country, its an absolute ****show and the lack of quality on the junk they put out is astounding, you'd only believe it when you see it.

This country has regulations that governs modifications but unfortunately some people get it wrong by not following the rules, take the Vic police for one example with some of their new booze buses that cannot be driven on our roads.
Cheers.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Officemanager

This country has regulations that governs modifications but unfortunately some people get it wrong by not following the rules, take the Vic police for one example with some of their new booze buses that cannot be driven on our roads.
Cheers.

Ah yes, my ex colleagues are responsible for that

[MDS69]

You may notice a large portion of those with a bent chassis have an aftermarket tray or Bodie on them.
I read an article recently that theorised that these aftermarket bodies and trays are too rigid and don’t allow the chassis to flex as per the engineered design.
In addition there is at least on manufacturer that recommends a reduced speed limit when towing off a sealed surface. Maybe that’s what these utes need when loaded.

[PooDog]

Originally Posted by 98TLS

Dunno about the world but i bought one after having two Falcon utes then going to a sedan and missing the space out back for the crap that comes from having a big back yard and removing it from section etc etc,as for towing will repeat i missed the space out back of a ute,i dont want to tow anything nor do i want to put a towbar on the GT-P to do so.Before owning one believe me i didnt have to many good things to say about em but after having one for roughly 8 months i early on took it all back,cheap as chips to run go anywhere i want to go without the worry of ripping the front bar/side skirts off as i used to with the XR utes, case in point pic taken on Danseys Pass road which ive never done as sections of it would have been impassable in either of my Falcon utes,horses for courses i guess and as a second or 3rd vehicle as in our case it fits the bill perfect,someone posted earlier that Tritons sell well based on there price,i can why as for some the thought of shelling out twice the money for a Ranger etc is ridiculous its not going to do anything they cant do in what they bought.Simple really.
image

Ive just bought one also 2wd manual 20" mags and tyres , hard lid , towbar , deck liner, bonnet protector , and monsoons for 35k kiwi $ driveaway ....cheap as , versatile as , ive had just under a ton of bagged fert in it you just have to keep the load as far forward as you can

I think where the tritons might be a bit worse off is they have a much shorter wheelbase than most utes (thats why they have the best turning circle around ) but the back axle is right at the front of the well side so all the weight is hanging behind the axle, compare it to a Ranger the back wheel is set back further ....simple physics , stick to the load limits and it should be fine

[98TLS]

Originally Posted by PooDog

Ive just bought one also 2wd manual 20" mags and tyres , hard lid , towbar , deck liner, bonnet protector , and monsoons for 35k kiwi $ driveaway ....cheap as , versatile as , ive had just under a ton of bagged fert in it you just have to keep the load as far forward as you can

I think where the tritons might be a bit worse off is they have a much shorter wheelbase than most utes (thats why they have the best turning circle around ) but the back axle is right at the front of the well side so all the weight is hanging behind the axle, compare it to a Ranger the back wheel is set back further ....simple physics , stick to the load limits and it should be fine

Enjoy,9 months in with ours and very happy so far,coming up for 30k service and quoted $35 ish,if honest and had my time again i might have stuck with the oem rims instead of the 20s,fine off road and on good roads but harsh on anything else As said enjoy i wish i had bought one years back,her indoors takes delight in reminding me of the many occasions (passing lanes spring to mind) i had mini rants about dual cab diesels no matter the brand.

[PooDog]

Originally Posted by 98TLS

Enjoy,9 months in with ours and very happy so far,coming up for 30k service and quoted $35 ish,if honest and had my time again i might have stuck with the oem rims instead of the 20s,fine off road and on good roads but harsh on anything else As said enjoy i wish i had bought one years back,her indoors takes delight in reminding me of the many occasions (passing lanes spring to mind) i had mini rants about dual cab diesels no matter the brand.

Yep enjoying mine also , just gotta remember its not a v8 and if its not on boost your not going anywhere.....with the 10 year drivetrain warranty you cant go wrong