I decided to bob the bed. started with the frame. cut off the tails. welded in a 2.25" square tube. I pounded down the spare tire hangar, then once it was all welded, i pounded it back up and made a few welds under it. I used some angle 3/16" thick around the corners of this tube. I wasnt to worried about the heat affecting the bushings. i loaded em up with grease inside and out the other day. since i didnt see any boiling out, they will be just fine.▼▼▼
This is for the bob, and also, im going to do more reinforcing on the side. im going to use the same square tube to make an additional cross member on the other side of the spare tire hangar, then take another piece and run it length wise. that way, once i make a winch plate with a receiver hitch, it'll have some strength behind it.
also upon my discovery of my frame problem. i noticed cracks on one side of the rear spring, front hangar.
i made some gussets out of 3/16" steel and welded them in. i turned up the welder as hot as i could to get deep penetration. and surprisingly, as rusty as the inside is, the frame did not burn through.▼▼▼
i am out of some of the steel, so i havent started on the frame patch. i have cut out many pieces, so once I do it, this part here will no longer be a weak link. even tho the other side has slight problems, im going to do the same thing to it. ▼▼▼
I still have the front spring hangars to work on. im going to beef the hell out of those too. once this is all done, the frame is gonna be so much beefier than it ever was. since i never had decent recovery points, this work is really gonna pay off. i have a few D ring shackles to weld on, and some hooks. Im gonna do the same type of hitch setup for a winch as i am doing for the rear.