Check Your Tie Down Bolts

Joined
Nov 19, 2019
Messages
15
Location
Oklahoma
Was pulling my camper off after a short trip into the Ozarks and discovered my left rear tie down bolt gave out.

Hope this helps someone from losing their camper or something goofy like that!

If anyone can explain how to upload pics I’ll add some.

Thanks!
 
Wandering Sagebrush said:
TJ, in the Member Support forum, there are several pinned threads on uploading pix. If those don’t help, send me a PM, and we will figure it out.
thank you! I will give that a look!
 
rubberlegs said:
I’ve had them bend and loosen. Use jam nuts and carry spare hooks!
I just ordered another bolt and a spare: they will be part of my essentials from now on for sure. I’ll check out those Jam Nuts!
 
Jon R said:
Are you able to post a picture of the failed bolt? Plus ideally a close-up of the fracture face where it broke? I’m curious why it failed.
let me go in and reduce the photo size and I will try to get one posted.
 
Jon R said:
Are you able to post a picture of the failed bolt? Plus ideally a close-up of the fracture face where it broke? I’m curious why it failed.
 

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Thanks for taking the time to post the picture.

It looks like that bolt failed in fatigue due to bending, originating at the base of a thread, cracking about halfway across the section before finally failing the remaining material in bending overload. As others have said this was likely due to the bolt becoming loose either due to the nut loosening or the clamped material compressing. When the bolt is loose you lose the significant benefit that the eye bolt shoulder provides for bending loads, increasing the bending load on the threaded section. It would be best if you could find an eye bolt with the first inch or more of the shank unthreaded when using a long eye bolt with side load.

It also looks like the turnbuckle was pulling on the top of the eye from the black marks and the orientation of the marks on the fracture face, which is not what you want when side loads are applied. Instead you want the eye rotated to be in line with the side load so the turnbuckle can slide around the eye to the best position. This reduces the bending load on the shank somewhat by shortening the length of the cantilever above the truck bed. This was probably less of a factor In the failure than the loosening was.
 
TJ,
Where are you located? Ozarks aren't in the west.. and neither am I.. I just got back from camping by a lovely shallow river in the ozarks. (Just gotta watch out for the locals.. Luckily I'm used to these people as I'm from the area.. but they seem to see the forest around their property as their property and don't really like visitors.. OH and the rules and laws the locals break is amazing. They build roads into the forests connecting their properties. Completely trash the place.. literally burn piles of plastic jugs and tires, etc. They were shooting fish w/ a shotgun which there were signs literally on the tree behind them saying it's not allowed.. locals in the midwest are like nothing I have seen out west!! heh..)

My camper is a flat bed. I have found my bolts that connect the camper to the bed were loose. But more scary is I have found two missing bolts which hold the flatbed to the truck frame! only had 4 out of the 6 remaining.
I am in the process of checking every single bolt on my truck and camper.. Got a few torque wrenches and a torque specification guide for my truck, and am checking it all. What I have found is... Every factory part is fine. Everything aftermarket or that has been touched by modifying the truck is loose and/or rusting. Really goes to show the truck manufacturer knows what they are doing! and modders do not......
 
Hardware store grade bolts and lack of appropriate thread locker or other torque retention provision is often an issue with aftermarket stuff, as is simple lack of proper torque on initial installation. I used hardware store nylock nuts on my forged eye bolts when I installed them last may, but I plan to go back and put grade 8 nuts on and then install the nylocks as jam nuts. When i checked them recently, my eyebolt nuts were snug, but looser than when I first installed them last may. I think it’s because the factory sprayed in bedliner, which is fairly thick, smashed down slightly under the side loads from the mild off roading I’ve done so far.
 
Jon R said:
Thanks for taking the time to post the picture.

It looks like that bolt failed in fatigue due to bending, originating at the base of a thread, cracking about halfway across the section before finally failing the remaining material in bending overload. As others have said this was likely due to the bolt becoming loose either due to the nut loosening or the clamped material compressing. When the bolt is loose you lose the significant benefit that the eye bolt shoulder provides for bending loads, increasing the bending load on the threaded section. It would be best if you could find an eye bolt with the first inch or more of the shank unthreaded when using a long eye bolt with side load.

It also looks like the turnbuckle was pulling on the top of the eye from the black marks and the orientation of the marks on the fracture face, which is not what you want when side loads are applied. Instead you want the eye rotated to be in line with the side load so the turnbuckle can slide around the eye to the best position. This reduces the bending load on the shank somewhat by shortening the length of the cantilever above the truck bed. This was probably less of a factor In the failure than the loosening was.
Looking at your last paragraph here, i believe this is the nail on the head right here. Im not at home at the moment but i believe the rest of my eye bolts may be turned to the wrong angle as well. this will be on my list of to-do's when i get home from work in 3 weeks.

Thanks for the input!
 
wicked1 said:
TJ,
Where are you located? Ozarks aren't in the west.. and neither am I.. I just got back from camping by a lovely shallow river in the ozarks. (Just gotta watch out for the locals.. Luckily I'm used to these people as I'm from the area.. but they seem to see the forest around their property as their property and don't really like visitors.. OH and the rules and laws the locals break is amazing. They build roads into the forests connecting their properties. Completely trash the place.. literally burn piles of plastic jugs and tires, etc. They were shooting fish w/ a shotgun which there were signs literally on the tree behind them saying it's not allowed.. locals in the midwest are like nothing I have seen out west!! heh..)

My camper is a flat bed. I have found my bolts that connect the camper to the bed were loose. But more scary is I have found two missing bolts which hold the flatbed to the truck frame! only had 4 out of the 6 remaining.
I am in the process of checking every single bolt on my truck and camper.. Got a few torque wrenches and a torque specification guide for my truck, and am checking it all. What I have found is... Every factory part is fine. Everything aftermarket or that has been touched by modifying the truck is loose and/or rusting. Really goes to show the truck manufacturer knows what they are doing! and modders do not......
I am in southeastern Oklahoma. I had just returned from the Buffalo River outing when i discovered the issue.
 
Travelin-Jones said:
I am in southeastern Oklahoma. I had just returned from the Buffalo River outing when i discovered the issue.
Thanks for the reply. My negative Ozark experiences are always in MO. Arkansas has been great.
 

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