Odyssey4x4 Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Hey everyone. I recently fixed my sagging overcab bed area on my 1990 Toyota Odyssey 4x4. It wasn't too bad, and I can open my doors again! Here's the post. http://timmystoyota.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-to-build-over-cab-bed-supports.html I know a lot of you have this problem, and this a great solution. Enjoy. Timmy www.timmystoyota.blogspot.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajadulce Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 You guys did a pro job fabricating that bracket. The craftsmanship looks great and that old timer looks like he knows a few things for sure. I'm not familiar w/ the underlying structure of that overhead cab and what has failed to cause your roof to sag to the point you can't open the doors. Whatever the case, I'm not crazy about this support in this area of the rig (especially one that is "fastened"). There's a lot of movement in that area of the rig (especially offroad) and if you must use some kind of strut/support in that area, it might not want to be fixed? Best might be a shock absorber of some kind? I see alot of forces working on that plate and transferred to the plywood bed as well as the truck firewall/cab. Of course road testing is the ultimate proving grounds and it will be the final judge! Hopefully I'm totally wrong and not seeing the whole picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 I think it was a clear cut case of rot and gravity personally. instead of ripping it out and putting in all new overhead cab bed its now helping to prop up the rotted one. His blog already showed extensive water damage to the rig; which is common on this type of toy especially with a lot of snow and ice play involved. I'm from Michigan; and I can tell ya that water will find its way in then become ice and break out and apart. Just look at Detroit roads; we replace them every year and the next year they are cracked warped etc and I used to think the state was being cheap then I realised it was really the fact it was hitting 70's in the day and teens at night with rain in between. A fine job for instant repair but for Alaska I would have gone with a Sunrader with all that temperature differences. (same reason i went with one for Michigan.) Great Job on the repair for sure though. I have seen sunrader shells go for less than 500 bucks. bolt on and go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssey4x4 Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 Thanks Steve. I've hit several good test bumps/potholes on purpose to see how the overcab flexes. It has the slighest flex, but is otherwise rock solid. Using shocks on the support rods would not have worked, as the rod on the passenger side is literally supporting the bed high enough where the door can open. The driver's side door opened just fine before the support rod, I just wanted to take precautions before the sag began. It seems as though you wouldn't want your overcab to flex at all. Accounting for physics, the bouncing of the overcab bed area when going over bumps is worse than not having the overcab bounce at all. The solid support rods eliminate the potential energy from a big bounce that would damage the overcab area. It seems solid enough to where the truck and overcab area move as a unit. I'll be ripping out the entire passenger wall next year (it is bowed out REALLY bad, maybe 3 to 4 inches where the oven & refrigerator are pushing out on the wall), so I'll address the rotten plywood on the overcab bed at that point. Thanks for the beta guys. Timmy www.timmystoyota.blogspot.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajadulce Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Hey Tim, sounds like it's working for you and glad to see I was wrong about the whole thing. I think was envisioning a hardsided overhead camper shell on a truck where the bed of the truck (on bushings) moves independent of the cab. I'm sure you've seen those things on uneven ground with a lot of inflection. In the case of a toymotorhome, the shell and truck cab are mounted as a single unit and prob act more like a van than a truck-camper. I found some time to check out your blog. Interesting read and pretty brave of you to camp out of the RV for a winter. You could use a heavier duty payload capacity of a full size truck for all your gear tho! Keep charging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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