Rusty cracked frame on 2006 Tundra — opinions?

Check the Safe T Cap site to find the installer(s) nearby you. These are typically off road guys who have experience beyond just the Safe T Cap products. I'd go visit as many as you can find to see if there isn't a creative solution

 

Good idea Jack... New skills to utilize later in life

 

If you're handy a person could teach themselves with some scrap metal to practice with and a Harbor Fright welder.

Some kinds of welding are really technical and need expensive equipment and training, but simple structural welding like this on relatively thin steel (but not so thin your likely to burn through) isn't hard.

 

I'd rather observe how it's properly done before I do attempt it myself, but reinforcing the frame isn't exactly going to be thin steel unless 3/16" plating is still considered thin I guess.

 

3/16th is pretty thin. Considered sheet metal rather than 'plate' although definitions of both are pretty fluid.

In welding terms, its kind of the sweet spot where its thick enough that you're not going to burn through too easily, but thin enough that it's easy to get full penetration with even a low power welder. If it was me, I would use 1/4 for a patch at it would be even easier to weld, and stronger as even with 3/16th you can blow holes through it if your not careful.

With welding where it gets hard is with very thin, or very thick metal, or special alloys, cast iron, etc. Something like 3/16th mild steel truck frame is a very basic weld. Much easier than say, trying to weld a patch in the cab metal for instance, where without the right kind of welder, at the right setting, with the right technique, with the right rod..... all you are likely to do is burn huge holes in it.

 

My father still has the oxy-acetylene welder setup with the full size tanks in his garage from his autobody days, but they're empty and its like $200 to fill them he told me. That must've been fun to weld sheet metal with that setup. It probably requires quite a bit of skill to use that.

 

Indeed. Gas welding is a real skill, not very many people even know how to do it these days. (including me)

In many ways, welding is easier and cheaper now than it ever was. Say what you will, but there are cheap chinese welders and plasma cutters that really work perfectly well for light duty use, which is all that 90% of people who need something welded are going to do anyway. I'm sure it pisses off old timey unionized certified welders, but these days just about anyone can order a $200 welder off Amazon, watch some youtube video's, and do the kind of simple every day welds most people need.

 

Agree completely. when I manufactured my frame stiffeners i used 1/4 inch plate. I made a cardboard template using the frame and cut out pieces that fit, and welded them all together.

 

1/4 is plate is like duct tape in my shop. I use it for everything. Almost always overkill, but its just so dang handy.