Safety issue - TnT D30 Truss

[YELLAHEEP]

This is by no means a thread to bash TnT/Treks. Just wanted to put this out to the masses to be sure to check the weld areas on their trusses to ensure they don't have the same problem.

I installed this truss 2 weeks ago and was a little hesitant about the welds holding it all together, but didn't really listen to the voice in my head telling me to weld the back side of those joints....... I'm regretting it now.

This is a CLEAN rip of a very thin, shallow penetration weld along the top seam of the truss just below the optional passenger side upper control arm bracket also welded by TnT. The weld bead is only a 1/4" wide at most. You can kinda see that the weld ripped from the surface of the metal. Just beyond the metal is still the clean, cut edge of the metal. Again, barely any penetration of the weld into the steel. As a result, the "brace" for the bracket broke as well.

If you have this truss, please take the time to inspect the welds.

I'll be sending an e-mail and the photo to Bob at TnT/Treks as well so they can do some quality control.

 

[RCman]

... was a little hesitant about the welds holding it all together...
... shallow penetration weld along the top seam of the truss ....

I redid a bunch of the welds on my D60 version because of this very issue as well.

 

[Kittrell]

Looks like your UCA gusset snapped as well?

 

[Seiler]

Woah. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on mine. Sorry to hear that Troy. Your luck with truss' just arent that great. Were you beating on it hard when it happened?

Edit: Now that I think about it... The nut thats are welded to the inside of my coil perches for bump stops/coil spring retainers fell out when I had the axle sandblasted.

Scott

 

[GrimmJeeper]

I'd like to hear what TnT's take on this is, as I was considering this exact same truss for my axle.

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Yeah, the D44 TnT truss I have on the Truggy had cracked at the welds as well, but I didn't worry about that as much since I'm running a Rock Krawler 3-link and was running a nasty hard core trail putting quite a bit of abuse to it. I chalked up those cracked welds as secondary to the failed welds that the previous owner did attaching it to the axle.

However, the damage to the D30 truss was REALLY surprising as I wasn't beating on the '97 XJ it's under all that bad - just running the moderate trails in Moab. Not sure when/where it occurred, but I noticed it while knelt down airing up my tires in my driveway after returning home from Moab.

Rod from TnT has received my e-mail already (gets them on his phone apparently) and said he would look into the issue and get with Bob first thing Tuesday. :thumbup:

 

[Silver60th]

Hopefully TnT gets this worked out, it would be a shame to see them
gain a reputation like Rusty's does/did.

 

[tbburg]

Hey yellaheap, what suspension setup you running? is it a close to factory geometry 4-link with hard joints(flex joint/rod end, etc)on all the control arm ends?

 

[Glenn B]

Ouch! That is some pretty bad welding there. Be interested to see what they have to say.

 

[Kittrell]

Hey yellaheap, what suspension setup you running? is it a close to factory geometry 4-link with hard joints(flex joint/rod end, etc)on all the control arm ends?

IIRC it's just your average setup, adjustable Rubicon arms and drops brackets. Nothing terribly fancy.

 

[Paul Airhart]

Damn!

 

[crazyjim]

I'm interested to see how this turns out as well, I haven't had the best luck with their welders.

 

[fireLt.]

Just went out and checked mine. Everything looks good. I have installed 4 of these trusses to date and never had a problem.

 

[Rock Yacht]

Troy and all members.

I've got a call into our Miller Rep (not the local sales guys - the welding consultant) to see what is going on and develop a fix action.

In the mean time we're implementing another weld procedure - were we will put a section of weld on the inside where the UCA mount goes with our Pulsed MIG machine.

Troy you have email.

Bob

 

[Ben_Dyer]

wow way to get on top of the situation Bob makes me want to buy from you guys!

 

[Paul Airhart]

That's cool. But what about Us that have a potential disaster in Our future. I am lucky, mine is being fabricated by JeeperJohn now. I have asked him to inspect the truss and re-weld it if necessary. Thanks, Yellaheep.

 

[Rock Yacht]

If the truss is not already installed, have the installer weld about 4" centered on the inside of the truss under the UCA mount.

If the truss is installed keep an eye on it. If you see rust develop that is an indication to look closer for a crack. If cracked, (most won't) then repair by grinding out the weld and rewelding.

I honestly believe that Troy got the 1 in a million part were everything just went FUBAR.

Bob

 

[Paul Airhart]

I have your long arms too, so I hope Your right.

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Just as expected, Bob and the TnT guys jumped right on this. Bob offered to fix the damage if I brought the XJ up to his shop and if it weren't for time and distance, I'd definitely take him up on the offer - I'm sure he'd like to see the weld area for himself.

Again guys, be sure to take this thread for what it was intended - just check your truss if you have one. No need to bring any drama into this issue. :thumbup:

 

[GrimmJeeper]

Again guys, be sure to take this thread for what it was intended - just check your truss if you have one. No need to bring any drama into this issue. :thumbup:

Agreed, and it sounds like they are taking care of it well. Thanks for the updates.