Backed into tree. HELP with body work

3871 Views 25 Replies 10 Participants Last post by 2gtaco, Feb 22, 2010

CUtigerfan

Discussion Starter · Feb 12, 2010

Ok guys I live in good ole SC and it's snowing outside. I dropped my brother off at a friends house and backed into a tree leaving their house. I'll get some pics later but I ruined the bumper, brackets, and messed up the bed panel under the drivers side tail light. The paints cracked and chipping off the bed panel and my Dad says he's not making an insurance claim because I'm 17 and my rate will go through the roof. The only good news is that the side of the panel isn't wrinkled its just a dent the size of a softball directly under the tail light. I need some tips on how to knock this dent out as best I can and then put some paint over it.

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UndefinedTaco

· #2 · Feb 12, 2010

I have the same dent in same area but kinda wrinkled..from the previous owner(my dad...someone hit him though).

He just touched it up..and left it..didn't even bother trying to get inside the tailight and knock it out (which is whats gotta be done..remove tailight etc to get inside the sleeve of the bedside)

Goodluck, post up some pictures and some more if you get it fixed..I'm kinda curious

Rolling_Thunder

· #3 · Feb 12, 2010

if you can't get to it from behind then you have the following options...

1. Fill with bondo - sand and paint
2. Drill holes - slidehammer and pull dent - weld holes - bondo - sand and paint
3. Stud welder - slidehammer and pull dent - bondo - sand and paint

The first option is not one i reccoment - thick bondo cracks and gives nothing but problems

option 2 is better but requires a slidehammer and welder

option 3 is the best but requires a stud welder and a slide hammer

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CUtigerfan

Discussion Starter · #4 · Feb 13, 2010 (Edited by Moderator)

Here's a few pics of the damage

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UndefinedTaco

· #5 · Feb 13, 2010 (Edited by Moderator)

So yours is alot farther down then mine..:evil:

IMO just chip all the paint flakes off, and touch it up..
buy a bumper off craigslist and call it a day:thinking:

Nice lookin truck btw:waytogo:

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CUtigerfan

Discussion Starter · #6 · Feb 13, 2010

I'll have to look the bumper over and see how bad the damage is. If the big dent is the only spot that really got messed up I might just try to beat it out with a hammer, get some filler from autozone to smooth it out and respray it with bedliner. If I left the dent and got all the chips off. What would I do? just wet sand that area try and blend it in as best I can and then spray some clear on it?

toycoma98

· #7 · Feb 13, 2010

Watch out for that... Tree!

Rolling_Thunder

· #8 · Feb 13, 2010

toycoma98 said:
Watch out for that... Tree!

:evil:

So Low

· #9 · Feb 13, 2010

I feel ya with the snow.......It's crazy down here in Atlanta too. Can't tell you how many curves i drifted around getting home on the backroads

CUtigerfan

Discussion Starter · #10 · Feb 13, 2010 (Edited by Moderator)

Well maybe this isn't all bad. I found this and have never seen one before. I might order it if I can salvage the bumper. Anybody ever seen one of these before?

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Enola Gaia

· #11 · Feb 13, 2010

If I'm not mistaken, that's a Smittybilt 'Predator' bumper guard.

Smittybilt no longer lists any bumper guards on their website, and at least one vendor website claims they've been discontinued.

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Enola Gaia

· #12 · Feb 13, 2010

WAAG still offers a Tacoma rear bumper guard, but it doesn't look like the Smittybilt unit ...

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2gtaco

· #13 · Feb 13, 2010

Where you at in SC cause I got some bumper brackets.

CUtigerfan

Discussion Starter · #14 · Feb 14, 2010

2gtaco said:
Where you at in SC cause I got some bumper brackets.

I'm in Aiken.

2gtaco

· #15 · Feb 14, 2010

It yours if you want to come get it.

CUtigerfan

Discussion Starter · #16 · Feb 15, 2010

2gtaco said:
It yours if you want to come get it.

Where are you in SC?

CUtigerfan

Discussion Starter · #17 · Feb 15, 2010

Well guys I went and got a quote today and they want $550 fix everything and get a primed bumper for me to paint with bedliner myself. Sounds like a pretty fair price to me considering the other place we took it to wanted just under $1000 to do it. Since the primed bumper is gonna cost $200 do you guys think I should just get Beefed Taco to make a bumper for me? I figure if I'm gonna pay to replace a part I might as well upgrade in the process.

Chris D.

· #18 · Feb 15, 2010

I vote for the BeefedTaco bumper..

CUtigerfan

Discussion Starter · #19 · Feb 15, 2010

Chris D. said:
I vote for the BeefedTaco bumper..

Somehow I knew most of you guys would vote for the beefed bumper. That's what I would rather do but I've gotta get my Dad to OK it first even though I'm paying the bill. The only thing I don't like about the Beefed bumper is that it's not a solid bumper so you'll be able to see the spare and other stuff under the tail gate. Toyota really could've made that look cleaner than they did.

Taco Bowl

· #20 · Feb 16, 2010

Thats why I hate Tube bumpers. They just look ugly and you see all the stuff under the bed.

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