Removing steel just inside of doors

[Bcurtman]

OK. No boiling oil, synthetic or otherwise for me this time...I searched and found nothing. Someone will probably point out 15 threads now on this topic....

I am considering removing the plating between the front and rear door posts just inside the door. It seems that removing this would make the truck easier to get in and out of, especially with my size 14's. Is this necessary for bracing of the door posts? Has anyone else cut it out? Looks like it is just skip welded in, and I can peel it out and grind the welds off in short time. Thoughts?

 

[RedbeardTheZombieHunter]

I could be wrong here and if I am, I'm sure someone will call me on it, but being a welder/fabricator with a fair amount of experience in structural engineering, I'd say if you got a soft top, leave them in, if you have the hard top and don't plan on taking it off, go ahead and remove them or just trim them enough to make some clearance for your toes.

 

[caliber1]

I agree with Redbeard, if you run a soft top, would definitely leave it alone. He!!, I run a hard top and am leaving it with my size 12 clod hoppers. Figured it was there for a reason, structurally or otherwise. Just gotta learn to enter the truck different than anything I have ever owned. Gracefully...LMFAO!!!

 

[RodUSMC1962]

I am sure they put them there for a reason . With the thousands of trucks built that much steel would not have been wasted.

 

[steelandcanvas]

I agree with Rod, it was engineered there for a reason. I'd sure hate to see it removed an have the doors not shut right, and I wouldn't think a hard top would have enough rigidity to make up the loss of structure. Just my .

 

[DUG]

Someone on this site has had his removed for awhile. It was a truck I saw in the classifieds. I don't think that was the reason he was selling it.

 

[jimm1009]

I learned to go up facing the cab and then always always back down.
It is much safer since the steps are so far down.

jimm1009

 

[scoutmanadam]

i know a local member that has removed his because he is really tall, i think he has pulled them on all his trucks and they seem fine

 

[KsM715]

It's there for bracing the cab. Remove it at your own risk. If you have a soft top, I wouldn't. Even with a hard top, with the folding windshield, your going to get some flex of the back of the cab.

 

[Awesome Possum]

I gotta' agree on the structural integrity being compromised if those are removed. I hate the things too, but because I have bad knees. I've decided to replace the fuel can with an ammo box for a step. I'll then use some all-thread and a bit of angle or square tubing for a low dollar step under the regular step, easily and cheaply replaced if it gets mucked up off road.

 

[Beerslayer]

Most likely your doors will sag and bind over time. You might get away with removing most of it except for leaving an angle gusset in the front corner to support the door.

How that all works will have a lot to do with how and how much you use the truck.

 

[joshs1ofakindxj]

If you remove them, and then drive around without doors, you could be in violation of a state law.

I have heard stories, that in PA, it is required that a vehicle has to have something to keep things from rolling out when driving around door-less. My friend claims a cop pulled him over when he took the doors off his Bronco and cited him for not having a raised edge of some sort.

Take it for what it's worth.

You may never drive around without doors on. I might.

 

[jasonjc]

I had a parts truck that came from an FD that cut those out. The doors did not work right.

And just THINK if the back of the cab flexes back just a little the door WILL come open!

Unlike new cars that have that lock bolt like pin, the deuce has just the small lip chatch.

 

[M813A1]

I have been considering doing the same thing, but I was also thinking of replacing the flat steel with some round bar to keep the integerity of the cab rigid and reduce the flex in the cab ?? Any thoughts ?? What I would like to do is radius the aft section down to the floor and keep most of the flat steel and then remove the forward area and replacethat section with some stiff round bar and be able to open up the door area to get in and out ??

 

[joshs1ofakindxj]

^So triangulate it?

 

[salvorone@aol.com]

i would be cautious on the removing idea, maybe add a stronger lower reinforcement made with square tubing, the firewall and rear cab panel is flimsy at best, and in a offroad ride where twisting and racking of the frame and body without any support of the hindge and lock piller you might find the rear cab panel or the firewall buckled , thats my two cents worth , of corse if you dont drive your deuce or go off roading , nevermind.

 

[Beerslayer]

Without doing the design work for you, I do think that reinforcements could be fabricated for both front and back that would not be in the way of your feet getting in and out of the cab. Perhaps tubing brought up from below and tied into the rest of the cab or frame somehow.

It's doable.

 

[Awesome Possum]

I look at that plate as an upside-down arch style of bridge. It's not simply at the corners that the plate supports, but the entire length of the door frame. Consider that the cab is mounted on springs in the rear to allow for some movement of the cab as a whole, same as the bed. Without this piece, the cab will flex and bend with heavy use. You can add all the stiffeners you like, but that arch was designed for a reason over many decades of experience and use. IMHO, it's just not worth the risk .

 

[clinto]

Awesome Possum and all the others who share his sentiment are correct.

The idea that the engineers would have invested the time to design a brace that would drive up the cost of each truck by a tiny amount, multiplied over thousands of trucks in a contract, thus pushing the cost of the contract up and potentially losing the business........... that is unnecessary simply doesn't compute.

"It's there for a reason."

 

[gimpyrobb]

There was another post about this some time back. It came to light that some rural fire depts removed the metal and ended up with cabs that cracked at the door opening. I tried to find the thread, but couldn't.