The Nissan Frontier is known as a capable truck in the mid-size segment. However, a small number of owners are raising concerns after finding cracked and damaged bed mounts in their vehicles.
The spotlight was recently placed on the issue by aftermarket shop Alldogs Offroad. In a video released on YouTube, Chad from Alldogs showed off his very own Frontier, which he uses to haul a camper. Despite allegedlyy being well within the payload limits, Chad’s truck showed serious cracking to the passenger side bed mount.
Unfortunately, Chad’s truck isn’t the only one with a busted bed mount. A significant number of Frontier owners have been dealing with this same issue, and it’s always in the same place.
Cracked
In the video from Alldogs Off-Road, we get a real close-up look at the problem. “When Nissan built this specific [front] bed mount on this [passenger] side of the truck, they’re using one very thin piece of sheet metal,” says Chad. “On all three other connecting points, everything seems to be doubled up or stronger.”
When that passenger-side bed mount starts to fail, it gets quite ugly. It’s not the sort of thing you want to see on your truck’s frame. “What happening is you’re getting some tearing, you’ve got the sheet metal here that can fully rip and then you end up with this corner of the bed not securely mounted to the frame,” Chad explains. The risk of the bed outright falling off is perhaps low, given there are three other bed mounts, but it’s still a problem that needs to be solved.
The Alldogs workshop has seen a few trucks come in with the same issue; Chad’s just proved a useful opportunity to make a video about the problem. “This is an issue… we’ve seen it both in second-gen and in third-gen Frontiers,” says Chad. For reference, second-gen (D40) models stretch all the way back to the 2005 model year, while the third-gen D41 was released for the 2022 model year.
It’s not clear exactly why this happens, but Chad believes the use of truck bed campers may play a role here. “I’m running a Super Pacific camper in the bed of mine that weighs about 350 pounds,” he says. “You’re adding weight to the bed of the truck, but you’re also adding height and you’re going to get quite a bit of sideward motion, [and] rocking back and forwards.”
It’s not supposed to look like that. Source: Alldogs Offroad Coop . Used with permissionGiven the damage to Chad’s truck, the only real solution is to bust out the welder .”My truck [repair]… is going to be a little bit of a hack job,” Chad explains. “Off-camera, we’re probably going to hammer this flat… probably put some filler weld in, and then we’re going to sandwich with plate and weld the plate in.” However, he notes that the company will also develop a repair kit to offer for sale down the line, with laser cut parts that can be welded in place to strengthen the area.
Always The Same Side
I wanted to know if this was an isolated problem, or one that other owners were suffering, too. Thankfully, with the aid of reader Rob, a die-hard Frontier owner, I was able to track down some others in the community that had insight on this matter.
Walt Russell is the owner of a brawny 2019 Nissan Frontier SV. He’s kitted it out with twin lockers and chunky tires and he likes to explore off-road. His Instagram photos show you that he’s not afraid to wheel his truck off-road. Sadly, though, his rig has suffered this annoying problem.Â
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Walt isn’t afraid to wheel his Frontier on the rough stuff.
“Unfortunately I did have the issue with the forward passenger side bed mount cracking,” Walt told me. Like the gang at Alldogs Offroad, he reckons his choice of accessories might have something to do with it. “It likely happened because I have a bed rack and roof top tent,” he says. “I’m also very tough on my vehicle offroad, but others with the same issue can’t all say that.”
Rather than chase down Nissan for a fix, Walt reached out to a local Colorado shop called Heftyfab to get the problem sorted. They beefed up the whole area, welding in some brackets for additional support.
I also spoke to owner @trek_tread, who has a 2018 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X—the trim level specifically built for the rough stuff. “I currently have this problem with my truck,” they told me on Instagram. Photos show the bed mount almost completely torn apart on their Nissan Frontier.
“There’s actually a group on Facebook where the company All Dogs Offroad brought it up to make other owners aware… that was the first time I had heard about it and sure enough my truck was affected,” they explained. “I filed a report with NHTSA, but I haven’t tried to get Nissan involved, as I’m going to convert it to a flatbed now that this has happened.”
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“I’m not sure as to why it happened, I try to ensure I’m not overloading the truck bed and haven’t been too hard on it. ” @trek_tread told me. “I usually go on light trails and used to have a bed rack on it but I definitely haven’t put much weight on it.” In particular, they singled out the passenger front bed mount for being a single layer of sheet metal, versus the dual layers used on the other three mount positions.
Bad examples of busted bed mounts were not hard to find. Christian (@canyonroamer) owns a 2020 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X. On his truck, the bed mount has been almost completely destroyed, with the sheet metal torn and mangled to the point where it’s basically not holding anything in place anymore.
“I’m not sure as to why it happened, I try to ensure I’m not overloading the truck bed and haven’t been too hard on it. ” they told me. “I usually go on light trails and used to have a bed rack on it but I definitely haven’t put much weight on it.” In particular, they singled out the passenger front bed mount for being a single layer of sheet metal, versus the dual layers used on the other three mount positions.
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Root Issue
As has been highlighted above, the root cause of the issue appears to be the thinner sheet metal used on the passenger side bed mount. For some unclear reason, Nissan chose to build that particular mount using thinner steel than the rest. There may be an engineering basis behind that, but it’s not obvious just from looking at the truck. Even if it’s thinner, though, the mount should still be fit for purpose. There is speculation that hardcore off-roading or the use of heavy campers could play a role here, but at this stage, it’s not entirely clear.
It’s difficult to state outright how many trucks are affected by this issue. It’s entirely possible there are trucks out there with cracked or damaged bed mounts that owners simply haven’t noticed yet. At this stage, there has yet to be any major NHTSA recall over the matter, which would give us a better idea of the numbers involved.
Regardless, the problem is becoming more well-known in the Frontier community. There are posts on forums like Club Frontier and Expedition Portal highlighting the matter, with owners of trucks over many model years suffering these same problems. Similarly, head over to Reddit, and you’ll find a number of posts featuring cracked mounts and torn-up sheetmetal.
Frontier bed crack at chassis mounting point
byu/MAR2887 innissanfrontier
Check that front passenger bed mount!
byu/estunum innissanfrontier
If you’re a Frontier owner, these photos might have you wondering about your own truck. It’s absolutely worth checking for your own peace of mind. If you do find cracks or other damage, you might want to hit up an experienced workshop that can weld up a repair for you. If you’re still under your factory warranty, though, the dealership will likely be your first port of call instead.
The question around the Frontier is whether this is a case of rare defective parts, bad design, or damage caused by overloading the vehicle. At this point, we can’t really say for sure. The Autopian has reached out to Nissan for for comment on this matter; the company’s comment should be illuminating in that regard.
In any case, failing bed mounts are a safety concern. Even if you only lose one out of four, you’re gonna end up with your bed flapping around and possibly causing more damage in the process. This sort of thing isn’t good—bed mounts shouldn’t be tearing themselves to pieces in normal use.
Image credits: Alldogs Offroad Coop Used with permission, Frontier owners as marked
Special thanks to Rob (@bayareapro4x) for his help in finding affected owners.Â
Meanwhile, is this a problem in the otherwise similar Nissan Navara?
Regardless…it’s also another demonstration that decorative, pressed steel tubs are no substitute for a properly made plate steel or extruded aluminium tray.
Perhaps, but there’s definitely a balance to be had with the bed of a truck. While a tray gives you more cargo room and is tougher, they’re also almost always heavier, have much smaller wheel wells, and are less aerodynamic.
Hardbody, we hardly knew ye.
> exasperated
Exacerbated
After hauling my ’95 Lance extended-overcab 8.5′ camper home in my ’86 F250 (a scary ride) I went searching for a proper camper hauler. I found a ’92 F350 longbed dually, oh yeah. Not only did it have proper frame-mounted camper tie-downs, it had a set of older bed-mounted tie downs. I was obvious that the bed-mounts resulted in tearing of the bed metal, so the PO installed the frame mounts. Much, much better.
It’s easy to explain why “Nissan”
This is a damn shame. I will say this, Chad is as honest as they get. I don’t even have a Frontier, but I have joined the All Dogs Offroad Co-op because of their honesty and sense of community. If he says there will be a repair kit, it will be affordable and will work.
Well… Good luck, Honda.
So the D41 Frontier is the E46 M3 of the new millenia.
On my 2005 D40 long bed the bed mounts rusted through before they had a chance to crack. Or maybe they were cracked years ago and rusted through later, who knows.
But to be fair, I’ve overloaded the poor thing so many times I’m surprised the axle or the frame aren’t cracked.
This seems like a small problem. The mount is a piece of metal that can be easily replaced. Toyota on the other hand. With their composite beds, they deal w/ cracking all the time.
Replacing an entire bed assembly is a far more labor intensive job than replacing that small mount. Most of the time people, instead of replacing it, they try to glue it back together with a piece of aluminum plate for bracing.
They do not crack “all the time”. And frankly, metal beds suck.
D41 is carryover chassis from D40. Did Nissan change something, or was this happening before?
My 2006 Frontier NISMO had this issue. Experience of arguing with dealership over this issue and others soured me on Nissan. I must be losing my mind because I keep thinking a long bed 2025 Pro-4X could be my next truck.
I’ll end up ordering a RAM 1500. More capability, better mpg and same price after incentives.
Clearly not a Hardbody.
Just a broken body.
Hey, look on the bright side, at least there wasn’t any rust!
It’s obviously from carrying all the weight and responsibility of being the last NA V-6 in American “small” trucks.
The first truck to crack under mental pressure? Well, at least it didn’t fold up like…what’s something that folds in half? A Taco?
With the traditional Toyota “rust in half guaranteed!” on all Tacomas (affectionately referred to as tacos), you’re spot on with that.
TIL fatigue doesn’t necessarily require stress reversal.
(material science joke)
Screw dislocations, anyway.
(Another materials joke)