Anyone else's truck held together with zip ties?

When I got my truck it was 6 years old with 27k on it so in short order I went to perform the 30k maintenance. When I went to remove the front skid plate, one of the puny little bolts they use to hold it on broke right off in the frame! I wasn't even leaning on it it just gave up without a fight. Damn! I thought, and sprayed some PB on the remaining ones and went to remove another. It broke too! Again without any real effort, felt like playdough separating, it wasn't even a proper snap. Talk about soft metal. Other two came out without breaking but not without effort.

Then of course well shit how do I fix this? I guess I have to drill and retap and get two new bolts. OK well I don't have time for that right now but I do have zip ties! Zip ties it is but I promise I'm gonna fix this for real absolute next chance I get....

Well that was almost 100k miles ago and I still just cut the old zip ties off and put new ones on every time I need to get in there. I have however since become a religious user of PB Blaster (local company for us actually!) and antiseize. This has prevented many headaches and hernias. I like to think of myself as someone who takes really good care of my truck (mechanically not necessarily aesthetically) but this little bit of work I've continued to let slide and may just never get around to.

Anyone else? I can't be the only one..

 

I made a thread about how I zip tied my ballasts into the engine bay. I got so much crap for it I went out that day and mounted them with bolts. That is probably where this thread will lead you..

 

No shame in my game. Idc what these Keyboard bangers think on here. I do what works and zip ties worked great in a lot of places for me.

 

My bumper was creased in the middle when i got it 7 yrs ago, well it started flopping around a few years back and i kinda tied it up with some romex ground wire. Today at the sand drags it started flopping pretty good again so i grabbed another piece of romex and tied her up again. I realize its not zipties but i usually have romex layin around, i tie lots of stuff with romex!

 

Zip ties and duct tape. Used 'em both many a time. I take them with me on every off roading trip on my dirtbike and have field fixed bikes that we would have had to tow out otherwise. No shame in a good old Mickey mouse fix!

 

My front bumper cover, and headlights until I bought new ones, have been held together with zip ties since this hot head met another hot head on the road one day. The bumper cover is still mounted solid, but has the Frankenstein stitch theme with the zip ties. I used white ones that fill the little holes I drilled and unless you're within ten feet you aren't seeing it.

 

Taillight has a zip tie or two on it

 

Drove four hours total with my 3/16 rci tranny skid held on by two zipties per rear hole because i was sent the wrong hardware. Every wiring thing i have is held together neatly by zipties, something starts rattling and i will break out the extra strength gorilla tape and double sided tape. Funny someone brought up bikes, ive fixed two bike tubes now to get me back to my truck on a trail. My bike is slightly small and i ride my mountain bike like a maniac on some pretty rocky trails, popped a tube and replaced that shit, 100 feet later the tube got creased on the rim going over a rock because i rushed. Electrical taped that bitch and it held 40 psi for 15 minutes at a time!

Do not be ashamed of the micky mousing skills of tape and zip ties!

 

Lol, in emergencies I've zip tied everything from the battery, skid plate, once a left front fender, the bumper cover, a fog light once, etc...

I've re-welded those square nuts to the frame a couple times on rock guard/skid plate brackets, lol!

But zip ties will get you home keep every size in the truck.

 

For the front skid plate, you must be able to remove and replace the massive 17mm bolts (which also are rusted) from the brackets, then get new 12mm nuts welded to the brackets. Those brackets do all the work to spread the load.

Don’t drive without the skid plate- you will get 1-2 mpg less...I drove for a good part of the summer without it and didn’t get the rated MpG until everything was put back.

 

Only time I bust out the zipties is to run wire or lines...

 

I see no problem with zip ties or duct tape for a temporary fix(couple of weeks) but if your rollin with body parts and other stuff that can rip off while say on a highway your really endangering other people. As far as just looks who cares to each their own.....