Get a Grip with Structural Holding Packages

Today’s vehicles are very different than those produced even a few years ago. As car manufacturers work feverishly to meet the needs and standards of both consumers and the government, they are looking at every opportunity to reduce vehicle weight without compromising safety. With lofty goals ahead, like the CAFÉ standards for 2025, the vehicles your shop will service are changing almost daily. 

These modern vehicles, being manufactured with aluminum and other “exotic” materials, will require an updated approach to collision repair as well. Nothing is more frustrating and costly than making a repair only to find you have caused more damage than the crash itself. Sectioning is recommended as part of the repair procedure for many new vehicles. Sectioning refers to looking at the vehicle in pieces instead of as a whole. In order to do this properly, it is important to hold the vehicle at strategic locations along the body so it does not shift out of place during the repair.

Chief’s Structural Holding Package works with a Chief frame rack to provide these additional holding points. The system also can be used when pulling steel frames to distribute pressure evenly. This reduces the risk of inflicting further damage and makes easier to return a vehicle to OEM specifications. The Holding Package includes more than 50 components that can be combined in a variety of ways to secure a vehicle at a wide range of holding points. Vice clamps are included for use on frame-based trucks and vans, while unibody vehicles can be secured at their suspension mounting points or upper rails with bolt-on surface plate attachments. The entire contents of the Structural Holding Package come neatly arranged on a rolling tool board to keep everything organized and easy to move.

Chief has also produced a video series providing step-by-step instructions on how to install and use many of the fixtures that are commonly used in the packages. The Universal Structural Holding videos are a guide for your shop’s technicians to get comfortable with using the fixtures. Chief has also partnered with Ford™ and GM™ to provide certified holding packages for their new line of vehicles. Chief’s Ford’s F-150 Holding Package is designed specifically for the new aluminum bodied trucks.  There is also a Ford Holding Package video series.

The CT-6, Cadillac’s new aluminum body sedan, has a certified package available from Chief as well. The CT-6 Structural Holding Package was the latest addition to Chief’s line-up and shows their continuous support for OEM partnerships.

If you are interested in any of the products mentioned, click below to Contact a Distributor.