Just how much work is a 2nd gen cab swap?

[montrose818]

Conteplating doing a cab swap, but dont want to get into a big project. Truck is a 97 12 valve, cable shut off, so only electrical I need is a starter.

Do seats/carpet needs to come out? Radiator? Dash? Fenders?

It looks "simple enough" but reading mixed experiences online.

Lifting the cab is an issue, but it would give me a reason to buy a cheap forklift.

[RXT]

You didn't mention anything about which cab you're swapping to.

If it's just a replacement, such as another 97 cab or 94-01 similar generation Ram, the swap will be a simple but time consuming bolt on.

If you're swapping from say, a regular cab (Of the same generation) to an extended or quad cab (Of the same generation) The front cab mounts will be the same, but you'll have to move the rear mounts, and you'll have to change the bed.

If you're swapping to a newer cab (newer generation) older generation cab or different brand of cab. Cab mounts will not line up. You'll either have to move and/or add mounts on the frame in relation to where the front clip will go.

In my case I swapped out my 99 Dakota extended cab which was rusted out for an 01 Quad cab. The original cab used only four body mounts, while the quad cab used 6 mounts. The front body mounts were retained and those were used to determine the location for the rear mounts which were cut off the frame and moved back about 14 inches. Then a pair of mounts were fabricated for the center mounts. I had to replace the bed.

Seats and carpet do not need to come out, but the carpet does need to be peeled back to reveal the cab bolts. The 01 Dakota has an updated dash, so in my case, I didn't want to redo the entire harness and the 01 harnesses were all cut, so I swapped back in the old dash with it's original harness and as a bonus, I retained the original VIN. I did use the 99 seats. They fully reclined but the 01 seats didn't.

Fenders will need to come off and you'll have to disconnect everything that goes into and out of the cab. Harnesses, steering, brakes, shift linkages, etc.

To lift off the cab, I trailered the truck to a friend's shop and they used their fork lift to remove the old cab and lift back on the new cab. If you have a big tree and a couple of come-a-longs, or if you want to build a big A frame, you can do it yourself. If you have additional uses for your own fork lift, thats good too.

Ed

[u2slow]

I've stripped cabs for swapping before. After a 2ndgen cab, I won't do one of those again.

OTOH, a buddy swapped his cab in a period of 5-6 days in his front yard with an extra 3-4 guys for the heavy lifting.

[montrose818]

Ed big thanks for the detailed reply!