Betty's new mods

[duramaxnate]

Betty's going to be going on a diet...well diet then quickly gain a few extra lbs..

My dodge service truck that was stolen a few years ago and was totaled upon recovery hasn't been fixed yet, nor will it be. I am going to be getting rid of it soon either as a whole or in parts sadly. I can't justify putting time and $$$ into a vehicle that now will just collect dust and eat a hole in my pocket due to the high insurance on it that I have to have for business liability.

So. I am taking the liftgate off and putting on Betty. The gate came from an 02 2500 GM anyway. When we mounted it to the dodge's flatbed we just used the GM style brackets.

Since I don't really race/pull with Betty much anymore (but I will occasionally) and I don't do as much equipment moving as I used to, I haven't reconditioned/reconfigured server racks in a few years, so I figured Betty having the gate will come in handy some day. Since we originally got the gate as a "gift" from GM when we bought my dad's 02 2500 gasser. GM was giving huge rebates for fleet vehicles then so we had this put on, its been a luxury.

Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I can start getting it prepped, cleaned up and ready to mount.

With me possibly getting a new job, the need for a dedicated equipment truck isn't there anymore.

Wouldn't be awesome to see a 12sec timeslip attached to a "service truck"?:roflmao::roflmao:

 

[duramaxnate]

And eventually replace the stock hitch with this bad boy.
I think my hitch is starting to give, It was replaced after Betty got rear ended a year ago and this one flexes more than the last one for some reason.
But, the main reason for this is with the gate, you lose the bumper support for the hitch (not that I think it makes THAT much of a difference in most cases) but also an excuse to upgrade something.

and her on board air system is gonna get a bit of an overhaul.

Liftgate truck / tow rig with 500plus hp tune in? yes please!!:rofl:

 

[Chevy1925]

And eventually replace the stock hitch with this bad boy.
I think my hitch is starting to give, It was replaced after Betty got rear ended a year ago and this one flexes more than the last one for some reason.
But, the main reason for this is with the gate, you lose the bumper support for the hitch (not that I think it makes THAT much of a difference in most cases) but also an excuse to upgrade something.

and her on board air system is gonna get a bit of an overhaul.

Liftgate truck / tow rig with 500plus hp tune in? yes please!!:rofl:

it makes a significant difference if you dont box in the frame where the hitch will mount. under moderate to heavy hitch loads, it will eventually tear the frame. seen quite a few trucks do this....

 

[Bdsankey]

it makes a significant difference if you dont box in the frame where the hitch will mount. under moderate to heavy hitch loads, it will eventually tear the frame. seen quite a few trucks do this....

Mine is bent right now, hoping to add some supports to put the bolt loads to the vertical part of the frame instead of just the lower flange.

 

[duramaxnate]

it makes a significant difference if you dont box in the frame where the hitch will mount. under moderate to heavy hitch loads, it will eventually tear the frame. seen quite a few trucks do this....

I'm boxing it definitely. The gate attaches to the upper portion of the chassis where the hitch bolts up to along with the bed brackets. This other hitch I'm looking at appears to have more mounting points for the chassis.

But I'll see what I'm going to do hitch wise once I start working on it.

Sent from my Note 9