Hey guys,
Current truck is a 1997 K2500 RCLB 5.7 4L80E with 9.5 SF 14B 3:73's. Truck has suited my needs well as an around the house hauler, and I've invested a lot into the truck as it sits, so I doubt I'd be able to sell it and recoup half of what I have in it. My needs have since changed and need a little more truck. Ideally, I'd love to find the truck I passed up 6 months ago, but it's long gone, 8.1 ZF6 4:10 gears. I have an 8,000 lb tractor that I don't HAVE to move right now, but within the next 5 years, plan on needing to move it back and forth between some side jobs and eventually a small hobby farm (30-40 acres)
ANYWAY, this is where it gets interesting. Since the truck has been painted, relatively new interior pieces other than dash and door panels, A/C fixed, etc, I feel like I could swap in an 8.1 and a full floater and have what I'm after to handle the 12-15k total weight behind the truck. Whether the 4L80E would hold up is another story, nothing that an NV4500 swap couldn't fix. Where I'm having trouble is the limited tow rating attached to my current VIN number. Legally, I can't have over a 6,000 lb trailer as the truck sits, and that doesn't change when I throw parts at it. I had a thought of swapping a 3500HD cab to up the door sticker rating should I be pulled over. Of course the truck would be titled as a 3500HD but stay with my frame now to keep it an SRW truck for off road purposes. Any opinions, thoughts, comments? Completely stupid idea? I figure all in, I can be in a 8.1, axle swapped truck for under $15k if I keep my 4L80E, with mostly new parts. That's less than half the price of any new truck on the market, so I'm just trying to make good sense of it all. Thanks in advance!
Current truck is a 1997 K2500 RCLB 5.7 4L80E with 9.5 SF 14B 3:73's. Truck has suited my needs well as an around the house hauler, and I've invested a lot into the truck as it sits, so I doubt I'd be able to sell it and recoup half of what I have in it. My needs have since changed and need a little more truck. Ideally, I'd love to find the truck I passed up 6 months ago, but it's long gone, 8.1 ZF6 4:10 gears. I have an 8,000 lb tractor that I don't HAVE to move right now, but within the next 5 years, plan on needing to move it back and forth between some side jobs and eventually a small hobby farm (30-40 acres)
ANYWAY, this is where it gets interesting. Since the truck has been painted, relatively new interior pieces other than dash and door panels, A/C fixed, etc, I feel like I could swap in an 8.1 and a full floater and have what I'm after to handle the 12-15k total weight behind the truck. Whether the 4L80E would hold up is another story, nothing that an NV4500 swap couldn't fix. Where I'm having trouble is the limited tow rating attached to my current VIN number. Legally, I can't have over a 6,000 lb trailer as the truck sits, and that doesn't change when I throw parts at it. I had a thought of swapping a 3500HD cab to up the door sticker rating should I be pulled over. Of course the truck would be titled as a 3500HD but stay with my frame now to keep it an SRW truck for off road purposes. Any opinions, thoughts, comments? Completely stupid idea? I figure all in, I can be in a 8.1, axle swapped truck for under $15k if I keep my 4L80E, with mostly new parts. That's less than half the price of any new truck on the market, so I'm just trying to make good sense of it all. Thanks in advance!