Now this is a reasonable question. Not what the "towmaster" asked though. When he didn't get backslaps and background chanting of "cumbayah" he dropped the ghetto truck card. Just cause I have a few wire ties hiding under the dash don't make my troka a ghetto rig!

 

For clarification purposes I wasn't saying the rest of you guys have ghetto trucks. The issue is my business grew a little faster than anticipated and we obviously have the funding tied up on new truck and need 1 more to supplement. It's funny it took a moderator to say chill before we started swapping ideas. the black truck i posted is not mine. I saw a guy in Orlando, FL w/ the setup and we figured to light vehicles and maybe the occasional mini van it would do! How many of you don't lug a buyt w/ your trucks and it pulls just fine! the weight of a toyota camry, chevy cobalt, honda civic/ accord are all the same as a small boat! I'm not looking to lift an excursion for the matter! I have put some thought and the frame would definately have to be braced and reinforced. Twist would be an issue although we are not generating massive torque. My block is a 5.9 and is in excellent condition.

 

I think the x brace would suffice for the twist. I even thought of adding a some structural steel blocks scattered which would not prevent but maybe reduce the stress of the frame? What about extra springs?

 

Honestly an x-brace would be more than enough. By simply boxing the frame to cover the rear of the cab and under the box a way you will have significantly strengthened the frame. To beef up the suspension you can either add an add-a-leaf or swap in the 2500-3500 springs you had been talking about. The HD springs are 3" while yours are 2.5". to swap springs you will need to change the spring hangers (the part that is riveted to the frame). You may have to get the HD block to accomodate the extra width as well as possible new spring pads on the axle. All this work would only be practical if you did it yourself otherwise it would not be cost effective. Since you really want to use your truck throw in a 2" or so AAL to the rear spring pack (get new u-bolts) and put your sling in the truck and see how it does.

As far as the tranny goes you may have issues but towing small cars is no worse than towing trailers. Also if you have a 360 in a 3500 from the factory you still had the A-518, the same tranny in the 1500's.

You would have had a much easier time in the forum if you had asked how to turn your truck into a tow truck for small cars. When I saw the title I was already biased to this being a stupid thread. It was just very poor communication from both sides.

 

How much does the tow swing weigh

 

total sling weight is about 800 lbs and it goes bolted to the bed and into the rails.

 

I dont think its to much for the frame to handle as long as you keep to smaller vehicles you should have no problems if it squats more than wanted, you can throw an add-a-leaf on to fix the squat and upgrade brakes and should have no probs.