Love her for the way she is!!!! Spend your $$ on performance mods

As far as the warranty, they have to prove, in a court of law, that any changes made to the truck are what caused the problem with the powertrain. So, technically you will have the warranty until you have an issue. And if you have an issue and Dodge says your mods are what caused it, you can go to court with them. Magnuson-Moss Act.

Here is a nice, easy to read explanation of the law: http://www.impalaclub.com/naisso/magmoss.htm

 

If you get a gen 2 shop manual, it should have a section in it relating to the body & another to the frame. In these sections, you should be able to find dimensions for things like body mounts and a lot of other sizing information. You can then compare these figures to what you'd find in the gen 3 shop manual & see if you have enough data to determine whether one bed will fit in place of the other. Without doing any amount of research on the subject, I'd say that if the cab-to-bed contour, the bed width, wheel well position, and fuel tank filler position are a fit, the rest should be fairly easy to modify. The reason I put the fuel tank filler in my list of criteria is because gasoline rated hose is hard to find and expensive when you do find it - I had a real tough time addressing this problem on my Jeep YJ when I moved things around.

A lot of body shops have the real detailed manuals on the body & frame dimensioning and should be able to answer your question, but whether they will, is another matter - you really need to have a good buddy in one of those shops to get any of that data. Sometimes the dealership body shops are a bit more cooperative.

 

I say give it a go. A new box cant cost to much. I would sure like to see what happens. If it doesnt work at least you tried.

 

You can check out the frame dimensions and mounting hole locations in the Dodge truck Builders Guide in the Stickies up top.
I compared a 2004 & 2005, and the frame on the 2rd Gen is a little wider than the 3rd Gen.

Which is why I replied above:

 

If you have any local auto salvage yards with a "bent" 2nd gen dakota, you can trace yourself a cab-to-bed outline on a large piece of cardboard & take the measurements you need. If it would sit on the frame and generally look like it belongs (lines up to the cab & wheels), the rest can be fixed/modified if you know how to weld or know a welder. The body mounts for the bed are pretty simple to construct, so that shouldn't hold you back, it's the big ticket items like needing to stretch/shorten, make narrower/widen, or relocate the wheel wells that can be a lot of work.

If the bed on your truck is in good shape and you just don't like the contours, have you considered doing some body work on what you have to customize it to your taste? All the fitment is already there, and with some sheet metal and body fill you can make it look any way you want.

 

I did find that builders guide that you posted before you even mentioned it - great tool! I printed 2007 & 2004 dimensions, and if you really dig into it, it's only the front part of the frame that's wider on the 2007, probably to accomodate that larger bumper setup.
As for the rear - the measurements from bolt hole to bolt hole are the same! I think it would work. The fuel door is a little bit off however.

This stuff about the warranty - has anyone actually had a problem with a claim by adding something? I've had 3 different claims covered so far without a problem. Granted, I haven't made any noticeable mods, but I really want to also add a dual exhaust somewhere down the road.

So where do they draw the line? Can't add a ladder rack? Can't add stripes? I agree - the law says otherwise, but should I expect a fight over this?