As far as I know the OEM tow hooks should bolt up to the frame with a back plate to hold it in place under load. If anything I've only heard of guys getting beefier bolts and back plates. But very nice truck! Weird that it didn't come with the AUX port because when I got my truck it was between and 06 and my 08 and the 06 had the same interior except the center console stack but it had the AUX port stereo. That was one of the main things I wanted with my truck lol (I was 17 and wanted to have an ipod hook up). But good luck with all the mods and the lighter wallet and make sure to post some pictures of the progress!

 

Thanks will do.

Thats what I was thinking as the tow hooks on my 3500 are just as you described and if they can hold that truck when ive been pulled out of the snow by a 2500, then they are fine for the 1500. I assume I can just get the backing plates and hooks and just bolt them on but I guess it will take some more digging just to make sure. Sad part is my 3500 is 2wd with rear lsd and has tow hooks but my 1500 has 4x4 but is open diff and no tow hooks

As far as the aux, I KNOW ughh; the radio is kind of weird to me. My 3500 is the same year with the same package and has the aux port but is single cd and no sat. This one looks the same (without the aux port obviously) but the lettering on the radio screen is different and it has sat and 6 cd (but I did notice my 1500 is an early march build and so maybe it changed to add aux in the later part of year; I don't remember what part of the year the 1 ton was build so I will look into that, not that it will change anything but still). Also my 3500 has a power rear slider and power pedals which the 1500 doesn't have but yet my 1500's mirrors are heated and the 3500's aren't

(Also on a side note I never see that full length console in a 1500 unless its a laramie. Which gets the same console except a top fake wood grain piece that matches the rest of the interior. But my 3500 has the floor console and bench seat, so Dodge just does all kinds of crazy **** it seems!) They will only offer the same damn poor quality cloth interior for 06-08's excluding laramie of course but yet when it comes to everything else; they do all kinds of different and wild stuff randomly.

So yeah your guess is as good as mine is.

My wallet is really light at the moment so that kind of screwed me on the mods. I planned on having a 14/14.5 grand loan with a few grand cash down and keep acouple grand in savings to use for all of it. But my bank was being tight on me for whatever reason, even though I have great credit, make enough, and have already had 2 other loans for same year vehicles and already paid them both off through them.They also didn't mention that at all when I got pre approved 2 months ago and acted like oh yeah you can easily have that; but yeah don't even get me started on all that, but so I had to end up staying with a 12.5 loan and spent 5 grand in cash.

So that cut my savings down to just under a grand, and with graduate school starting this week, books, etc etc that kind of screwed me on starting for awhile. I guess gears, level, 35's, rear lsd, tow hooks, and tow mirrors will have to wait until at least winter if I can recoop back up that fast to safely do all that. Probably will just worry about fluids all the way around first which im sure will be an easy $500 and after that ill be stopped for awhile

 

I feel you on the school part. I'm starting my 3rd year of undergrad next monday so my modding is done until december, except for fluid changes.

 

To continue our discussion on the tow hooks. The 1500's do indeed use a long bar bolted to the frame with the hooks welded to the bar, and the 3/4 and 1 tons use individual hooks bolted through backing plates and into the frame.

The only thing I can figure is the frames on the bigger trucks are so much beefier that its fine that way with them, and with the 1/2 tons, it needs the bar to make sure it is strong enough.