Venco makes a kit for the Dodge Ram that will keep your fuel tank and spare tire in the stock location. Receiver hitch will need to be lowered and moved forward 1 inch, easy to do. The body lines will all remain the same and the bed will not sit higher like on some setups. I agree with the post about the stock bed taking a beating if loaded heavily. My stock bed started to spread a little. You could see a bigger space between the bed and the tailgate. Tailgate also started getting harder to close. After all, it is only made with thin sheetmetal and spot welded together. That is when I changed it to an aluminum flatbed. I often times carry 3-4000 lbs in the bed and use the dump an average of 4 times a week. Had it on (the flatbed) for 1 year this month, loaded more heavily, and no problems so far.
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1996 3500 Clubcab SLT, auto, 4. 10 limited-slip, TST #5, 370s, AFC spring kit, Psychotty, Dunrite converter, Trans-Go, DiPricol EGT, boost & trans temp. gauges, 9 ft. aluminum flatbed and tool boxes with Venco dump. Custom front bumper, Hadley air horn, PowerVision mirrors & 4" Stack Exhaust.
[This message has been edited by Koa Man (edited 03-12-2001). ]