Swapping my truck to a 3rd gen frame!

I don’t want to get into to much detail but wanted to share that 3rd gen frames are certainly an option for anyone with a rotten frame!!

 

I will post some more images as I go. Getting the body on this week. Feel free to ask what I’ve learned. Not to difficult to make it work!

 

Is that picture the 3rd gen frame? Why is the front crossmember cut?

 

It was a crashed frame. I had to cut that to straighten the frame rail. Once the body gets back on and I can confirm the location of the cab mounts I will put a new one in

 

Hoping you can confirm this swap works, and list the required mods. I’m about to start the same project but time is limited - it’s my work truck.
Grateful for your trailblazing courage!

 

Yes! This absolutely works and is a way stronger more robust frame.
All should bolt up

 

I will add that my truck is an access cab 6’ bed. And the frame I used was from a 4 door 5’ bed. I did need to harvest rear cab mounts from the old frame and re-locate them to the new frame. Also made some custom bed mounts. But if your new frame is the same configuration I believe nothing changes. This is how Toyota makes money but not really changing the frame for 20 years

 

Looks like it’s running an JDF LCA kit up front

 

It is. The frame was totaled, that’s how I got it cheap. The JD kit fixed the problem and was a cool upgrade

 

Pic of It all together

 

That’s awesome, genuinely curious how is the 3rd gen frame more robust than the second gen? They’re both open c channel past the engine

 

I’m curious too, I thought the last changes were in late 2.5 gen and those were sealing and treatment, not steel changes

 

That’s great, thanks for the quick reply!

 

There are additional doubler plates on the frame rail at the transmission crossmember (which can cause compatibility issues with some 2nd gen sliders). The front cab mount is twice as large to meet small-overlap crash requirements. Higher-strength steel is used throughout. There are two diagonal braces at the transmission crossmember, though they are often deleted to fit skid plates.

 

@glass_truck if you plan to buy sliders later, buy 3rd gen sliders.

 

What are the grades of steel used in the 2nd gen vs. the 3rd gen frames?