Hey Guys i have a quick question for any of you who may know here. i have a 2004 quad cab ram. Had a tree fall on it out on a lake, Insurance isnt covering it since it was "off road", So long story short. I was going to do a cab swap. Im not new to swapping cabs as I am a class 8 diesel mechanic, Weve done plenty of them in the shop, sleeper replacements, so on. Weve also done a our own shop truck when it was t boned, that was a straight swap. I found a cab today, same color no damage i thought I was in heaven.

So When they ask me how i want it packaged i told them a pallet would be fine. Then they tell me its just a "clip" I asked him what he meant, I guess dodge maked the cab and front end one piece, like a uni body design? So they cut the cab off of the fire wall. So what I would be getting is the windshield frame, roof, rear wall and floor. To me this doesnt sound normal, how about anyone else?

 

I'd guess the boneyard made it simple and torch cut the frame at the firewall. Sell the motor to the highest bidder and let him unbolt the rest. Sell the cab to the highest bidder and...well you get it. They don't sell new frames at the boneyard, just parts.

 

I dont need a frame, the frame is fine, just smashed the cab in. My main question is, isnt the fire wall part of the cab? seems to me it would be big structure to the cab?

 

the firewall is part of the cab they will not remove it

 

Be careful, a clip is usually just the roof to floor section, less firewall. They cut it at the posts and usually thru the floor where your feet rest.

That way there are no titling issues to contend with.

If in doubt, see if you can get a digital picture of the clip before you purchase it.

 

i have been in the autobody trade since 1986 and have never heard anybody call a cab a clip.
my guess is that they have cut the front shotgun rails off and are selling you just the cab. in 2002 dodge incorporated the front structure into the cab to yes in effect make a unibody. the fenders are no longer a structural part of the truck as with most exterior sheet metal they are merely cosmetic to some extent.
so long story short.............unless you have some sort of unibody measuring system to cut the front shotgun rails of your wrecked cab and weld them onto the used cab i would not do something that technical in my garage. also there are specific sectioning procedures for those rails.
it ain't like the old days where you could just cut and paste new parts on your car.
ford has gone this route too and gm is the last hold out i believe.

here is a pic of a durango. they are very simular in design.

By yfz450guy at 2009-03-18

 

yes exactly what they were talking about, in 07 we swapped a mega cab onto a quad cab truck but they bought a parts truck and swapped the WHOLE thing. wasnt so bad, This part here is seeming like possibly more than i want to take on myself, because im sure its not as easy as measure twice cut once :P

 

Sorry to hear about your situation. I'm sure the !@#$%^&* insurance company charged you more for a 4x4. And now they refuse to pay up when you use it as intended! Are you sure it wasn't stolen and ditched by the lake before the tree happened to fall on it?

 

no ****, we all pay high premiums because of stupid stuff, but when a real deal happens to someone they find any reason not to pay for it. i should have known, my brothers Caddy got stolen once and they did not want to pay because it was parked in the street. Very VERY stupid. Wish i could tell ya all who the company was. Grrr

 

I am a body technician here in denver and YFZ 450 guy is right they are more than likely selling you a cab without the upper front structre. I have replaced these rails complete without sectioning but it is pretty involved. Your best bet would be to try to get the cab with the upper structure still intact.