Turn a flatbed 2500 5.9l V8 ram into a wrecker Tow Truck?

Howdy Guys,

I've been wanting to start an off-road recovery/on road towing business for some time now.

I've come across a good priced used wheel lift.

Now everyone and their mom says not to use a 2nd gen ram as a tow truck as it has a split frame.

Can you please provide your opinions, this is the cheapest way for me to get rolling. I plan to only tow cars, and trucks, no diesels. Make some money and eventually buy a rollback.

Pics of my truck (last pic is before rear lift), and the wheel lift.

First thing you need to do, beef up that rear end, a 2500 will do small cars imo, but if you want to haul other pickups or SUVs you'll need more in the suspension department. Next, brakes, you must beef up the rear brakes if at all possible, when towing a vehicle, you can expect the rear brakes to contribute anywhere from 20-40% to overall braking depending on the load. If you have single piston calipers on the front, swap them out with dual piston calipers. Tranny cooler, required. Orange/red hazard light bar would fit nicely on top of your cab protection. You'll want to mount a few sturdy lockable boxes to the bed, you'll need some basic tools, straps, car dollies, etc. and you won't want them stolen. I'd replace common steering and control related components if you doubt their reliability. A way to lock a few gas cans is almost a requirement, sometimes people just run out of gas, and you can charge three times pump prices without much issue.

I'd stick a winch on the front as well as the back, sturdy tow hooks are a requirement for any recovery vehicle.

Then you just have to make sure you follow TDOT regulation regarding commercial vehicles.

Ohh yeah, tires, critical that they be the proper load rating.