I don't know about the 1997, but if it's anything like the 2003 truck - there's plenty of room on the passenger side.
There's NO ROOM on the driver side.
I couldn't see anywhere 2.5 inches of pipe could be routed on that side.
The only it could be done are
1. Remove the spare tire. Current tire technology (vs the 50s) has gotten so good that tire blowouts aren't really a problem. Some manufactuers don't even include a spare tire for their vehicle. Of course, if you ever do blow out or just have a flat tire for some odd reason, you're out of luck.
2. Look for a donut to take the place of the spare? The spare tire is a full size spare. I don't know if a smaller donut is available for such a heavy vehicle. I doubt it, but I could be wrong. Anyhow, if a donut is available and smaller, it might free up some room to route problem. Now, this is a big MAYBE has there isn't a lot of room back there.
3. Route the pipes underneath the carriage. Basically cut the pipe from behind the muffler, install Y-Pipe there and route the twin pipes underneath the carriage. The pipe distance has to be far enough from the spare to keep the tire from melting from the heat (I don't think this will be a problem). However, by routing the pipes underneath the carriage and suspension, you've decreased your ground clearance. If you ever run over anything tall enough to hit your pipes, well, you know what happens.
4. Have one real and one fake. There's room on the driver side to weld a fake pipe and tip to create the illusion of dual exhaust, but the reality is that you'll only have one functional exhaust. This won't affect the spare tire and you'll still achieve that look. Of course, on a cold day, people may wonder why there is vapor coming out of one pipe instead of two.
8O)
I'm in a similar dilemma. I'd like to have dual exhaust, but can't figure out a way to achieve it functionally.
