SoCalDesertRider wrote: ...His '98 should have a Dana 80 in it if I remember correctly, if not then a Dana 70.
The 98 CTD 2500's with the 47RE came with a 'Hybrid' Dana 80,
98 CTD 2500's with the 5 speed came with a Dana 80 for SRW.
MTBob, just about any camper you put on will bring you over your gross weight rating. It's more a matter of how much over you care to go, certainly never exceed your individual tires ratings. IMO, You might want to limit your camper selections to non-basement, non-slideout models. My camper, not being one of them, is 4000 lbs dry and empty, of which 96% of the weight is added over the rear axle. You could check out Lance Mfg, they have a good website with a lot informative model info.
I shouldv'e been more clear. Thru sometime in 04', the auto 2500's had the weaker axle. For 89' thru 02' this meant the Dana 70. For 03'-04' this meant the AAM 10.5". The manual tranny 2500's and 1ton's received the bigger axle. For 89'-02' this was the Dana 80. For 03'+, this is the AAM 11.5". Probably starting with the 04.5' all Cummins receive the AAM 11.5". The 04.5' was the start of the 600 engine.
Also, his truck is either custom, 98' 5spd with either the 12v or 24v, or, it's a 99' 6spd 24v. If 24v, fuel pressure monitoring should be mandatory to help the VP44.
Earlier post was meant to be short. I also agree with previous post. Not many campers on the market that will comply with 8800lb load capacity.
SoCalDesertRider: How can I tell which axle I have? Are you talking about the actual axle or the entire housing & differential casing? (that may be a dumb question now that I think about).
When we refer to the 'axle', normally we are referring to the whole assembly, versus just the actual axle shaft inside the axle housing.
Danas have 10 bolts around the differential cover. The AAM 10.5" axle has 14 bolts and used to be called the GM Corporate 14-bolt by most people. Dana models 44 through 80 all have a similar shape to the housing and differential cover, they just get bigger with each step up the ladder. Your '98 truck will have Danas in both ends (if it's 4wd). Should be a Dana 60 up front and a Dana 80 in the rear, or as FF1063 said, the Dana 80/70 hybrid. I have heard of this hybrid in the past and forgotten it untill now and don't know the details about it. I know it contains parts of both 70 and 80 axle models but that's all I know about it. Hopefully FF1063 can tell us more.
You can go to www.reiderracing.com or www.ring-pinion.com or www.dana.com to learn more about Danas and other axle models used in pickups.
Actually, now that I remember it, there is a build code stamped into the axle housing tube next to the differential housing, I forget how many digits but there are a few of them, like 6 or more, and that number can be looked up on the Dana website and will tell you exactly what axle it is and what gear ratio and differential type it was built with and what vehicle it was made for. The ratio and differential type code is also stamped on a sheetmetal tag attatched to one of the differential cover bolts and/or stamped into the cover itself. I will see if I can find the url for the dana web page to look up the build number.
Ok, I found the website. Is this a 4wd or 2wd? Is it '98 or '98.5? Does it have abs brakes? There are several BOM (bill of materaial) numbers listed for '98 and '98.5 2500 Dodge trucks. Dana 60's were also used in the rear of these trucks. The BOM is a 6 digit number and if I remember correctly it is on the left side axle tube. The number should start with a 6.
For example, for a '97.5 W2500 with abs using a Dana 60 rear the BOM is 606054-1 for 3.55 ratio with an open differential and 606054-2 for 4.10 ratio with a Trac-Lok differential.
Here is the web address: http://www2.dana.com/expertforms/demenu.aspx
Choose "light axle", under the spicer logo and choose "bill of material/where used" or choose "axle bill of materials" under the "light axle" menu on the right. Plug in your 6 digit BOM number and it will search for the information.
2001.5 must be the last year Dana axles were used in Dodge trucks cause the that's the newest year Dana lists a BOM for a Dodge truck for.
* This post was
edited 07/19/08 11:00pm by SoCalDesertRider *
MTBob
we load our trucks by using GAWR's/matched tire caps. If I'm not mistaking MT is one of the states that allows uprate GVWR registration for your truck. Looking at Montana code 61-10-233 at the end of para 2 reads "provided that registered GVWR does not exceed the legal axle weight".
My previous tow truck, '01 2500 Dodge/Cummins, had a 6064 RAWR. The trucks rear when empty weighed about 2700 lbs whic leaves 3360 lbs (est) for my legal payload.
One thing for sure if GVWR is used as a payload figure it will be way under under any legal towing regs. If its a concern for you I would contact the state the truck is registered in for their input on GAWR's vs GVWR for weighing any 2500 truck. Stay under axle and tire caps.
Jim
'03 2500 Dodge/Cummins HO 3.73 6 speed manual Jacobs
'97 Park Avanue 28' with two slides
If my memory is correct, the 'Hybrid' DANA 80 is a DANA 80 Center with DANA 70 axle tubes. I wonder what they were really saving $$ using this axle configuration rather than just using the standard DANA 80 ?
MTBob, you should be able to look up under the hood next to the locking mechanism, there is an 'as built' sticker that lists the Axles, Ratio, as well as other things. That's what I have.
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