He's talking about wheel width, not wheel offset or axle width. To run a wide single tire (265 or more), a wider wheel will be needed than the skinny wheels that come stock on duallies.
As far as track widths and offsets go, a low-offset single wheel on a drw axle will place the single tire over the hubs and in the middle of the normal drw rear track width, right about where it should be if running a single tire on that axle.
On my truck, the width difference between the srw and drw axles is 2" per side, which isn't all that much. Using a single wheel on a drw axle in my truck would actually make the front and rear track widths closer to equal, since the srw axle is narrower by about 3 inches overall than the front axle to begin with.
I'm just not seeing the value in going to SRW vs. DRW. Whatever your reasons, I don't think it's worth the time, effort and $ to do a swap.
My swap was from a SRW to a super single SRW, approximating the tread patch of duals and widening out the track 14" wider than stock.
Check out what wheels are used on a 1 ton SRW truck. What's the offset, rim width, and load rating?
If you really want singles, why not explore the idea of finding someone with a SRW rig (and wants a duallie) and affect a trade of some sort.
regards, as always, jefe
'01.5 Dodge 3/4T, CTD, HO, Qcab, SB, 4x4, 6spd, D60, D80+Pwr Loc,
camper&tow pkg,Titan V, 285/75R-16 frnt, 33/14.5 Nitto super singles rr,
Rancho 9K's, Warn M15K winch. tows Jeep CJ8 rock crawler on 14' trailer
'98 Lance Squire Lite 165s, 8' 6" X Cab
That company is bankrupt and deservedly so. Sporadic quality, inconsistent lead times, poor to no communication, and shoddy design work on several of their products. And those are the good qualities.
05 Dodge 3500 4x4 DRW Long Bed 4dr
07 Lance 992
III so far.
I have a few reasons for wanting to convert,2 of them for Mexico travel where duals double the tolls and the difficulty of getting through towns without being stopped and fined and the last to improved mileage.
SO looks like maybe try a trade. But I've only 75K; hard to find a low mileage truck but will look.
And yes a single e tire is too close to max for my comfort so even with a trade it would mean new rims and tires. The present rims are interchangeable front and rear and the inner tire tracks the front. I wonder what would happen if I just bolted the rear rim facing outwards
give me a nice wide track for stability but would that over torque the axle and bearings?
* This post was
edited 06/12/08 06:36am by hopak *
hopak wrote: I have a few reasons for wanting to convert,2 of them for Mexico travel where duals double the tolls and the difficulty of getting through towns without being stopped and fined and the last to improved mileage.
SO looks like I need to measure the axel and maybe try a trade. But I've only 75K; hard to find a low mileage truck but will look.
And yes a single e tire is too close to max for my comfort so even with a trade it would mean new rims and tires.
modifiying vehicles, especially a the direction your going, can open a can of worms. A work buddy went the other direction with his 2500. He made a DRW out of it. Come time to sell/trade the truck dealers wouldn't touch it as it had no certified alterers certification label. See NHTSA web here vehicle modifying. Check out about half way down at the "issues pertaining to load carrying capacity".
Jim
'03 2500 Dodge/Cummins HO 3.73 6 speed manual Jacobs
'97 Park Avanue 28' with two slides
The thing that kills me about that USA6x6 company is the load rating for those "super" singles. An F550 (or my GMC4500) has a rear axle rated at 13,500 pounds. Now you are putting a pair of wheels rated for 8400 total on the ends. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
I would like to see someone (and pictures) doing a conversion to super singles that are rated for much greater capacity, like the 20" the GlobalExpedition vehicles or whatever Unicat America uses. That would make a lot more sense. If it didn't raise the height so much I'd be interested (and maybe I still will someday if I ever could build a custom box/TC.) In the meantime, I'm sticking with my duals....
Hopak, regardless of what a lot of people say, I have heard a lot of people speaking from actual experience that their duallies with heavy loads/TC's actually do pretty well on sand and moderate off-roading. If you have yet to really put yours to the test, I would get out there and try it first and see just how much you really need to make the costly changes.
hopak wrote: I have a few reasons for wanting to convert,2 of them for Mexico travel where duals double the tolls and the difficulty of getting through towns without being stopped and fined and the last to improved mileage.
SO looks like I need to measure the axel and maybe try a trade. But I've only 75K; hard to find a low mileage truck but will look.
And yes a single e tire is too close to max for my comfort so even with a trade it would mean new rims and tires.
modifiying vehicles, especially a the direction your going, can open a can of worms. A work buddy went the other direction with his 2500. He made a DRW out of it. Come time to sell/trade the truck dealers wouldn't touch it as it had no certified alterers certification label.
I agree to a certain extent with this sentiment. I prefer to buy a used truck in it's stock form and do any modifications to it myself, so I know exactly what has been done and can do it 'properly' as I see fit, in my own opinion. Often times, for example, 4x4 trucks that have been 'lifted' end up with parts like sway bars and overload springs missing and the lifted springs don't always retain the original weight ratings of the stock springs, as well as using aftermarket wheels and tires with insufficient weight ratings. Same can be true for going the other direction, 'slamming' a truck. I also have seen some questionable welding done in the course of modifying a truck. Another common thing is changing to much larger tires and forgetting to change the axle gearing to account for the tire height difference (a considerable expense to the next owner to make 'right' if he wants to use the truck for heavy towing), or modifying the engine with parts of questionable value or quality. Once the stock parts have gone missing, it is difficult and expensive to return the truck to a usable condition for the purpose of the next owner. On the other hand, I have seen plenty of trucks modified in ways that are very beneficial and the work done was top notch and complete. These trucks usually retain their value.
One thing you can do, Hopak, is hold onto your stock wheels and tires and other stock parts and, as long as you don't do any permanent, irreversable mods to the truck, you can always put the stock parts back on it when it comes time to sell or trade in and then sell off the aftermarket parts seperately, or sell them with the truck, or keep them for use on the next truck, if they can be used on the next truck.
btggraphix wrote: The thing that kills me about that USA6x6 company is the load rating for those "super" singles. An F550 (or my GMC4500) has a rear axle rated at 13,500 pounds. Now you are putting a pair of wheels rated for 8400 total on the ends. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
I would like to see someone (and pictures) doing a conversion to super singles that are rated for much greater capacity, like the 20" the GlobalExpedition vehicles or whatever Unicat America uses. That would make a lot more sense. If it didn't raise the height so much I'd be interested (and maybe I still will someday if I ever could build a custom box/TC.) In the meantime, I'm sticking with my duals....
Hopak, regardless of what a lot of people say, I have heard a lot of people speaking from actual experience that their duallies with heavy loads/TC's actually do pretty well on sand and moderate off-roading. If you have yet to really put yours to the test, I would get out there and try it first and see just how much you really need to make the costly changes.
BTG, you bring up some very valid points. I agree, when I read about the cool reversible super single wheels on that website, all interest in them faded out when I saw the puny weight ratings, considering the truck they went on. I also thought their extended-frame chassis-cab trucks with the third axle looked like the axles were placed way too far forward for the frame length. After looking at the whole website, I was left with the impression that not much good technical engineering thought went into their conversion projects, at least not on the bigger trucks anyways. I didn't pay much attention to their smaller off-road vehicles.
I also agree, duallies are not bad off-road if you have good tires, a locking differential or a good limited-slip, tires aired down appropriately and a skilled driver at the wheel. I also agree duallies typically handle heavy campers and trailers better than a srw truck, even some that have been modified for the weight.
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