Possible Dually Conversion

[Countryboy07]

I am debating on converting my '97 F-350 into a dually... Here is the truck that I am wanting to do it to:

I love the way it looks now, but I really miss my '97 Dodge Dually... I would run a 16x10 regular wheel in the front and 16x7 dually wheels in the rear to be a little different with 285/75/16 tires. One of the main reasons that I am debating on the conversion is that I will have a Eaton Fuller FS5205A transmission in this rig behind my p-pumped 24V, so this truck will be used for pulling everything on the farm from cattle, grain, tractors, etc. This will be our my dedicated tow truck, so I know I would really like the extra stability of the dual wheels. Let me know what you guys think... BTW, has anybody done the conversion without swapping to a dually rear end? I think that I could run a small spacer on the inside of the hub between the wheel so that the tires will clear the springs. Just trying to save some money on the conversion if I decide to do so, the engine conversion is already eating up a lot of my money! LOL

-French

 

[Patrick Feeley]

You probably already know that the dually bed is totally different. Also the OBS wheels were hub centric and not lug centric, so you would need to make sure that any spacers take that into account (otherwise the wheels may end up off-center. If it's a 4x4 you will also need to worry about front/rear tire diameter difference issues when 4x4 is engaged. Just some thoughts. Cheers!

 

[~NASTYSTROKER96~]

im not sure if im right on this but ive heard its very hard on single wheel axles if you put dually wheels on them since your throwing the center line of the wheel way out and could cause bearing damage if used to haul alot.

 

[Cat_rebel]

For how much spacers cost & the headache you could just find a good used 10.25 dually axle from a pre-97 pickup. Spend a few hours swapping it in & call it a day. Or you could do a Dana 80 from a Dodge or a Ford Van & re-weld the perches & call it a day. One more option is to source a AAM 11.50 from a 3rd gen Dodge dually, re-weld the perches & call that a day.

Lotta ways to go about it.

 

[Countryboy07]

You probably already know that the dually bed is totally different. Also the OBS wheels were hub centric and not lug centric, so you would need to make sure that any spacers take that into account (otherwise the wheels may end up off-center. If it's a 4x4 you will also need to worry about front/rear tire diameter difference issues when 4x4 is engaged. Just some thoughts. Cheers!

Yep, already have a line on a dually bed for the conversion if I want it... All the tires will be the same diamater, just planning on running a srw style wheel on the front rather than putting the dually spacers in there. I like the look of that better than a regular dually wheel up front.

im not sure if im right on this but ive heard its very hard on single wheel axles if you put dually wheels on them since your throwing the center line of the wheel way out and could cause bearing damage if used to haul alot.

I'm not sure about that... As far as I know, the only difference between a regular 10.25 rear and a dually 10.25 is that they dually is a hair bit wider which pushes the wheels/tires away from the springs. I don't really see how it would cause bearing damage, but I'll look into it a little bit.

 

[Countryboy07]

For how much spacers cost & the headache you could just find a good used 10.25 dually axle from a pre-97 pickup. Spend a few hours swapping it in & call it a day. Or you could do a Dana 80 from a Dodge or a Ford Van & re-weld the perches & call it a day. One more option is to source a AAM 11.50 from a 3rd gen Dodge dually, re-weld the perches & call that a day.

Lotta ways to go about it.

I had a dodge dana 80 out of my parts truck, but it was worth more to sell it than to adapt it to the ford... I'm sure I can find a dually rear pretty easily, just weighing my options and trying to keep the cost down a bit as the engine swap is costing me more than I thought it was going to.

 

[Cat_rebel]

Your talking to the guy that completed more damn axle swaps then I can count. :doh: You search around enough & buy/sell/trade one for another & you can make it happen. Think about if your towing heavy do you really want to run 2 spacers on a stock axle?

 

[Countryboy07]

Your talking to the guy that completed more damn axle swaps then I can count. :doh: You search around enough & buy/sell/trade one for another & you can make it happen. Think about if your towing heavy do you really want to run 2 spacers on a stock axle?

True... Find me a dually rear axle then! LOL Oh, did they make a dually with 3.55 gears in it? I currently have 4.10's but the transmission that I have is geared low enough, that I could put in 3.55's and be in the sweet spot with my rpm's. If I stay with my current gears and 33" tires, I'll be turning 3,000rpm and only be going 60mph...

 

[Cat_rebel]

Yep, they made duallys with 3.55s or 4.10 gears. If I find a good cheap 10.25 dually rear I'll let you know.

 

[Countryboy07]

Thank you!

 

[Peroni]

If you can find a way to get it from MA to IN then I got a nice 10.25 dually axle here, even has the inner rims with it.

 

[Cat_rebel]

Find someone heading that way & pony express it.

 

[JoeDaddy]

im not sure if im right on this but ive heard its very hard on single wheel axles if you put dually wheels on them since your throwing the center line of the wheel way out and could cause bearing damage if used to haul alot.

The tire to tire is the same.

That said a dual rear is cheap enough to not mess with adapters. I've crushed several @ $1.05 a pound.

 

[WeBeStrokin]

I've got a dually rear with 3:55's out of a 90 f-350 but I am located in PA