I am building a custom 1979 F-250.I want to put operable tandem axles.Anyone have advice on how to ,if it`s even possible?How to connect axles and what about suspension?

 

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So you want to have 2 rear axles, both with power to them? I dont know how this could be done unless you used Rockwell top loader axles out of a 2 1/2 ton military truck. Im not too sure this would work very well with a standard 133" wheelbase.

 

Thanx!I love Ford trucks,currently own 4 plus my girlfriend now has a 94 Ford Explorer.It was one of my requirements,get rid of the dodge and get a Ford.HaHa!!No actually she traded her dodge for a motorcycle I wanted.What a woman!!!!
Anyway,someone suggested military equipment but I love the way these axles perform.If it isn`t feasible(at least mildly easy & cheap)I`ll probably scrap the idea & go to plan B.

 

My son just got a Dodge Power Wagon that is set up this way. If the weather clears a little I will go out this weekend and get some pics for you. It is a sweet set up. And they call it a 3/4 ton truck. He gave a farmer $300 for it. He likes old iron. Guess he got that from me. PM me with your email if want some pics Ill try to get them for you. Let me know. Erv

 

I spent some time thinking about that, I was considering doing it to my 46 pickup.

If you use the 9" rears, you can build a bracket that will bolt to the diff. flange on both axles, run a shaft with a slip spline between the 2 axles above and to the right of center, have the driveshaft go to the aux .shaft, and use cog belt and gears to run the 2 diff's.

the beauty of this setup is you can change rear end gear ratio by swapping the cog belt pulleys.

Then use a tandem axle spring setup from a trailer with a pivot hanger in between them. that way the axles will be fully inedpendant and all 4 tires will follow the ground with equal weight on all.

And yes, I have been disturbed for quite some time now

 

go to usa6x6.com. it's easily doable

 

Nice rig, I just emailed them for a quote on there gearbox for the conversion. No prices on the site, I think they do most of there own conversions. Not sure if they will sell parts or not .

EDIT; I found the price for the gearbox, it's 2700 bux, i think I can make it alot cheaper than that.

 

If you could find a couple high speed 90 degree gear boxes from some farm equipment, you could do it that way, turn the axles so that the pinion was facing upward, move the axle vent, and fill the axles with oil a little higher, might work. It depends what you are wanting the additional axle for, weight capacity, or just doing it all for looks. For weight capacity, you could consider just building a tag axle that isn't driven, but would be load bearing. Then you just make a "u" shape in the cross shaft to clear the drive shaft.

 

The Dodge 6x6 was actually rated at 1.5 tons. It had two ouputs on the transfer case. A driveshaft went to each axle, the r rear shaft used a pillowblock mounted on the f rear axle. I think the two rear axles were always powered. A friend restored one, and he removed one of the shafts for easier-driving/steering.

 

There is a truck on ebay right now (not mine or anyone I know) with tandem rear axles. He has quite a few pictures of the rear axles. Sounds like what he has works pretty well for him. You could probably ask him for more pictures and more information on how his set-up works to get info for your own, especially if you want to try to do it as inexpensively as possible... item #4595186343

 

the drive setup looks ok although a cog belt would be 0 maintainance, but I don't like his spring setup. I would go with dual springs.

 

Thanx a million guys.I`ll check into these possibilities.BTW I`m just building a custom show truck.6 door cab/8 ft bed.

 

I have a pair of 10.25" sterlings both with 3.54s and complete spring packs just sitting in the backyard,,,,, and lots of time.


Hmmmm my neighbor has a few junk snowmobiles with good tracks. Is it wrong to think about a F250 halftrack?

 

Never WRONG, maybe just a touch of insanity though