hi. i am new here so forgive if this a stupid question. i just purchased this truck and while doing research to find out more about it...i wasn't even sure what engine was in it! it was a farm truck kept in a barn, purchased from a widow that knew very little about her late husbands favorite truck. i bought it to put a camper on the back.

so i my online research i am begining to think that the dually/flatbed combo is not original....and if so? no big deal? should i keep as is or think about returning it to a single rear wheel?

thanks for the input. i look forward to getting back to the old school and greasy chilton's manuals.

 

They made an F-250 dually 4x4 in a cab and chassis version. They did not put any type of a bed on the cab and chassis models.

 

as far as i have ever known they did not ever make a f 250 dually 4x4 from the factory. you could get a f350 dually chassis/cab 2wd,but not a f250 chassis /cab dually. they did not make a f350 dually pick up until 1980,and it was only avalible in 2wd.

 

i don't know enough to be able to look underneath and tell if the rear end is original or not, but i think the bed was added judging by the wood block spacers and u-bolts.
the truck is in great shape for it's age and cranks well, shifts and runs great, in spite of plenty of little leaks...hopefully it will hang in there while i slowly make improvements.

 

That doesn't look like dually wheels on the front. I can't tell in the pictures on the rear but looks like adapters on a single rear. Does the center of the hub stick out past the wheels about 3 inches if so it is a dually rear if it only sticks out say an inch it has adapters on it.

 

You are absolutely correct. Somehow I mis-read the book. I actually new better as I was posting that the dually 4x4 wasn't made. Thanks for correcting me hotrod.

 

They didnt make a 78 4x4 duallie.
But thats a pretty nice truck Id take it in a flash!

 

Hmmm. starmilt you are correct. the rear hub does not stick out 3 inches. So by your statement you are saying that there is likely just and adaptor to add the second wheel? would the rear end have been changed at all?
i am wondering becuase my intention is to put a slide in camper on the flatbed, then moutn storage boxes along the sides. so, should i leave it as is or try to get it back to a SRW with a flatbed and camper. i looked up the vin# and it said the engine is the 351, M i suppose. do i need the dually for the weight...or are there any advantages to going back to a single rear wheel? again...im not familar with this stuff. i just sold a 99 f150 with over 200K miles tha ai drove daily since new to buy this and a camper, so i am walking backwards in time, and knowledge, so forgive any over simple questions.

 

just because ford didnt make it doesnt make it a bad truck
do you like it thats all that counts

 

right on man, i hear ya, and i'm not normally so concerned with things like that, i'm just trying to wrap my head around what i got.

 

Ive got something simlar, its just 1 ton rims on the back of a F-250.

 

i think that truck is a f 250 4x4. it looks like the stock dana 60 rear axle that someone has bolted dually rims on. the axle does not appear to even come through the hub center on the rims. thats a tell tale sign that is a 3/4 ton dana 60. also the wheel lugs will be 5/8 on the dana 60 .the 1 ton dana 70 has 9/16 wheel lugs. if you plan to carry a camper, i would beef up the rear axle to properly bolt the dually rims on it.the small 3/4 ton wheel lugs are too weak to hold the extra weight of the 2 dually rims under a load. the 2 dually rims are thicker ,than 1 regular 3/4 ton rim. also the added leaverage created by the wider outer offset dually rim stresses the lugs, and axle bearings. im sure if you are just driving around on the dually rims with out a heavy camper,or load you will be fine. other wise if you want to haul your camper i would suggest you remove the dually rear wheel and run regular single wheels until the correct dually axle is installed. to haul a camper you won't need the dual rear wheels. the stock 3/4 ton axle with regular single wheels will haul a camper fine. i say this because i know a fair amount about building dually trucks. i have been building and driving them for 25 plus years. if you want to haul any decent weight, just put a 1 ton dually axle in, then you won't have any troubles. i have tried to use a 3/4 ton dana 60 axle for duallies, i lost a set of wheels on the highway when the lug nuts all sheared off. i was very lucky the dually wheels did not hit anyone! that was enough to teach me to do the job right the next time. my dually has a drw dana 70 axle.i'm not trying to rain on your parade, i just see a lot of strange things done to vehicles. you would not want to damage your truck, your camper ,your family,or others, im sure. your truck is very nice. i like how clean it looks, the flat deck is really good looking too. it would not be hard to upgrade the rear axle to a proper dually rear diff. you won't have to worry about frame clearances for the inner rear wheels because you don't have a box with wheel tubs to clear. just pick up a dana 70 drw axle and bolt it in...done deal. (P.S. just because its not a factory built truck,does not mean its any less COOL!!!)

 

Buy it now! Restore the original wheels/axle. Show it off! Smile real big!

 

I totally agree!!! have fun driving it!!!

 

I didnt notice the hub on the truck.
Mine has a bunch of hub sticking out.