I have a 97 f350 I use for pulling trailers for work. Would like to make it a dually. I have no idea where to begin. I have recently installed an aluma flat bed so I don't have to worry about fenders. Any ideas on what to do first?

 

2wd or 4wd? looking for full convert front and rear? will you be hauling heavy or just looking for added stability for towing?

 

Hauling heavy I bought a 48' gooseneck trailer that I haul my equipment on. I was trying to save some money and haul everything with one rig but there's too much weight on the rear tires, they keep breaking bands and mutating. the trucks 4wd. I just put on an aluminum flatbed so i have no worries about width, just need to know the right way to do things. The local suspension guy says i have to put a dually rearend under it to be strong enough, he says the adapters push the wheels out to far and they will actually bend my rearend???

 

do you have 4.10 gearing now?

1.arrowcraft aa4 series front adapters
Adaptors, Wheels, Duality Fenders and Complete Kits - Arrowcraft :: Helping You Handle the Road for over 30 years!
OR
4wd D60 DRW HUBS/rotors.(you'll only find these on 4wd f350 4x4 cab n chassis trucks,because ford never offered a 4wd dually pickup pre-99.)


2.PICKUP (not cab n chassis) DRW axle.it's the widest sterling offered at over 59" wide between brake backing plates at the very top.
trust me when i tell you,3.55's were not offered in this axle aft-92 (2nd gen sterling.)
so you'll need to go older if you need 3.55's to match front 3.54 gearing if that's what you have and get a conversion u-joint,and swap over to the straps for shaft.
just make sure you get late 80's 1st gen sterling with the ring tone/sensor at the top.
if you have 4.10 gearing,then you'll be able to find a DRW pickup axle 2nd gen sterling 93-97 with ease.a direct swap in.

3. six dually rims and 32 lug nuts matched for them.7 rims if you want a spare.

4.new U-bolts for the axle.-now is also the time for added leafs/over loads fyi.if you do this,you'll need a pair of new center bolts.

if you do by chance currently have 3.55 gearing,then a DRW pickup rear with 4.10 gearing is what i would go with anyway and swap the front pumkin to 4.09 (4.10) too because you plan on towing pretty dang heavy.
set her up right for your needs the first time.

5.most likely you'll want to run 215's.some people run 235's but imho that's nuts on a dually,because all the extra tire width hurts traction and economy as is,going with 6 235's is just....whatever,i don't understand it lol.
so most likely you'll want to plan on 6 new tires too.
if you do plan on running 235's do yourself a favor and make sure to buy accuride rims #29578
otherwise you can buy the less expensive #29577 and stick with 215's i run slightly shorter and wider 225's with these too actually issue free fully loaded @ 80psi.id never dream of running 235's on 'em.despite what many claim,i know id blow 'em out for my use,and im sure you would too.


you'll be set back some coin,but at least you don't need a used factory dually bed.


depending on your trucks condition,engine,current gearing,miles and attachment to it,you might be better off selling and buying a diesel 4wd f350 cab n chassis,or it could all be well worth the conversion.i did it with no regrets.minus not scoring the correct drw pickup axle sooner than i did.junk wheel spacers out back ruined my rims and hurt economy.scoring the axle with tone ring and 3.55's was no easy feat let me tell ya.i learned just how rare the axle is in the 1st gen pickup drw axle,and firmly believe it doesn't even exist in the 2nd gen sterling,despite what books (and online salvage yard sellers list) may claim.

 

I run 235/85/16s on my 4x4 dually and have not had a traction problem. if you run a traction tread it will actually increase traction off road. better bite and floatation

 

your cab n chassis came with the wider rims and 235's.
with 235's vs 215's that came on the 2wd drw pickups you will have less traction and less fuel economy.when you compensate with a more aggressive tread,economy goes down even lower.so the wider the tire and more aggressive thread,rolling resistance is grater than the skinnier tire with less aggressive tread by a large amount.there are pro's and cons to every tire size you pick.the trick is to pick the best size that fits your use.a lot of people just go with what they think looks best without stopping to think what the cons are in doing so.
when people think traction,they sometimes think wider must be better.it's not true.the extra flotation has but one advantage only,that's to help sinking in deep mud.traction is increased when you get more psi per square inch on the rubber.
this is why a skinny tire will far outperform a wider tire in the winter with the same tread.floating on the snow is the last thing you want.with a heavy 4wd dually it's not so much a concern,but the issue is clearly there.i know my truck took a major traction hit going from srw to drw,4wd or not,due to the extra tire width and floating.where i once would have went in 4wd as srw never giving it a second thought,i really have to be careful now as some of the places would be a guaranteed place to be stuck.

 

Another thing to consider is, the aluminum flat bed you bough, how wide is it? Will it be wide enough to cover another pair of tires? If it was made for a single wheel truck, then it will NOT