I have a 92 7.3 idi 4x4 long bed ext cab f250. i use it only to tow, right now a 24' tag. which it does okay with. i have a 5th wheel setup for it (never used it) and im looking at new trailers. thinking of something around 28+ triple axle.

anyways im looking at converting the front to a solid dana 60 and switching to a 350 drw axle and getting dually fenders.

now my dad has taken a 85 f250 460 auto and converted it to a 7.3 f350 5spd, converted from ibeam to d60 up front but left the same rear...

so to change to a dual rear wheel what is involved? what are my options? i have tried to do some research on here and online other places, but it looks like most are out for just the cosmetic aspect of it, using adapters and what not, i dont want that, i want to increase my towing capabilities. i love the truck, its a single owner (my grandpa) xlt. I dont make a lot of money so i dont wanna buy a 50k truck. im scraping to just get a decent used trailer.

suggestions would be appreciated.

 

The problem is converting the front end. The rear is simply swapping in the DRW axle and springs, as well as any brake hardware changes (I.E. parking brake cables, proportioning valve, hydraulic lines, etc). The front is the problem because the frames are different I believe for the TTB/I beam and coil set up and the solid axles with leaf springs. They are designed to carry their loads differently in relation to spring mounting, IIRC (I.E. the coil frames are set up to carry weight at the spring bucket, while the leaf spring frames are designed to carry weight at the shackle mounting locations).

 

Adapters are not for looks only, several people I know have used the arrowcraft kits with no issues and towed regularly. The other option is get a rearend from a dually.

 

i was going to try and just find the dually rear first.

as for the front, my truck has leaf springs now. as did my dads. he just swapped out the springs and axle out front from the f350 donor he had.

i would like to do a RSK and SD leafs up front because to be honest the ride was BRUTAL after my dad did his swap with the standard setup.

 

to switch from ifs to dana 60 is a bolt in deal, as long as you get everything from the F-350.
same with the rear axle.
find a DRW pickup, and just take the rear. a cab chassis axle will not fit, it is narrower.
the other option is to use the arrowcraft conversion kit. but that cost around $2500

 

Even though we all know a DRW setup handles a load better, the DOT will look at you VIN and go with the max gross combined weight rating the manufacturer gave for the original configuration of your truck.

Robert

 

oh wow. the conversion is just out of the question then...

one question though is what are the exact differences between a f250 rear, and f350 rear? differences between SRW and DRW. right now i have the full float rear. to my knowledge, im curious as to whether i can just swap out hubs/brakes from a dually, are all the duallys 4.10? thats what i currently have.

appreciate the input, im not looking to legally be able to tow more, just would like the rig to be stout and handle a load "better" DRW i have read adds a lot more freeway truck passing stability, let alone sharing the load on twice as many tires.

 

Just leave the ttb Dana 50 and put duals on back. The weight rating is set from factory according to dot, so putting a d60 in front won't legally help you.
Find a dually pickup for a rear axle, put it in. I've used dually spacers with great luck. Just don't use aluminum ones. I can't make my mind accept that.

To legally tow more you need to either get a better vehicle, or register your truck for more weight. But again, gvwr is set from factory, you can just tow more as long as gvwr isn't exceeded.

 

yeah only reason i was looking to get a 60 up front was for reliability, the BJ's or Kingpins whatever they are called in the ifs are going bad, as are some of the steering linkage, figured id just build a 60 and start fresh. would it be cheaper to overhaul my ttb? also is there a lot of work involved?

i plan on keeping this truck for a long time, want to go through all of it.

and like i said before, im not too worried about the legality of it. just want it to be reliable and stable/safe... and still ride decently.

have many people put sway bars on the pickups to help with sway and towing stability?

 

there is no difference between a f250HD and f350 SRW axle.
they are both identical sterling 10.25 full floating axles.

the difference between a f250HD and a f350 drw pickup axle is that the drw axle is greatly wider.

drw axles sport wider brake shoes.

no.not all drw axles sport 4.10 gearing.however,i was unable to find an axle from a 93-97 f350 drw pickup that (truly/authentically/verified) with 3.55 gearing like the earlier ones.i spent many hours e-mailing and talking to yards all over the US.i concluded it was a unicorn and gave up.i do firmly believe all f350 drw pickup axles from 93-97 came with 4.10's.
i went with a 1st gen (pre '93) drw axle,that i could actually verify had 3.55 gearing.

with your 4.10 gearing,it will be a walk in the park to source one.they're still not cheap,but at least readily available and in the more desirable 2nd gen version 93-97 with the longer yoke and pinion.

it's far more affordable to keep the D50 and just replace the ball joints,tie rods and wheel bearings.
not only will a d60 set you back a grand,but it'll likely need the maintenance just as well.
then you'd have the added expense of swapping out the rear blocks for the taller 4" ones,to have the truck set level again,and get reduced fuel economy making overall ownership costs greater with lower fuel economy.
well worth it or a complete waste.all depends on what you do with the truck.same to be said about the dually.if you don't need it,don't do it.the costs is so much greater,the ride much firmer,the traction so much worse,and the fuel economy takes a nasty dive.all you gain is payload and stability.if you don't find a need for either,don't do it.at least i sure as heck wouldn't.

my trucks always been extremely stable for some odd reason.even when i had the large 8' wide dump bed on,and still srw,there was no stability/sway issues.now as drw,it's greatly more stable,and i couldn't imagine wanting more stability,so i never add a sway bar for anything.imho for my truck,it would just be dead added weight and the truck already weighs much more than id like it to,so i don't do it.

 

thank you very much, you have given some great insight here. will be putting thought into this. have given me a lot to think about. maybe ill just do the front end and focus on getting the new motor together...

 

The only thing with keeping the ttb up front would be the issue of needing two spare tires because of the dually wheel being different. The dana 60 i believe can be swapped parts from hub to accept the dually wheel so you may be able to use able to use srw dana 60 with a hub and steering knuckle from drw front axle

 

yes,just like the D60,you have the same options.
1.source the 4wd d60 drw front hubs (found on the 4wd f350 cab n chassis trucks) and bolt them to your d50.
or
2.buy arrowcraft aa-4 front dually wheel adapters.
http://www.arrowcraft.com/products.php

 

I did EXACTLY what you want to do.
I took my 97 F250 Crewcab Short bed SRW an made it into a dually.
I did it for towing reasons AND to be different.

But I will also reiterate what others have said about the legal issue. The door jam says what your TRUCK is rated for(8,800lbs). Making it a dually will add NOTHING to the truck rating. If anything it will REDUCE it because now your truck weighs MORE, so you can haul LESS. My truck has a GVWR of 8,800lb (weighs 7,300lbs with me in it) and a Combination weight of 26,000lbs(weighs 12,500 as truck and EMPTY trailer)


This is how I went about it, but there are a couple ways to do it.

1. my front TTB D50 was SHOT. Needed brakes, ball joints, u-joints, steering linkage and pivot bushings. Sooooooooo...............



And I picked up a 95 F350 D60 axle$500(it was a dually but I 1st put in in as a SRW axle). Rebuilt the WHOLE thing minus new gears and bearings. I had about $500 into it PLUS $400 for the F350 springs + RSK(reverse shackle kit, it adds 3"lift{NOT necessary}) I completely tore the axle apart and sandblasted it then, POR15 and Valspar tractor black



Then installed it in the truck but with SINGLE wheel hubs(they just go on with the wheel bearings, VERY easy to swap out)
(in top of pic is front dually hubs)


I ran it as a Single wheel truck for about a year
But then when it was time to fix the rust, I decided on the whole dually thing



I decided i wanted to make it as close to ford as possible, if ford made a 4wd dually pickup(they did NOT till 99)

SO I got a Factory dually PICKUP rear axle. You need a PICKUP dually axle. it is Wider than a SINGLE wheel axle, is Wider than a cab-n-chassis axle and it has the correct spring perches for a PICKUP.

Found a limited slip 87-97 Sterling 10.25 DUALLY PICKUP axle with 4.10s for $500. At this time I also upgraded to a set of 2000 SuperDuty leaf springs(B codes) for a better ride

For the front, I just sandblasted my factory dually hubs and painted them. Then put them on my "new" D60 front axle

For wheels I found 4 Alcoa Hotshot aluminum wheels. Also found 2 Alcoa Magnum aluminum wheels for the inner 2 wheels($500). Just a FYI, you canNOT run 4 aluminum wheels in the back withOUT a spacer(I am using a spacer because I am running 35x12.50 tires)



On to the bed. Like I said earlier FORD never made a Dually 4wd PICKUP, no less a SHORAT BED Dually. So I was SOL on finding a Factory shortbed Dually bed. SO I MADE one. I Had rot in the wheel wells so i sure as heck didnt mind cutting out the wheels wells. I bought a set of ARROWCRAFT dually conversion fenders($600) and their 2" biller steel spacers($200){needed to run the 4 aluminum wheels and 35" tires}

Arrowcraft has you basically just bolt their fenders to your bedside. I didnt like that idea becaue you would still see the original SRW bedside under the DRW fender. SO...... I bolted on the fender, took a sharpie and traced out the INSIDE of the fender.


THEN........

BAM. No more wheel well(OR SUPPORT)
Passenger

Driver




To strengthen the bedside I dissected a FACTORY dually bed and stole some of its supports and I made some of my own





For the top of the fender



I also used a mix of Factory Dually pickup filler necks and cab-n-chassis filler necks(for the better vent). Used the factory inner splash shield and made some brackets to mount them




I sandblasted the ENTIRE bottom side of the bed(along with factory fender braces, POR15 then topcoated with valspar tractor black again


Also Spray bed lined the wheel wells and inside of the dually fenders(as to not get any rock stars from rocks being thrown). I also MOVED the fender marker light to the BOTTOM of the fended as to NOT get any glare in the mirror like they do in the Stock TOP position


This is the final product. There and many way to go about it, but I think this is the MOST CORRECT way to go about it(in you case you can BUY a factory dually bed)

 

Wow brad that's one beautiful truck you got there