Maybe I've been watching too many episodes of Diesel Brothers, but it occurred to me that I might be able to convert my 2017 F-250 to a DRW.

Is it as simple as ordering an arrowcraft kit? Their website is hard for me to understand... but I wonder... will my stock bed work? Will I need bolt on fenders?

I think my Sterling 10.5 axle was used in older, gasser, F350 DRW's... don't know how well it would do but would prefer not changing it... or the gear ratio (I have 3.55).

Finally, I know I'd need to change out my front wheels as well so I would only need to carry 1 spare.

Anything else? I guess for me, being forced to change the bed or swap out for a Dana axle would be a deal breaker...

 

Why not just trade in for a dually?

 

Anything is possible with enough time, skill and $$.

Purchasing a DRW axle will probably be the easiest part. Things to consider:

leaf spring mounting points; shock mounting bracket alignment, rear gear ratio will need to match front gear ratio (or change front gear ratio); will an older axle pinion match up to existing driveshaft mount; ABS sensor integration; will brake calipers on replacement axle integrate with current system calibration; fender extensions, possible exhaust re-work and I'm sure several other things that don't come to mind.

Would probably be better off selling your truck in the private market (will get way more than a trade-in) and just upgrade to a 350 DRW.

 

You'd be adding weight to a vehicle that's already limited by the class 2 weight limits. A factory F350 DRW has a 14,000 pound gvwr. The 10.5 Sterling is a limiting factor for your tow rating. That's why the SRW trucks with the increased tow capacity have the Dana axle. The conversion could of course be done but what would you hope to accomplish?

 

Why would you want to do this, especially to an F250?

 

If I could do it for a couple thousand dollars there's probably no way to simply swap out for one anywhere close to that amount, given that I just bought my F250 in November.

I didn't understand the towing charts, and thought the higher end trucks were much more expensive than they were...so never really considered them.

 

Thanks. I hadn't really thought of that. As time moves on I think this option will let me trade in sooner if I end up moving that way.

 

Excellent point. I know it won't up the sticker weight, hadn't thought about how much it will lower the 'legal' payload. I should have thought about this too because the airbags I just ordered weigh 35# and I remember thinking... how ironic... putting these bags on lowers the capacity on paper while doing the opposite in reality.

 

It will not change the sticker in the door. Your tow ratings will not change.

Just sell the truck! From reading your posts, you've been unsatisfied with it since you bought it.

 

I guess it boils down to... I wish I'd bought an F450 and don't want to take a >10k hit to fix the situation.

Normally I buy the biggest, most expensive thing on the market. However, my wife was not a fan of me buying a truck that cost significantly more than our first house, and when my F250 hit 81-ish-K for tax, tag, and title I quit looking for more expensive trucks.

F250's are what they have on the lots, and maybe it's just me, but I've not found the bigger, badder, higher-end trucks on the lots near me. So F250's is what I had to look at, and as mentioned they were very expensive.

The towing charts are really confusing. When I started looking at them there was a lot I didn't understand, and it looked like I could tow more than enough.

I joined this forum a week or two before I pulled the trigger on my F250.

I love it, and it's the most beautiful, incredible truck I've ever owned.

But hanging out on this forum, I've learned that my 'legal' towing numbers are far below any of those charts. (I've burned up the 5th wheel forum comparing why, and coming to the realization that 250/350 are can be made into the same truck easily -- and I'm in the process of doing that.)

While I know on paper that my modified F250 can and will pull every bit as safely (pound for pound) as the exact same F350 stock off the lot... the GVWR police are... EVERYWHERE.

- these forums
- the big truck and rv youtube channel (interesting because he admits the F250 and F350 are the same truck with better suspension and more air in the tires) yet he just made a 20 minute video admonishing anybody who tows past their GVWR.
- Every manufacturer of airbags, helper springs, etc. tells you it's ONLY to prevent squat and to never exceed GVWR/GCWR
- Now, come to find out, 3 states are stopping people and giving them over weight tickets

All these 'weight police' are like a soothsayer that keep whispering... you'll be sorry...you'll be sorry. So, I don't know. A part of me just wants to say "ok. we all agree on the physics...but you all keep telling me that judges, juries, and police officers are human and unpredictable...won't look at the physics...will only look at the sticker." Sigh... I think I'd just like to put all of that out of my mind and "be within my numbers." Short of being able to do that... if I ever do end up arguing my case... I think a DRW F250 would fare better...and I think it looks better...and it would be a pretty unique thing.

Along this journey I've learned that DRW's make the best towing platforms and I want to start doing a lot more towing.

Also, purely emotional, I think the DRW's look more bada**. I always have, but for reasons above (and me being worried about parking it) I didn't go there.

Now I have to park my F250 CCLB like a dually anyway.

And come to find out the bigger trucks are not nearly as 'more' expensive as I'd thought.

So, yeah, if I could snap my fingers and go back to November, I'd buy an F450.

 

Yeah, the more I'm thinking about this... more more that seems to be the only option. Sadly it will take me a year or two to make that happen because I need to not just throw >10k away so satisfy the sticker police... but yeah... you're right. And in the long run, that's the best answer. In the short run, a DRW conversion sounds like a fun project.

 

The CRAZY thing is... the F450 isn't more expensive. This sticker is just a few thousand more than mine -- and I'm pretty sure this has some options (camper package... is that even a thing? I did check that box and slide for extra payload) that my F250 doesn't. I just want to punch somebody at Ford in the face (I mean, put the truck below on the lot next to my F250 and see which one I buy)... and I want to punch myself too for not joining this forum a year before I bought my F250. And FWIW it's these kinds of price comparisons that tell me the payload sticker in the F250 is BS. (Not arguing that an F450 is much more truck than the F250...but it can't have TOO many different parts.) And coming full circle, looking at this tiny price difference tells me if I improved my suspension and maybe did do the DRW conversion, if I were to treat my SRW F250 as a SRW F350 (certainly not like a DRW F450) at least I'd feel like I'd done all I could be be safe with my F250... and it looks like it could cost a fraction of trading in my brand new F250. Sigh.

 

Do you think your original dealer might be sympathetic enough to give you a fair trade, since you'll be buying a more expensive truck? Even if you lose $10K on the deal, amortize that over 5 years of ownership and it's not that significant.

Plus, now you've lived with your SD for a while....I bet there are a few things you would order differently....which you could go ahead do and if you reorder.

 

I approached the sales guy about trading up to an F350 and he said that would be the stupidest thing ever because if I bolster the suspension and air up the tires I can have the same truck.

He did say I wouldn't notice any difference unless I opted for a DRW.

So thanks for this suggestion. I'm going to ask him, out of curiosity, what the truck in the pic would cost me. I'll post the answer here. Thanks

 

The same salesman that sold you the pick up that wont do what you want in the first place?