hey everyone... if you remember i'm the guy who wanted to know if you had to change gear ratios for bigger diameter tires. Well... i've made up my mind and have decided to not upgrade tires and gears all together. But i have something else in mind.

I came across a part from the J.C. Whittney catalog that can convert a standard truck to a dually in the rear. Is it still the same principal (which i doubt) for this conversion? Do i still have to change gears?

If i go through with this, i would maintain the same size tires in diameter but put WIDER tires all around, and of course the dually look in the rear.

If anyone has ever done this let me know. this is just for show and the truck is rarely put through a lot of stress.

same question here:
gear ratios?
engine life?
and performance?

 

Larry,
I have never used the conversion you are asking about, but I'll try to help anyway.

Using the same diameter tires on your truck will not alter the speed ratio. Concerning driveline wear, anytime you give your truck more weight to spin, it will increase the rate of wear on your driveline. Consider this: your truck will be turning twice the weight with dually tires as it is with singles. It shouldn't make that much difference on the highway, but you might notice it in a lot of stop-and-go driving. Since you wil not be using it much, it shouldn't matter.

One plus of duallies is increased traction due to a greater area of contact with the road- which might be good for towing. Also, dualies are a god-send for driving in snow. Not only do they give added traction, they are also less prone to sliding sideways on a slippery surface.

One thing you might want to be sure of- if the offset on the dually conversion is not correct, it will have adverse affects on your rear axle and hubs. Also, since you will be using wider tires, be sure that there will be enough clearance between the rear tires to prevent them rubbing together while driving.

Best of luck- have fun with your truck. That's what its made for.

Nate

1964 F-100 Custom Cab 292 V-8 3 spd
1964 F-100 292 V-8 3 spd
1990 F-150 5.8L

 

I remember seeing somewhere on this board a link to a website that sold dually conversion kits. Everything from just the spacers all the way up to sets with spacers, Alcoa wheels, tires and fender flares. Sorry I don't remember the website, but if you use the search feature, you'd probable find i pretty quickly!

Best of luck,
Chuck

 

www.arrowcraft.com

have fun!

 

hey thanks Nate and Cbremer.... but here's another question. its simple really.

My truck is a short bed. do you think its possible or practical to convert it to a dually? I want the looks and it seems less troublesome than lifting and putting better tires. thanks again!

 

You can do anything you want to as long as your willing to pay the bills on it. As far as being practical that's up to you. What do YOU want to do? If you're talking about the same dual wheel setup I remember seeing in Whitney, it may not be what you're thinking it is. You maintain the original stock tire size, and simply add two more tires to it. What you end up doing is adding more stress to the original lug bolts that are already there. In other words you're going to end up adding more outward offset. All it is, is a spacer that goes onto your original wheel then you add another one to it. No matter what the ad says you are still using your original lug bolts to support it as well as your original wheel bearings. The ONLY thing you are going to do is decrease the amount of sidewall flex when pulling towing. You can do that with a set of 6 or 8 ply tires without near the expense. You are not going to increase towing or hauling capacity because everything else is still original.

My 2c
Trail Rider

 

You will be increasing the loads applied to your axle bearrings due to the extended outward leverage of the increased tire width(2 as compared to 1). I would not suggest this conversion with anything less than a full floating 3/4 or 1 ton axle,(preferably a Sterling 10.25 ). I have a friend in California who wound up in a ditch with his right rear tires and axle shaft passing him by, about a week after his Chevy conversion of the same nature.
Jeff