[turboaudi80]

Hi all,

I'm considering a conversion from my 97 F250 Audo 2wd SRW to DRW. I use the truck primarily for towing a small open car trailer all year round and a 42' enclosed gooseneck in the summer, also for the usual home projects on the weekends. Truck has chip, exhuast, and built tranny, considering intercooler and injectors.

Current: 3.55 open Diff

Cons:
-Final drive too tall for towing the big trailer (to keep the power in the sweet spot I have to run 70-75 which feels too fast for the big trailer)
-Open diff sucks in any slippery conditions
-SRW scares me in case of a blow out with te big trailer
Pros:
-Good mpg because of the tall final drive

I'm considering a 4:10 drw (or possibly a 3:73? from a SD) with posi
Here are my questions:
Are drw better for traction than srw?
I think the 3:73 would be the best comprimise ratio, comments?
What will I loose for mpg drw vrs srw?
My rear end has new brakes, can I use those on a non SD rear drw rear end?
Do the SD rear ends bolt in, or do I need to fab (I can weld, just adds to the project)?
What is the difference between pick up and cab/body rear ends? Can they be converted?

Thanks

 

[Phil G.]

Well I can answer one of your questions. Traction is the show will definitely decline with a dually. I have had 1 dually and 6 SRW since. You effectively take the rear weight of the truck and spread it over twice the surface area reducing the pressure the tires are placing on the ground. Yopu gain a little more weight with the extra 2 wheels & heavier rear end but not even close to double. The SWR will apply more pressure and float on top of the snow a lot less than a DRW. You can argue that good tires will improve the dually, well, yes of course, but put the same tires on the SRW and it will preform even better. Having said that, there are a lot of very valid reasons to have a dually and a 42' enclosed trailer just might be one of them!

 

[Snowtow]

The SD rear axle will have a different bolt pattern than your existing front end, leaving you with the need to two spares.

The dually pickup axles are wider than the cab/chassis dually axles, IIRC.

 

[BlueMule]

The SD rear axle will have a different bolt pattern than your existing front end, leaving you with the need to two spares.

Yeah but the SD axles have disc brakes and on a 2WD all he has to do is use the SD front hubs and brakes and then he can use SD wheels on all 4 corners.

 

[turboaudi80]

The SD rear axle will have a different bolt pattern than your existing front end, leaving you with the need to two spares.

The dually pickup axles are wider than the cab/chassis dually axles, IIRC.

I forgot about the different bolt pattern That's probably enough of a deal breaker to rule out the SD axle.

Anyone know of the actual dimensional difference in the cab/chasis vrs pick up axles? I have found a few locally that are cheap.

-Eli

 

[BlueMule]

The frame rails are 3.5" narrower on a cab/chassis. I've never measured the axle but I'd assume they are narrower by the same amount.


Why would the different bolt pattern discourage you? You're going to need different wheels all the around anyhow. IMHO having the rear wheel disc brakes and 3.73 gears would be worth the time and cost to swap to SD front hubs..

 

[turboaudi80]

The frame rails are 3.5" narrower on a cab/chassis. I've never measured the axle but I'd assume they are narrower by the same amount.


Why would the different bolt pattern discourage you? You're going to need different wheels all the around anyhow. IMHO having the rear wheel disc brakes and 3.73 gears would be worth the time and cost to swap to SD front hubs..

I already have 2 of the older dually wheels, and I assume the rest that I need would be cheaper because they are older. Also, some of the older rear ends that I saw locally have wheels included.

 

[tly]

I have driven SRW ford diesels for close to twenty years, last year I purchased my first DRW, while it is a CC, which adds a little extra weight, my 89 supercab is only 500 lbs lighter, at least that is what the scales at the transfer station says.
My 89 has an open rear end and my dually has traction lock... the tires are same on both trucks. same tread, same amount of tread, I can tell you in snowy road conditions the dually will seem to float when you hit slush unless you have some weight in the back, but when going slow.... without using 4wd on either truck the dually will out do the open rear end, I bought my dually because I pull equipment and horse trailers, but while I love the truck
(don't have anything good to say about ford's service or lack thereof) if I had it to do over I think I would have stayed with the SRW, driving both trucks in the same area's it's hard to believe how much difference that extra wheel and fender make when going through tight places, I had heard all the horror stories about dually's getting stuck on wet grass, I'm sure you have heard them too, I have found none of that to be true.
but she is wide at the hip. If I was buying another ford, it would have to be a 2005 or newer, the turning radius is unreal, this CC turns so far inside my SC it's unbelieveable unless you see it for yourself.