Alcoa rims on a DRW 3500

[RVTRKN]

I looked at a 2013 CTD DRW 3500 my dentists receptionist bought, when I gave her my General Ameritrac tire I posted about a couple of weeks ago. I thought the 4th Gen would be a better forum for my question. The Alcoa rims on her 3500 were only on the outside of the duals with the steel rim on the inside, so the question is how do you rotate the tires properly without having to switch the tires on the rims? I believe the OEM Alcoa's weren't available for the 3rd Gen trucks, thats why I posted here in the 4th Gen forum.

 

[DonFitzwater]

You don't.

 

[RVTRKN]

Can you put two Alcoa wheels back to back, if you were to buy three Alcoa wheels and then rotate the duals and spare into the rotation? Gee, I'm beginning to like my steel wheels with hubcaps.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Ford dually owners have had a steel wheel on the inside and an aluminum wheel on the outside for years. To rotate the tires, the tires and wheels have to be broken down and the tires changed on the wheels. Most owners don't rotate because of the trouble/expense.

The lug bolts are too short to install dual aluminum wheels since the aluminum dually wheel is much thicker than a steel wheel.

Bill

 

[RVTRKN]

Can longer studs be installed to utilize two Alcoa wheels? If I were to buy a new 3500 DRW knowing this now, it would not be equipped with Alcoa wheels, its a good thing I looked at her truck. After just spending $1500.00 in Michelins, I would hate not being able to properly rotate them, and extend the life by rotating the spare into the rotation.

Kind of reminds me about my C&C consequences, I didn't know about until it was too late, like paying a couple of hundred more dollars a year in registration costs over a regular 3500 pickup and the extra sticker costs purchasing it, when I could have bought a regular 3500 pick with a 5.9 CTD in 07. :{

 

[NIsaacs]

Just speculation, but even with longer studs, I would think the machined surface of the centric hub would not reach the outer wheel if they were both aluminum. I also don't think they are polished on both sides? I guess just rotate from side to side.

Nick

 

[Hoefler]

You would still need to dismount/mount the tires. The inside dual wheel will become undesirable due to the lack of cleaning and the road debris it will catch.

 

[RVTRKN]

Why, what's difference in steel verses the aluminum except for needing to polish it, a little elbow grease is easier on the wallet.

 

[TJJEEPER]

Someone posted about this around a month ago. On their truck they commented that the surface on the back side of the front rims were pretty ugly and would have to be polished to be run on the rear. Same for the rears to front. Side to side is the easy way out but not optimum.
Some truck stops have folks that will polish aluminum rims for a pretty fair price. A "Mother's Power Ball & Billet Polish" would be the elbow grease option.

 

[JLandry]

...how do you rotate the tires properly without having to switch the tires on the rims?

From the 2014 Owner's Manual:

 

[RVTRKN]

If you rotate on a regular basis, every 5K miles and rotate the spare into the rotation, you won't have uneven wear that will prevent you from rotating front to back and then cross them up on the next rotation.

 

[Cummins12V98]

IMHO it is an absolute waste of time and money to rotate dually tires.

 

[Sticks]

Why, what's difference in steel verses the aluminum except for needing to polish it, a little elbow grease is easier on the wallet.

Running Aluminum gives you a touch more load capacity (aluminum wheels are lighter than the steel).

Semi's run the same way Aluminum on the front, and outside on the rears, if not all 4 per axle.

I'm still waiting for someone to come out with a super single for the class 3 trucks.

 

[RVTRKN]

$1500.00, not including the spare is a lot of money to waist, the fronts always wear uneven, regardless, and moving the front to the back helps in flattening out the wear. Of coarse if you have to break down the tires to do this than its cheaper to rotate only the rear and only the front.

 

[slingshot383]

Yeah, Super Singles for our duallys would be a different sight!

 

[MelvinPierce]

Yeah, Super Singles for our duallys would be a different sight!

We do. They are 19.5's!

 

[smitty3500]

We do. They are 19.5's!

Rickson wheel has super singles that fit 3500's.

 

[orhusky]

IMHO it is an absolute waste of time and money to rotate dually tires.

I also agree. One advantage of not rotating is the the fronts and rears should need replacing on a different time schedule lowering the out of pocket cost at any one time.

 

[CRath]

I posted back in 2011 about this very issue with my early production Longhorn. The inside of the alcoa alum wheel is a very rough "turned" surface and would look terrible if visible. After 22k mostly heavy towing miles my rear tires have worn very fast and flat...not uneven at all. The fronts have worn slightly uneven and have significantly more tread remaining than the rear. I rotate approx every 3k side to side "which is the only reasonable choice" to help keep the wear even. the tires are still the original General Ameritrac TD's. IMHO I would would worry more about maintaining a good front end alignment and frequent rotations rather than spending a ton of money on different rims. It's not an ideal situation but what do you do? CRATH

 

[RVTRKN]

I'll keep my steel wheels.