2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission changing from duals with flares on box to reg box and single

[Tim1]

Hey fellas, I did a search and did not find my answer. My brothwer has a 96 dually 4x4 with fender flares on box. He need to go to a reg box with a single rear wheel to haul campers for his business. Was told could not be done. I do not know why, but am sure you guys know the answer. Thanks Tim

 

[mpaulson]

He would have to change out the rear axle as it is wider from flange to flange and the wheels would sit out on a stock single wheel box. As for the front, I believe all he would have to do is remove the spacer that is there. The rear axle would be a cost issue to swap out. If he is putting a flat deck on, then you might be able to leave the rear axle as is but it would track in the same line as the front tires.

 

[GAmes]

The inside of the bed of duellys and SRW trucks is the same. I would think a duelly would be preferred for hauling campers. Those duelly flares can be removed but the result is UGLY! If he can live with that just remove the outer wheels.

 

[Extreme1]

The front hub bearing pilot OD (where the front wheels index) is different on the early duallys (94-99). If you take the spacers off, the wheels won't pilot because the non-dually hub OD is smaller.



A set of non-dually bearings will bolt in place but it adds to the cost.

 

[charlessmith]

My '96 3500 2WD doesn't have spacers on the front, it just has these REALLY extended hubs, and it also looked like the brake rotors were part of the hub. I know that sounds crazy, but when I replaced the front pads I sure couldn't see that the rotors were a separate part. The extended part with the wheel bolts was definitely part of the hub. Can someone tell me, is it only the 4x4's that have hub extensions?

My suggestion would be to just run 4 of the dually wheels, using only one on each side in the back - along with a single wheel bed. This will result in the tires running in the same locations as if you had a 2500 in the first place. It may look a little strange, but - so what?

 

[Extreme1]

My '96 3500 2WD doesn't have spacers on the front, it just has these REALLY extended hubs, and it also looked like the brake rotors were part of the hub.

I've seen a 2WD rotor on eBay and it looks like the spacer is integral.

My suggestion would be to just run 4 of the dually wheels, using only one on each side in the back - along with a single wheel bed. This will result in the tires running in the same locations as if you had a 2500 in the first place.

Not quite. You can run regular wheels in back on a dually axle. Remember, the dually wheels are facing each other to offset the wheels from the center of the pair. The front spacer is there to correct the wheel offset with a single wheel. One dually wheel in back would give a huge "overhung" load to the wheel bearings.

 

[GAmes]

I've seen a 2WD rotor on eBay and it looks like the spacer is integral.

Way off topic, but yes, the 2WD front hub/rotor is one piece and dang heavy when repacking the bearings. :-laf

 

[charlessmith]

You can run regular wheels in back on a dually axle. Remember, the dually wheels are facing each other to offset the wheels from the center of the pair. The front spacer is there to correct the wheel offset with a single wheel. One dually wheel in back would give a huge "overhung" load to the wheel bearings.

If you run a regular wheels on a dually axle, they will be stick out about 2 1/2" on each side. The dually axle is wider than a regular axle; the extra width is equal to the amount of both front spacers.



The inside dually wheels have the same track as the front wheels on a dually.



So if you run a regular bed with a dually axle, you need to run a dually wheel on each side to end up with a normal (regular) track. Regular wheels on a dually axle will stick outside of the sides of the regular bed.



I don't think you'll have any significantly different load on the rear wheel bearings since the hub is mounted solid to the axle. Because of the length of the axle the wheel bearings will not experience any twisting (camber) load, they will just have a vertical loading.