Dynatrac Hubs

[JHenry]

Some of you have thes hub conversions on your newer trucks. I would appreciate any comments as to your satisfaction or dissatisfaction with them. I am considering them for my '06 2500 Ram truck.

Thanks, Jerry Henry

 

[Spooled-up]

I'm also interested to hear what benefits they offer. Specifically, do they make a difference in mileage?

 

[steved]

Yes, they make a difference in mileage... I would need to go back and look, but I think it is somewhere in the 1. 5mpg range that I saw.



The kit is well made and a straight forward install... I only have two gripes:



First, dynatrac was a pain to deal with... I would never buy the kit again. This might have been just my experience, but it left a lasting impression.



Second, there is no instructions on how to get the center cap to work with the kit... it can be done, but takes some time and resourcefulness... I chose to run without the caps.



steved

 

[LOtero]

i have been looking at this kit as well. . what was the going price?

 

[steved]

Around $1800 a few months ago...



steved

 

[ACoffel]

I am happy with everything except the price, although I think a little more beef around the stub axle u-joint is in order. Why have a big beefy 35 spline

stub axle with a 1/4 " or less of material left around the u-joint bore. I also

think that for the $ 1800 price tag Dynatrac could throw in a couple of quality

greasable u-joints. There are none included. I don't know if it's typical or not,

but in my case, it took over three weeks for Dynatrac to ship the kit and then

it was missing 3 of the 4 wheel bearing races which they promptly sent when contacted. I will say that my experience with their customer service was pleasant except for the long wait on shipping. Robert in sales is a very nice guy. In summation , the overall quality is very good, but the price could be

better.

As far the benefits go, I guess I'm a little biased because I hate the stock

full time unit bearing arrangement. I haven't really checked my mileage, but

I would expect some minor gains. IMHO the real savings come in the form

of longer life and less wear on the u-joints, r+p and driveshaft as well as

having wheel bearings that are inexpensive and serviceable.

This kit is (once again IMHO) a priceless mod for those of us who are planning on keeping our trucks for many years or until they are dilapidated,

but may not be worth it for those who plan to upgrade model years regularly.

I have several pics of the install if anyone is interested.



I might also point out that there are at least two other companies making

this type of conversion kit for our trucks now (now that I've forked over $1800 to Dynatrac) . I don't know how the quality compares, but I do know

the prices may be a little less. These two companies are RIGHT GEAR & AXLE and EMS OFFROAD . RIGHT uses 30 spline axles and includes u-joints while

EMS has two different levels of kits , although I don't think they have pricing

yet as their kit for our trucks is not supposed to be available until September.



I hope all this rambling helps someone!

 

[Spooled-up]

I have several pics of the install if anyone is interested.

I'd like to see the pics if you can post them here. I've never seen the finished product.



Seems like any mileage gains we used to justify NOT doing before have suddenly become worth doing when fuel reaches $3. 00 a gallon. It even makes the extra expense of a Cummins pay for itself a whole lot quicker over the gasser.

 

[steved]

... I don't know if it's typical or not,

but in my case, it took over three weeks for Dynatrac to ship the kit...

We had the same issue... they told us we would receive it in two weeks... three and a half later it finally arrives because they didn't even have them made until a few day before we received it...



And customer service was less than desired... but again, that might have just been my experience... but it left a lasting impression of "dynatrac" as a company.



But all in all a nice kit, pricey, but nice. I too figured it would have came with new ujoints, but it didn't. I guess they just figure you will reuse your old stuff...



As far as the kit being shipped without pieces, I think they might do that when they run out of the minor components just to get it to you, knowing full well it was shipped incomplete and they need to get pieces to you... but they never have an issue sending the replacement part to you...



I figure it will eventually pay for itself in mileage and elimination of wear and tear.



steved

 

[ACoffel]

Here are some pics .

URL=http://i96. photobucket.com/albums/l177/RAMAHOLIC38/truckcenters004.jpg]#ad


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[steved]

I'd like to see the pics if you can post them here. I've never seen the finished product.



Seems like any mileage gains we used to justify NOT doing before have suddenly become worth doing when fuel reaches $3. 00 a gallon. It even makes the extra expense of a Cummins pay for itself a whole lot quicker over the gasser.

100000 miles at 18mpg = 5555. 5 gallons of fuel at $3/gal = $16667 / 100000 miles.



100000 miles at 19. 5mpg = 5128. 2 gallons of fuel at $3/gal = $15385 / 100000 miles.



$16667 - $15385 = $1282 savings...



So it would take about 150k miles to pay for the dynatrac kit at $3/gallon and a conservative 1. 5mpg increase... if my math is right...



steved

 

[CATCRACKER]

cant i get a little off subject real quick... this may sound crazy but would you get the same benefit 1. 5mpg from dopping the front drive shaft. . guess not the ujoint would still be turning right

 

[JHenry]

100000 miles at 18mpg = 5555. 5 gallons of fuel at $3/gal = $16667 / 100000 miles.



100000 miles at 19. 5mpg = 5128. 2 gallons of fuel at $3/gal = $15385 / 100000 miles.



$16667 - $15385 = $1282 savings...



So it would take about 150k miles to pay for the dynatrac kit at $3/gallon and a conservative 1. 5mpg increase... if my math is right...



steved

While the apparent savings in fuel are in evidence, and will become more evident as time goes by and fuel continues to skyrocket, I think the earlier post commenting on the reduced wear and tear on the front end components is the big issue. Most people probably only use the front axle for a few hundred miles a year. I live in North Idaho and may use it for a few thousand miles. If this kit prolongs the replacement of u-joints and bearings as well as the hub hosing, which seems to be a real pain to get off without damaging it, they will be well worth the investment. I am placing my order today. JH

 

[brods]

... . I might also point out that there are at least two other companies making

this type of conversion kit for our trucks now (now that I've forked over $1800 to Dynatrac) . I don't know how the quality compares, but I do know

the prices may be a little less. These two companies are RIGHT GEAR & AXLE and EMS OFFROAD . RIGHT uses 30 spline axles and includes u-joints while

EMS has two different levels of kits , although I don't think they have pricing

yet as their kit for our trucks is not supposed to be available until September.



I hope all this rambling helps someone!

Are you familiar with those other kits? Looks like they might use a custom spindle and off the shelf dana 60 parts for the rest of the kit?



ACoffel, thanks for the pictures, do you have one from the front showing how far the lockouts stick out past the tire? It looks pretty good with the hub cap over it.



Stopping 3 ujoints, 1 cv joint, 1 slip joint, 4 seals and the gears from rotating (and wearing) all the time, plus eliminating the 70 mph resonance are tempting reasons to buy the kit. Also, if a front ujoint goes bad, being able to drive the truck indefinitely, without fear of the joint failing and taking out the shafts, is another benefit. Any mpg gain is a bonus.

 

[steved]

... plus eliminating the 70 mph resonance are tempting reasons to buy the kit.

This was the only reason I bought this kit...



steved

 

[steved]

cant i get a little off subject real quick... this may sound crazy but would you get the same benefit 1. 5mpg from dopping the front drive shaft. . guess not the ujoint would still be turning right

Yeah, you would see a little gain, but you're still turning the R&P... you would lose the drag from the tcase and driveshaft... I ran this way trying to figure out where my vibration was coming from... it does make a difference even dropping the shaft... it even made it handle better! The only negative would be craling under the truck in a muddy field to install the front shaft to get unstuck...



That's another thing I'll point out... the truck tends to track straighter with the dynatrac kit than before... I attribute that to the drag on the front tires from forcing them to "drive" the front portion of the drivetrain...



steved

 

[ACoffel]

Are you familiar with those other kits? Looks like they might use a custom spindle and off the shelf dana 60 parts for the rest of the kit?



ACoffel, thanks for the pictures, do you have one from the front showing how far the lockouts stick out past the tire? It looks pretty good with the hub cap over it.



Stopping 3 ujoints, 1 cv joint, 1 slip joint, 4 seals and the gears from rotating (and wearing) all the time, plus eliminating the 70 mph resonance are tempting reasons to buy the kit. Also, if a front ujoint goes bad, being able to drive the truck indefinitely, without fear of the joint failing and taking out the shafts, is another benefit. Any mpg gain is a bonus.

I am not familiar with the other two companies and have no reason to doubt their quality being on par with Dynatrac, but I would advise anyone considering them to do the research and make sure they are not using imported components.

I will try and get a frontal pic of the truck posted soon so that you can see

the amount of hub protrusion. They stick out enough that many people would

probably find them a detraction , but with the cap installed I think they look o. k. I'm a "function before form" kind of guy so I don't get to concerned with

cosmetics, but the wife thought the hubs looked tacky when I first got them

on so I put the caps on to keep her happy since she does help me keep

Chrysler Financial happy.

As you pointed out , there are several benefits to the install , but I just don't

like the antiquated full time arrangement . The only reason we get full time

unit bearing front axles from DC ( and every other manufacturer for that matter) is that it saves them money in assembly time and components and appeases the masses of LAZY folks who don't want to have to get out of the

vehicle to engage the axle. I personally would rather get out and lock the hubs on the rare occasion that I need 4wd than to replace u-joints on a

regular basis.

 

[ACoffel]

Are you familiar with those other kits? Looks like they might use a custom spindle and off the shelf dana 60 parts for the rest of the kit?



ACoffel, thanks for the pictures, do you have one from the front showing how far the lockouts stick out past the tire? It looks pretty good with the hub cap over it.



Stopping 3 ujoints, 1 cv joint, 1 slip joint, 4 seals and the gears from rotating (and wearing) all the time, plus eliminating the 70 mph resonance are tempting reasons to buy the kit. Also, if a front ujoint goes bad, being able to drive the truck indefinitely, without fear of the joint failing and taking out the shafts, is another benefit. Any mpg gain is a bonus.

Here are the frontal pics.

URL=http://i96. photobucket.com/albums/l177/RAMAHOLIC38/frontoftruck003.jpg]#ad


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