"Home Made 2003 3500 SRW"?

[Steve St.Laurent]

DBVZ, your signature will show up on your first post on a page but will not show up on the rest of your posts on that page. I made that change this summer to save bandwidth and repetition.



-Steve St. Laurent

Webmaster

 

[DIESELMAN]

Steve -



What was that you said, could you repeat please!! Something about repetition, what was that??

 

[JoeyD]

The rear axle on a dual wheel is wider than a single wheel. No wheel spacers in the rear.

 

[dan_gilson]

DBVZ: The 19. 5" rims allow you to run with commercial (C), not light truck (LT) tires. The 215/85 R16's that I have for my dually only carry ~2400#'s per tire. The load Range F are rated ~3600#'s. To get to the same capacity that you would have with the dual on a single you would need a load range G which is 4500-4800#'s depending on brand.



Michelin make a load range G in a 225/70R19. 5. This tire size is almost the same as the 3/4 ton stock tires (235/85R16). It is slightly over my dually tires (215/85R16). So the speedo and ABS are minimally effected. And if it still bothers you there are ways to correct.



It really sucks that you have to go through all of this. Have you tried working a special order with Dodge? My dad knows a guy that wanted limited slip on the front axle as well as the back. After a lot of talking with Dodge they finaly built it from him. (It may have been cheaper and easier to do what you are doing. )



Changing the wheels and tires out would still be a good thing. I can't figure out why Dodge does't offer them as at least an option.

 

[DBVZ]

When I asked, I got a nice note saying the RC 3500 SRW was not available, bases on customer survey data. I guess they think the load range between the 2500 RC (2300 pounds) and the 3500 RC DRW (5000+ pounds)is just fine. I think I am going to like the DRW anyway, but it seems odd they did not offer the option.



As for the 19. 5" wheels; the change from 235's stock, to 225's would not seem to be worth the expense unless it was to change it to an SRW. Those 19. 5" wheels are EXPENSIVE! The ride on G rated tires may be quite a bit stiffer than even the E rated stock tires. Are their other reasons to want to use the 19. 5" commercial tires that I should be aware of?



One of the resons I was considering a conversion to SRW was to use wider D rated tires to soften the ride a little, but they would need to be quite wide to match the load rating of the 235 E tires it comes with - over 3000 pounds each. The new suspension seems to ride OK even with the E tires, so I guess stock will be fine. Replacements for the 17" tires may be hard to find for a while, if I damage one, until more companies start making tires that fit the new Dodge wheels.

 

[Dean Upson]

DBVZ,



You may find the ride in the DRW isn't all that bad with the stock tires. I know there is a world of difference between my '03 and my 98. They both had long wheel bases and the shorter wheelbase of the regular cab would ride a bit harsher, but still should be a pretty good ride.



Dean

 

[dan_gilson]

Tire pressure make a big difference on the ride. The door frame (at least mine does) has some good pressure recomendations for unloaded use.



The reason why I am going to a 19. 5 is I could not find much in the way of choices for traction tires that were load range E. There are a lot in load range C. Some in LRD. A very few in LRE.



I also know from past experience that you get better tire wear, milage and safety when increasing the load range of the tire.



My old 71' Ford which weighed in at less than 4000#'s came with load range C's. Over the years I upgraded it to D's then to E's. The E's rotted before the thread was gone. And when you air'ed them up they seemed to carry more weight than the suspension wanted. We won't go into the O word.



As for the 19. 5"s, I could find almost a dozen traction tires from different manufactures. The cost for the tires are a little more expensive: typically $30-$100 per. The wheel costs are only a 1 time thing. And if the C tires lasts 2x the LT tires, the wheels are paid for in <1. 5 sets.



I expect with Rickson's setup to roll as good (if not better) the the original tires. They probably will be more harsh when it comes to poor road surface though. If they are too harsh I can always add more weight in the bed.

 

[Pit Bull]

Dan, I am envious. The Rickson 19. 5's are great looking and I agree safer and the tires I understand are good for over 100K miles. What are they costing you if you don't mind telling? You only have to buy 4 aluminum and 2 steel with the dually right?

 

[dan_gilson]

Pit Bull - I will PM youi with the details. I don't want to break any of the rules here.

 

[Fireman]

DBVZ,



dmurdock is right! I had my fender liners off yesterday and a section of the top of the fender is cut away tomake room for the fender liner on the DRW. They only cut about a 3" wide section out all the way across the top of the fender. I belive that a set of fender flairs would cover the cut out.



Fireman

 

[DBVZ]

So it is still possible, but not easy. Thanks, everyone, for the information and suggestions.