Part#1 2500 Dually Conversion

[Deleted member 995608]

First Test Drive

I don't have the bed on yet but I couldn't help myself. I live in the sticks so why not??



Bled the brakes, filled up with Severe Gear 75/90 Amsoil, checked for loose hardware and hit the road.



The tire guys pumped the tires that I had mounted to 80 psi and I left it at that. The ride was, . . . a little rough. Need to air down-------



Everything seems ok. The truck handles completely different than before so it's hard to judge.



I do have a concern though. I've got a slite howl under exceleration. From my rock crawling days, a howl usually meant an improper backlash between R&P.



It could be a number of things though... .



#1. I re-used the calipers and pads from the 2500 AAM- Seating in pads to rotor.



#2. I rebuilt the E-brake assembly and haven't properly adjusted it yet- Could be dragging.



#3. Driving the truck without a bed- Who knows what sort of natural noises accur that are muffled when the bed is securely mounted? ? ? ?



I've got a few buddies coming in the morning to muscle the bed onto the frame. I'll go for a hardy drive after that to see if it cures the noise.



I hope so. I'd hate to come home and tell the wife that it needs to go the shop #@$%!

 

[fkovalski]

Hours away from completion . . . .

I do not want to highjack your thread, but your photos in post #14 prompted some questions:



I am not too familiar with duallys... is the front adapter for the wheel offset that you show the same setup for duallys from the factory or is that a "conversion adapter" only?



I just noticed... what are those 2 vents on the back of the cab? I have a darker color of my truck and never noticed them before, but I looked between the bed and cab and I have the same. Are those some sort of interior pressure relief for when shutting the doors?



I know you are busy with your conversion, but if you still have the bed off, could you snap some close up photos of how the receiver hitch is connected to the chassis?



Thanks,

-frank

 

[Deleted member 995608]

The front adaptors are OEM. These, along with the tires are the only items that I bought new.



As far as the vent goes, IDK? I didn't know they were there either.



I'll take some pics of the chassis and OEM hitch tomorrow.

 

[Silverbullet]

Props. Thats a really cool swap.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Well boys, . . I got took on the dually axle.



My truck is now in the shop wating for new R&P.





I was told that this unit was completely rebuilt. I pulled the axles and diff cover to verify. All looked well.



My (gear guy) claims that Obama could set a R&P better than how this one was done.



I guess everyone will get burned at some point in time. This was my time!

 

[LBARTLETT]

sorry to hear about your trouble, any recourse to the bum that sold it to you?

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Nada. I talked with him today. I kept cool and calm. I didn't exspect anything,though.



I got the axle for dirt cheap and even though I have to put some money into it,. . . . I'm still money ahead.



At least I know the axle will be REBUILT and RELIABLE.



Nothing worse than spending your vacation in a motel/trailer park waiting for repairs, watching the clock roll by!

 

[LBARTLETT]

good luck witrh the rebuild, at 190k and some slack I'm hearing in mine I'm afraid that's really the only weakness left in my 01', I've only lost one rear end in my life (an 02' Dodge) and that was when the dealership changed all of my fluids, I had the limited slip and they forgot to put limited slip additive in, the rear end lasted about another 8,000 miles before exploding!! I thought I had a u-joint binding, took it to the dealership and their mechanic was driving it when it went out, had the 100k warranty so it cost me $50, anyway, good luck with your rebuild

 

[TradedV-10foraCummins]

Cool project! Sorry to hear about the diff. troubles. On a more positive note, did you get the dually bed on the truck yet? We need to see some pics of the finished truck.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Cool project! Sorry to hear about the diff. troubles. On a more positive note, did you get the dually bed on the truck yet? We need to see some pics of the finished truck.

I actually got the bed mounted the morning I fried the R&P. Was going to take pics to post but was too excited to take a longer run.



Looked good with two tone white/silver cab and all white dually bed, black wheels, no tailgate or bumper and wires hanging down :-laf



Should have truck back tomorrow. I hope because we are planning on leaving Wed for July 4th break.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Picked up the truck from the shop and picked up a ton of hay. All is well now, it's just that I didn't exspect to sink another $1k into this project. Oh well, . . It's only money and the stability is worth it.



From the pics, you can tell I still need to bolt on a few more items and have the bed painted to match.



We're leaving for a thousand mile round trip over July 4th and I'm excited to see how our new/used truck pulls our fifthwheel. I won't have the bed painted untill after we get back but then again, I've seen a lot worse rolling down the road. . . . . :-laf

 

[LBARTLETT]

really cool, given any thought to line-x or something like that since you have to paint the bottom anyway? your sig doesn't show if you live in rocky areas, I did the line-x on a 93 ext cab black, the upper truck was white and looked good



anyway, a really nice job and and interesting post

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Thanks for the comments.



I'm am surely interested in the Line-X. I know a few other guys that I cowboy'd with in Oregon that Line-X'd the bottom panels. Worked out really well.



So far the cheapest quote I've recieved for paint is about $400. If the Line-X style coating is the same or less, I will go that route.

 

[LBARTLETT]

be sure to update the link with a picture when completed whether paint or line-x and have a safe trip, again, a great post

 

[MillerR]

Just throwing these images in for thought. Please don't criticize too hard, it's still a "work in progress". As you can see, I've chopped the bed ~11 inches so Mega fenders would not work. I had to "create" my own. Spray-on expanding foam shaped with a razorblade, followed by bondo for a hard surface, then Duplicoloer spray-on bedlining. I plan on finishing by doing some fiberglass work for durability, then bedliner again. Dually axle was a direct swap. 1/8" plate will be the new bedrail cap. Again, still working on this project...



View attachment 73027



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Sorry, not meaning to highjack your thread. Have a good weekend, we're heading out with the quads as well. -Trey

 

[Deleted member 995608]

MillerR.



Sweet bed! I'd love to have that much clearance between the bed and trailer.



I had to do a spring over on the trailer just give clearance for a stock height truck! And even then, our 36' Attitude kissed the truck bed once. Dadgumit!!(Not what I yelled)

 

[weldingmiller]

I just stumbled across this thread. I have been wanting to do the same thing to my 06 since i bought it. JHawes, if you dont mind my asking, where did you get the adapters from and how much were they? So far the only ones i have found are from Arrowcraft and they are just under $400 per axle.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

I just stumbled across this thread. I have been wanting to do the same thing to my 06 since i bought it. JHawes, if you dont mind my asking, where did you get the adapters from and how much were they? So far the only ones i have found are from Arrowcraft and they are just under $400 per axle.

The rear end that I used is an actual DRW axle from another Dodge.



The front axle is the same between a SRW and DRW, . . . the DRW version uses the hub adaptors that bolt on.



I bought them through my Dodge dealer. I think I paid $150 per side.

 

[MAshley]

Any photos or updates to the swap?

 

[Gonzo 1066]

Shop wall decorations.

More pics, . . . .

Where did you get the pretty wall paper for the walls of your shop!!! :-laf
I wouldnt dare do a project like yours in Mother natures shop. Would get rained on 90% of the time. .


Great looking job. Being on my 4th dually, YOU WILL LOVE THE DIFFERENCE. .