Whats the best pattern for rotating dually tires?

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I heard somewhere that you shouldn't mix up dually tires when you rotate them or they may get out of balance. Is this true? Are the rear duals balanced as a unit or as individual wheels? It shows in the owners manual that they can they be swaped for a front tire but I want to make sure. I know you should keep steering and driving tires front or rear specific but I'd like some opinion on the stockers.
A little new to the dually but loving every minute #ad


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2001 black dually,4x4, 6 speed H. O. ,loaded up and then some!

 

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Been rotating mine as recommended in the owners manual. Have about 40K miles on the original tires. No balance or abnormal tire wear problems yet.
MikeH

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'98. 0 Driftwood 3500 Quad Cab SLT 12V Automatic 4:10 LS Gear Vendors, Transfer Flow, Line X, Pace Roll Top, VDO, Reese 5th Hitch, Prime Loc, etc, etc.

 

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Inside duals to front, outside duals to inside, front to outside duals. I have done mine twice and no problems.

 

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Guess I'll break the trend.....

I've been driving duallys for a long time, and I've basically concluded that it's usually more trouble than it's worth. I used to be very meticulous about tire rotation until two times (rotations) in a row, I ended up with a vibration in the front end that could not be balanced out. I ended up re-rotating the tires to their original locations, and "poof!" problem disappeared. It seems that the rear of the truck is less sensitive to abnormalities that the steering axle. Nevertheless, I've quit rotating my duallys. I've logged over 300,000 miles using this approach, and it works for me.

Since I'm loaded most of time, my rears wear about as fast as the fronts, so it works out ok. My original set of Michelins (on my current Ram 3500) went 65,000 miles before the next set. No flats, no vibrations, NO ROTATIONS!

I'm sure some will think I'm crazy or something worse, but like I said, it works for me.

Cheers!


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Bone Stock. Up yours! DC!!!!!!!!!

 

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Guess I'll break the trend.....

I've been driving duallys for a long time, and I've basically concluded that it's usually more trouble than it's worth. I used to be very meticulous about tire rotation until two times (rotations) in a row, I ended up with a vibration in the front end that could not be balanced out. I ended up re-rotating the tires to their original locations, and "poof!" problem disappeared. It seems that the rear of the truck is less sensitive to abnormalities that the steering axle. Nevertheless, I've quit rotating my duallys. I've logged over 300,000 miles using this approach, and it works for me.

Since I'm loaded most of time, my rears wear about as fast as the fronts, so it works out ok. My original set of Michelins (on my current Ram 3500) went 65,000 miles before the next set. No flats, no vibrations, NO ROTATIONS!

I'm sure some will think I'm crazy or something worse, but like I said, it works for me.

Cheers!


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Bone Stock. Up yours! DC!!!!!!!!!

 

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Ross , DITTOES here, never rotate the duallies. 43,000 on the original tires. About 10 or 15 K left on them. I always keep the air press at the max as stated on the tire sidewall. Works for me also. I have had problems with rotated tires,not any problems without rotating, let well enough alone.

 

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I drove a 74 Chevy dooley for 26 years, bought it new. Never rotated tire one, period. Never had any wear problems etc. When I needed tires, they were all worn equal, so all 6 went in the trash, and the new ones went on. Last two sets were Yokohamas, were excellent tires, good grip on the road, good mileage, cheap @ Costco.

 

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Ross,same here on the duallies,I usually end up replaceing the fronts long before the rears but the saved hassle by not rotating,is well worth a few miles on the tires.

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95' 25004X4,AT,Driftwood,Banks,Warn fender flairs and running boards(Play truck)95 3500,5 speed,driftwood,Banks&phscotty,34,000 GCVW apple and tractor hauler(work truck)

 

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This is my first dually. I just put new shoes on her, 70K mi. , never rotated, 75% left on front, 30-35% on rears, 60# all the way around. They were worn nice and even, except front was starting to cup a little. I swore I'd rotate these. Wonder why the difference here? I'm towing from 18 to 26K# GVW 60% of the time.
Larry.

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Y2K 3500 QC,SLT,4X2,White, 6spd,3. 54 lsd,Banks Stinger +,Pacbrake,Pilar mt. EGT & Boost,Amsoil air filter,all amsoil lube w/BMK-15 filter system,MagTec rear cover,putco boss rbs. w/ rear ext. &flaps,20K reese,100 gal. aux. fuel,fold up T cover,5K airlift bags w/comp. ,ranger 2950 cb pushing palomar 225 amp,phantom radar det.

 

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I am no means an authority on dually tire rotation as the one I own now is the first for me. I have rotated the tires twice so far. Each time I change oil. I am due now to change oil and rotate the tires. So far I have had no problem arise from rotating the tires. No pull. No vibrations. No tire wear. I follow the tire manufacturers recommendations on tire pressure at specific loads and rotate as per the owners manual. As life's experiences have taught me all experiences can be different.

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2000 3500 5spd, 4:10 posi, std cab, 4x2, Bright White, Agate, all options except leather and sport package. Dawson 24ft hauling a 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger drag car; 360cid auto; runs 10:00 in 1/4 mile. I wish my truck ran this quick!

 

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I'm with Ross, I checked on rotating mine and it cost 150. 00. I figured that if I were to do this every 5000 miles as I do on my other vehicles I would save money just to drive it til I needed new tires.

Steve

 

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I have rotated mine twice now. do my self, about an hour an half and a couple of beers. after each rotation, noticed a little differance in handling for first couple hundred miles then evens out. must be doing something to tires?!

does not seem much of a problem, I enjoy working on it.

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1999 3500 quad cab, auto aero fendor trim and running boards,
bugflector II, K&N filter, Geno's monster tip

 

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I have 27k on the 235-85-16 Generals that were slapped on my truck when I bought it used. I run 70 lbs front, 60 rear, more empty then loaded. Not being fond of General's, I never bothered to rotate.

I have about 50% front and 25% rear. The rears have worn flat so the center is thinner than the outside due to the profile. I thought about seeing if I could get the rears recapped just to buy some time. Still thinking about the 19. 5's. Plus, I need to put tires on the wife's truck, one of the trailers and rears for one of the tractors.

 

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Thanks for all the replies fellas, I think I may just leave well enough alone and forget the rotation I had planned.

 

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Got new Michlins at Sams Club, 110. 00 ea. + 7. 50 per tire for road hazzard, flats fixed and rotation & bal. whenever I want. Never bought from them before, thought I'd try them. beings I'm on road a lot, shouldn't be hard to find a Sams, their open on Sun. also.
Larry

 

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As always, different people have different results:
I've rotated my tires on my dually according to the factory every 6000 to 8000 miles. I got 156,266 miles out of my last set of Michelin's and never had to rebalance them. Also never had a steering problem whatsoever in 247,000 miles.

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1997 3500 club cab, 10' flatbed, 3:54, auto, 4 Firestone air bags, 240,000+ miles

 

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MikeJ,

That's good mileage for sure. Are you running highway tires? I could never get that much mileage from any tire around my neck of the woods no matter how hard I tried. A spring front end alignment check is almost a requirement due to the roads getting rough from the winter weather. Also, when we get our normal amounts of rain combined with a lot of traffic, once the tires get down to where the handling becomes "iffy", it pays to replace the tires.

 

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MikeJ, That is incredible mileage to say the least. I have never seen much over 50000 on my trucks. The only way I could get that kind of mileage out of my tires would be to jack it up off all fours & let it run.

 

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Sorry it took too long to reply, but I was out putting about 1400 miles on my truck. There's probably several reasons I got such good mileage besides rotating regularly and keeping them aired up. I very seldom pull a trailer and the roads in Tx, La and Ok where I run mostly are pretty flat and not very winding. I don't babysit the truck though. I usually accelerate rapidly from a stop, and everytime I load up, I'm usually told I'm already late. Almost all my running is on highways with a few gravel roads and oilfield locations thrown in.
I got my good mileage with Michelin 215 M/S

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1997 3500 club cab, 10' flatbed, 3:54, auto, 4 Firestone air bags, 240,000+ miles

 

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I think this depends a lot on the type of roads you drive on. I drive fm2222 in Austin (for anyone who is familiar with it) every day, and it is an up and downhill twisted little bowl of spaghetti road. Needless to say, the constant turning chews the fronts up way before the rears are even scuffed. So, I rotate religously to keep the wear even. However, if you do a lot of straigh-line driving, this may or may not be necessary.

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'01 Eth 3500 dually, no mods planned except maybe an amsoil filter & guages. See My Truck and also be sure to read What tools & methods to use for an easy 1st oil change!!!