Tires... Tires.... Tires....

Nero

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I'm aware of that. I know I'm pushing my gvwr of the truck, and I'm fine with that. I'm more worried about a tire blowing unexpectedly with a camper on board. An axle failing usually is a gradual failure.

As for which direction I'm going to go, I presented the options to the wife, said I'd like to go the 19.5 rim option, but she runs the budget, so here I wait.
 
u2slow

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I wouldn't rule out a new pair of 17/18/20" either with appropriate tire.

It's just with 16".... there's enough used wheels out there, and 265-285's to fit them are cheap for their capacity. My last pair of 16x7 Ford steelies were $50.
 
Nero

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Believe me I'd rather go the cheaper option for a 16" rim and get some good rubber, but finding a 16 17 or 18" rubber with something higher than 3750lb rating seems difficult to find.
New to me 16" steelies are $84, whereas 19.5s are about $255 each.


I do think the 19.5's would look cooler though.
 
Cubey

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Nero said:
I'm aware of that. I know I'm pushing my gvwr of the truck, and I'm fine with that. I'm more worried about a tire blowing unexpectedly with a camper on board. An axle failing usually is a gradual failure.
Click to expand...

I blew the inner right dually tire on the motorhome shortly before I sold it, at 55mph. Zero loss off control. And I was able to go another 1/2 mile to a wider shoulder area along the interstate. I was heading for the nearby exit but the very wide shoulder came up. So I definitely recommend dually for heavy RV type setups.

And yes I did also stop using the other that was suddenly bald and about to blow too. I bought an odd sized tire i got cheaper at Walmart, put it on the front, put that on the rear along with the new spare I was carrying. The bald one was the "spare" for the last 700 miles or so before I sold it.
 

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Nero

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Now a dually axle has become available local to me for $850 gah so many choices.....
 
Nero

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@u2slow do you have a link for a rim that is 18" or 17" that is not a trailer tire that will support that weight?
 
u2slow

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With a drw axle swap..... Don't forget you need ubolts, wheels, tires, redo brakes most likely, and cobble on some kind of flares/fenders. If you go off-road, duals can get rocks wedged between.

$850 seems high. Never paid more that $400-500 for any 1ton diff, and I'm 3x Dana 80's deep now lol!

Don't know aftermarket wheels that well. Primarily ford and dodge OEM stuff, and whatever used wheels falls in my lap.
 
Nero

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It's a private wrecking yard and they said they can't pull the axle for 10 business days! I have another tripped planned on the 21st up in Washington state, and 4 days isn't enough time to go through it and install it, plus work out something for the fender covers... So back to square one...
 
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Or, put that big old camper on a gooseneck trailer and hook the trailer to your truck and rock on.

Your truck will drive and handle as good with the trailer as without; and, you can unhook the whole mess and turn your truck loose for other duties.

You can load a host of other stuff on the trailer as well.

Shop around and a decent low-bed gooseneck won't cost much more than what you are fixing to do to make the truck handle the camper.
 
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Nero said:
It's a private wrecking yard and they said they can't pull the axle for 10 business days! I have another tripped planned on the 21st up in Washington state, and 4 days isn't enough time to go through it and install it, plus work out something for the fender covers... So back to square one...
Click to expand...

Something else to keep in mind:

Your spring hangers may be wider or narrower than those on a DRW axle; plus, your frame is probably wider and the brake backing plates of the DRW axle will be against the frame.

I used to have all this information in my head; but, it has been a while since it mattered to me and I can't immediately bring it up.

I am thinking a SRW Ford of this vintage, the frame spreads wider just back of the cab and the spring hangers also are spaced farther from the rails.

If memory serves, a standard DRW truck of any make is 34-inches outside-to-outside of the frame; or is it 34-1/2"; I ?think? you will find your SRW frame to be something more like 42-inches.

Somebody either confirm or correct me on this please as my memory is a bit rusty.
 
u2slow

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MIDNIGHT RIDER said:
Something else to keep in mind:

Your spring hangers may be wider or narrower than those on a DRW axle; plus, your frame is probably wider and the brake backing plates of the DRW axle will be against the frame.

I used to have all this information in my head; but, it has been a while since it mattered to me and I can't immediately bring it up.

I am thinking a SRW Ford of this vintage, the frame spreads wider just back of the cab and the spring hangers also are spaced farther from the rails.

If memory serves, a standard DRW truck of any make is 34-inches outside-to-outside of the frame; or is it 34-1/2"; I ?think? you will find your SRW frame to be something more like 42-inches.

Somebody either confirm or correct me on this please as my memory is a bit rusty.
Click to expand...
What you are describing is the difference between a pickup and a cab & chassis model.

DRW and SRW Ford pickups (77-97 anyways) have the same width/shape frame, ~38" rail width, and ~45" spring spacing.
 
Nero

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Just to update the thread, ultimately I decided to go with a dually swap. My truck sits a lot, and when I do use it 99% of the time my camper is on the back of it, so for stability and tire load capacity it made the most sense for duallys.
I have a lead on a dually axle, I'll be getting it on Wednesday, and I have a lead on dually fenders, I'm getting them tomorrow.
The truck that I'm getting the axle from is a cab and bed configuration, I'll take a tape measure just to be sure, but should be a direct bolt in.
 
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