SRW vs. DRW???

[65sixbanger]

Ok I have had enough with these 3.55's and I need something lower like 4.10's. I have found many axles around town some SRW and some DRW and I also found a junked out 350 same color with dually fenders. My question is should I leave it SRW or DRW? I could also put a flatbed on it... For towing this is such a dog and I am just trying to help it out a little.


In the Long future I plan to gear it out to 4.56's myself and put a GV behind the ZF I need to rebuild. It should pull like Motherf%^*er.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

I like my dually, I wanted a dually from the beginning and that's what I got. For many people a dually is pointless unless you need the extra stability when towing. It all depends on your personal take on things, but to clear up one misconception a dually does not take up any more space than a SRW truck does - fact is the widest part of any of these trucks are their mirrors, not the ass end. A heads up tho - with a dually you won't be able to use them 285 tires you got now, not without some spacers between the inboard and outboard rear wheels to spread them apart. Also, what are you going to do with the front - leave it with the single wheels, or convert to a ually there too? Regardless of whether your truck is a 2wd or 4x4 you'll need the dually hubs, and in case of the 2wd you'll need rotors for a dually as well as they are installed like they are on a 4x4 truck, whereas the 2wd SRW front rotors have the hubs integrated in them.

 

[gonecrazyi]

If only you were closer, Ive got everything you would need to do a dually conversion to a 2 or 4wd.

 

[65sixbanger]

Well if I did this I would definately get some spacers. Would it be ok to just leave the front axle the way it is right now? I am trying to achieve more payload by adding a few more springs and a lower gear ratio. (4.10)

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Yes, by all means the front axle can stay the way it is. Just remember to carry two spare wheels, a single for the front and a dually for the rear.

 

[George_7.3IDI]

You know is there even any difference in the axles between the SRW and the DRW? Are the dually ones actually longer or do they just have long lug bolts with a spacer...? I've always wondered about that. As far as going DRW or SRW I think the two major reasons would be for safety and carrying a heavy load...though I'm not sure if you are actually rated for a heavier load with a dually. The safety thing would be more for if you do a lot of traveling where you are towing. With a dually if you have a rear blowout you are less likely to loose control and crash because you still have another good tire on that side.

Just my thoughts on the idea
George

 

[LCAM-01XA]

dually axles are 4" wider if they came from a pickup truck, if they came from a cab-chassis truck they are the same width as SRW axles but you can't use one of those under a pickup truck cause the pickup frame is wider than the cab-chassis frame.

And I totally agree with the increased safety factor, I blew an inboard tire on my way back from Alabama last fall and I never even felt it! I was running empty tho, but still, weather was real bad that night with heavy rain and really thick fog, and I'd hate to be stuck changing wheels on the side of the road in that.

 

[65sixbanger]

Yeah IDK yet what I am going to do, It will probably be this summer when school is over and I can actually work. I am going to keep my eyes out for some axles, and think about this one.

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

On most Fords I ever messed with, the SRW frame is something like 42" outside measure.

A "dualie" frame is also 42" wide and the axle is quite a bit wider than a SRW.

A genuine DRW chassis-cab truck is industry standard 34-1/2" frame width, with the axle being some 16" or so narrower than a "dualie".


On most SRW trucks I have tried, a DRW wheel will come against the leaf-springs long before it bottoms on the mounting surface.

Also, the rear spring hangers of an SRW are often farther from the rails than those of a "dualie", compounding problems when trying to swap things around.

Of course, there are always exceptions to all of this.



I see many many 3/4-ton SRW trucks of all brands running around my area that have the SRW wheels on the front and DRWs mounted to the rear via thick spacers behind the inside wheels to push them out away from spring interference.


Many of these have the rear wheels just bolted on in no well thought out fashion, using flat-faced hub-centric wheels on spacers that have no means of centering the wheels; or, they have lug-centric "coined" wheels mounted on spacers that lack the proper sockets for the "coins" to rest in.

Or worse yet, they have a mixture of junk-yard wheels, some being "coined" lug-centric, some being flat-faced hub-centric, with the odd Chevy wheel thrown in the mix.

All of these scenarios are a recipe for wheel slippage and the resultant wallowing out of the stud-holes and chewing big grooves in the studs.


Best is to MEASURE carefully and swap on a genuine DRW rear with the wheels that are MEANT to be on it.

 

[65sixbanger]

On most Fords I ever messed with, the SRW frame is something like 42" outside measure.

A "dualie" frame is also 42" wide and the axle is quite a bit wider than a SRW.

A genuine DRW chassis-cab truck is industry standard 34-1/2" frame width, with the axle being some 16" or so narrower than a "dualie".


On most SRW trucks I have tried, a DRW wheel will come against the leaf-springs long before it bottoms on the mounting surface.

Also, the rear spring hangers of an SRW are often farther from the rails than those of a "dualie", compounding problems when trying to swap things around.

Of course, there are always exceptions to all of this.



I see many many 3/4-ton SRW trucks of all brands running around my area that have the SRW wheels on the front and DRWs mounted to the rear via thick spacers behind the inside wheels to push them out away from spring interference.


Many of these have the rear wheels just bolted on in no well thought fashion, using flat-faced hub-centric wheels on spacers that have no means of centering the wheels; or, they have lug-centric "coined" wheels mounted on spacers that lack the proper sockets for the "coins" to rest in.

Or worse yet, they have a mixture of junk-yard wheels, some being "coined" lug-centric, some being flat-faced hub-centric, with the odd Chevy wheel thrown in the mix.

All of these scenarios are a recipe for wheel slippage and the resultant wallowing out of the stud-holes and chewing big grooves in the studs.


Best is to MEASURE carefully and swap on a genuine DRW rear with the wheels that are MEANT to be on it.

Wow I didnt know it was that freakin complicated

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

to clear up one misconception a dually does not take up any more space than a SRW truck does - fact is the widest part of any of these trucks are their mirrors, not the ass end.

That is probably true, but not a day passes that I don't get crowded over by some "recreational" driver in a hip-fendered dualie who is running with the entire fender and outer wheel ON MY SIDE OF THE YELLOW LINE.

What is funny is these old wooden-headed farmers around here who drove plain old SRW pick-ups for thirty-plus years and then all of a sudden up and get a "dualie"; not a gate-post nor barn door-way is safe from then on; I see more with busted fiber-glass fenders than without.


The door-ways at our shop are twelve-feet wide and they have been hit many times by "dualie" fenders.

 

[Fordsandguns]

The mirrors might be the widest point on the trucks, but those dually fenders are bigger and lower. I know a guy that has a dodge dually he bought with gouges on the fenders because the PO tried to take it through the bank drive through. She didn't have it but like a month and brought it back to the dealership.

 

[RLDSL]

The mirrors might be the widest point on the trucks, but those dually fenders are bigger and lower. I know a guy that has a dodge dually he bought with gouges on the fenders because the PO tried to take it through the bank drive through. She didn't have it but like a month and brought it back to the dealership.

I love my Western Hauler bed. It doesn't have those big fat girl hips on it, so I can get through most bank drive throughs . Only time I have trouble is when my big honkin' mirrors won't clear, I've got those things stretched out to see around my 102" wide car hauler, they definitely become the limiting factor.

 

[duaneboggs]

I am trying to achieve more payload by adding a few more springs and a lower gear ratio. (4.10)

Pay close attention to the number of leafs in the spring pack if you pull a dually axle from a junk yard. The main sping pack on my F250 and the F350 I pulled my axle from were the same. The F350 had a factory overload spring added. Other than that there was no difference.

Duane

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

Pay close attention to the number of leafs in the spring pack if you pull a dually axle from a junk yard. The main sping pack on my F250 and the F350 I pulled my axle from were the same. The F350 had a factory overload spring added. Other than that there was no difference.

Duane

I, also, have many times noticed that most "dualies" are no more than 3/4-ton suspensions with a wider axle and two more tires.

A plain old DRW chassis-cab ton is much stouter built.

I attribute this to the fact that, having a "pick-up" bed, instead of a steel flat or service bed of some type, that the manufacturer is catering more to the weekend recreational hauler people.

I do see the occassional "dualie" that has a much heavier-duty suspension, but they are rare and most likely special-ordered that way.



Although my truck is a DRW chassis-cab ton, were I to find a Dana-80 one, I would swap in the wider "dualie" rear on account of my steel flat is a full 8-foot wide and the narrower chassis-cab axle is lost under there; a "dualie" axle would put the outer tires closer to the perimeters of the bed and most likely be even more stable.