Darwin
Explorer
Unfortunately like all things in Mexico, they just keep pushing the timeline for when Mexico will have ultra low sulfur diesel. For the most part, ultra low sulfur diesel is not available at this time.
Dually for Overland Vehicle?
- Thread starter Kilroy
- Start date
ReluctantTraveler
Well-known member
I'm so happy someone resurrected this thread, because I was going to otherwise!
How bad are duallies on sand? I know airing down can be issue (I also know that you can install a 1" spacer to make it possible).
We're not planning to do heavy dune driving or anything, but would occasionally like to do some beach camping in an F-550 crew cab with a 12' flatbed and heavy camper on it (build in the planning stages).
Trying to understand the capabilities and limitations of DRW, as I don't think a Super Single conversation is in the budget at the moment.
How bad are duallies on sand? I know airing down can be issue (I also know that you can install a 1" spacer to make it possible).
We're not planning to do heavy dune driving or anything, but would occasionally like to do some beach camping in an F-550 crew cab with a 12' flatbed and heavy camper on it (build in the planning stages).
Trying to understand the capabilities and limitations of DRW, as I don't think a Super Single conversation is in the budget at the moment.
Peter_n_Margaret
Adventurer
No 4WD vehicle designed from the ground up for off road use uses duals.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome
LikeABoss
Observer
After a lot of thought, I decided to go super singles on the ram 5500 I have coming. I opted out of the military tire as I don’t need the full capacity of the 5500. Still good for almost 16k (and I won’t be close to that) and will have a much quieter tire, much better in the snow. It was the width you need with duals and a decent diameter tire that I didn’t want. You can get the ridge grappler in 37x11.5 and even then, every aftermarket wheel gets you out well over the legal 102” wide from what I could tell.
LikeABoss
Observer
Yeah not for everyone and I may switch to military if I end up needing to. Tires will be the limiting factor otherwise. I bought Stazworks wheels. He told me I’d be at 93” wide and a square setup. I’m trying the maxxis razr at. I had not heard of them until shopping for a 40 that’s less than 15.5 wide. Reviews are sparse but they sound promising. 3 peak snow rating on a 40! 10 ply, 3970 lb.
I have the Kelderman 2 stage rear air setup ready to bolt on as well. It just arrived today. They said the ride is the same as their 4 link just less adjustable. I like the simplicity. AEV fenders. I’m going to try to get away with zero lift. AEV does 2” on their 5500s. I will move the axle forward a touch with core 4x4 arms if needed.
Now I just need ram to build me a truck…
40x13.5.
Next to a 37x12.5 Toyo RT
DiploStrat
Expedition Leader
Yeah not for everyone and I may switch to military if I end up needing to. Tires will be the limiting factor otherwise. I bought Stazworks wheels. He told me I’d be at 93” wide and a square setup. I’m trying the maxxis razr at. I had not heard of them until shopping for a 40 that’s less than 15.5 wide. Reviews are sparse but they sound promising. 3 peak snow rating on a 40! 10 ply, 3970 lb.
I have the Kelderman 2 stage rear air setup ready to bolt on as well. It just arrived today. They said the ride is the same as their 4 link just less adjustable. I like the simplicity. AEV fenders. I’m going to try to get away with zero lift. AEV does 2” on their 5500s. I will move the axle forward a touch with core 4x4 arms if needed.
Now I just need ram to build me a truck…
40x13.5.
Next to a 37x12.5 Toyo RT
Watch closely for snapped or loosened bolts on Stazworks wheels of that type. Can lead to sudden tire deflation.
LikeABoss
Observer
Thanks. They have disc lock nuts. Hopefully that helps.
vintageracer
To Infinity and Beyond!
BIG is Better.
NOT for any type of driving or off-road travel outside of the USA!
NOT for any type of driving or off-road travel outside of the USA!
DiploStrat
Expedition Leader
In our case, ten bolts snapped as there was nothing to align the rims with the spider. Having a tire catch fire at high way speed is a lot of fun. Found loose bolts on the other wheels - which have since been junked.
Hopefully Stazworks have gotten better.
Be care!
LikeABoss
Observer
Thanks for the warning! So your wheel studs snapped off? Or the bolts on the 2 piece wheels? What is the “spider” you refer to? How long had you had them on before this happened?
DiploStrat
Expedition Leader
The spider is the center of a wheel. The Stazworks wheel had a flat spider bolted to a bead lock rim. The wheels were a few months old. When the bolts first snapped they were replaced with milder steel by the first owner of the truck. DOT issued a recall for Stazworks wheels on Ford based firetrucks.
Be very careful.
Be very careful.
LikeABoss
Observer
Will do. Thanks again. These are new but also a flat spider. 18 bolts total. The bolts themselves are the only thing that aligns the 2 pieces but tolerances seem pretty tight. Short of most of the nuts backing off, it’s hard to see how the sections could become misaligned. I don’t know enough about 2 piece wheels to know what the error could have been with these or the prior designs.
DiploStrat
Expedition Leader
Traveling and don't have pictures with me, but I did post this a while back.
Things are probably better now, but I remain wary.
Lowly the Lorry. . .
Awesome progress! The fun is starting. Looks like your fire box had a more substantial subframe than ours had, maybe a good base for you to start with and would save time and money. One thing I see though is it looks like your rear leaf springs might be sagging. From the picture it looks like...
www.expeditionportal.com
C4500 Kodiak - Grizzly
We are ready to go an a 1-2 week trip on Friday, since we just finished some minor renovations. I sanded and refinished the drawers and cabinets, added multiple coats of poly (really hard to get a super smooth finish, but its much better than before and good enough for us) We also took out...
www.expeditionportal.com
LikeABoss
Observer
Traveling and don't have pictures with me, but I did post this a while back.
Things are probably better now, but I remain wary.
Lowly the Lorry. . .
Awesome progress! The fun is starting. Looks like your fire box had a more substantial subframe than ours had, maybe a good base for you to start with and would save time and money. One thing I see though is it looks like your rear leaf springs might be sagging. From the picture it looks like...
C4500 Kodiak - Grizzly
We are ready to go an a 1-2 week trip on Friday, since we just finished some minor renovations. I sanded and refinished the drawers and cabinets, added multiple coats of poly (really hard to get a super smooth finish, but its much better than before and good enough for us) We also took out...
Thanks. That is scary. Design is definitely different. Yours look like maybe 1/2 bolts? And a lot more of them. Mine are 5/8 I believe (nut is 15/16) and just 18 of them. Mine are not beadlock. I’ll be monitoring for loosening for sure.
zenfire
Syncro to Fuso
I'll add my 2 cents. Had a 2001 F350 dually with Arctic Fox 1140 in bed. Heavy. Running Cooper AT3, then General ATX, liked both. Incredible on snow, backcountry roads near Aspen and Ouray, in a driving blizzard over Red Mountain Pass, hauling along on US40 at 75mph, twisting paved mountains in New Mexico, and even some narrower places with rock overhangs. Handled like a dream going down 15" of pow at the campground entrance above Silverton, with no one there of course, and drove all around the terrain through marshy snow, etc to see how it would do. Nary a wheel spin. Awesome in Moab, running backcountry and 4-wheeling -- 6-wheeling. Had Rancho 9000, Helwig sway, Timbrens, add-a-leafs, and 33's, with manual front lockers. Dream machine. Could do everything not too skinny or too low branches. Run with a pole saw. If I were doing Rockies and desert and Pacific Northwest, a dually is fine. Fine fine. A bad brake job did it in, they left a bolt loose in rear and blew the rear axle on the freeway with the camper, just having passed a semi, and got to guardrail in 6 seconds. 1 second more, the rear wheels fly 300' and we roll. The old Fords use a bad design for torquing axles internally... I'd have no hesitation with a Dodge, Ram, GM, or more modern Ford (2015 on up), to go dually. If F450 could have simple super singles that are about 6" more inward that the outside edge of a dually, 3" per side, and the front pushed out with offset to meet track, it would be a great way to narrow the big truck enough to get more places without sacrificing the great front turning radius, or weight distribution too much. Otherwise, IMHO, pick a smaller camper and go 350/3500 with factory singles. I don't envy the folks doing heavy heavy work off road. BAT's have been working remote a long time, I think too many newbies are afraid of big trucks in small places, and that is good! It's those intermediate places past the RAV4's and factory ForRunners and Tahoes, yet not all the way up the skinny trail to the Gladiator and Wrangler and Tacoma builds, that suits big trucks just fine.