F450/550 DRW to SRW conversion

[bigskypylot]

My last post I was trying to decide whether I might be better served by an F150 or Super Duty, I was thinking of an F450 or 550 cab-chassis and custom flatbed with storage underneath and fold down sides. What is the process and average cost to switch from a DRW to SRW ? Or would I be better served with a F350 and take the bed off when I am ready for a flatbed camper?

Sorry for all of the questions, but I am trying to learn and will be doing some research now.

 

[smlobx]

As far as I know the only costs in switching from a drw to a srw is that you'll have to buy a wheel and tire combination that has the same rating as the dually set up.

I believe that Rickson makes some heavy duty wheels and they might be able to help you with the right tires as well.

 

[smlobx]

A quick visit to the Rickson website shows they do the conversions you are interested in...

http://ricksontruckwheels.com/drw-to-srw.php

 

[Superduty]

I'm sure you know most of this already, but an F150 to F550 is a major difference. F350 to F550 is also a pretty big difference. I believe you can also order F350 as cab and chassis. Those come without a bed. How heavy a camper are you looking at? An F550 is a lot of truck. They ride pretty hard because they are designed to carry lots of weight. Empty F350s ride pretty hard as well. I think it might be best to figure out exactly what you plan on using the truck for and where you want to go with it and then work backwards.

I believe to convert to SRW you want to look at what's known as Super Single Wheels.


Jack

 

[bigskypylot]

Thanks guys, Ive been doing some looking at the super singles and have seen some stuff from Rickson, Stazworks and Buckstop. 550 is a heckuva lot more truck! I like the looks of a custom flatbed camper something along the lines of Phoenix. I know Aero-Continental here in Bozeman is making some good stuff right now and it may be something i look at down the road as an option. I think maybe the f350 would be my best bet as I. I was liking the new F150 but with what I wanted to do to it, it was going to run quite a bit more than a SD with some suspension mods. I could use the SD with a camper in the back for a basecamp and tow the Xterra or carry a dirtbike on the back. I am just trying to get a broad consensus of what is more practical. If you haven't gathered, I can go a little overboard on the practical aspect.

 

[Darwin]

F550 with custom flat bed and custom camper is not going to be cheap any way you slice it. The cost of custom wheels and switching from DRW to SRW will be at the very bottom as far as price goes. You are probably looking at close to $2000 for tires, possibly more, wheels, anywhere from $1000 to $5000 if you go with Hutchinson beadlocks like whats used on the earthroamer. The cheaper method would be using MRAP wheels like what AC Continental in bozeman uses, best to ask them.

As far as practicality, I don't find a custom flatbed and camper on a 550 or even 350 to be practical for weekend warrior trips for North America or even 2 weeks in Baja unless you are financially independent and or have a million in the bank. Financing a recreation vehicle like that for that kind of use in my mind would be hard to justify, especially if you have kids and are still working.

 

[bigskypylot]

F550 with custom flat bed and custom camper is not going to be cheap any way you slice it. The cost of custom wheels and switching from DRW to SRW will be at the very bottom as far as price goes. You are probably looking at close to $2000 for tires, possibly more, wheels, anywhere from $1000 to $5000 if you go with Hutchinson beadlocks like whats used on the earthroamer. The cheaper method would be using MRAP wheels like what AC Continental in bozeman uses, best to ask them.

As far as practicality, I don't find a custom flatbed and camper on a 550 or even 350 to be practical for weekend warrior trips for North America or even 2 weeks in Baja unless you are financially independent and or have a million in the bank. Financing a recreation vehicle like that for that kind of use in my mind would be hard to justify, especially if you have kids and are still working.

I was going to go the route with Aero-Continental. Quite a bit to think about. No kids here I just took a nice severance package from my former employer and doing contract work at the moment and moving on to something I would be happier with in the long-run. The schedule is two weeks on/off and I want to travel on my off time, so it would see quite a bit more use than a "weekend warrior" would see.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

Are you planning on lowering the pressure in the tires to get across the sand dunes or run the beach? If the answer is no, then the widest 19.5's on the rear will do. If the answer is yes, then you need to rethink 19.5's as they cannot be successfully deflated for sand. I've just gone through a complete drivetrain build and have had a lot of super single exposure during the last 15 years.
http://truckcamperadventure.com/2017/01/extreme-truck-camper-drivetrain-build/
Considering tires and wheels for an off-road style camp mobile of some kind comes around to how much weight you plan to carry on the rear axle. You need to know this, or at least a ball-park figure. As you will read in the piece, I had bad luck with aluminum wheels on my XTC.
If I had it to do over, I think I would choose 18 inch wheels as some of the highest ratings in a non-".5" tire can be had in the 18 inch size, especially if they are 35 inches or taller. I would have Stockton Wheel build some wide, super single wheels that fit an F350. The plus here is that they have enough sidewall and can be deflated to get you over the soft sand:

jefe

 

[Bubblegoose1]

Also check out 1st Attack Engineering for super singles conversion.

 

[2025 deleted member]

New 1ton single wheel trucks have decent payload if spec'd correctly and would be a cheaper simpler route. You also can get a factory e-locker I think you can only get a limited slip in the dually.

 

[bigskypylot]

Thanks for all the input so far. I think in the long-run, a 1-ton truck (F350) would be the way to go. It's a lot of truck (especially with the 6.7) I tried to spec it out on Ford.com and could only get it with 3.55 gears and locker. On Edmunds.com, I could spec out with 4.30 gears. Kinda confusing but not sure if that can be done or not

 

[bigskypylot]

Also check out 1st Attack Engineering for super singles conversion.

Ive seen those. They look pretty cool. I think the adapter/MRAP wheels from AeroContinental would be the way to go

 

[mallthus]

I would say that, unless you're planning to fully utilize the capacity of of the F-550, a factory SRW F-350 will give you better off-road performance. The tracking is such that, with a DRW to SRW conversion, either you'll need add front fender flares to get the full benefit of the wide track, or you'll be no better off than with the lighter SRW truck.

 

[Copperhead14]

I have used 2 brush trucks built by first attack. The wheels are very well built.

 

[bigskypylot]

I would say that, unless you're planning to fully utilize the capacity of of the F-550, a factory SRW F-350 will give you better off-road performance. The tracking is such that, with a DRW to SRW conversion, either you'll need add front fender flares to get the full benefit of the wide track, or you'll be no better off than with the lighter SRW truck.

Good to know! See, that's why they pay you guys thever big bucks to answer all these questions idiots like me ask lol. I'm glad there is such a knowledgeable base here in this community. Thanks for all the info everyone has contributed so far!