The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts AD 3800 Dual rear wheels under regular bed

i have seen the 47-53 3800 trucks with the 8 lug dual wheels, does anyone know how wide the complete set up is from outside tire to outside tire, and would they be able to fit under a stock 3600 with a regular bed without having to widen the rear fenders? i have given some thought to putting these on if i could make them fit. i think it would be a neat look having a dually with a regular truck bed

Nope, won't fit without fender modifications.
If I remember right, the bed is 52" wide, bed sides may have a problem with your inner duals??
The fender are only wide enough for one tire, so duals won't fit without fender widening.

I have heard of several people making the changes needed to make a dual wheel 3800 pickup, so it can be done.

Grigg

are those original 18 inch duals hard to find, and what about tires? i am think i may give his a try this spring. i think i would really like the look. would i have to change hubs or anything on the front? or is it a wheel spacer that bolts on to the hub and then bolt the tire on to the spacer? thanks mike

I have 2 AD 3800 duallys. One has a hoist. They both have 18" rims and tires. One has a title and one doesn't. I could sell you one of them and then you'd have the wheels and axles you want. It would probably be easier to put your good sheet metal on than to change the drive train. $1000 for choice. I have title to one and can get title to the other. One's a 51 and one's a 53. 785-738-8714. Trucks located in southeastern Nebraska.

Best bet would be to find some 3800 dual wheel axles, front and rear. I don't recall how the front hub and or adapter works, parts manual should help figure it out.

18" tires are expensive now. if you did not use the truck much could probably find some old half used ones to last a while longer. New ones can be bought from a number of specialty tire suppliers. The 18" wheels are not odd or hard to find at all, most all AD 1 ton dual wheel trucks have them.

19.5" wheels and tires would be the way to go if you planned to use the truck a lot.

Grigg

i don't think i put 1,000 miles on the truck a year, so i won't use it real heavy. i drive it around town and around the farm thats about it. i do use it to haul grave so i would like to have the dual wheels. what do you think a set of 18" duals would run? thanks mike

dlhenk, thanks but i'm not needing a another whole truck now. thanks mike

That is not bad really, much worse than 16" tires I am sure.
But I just bought 6 used 9R22.5 tires for my truck, the new replacement cost would have been $1,900 installed. Ouch!

Post a wanted add for the 18" wheels if you want some. I can't say for sure what they would cost, as I don't have any for sale, but I would guess between $25 and $50 per wheel would be reasonable, depending on a number of factors.

Grigg

I have a similar interest in putting duals on the rear of my 50 3600 pickup. (You have a cool 49 3600 btw.) I need to do some measuring first. I can see that the fenders will have to be widened but I need to look at the inside clearance closely too. I know there is a spacer/adapter that bolts to the front hubs to use a dually wheel. Maybe 16" dual wheels will work. Do you have the 15" detachable rim type wheels? Maybe somebody else can help. Let us know what you come up with.

When I bought 16 inch truck tires a few years ago I paid about $175 each. I was buying premium tires on sale, but with that number as context the price of the 18's I've found is not out of line.

I've been collecting those 18 inch wheels for a while. Some have been free, people find out how hard it is to find tires and decide to swap.

16 inch duals on the rear are a problem because of the diameter of the brake drums. The 16 inch inside dual will not clear the stock drums on a 1-ton. I don't know if the drum on a 3600 is the same as a 3800 or not.

If you think these are expensive price 18 inch wheels and tires for a Corvette... Good tires are expensive!

I had not thought of the brake drums but I'm sure you are right Steve. A 49-50 3800 had 14" rear brakes and a 49-50 3600 has 12" rear brakes. I wish I could borrow a wheel and try it.

Frank if you want to stop by Saturday I have a jack, air wrench and several of those wheels. I'm about 10 miles straight west of Seattle, should I expect you?

i would like to do this i think , but my only major problem would be mental- i hate to do it in a way because it didn't have duals and i don't want to make it look real custom i want an almost total factory look, but when i rebuilt the truck it also didn't have a regular bed, it was a flat bed from the factory. an i changed cabs.

Mike,I've got six 18 in.wheels and the front hubs for $300.00 if you want to come get them.I wouldn't want to ship them.
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Floyd

Thanks Steve, but I better not. Good luck Mike and keep us informed.

4 new 8R19.5 Goodyear G171's ran me $900. But I was happy to find them and happy to pay for them. They are no longer made (in this size) and anything around is old stock.

Hard as nails though. Assuming I don't drag race in them too much.

Floyd thanks anyway but that is just a little to far.

Hi Mike...You have to check out the '49 3800 for sale on ebay item #130200981389....this will answer some of your questions...the truck has some updated Dana axles under it, but the pictures will be a good ref. to what you want to do. I like the wide rear fenders. Check out the before & after pics....I have a '54 3800 dump body w/18" wheels and tires if you need some dimensions...the 7.00 x 18 tires are about $115-125, but the tread design is very limited. Good Luck!