The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk single wheel vs. dually i got an idea

i have a 67 3/4 ton 4x4 8 lug. i bought 6 newish military hummer tires 36 12.50 by 16.5 for it today. i was wondering if there is a difference in rear axles between dually and singled wheeled. i was giving some thought of gettind a set of dually wheels and bolting them up to rear end of truck. i'm taking the fleetside bed of and putting a flatbed on so i thought haveing a dually 3/4 ton would bed kinda cool and different. and would this help or hurt me in the mud? the truck is 4x4. and if i was able to do this i was going to get some dually hub extensions for the front axle. any thoughts?

Wheel stud length and brake diameter are the main differences. I wouldn't advise running those tires as a dual, though. You would need to find/have fabricated custom wheels for the application. 2, to have the proper wheel width to handle the tires (10" at least), and 2, they'll have to made to keep proper spacing betwen the rear tires so they won't rub against each oter, causing tire failure. A front adapter would also have to pretty deep to accomodate the wideer rim.
Not saying that it can't be done, would even be prety cool for a mud truck. But I think it could get very impractical for a truck used on the street.

I contemplated this on my '65. I was toying with a dually step-side look, but the adapters are pricey and by the time you price 6 wheels and tires I decided it wasn't a cost effective approach for me.

You also need to check rear suspension clearance. The wheels used on duals have lots of rear offset.

All that being said if you have the bucks this can look really cool or really dopey, depends on how you pull it off.

Not sure that it's worth all the effort on a flat bed though.

My 2 cents...

Here is what a friend of mine did to his suburban... some people love it, some hate it. I think it would look better with bigger tire sidewall and smaller diameter tires. Got questions email him, he is a great guy and he makes a living doing this sort of stuff. http://hackersparadise.biz/3_35.html

John

I've had 3/4 ton 4x4's my whole life. I knew where they would and would not go. My first 4x4 1 ton, I had to learn that all over agian, It won't go in wet grass, more or less mud. Stick with the singles. The one ton is more stable pulling a big load down the hyway, but that's it.

I loved my 1-ton four wheel drive, not only pulling a trailer, but any time a real truck was needed. The 3/4-ton that replaced it does not compare.

But mine always worked well even towing with just single-wheels.

Duel wheels have their place, but not in mud. It gets between the duels and its a mess. Once the space between the two tires fills up with mud, you are driving on mud. That's why all my semis have pull hooks. Just a little mud and they are stuck.

So how did WWII trucks work? They seem to have duels.

Talk to some of the veterans who served in Germany. They recall a lot of stuck trucks. That's why they had half tracks.

Many army trucks have winches on the front. The lug studs are a smaller diameter on 66 and older 3/4 trucks. Cant seem to find long studs that will work properly. OldWolf