Axle swap

I added a leaf helper spring too.

Carrying the equivalent of about 5k plus pulling a 5k lift. Been doing it in that truck for three years. But last year I broke a helper spring bracket and had to replace it. That is why I was thinking about the F350 springs and dually.

I can get the springs off the F350 and add the dually wheels, I guess.
 
Timothy said:
No doubt that the first one would be an all day job. The second one would only take six hours though. :)

The other side of that is that you already know your truck and it would cost more in registration and taxes to register another one and get it on the road than the rear swap would cost.

Tony, pm me your email so I can send you a pic.
Click to expand...

I think Tony is thankful is he not in California. I just got done paying $780 to register my truck for the year.
 
Have you thought about air bags?

I know a distributor that put air bags in his F250 and can haul 9 of the 55 gallon drums of chemicals around no problem and does not squat down much and you can always add more air if needed.
 
Buy another truck, its not worth the hassle nor the liability. You have to remember the dually has bigger bigger tires, stronger suspension, and bigger brakes front and back. Just doing the rear axle does not bring you up to a dually weight, and if something were to happen with an accident you would probably get sued like crazy.

Why a dually, water is not light, and trucks are not light either. My 2005 Dodge 3500 Dually Quad w/long box has a curb weight of 6900 lbs. Add in the water tank, burner, engine + pump, fuel tanks, hose, and some chems, it adds up quick. Fill the tank up with water, fuel tanks full and the truck runs at 11,400 lbs of the 12,200 lbs total weight allowance. You want to lower your curb weight drop the quad cab, shrink the box, and lose the 4wd, those 3 add a lot of weight to your truck. I needed all three which meant I needed a higher payload hence the dually.

The other big thing is that the police do commercial checkstops a lot out here with scales and pull people off the road for being over weight. I figure piece of mind when it comes to them and also piece of mind that if a kid jumps in front of my truck I can stop as quickly as the truck was intended to do.
 
Brakes brakes brakes... I would worry more a out that than anything with the weight.

Buy a new one with 0% and have the bumper to bumper warranty then you don't have to worry about it. Buying new was one of the best things I ever did in my company. In the long run it either saved me money or worked out the same for all the nickel and dime repairs I got stuck with. But the lack of downtime was the real savings.

Now if your looking for a project for fun that's a whole different story.
 
Paul Kassander said:
Brakes brakes brakes... I would worry more a out that than anything with the weight.

Buy a new one with 0% and have the bumper to bumper warranty then you don't have to worry about it. Buying new was one of the best things I ever did in my company. In the long run it either saved me money or worked out the same for all the nickel and dime repairs I got stuck with. But the lack of downtime was the real savings.

Now if your looking for a project for fun that's a whole different story.
Click to expand...

I agree with you Paul about buying new. I'm getting ready to buy a used 98 Dodge Dakota 4 Cylinder 5 Speed just to do estimates and errands in though. 22 MPG is better than 12 in my F-450. I'm still going to have the Dakota lettered though and everything. All my work trucks though are bought brand new.
 
A 450 costs a lot more then a 350, wow that's not the case here. My 99 Freightliner which is 4.5 times the size of my 3500 dually is actually a little less $$$$ insurance wise and they both have a similar value.

In terms of brakes, brakes, brakes, how do you not worry about weight since they are directly related. In terms of new, I think it depends on the size of your business and how mechanically inclined you are as well. I have seen guys with new trucks in the shop more then guys with older trucks. Also when it comes to cost I can't justify new with my size.

New Freightliner truck like I have is easily $150-180k with insulated box, side door, ect.
New Dodge Dually 3500, $70,000 for us Canucks with all the creature comforts I have in mine now.

I also was a mechanic before I did this, so all my mechanical repairs are done in house.

Don't get me wrong I would love new, I just can't take the financial hit with both the high monthly payments and insurance.
 
Tony Shelton said:
The F450 was rough on insurance. Here, in Nevada the commercial insurance for a 450 was more than twice that of a 350. It might have changed now that 450's are in the regular Ford lineup.
Click to expand...

My 450 went up a little compared to my 350 I had. When I moved from Diamond Bar to Chino Hills (1 city over) my insurance rates dropped $677 a year. I'm paying right around $2700 a year full coverage (1 million liability) with low deductables for the 450 and the E-350 box van.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top