rear axle width question

[DetroitDan]

Been tossing around the idea of switching my dually to a 4 wheeler, only because I want a big lifted truck and the dually wheels are very limiting. I know the front hubs can be removed easy enough, but because of the rearend I have, I have no idea where a single rear wheel would end up. I DONT have a dually pickup rear axle, it's a narrow cab & chassis c14. I really dont want to do this, because I always wanted a tucked dually, but I hate looking at the little skinny tires in the front. A 35 or 36-12.50 would look so much better under it. Been looking for 19.5 wheels, but it would probably be easier and cheaper to find 8 lug 16x8 or 16x10 rims.

So, outside of locating an old square to measure, does anybody know how the C&C rear axle measures up to a SRW c14?

[b454rat]

Cab n chassis is about 63". To get an idea how narrow it is, think of a 4wd S-10 rear, late 60s early 70s Camaro and Nova, they have 61" or so.

[DetroitDan]

any idea how wide a srw c14 is?

[K30_dump]

Originally Posted by DetroitDan

any idea how wide a srw c14 is?

Should be 67" or so, as long as its a truck axle (14 bolt van axles were wider)...

Hope this helps,

Joe
Posted via Mobile Device

[BigBlocksRule]

C&C is about 63.5, SRW is 67.5, dually is 72" or so. If you have a C&C dually rear and go to a SRW axle, you'll move the mounting surface outward about 2" on each side.
Whatever you do, don't sell that C&C rearend cheap, they're the ones the frame draggers want when they convert to 22.5" wheels, they have to move the wheels inboard for clearance and that axle is exactly the one they need. I had one with 4.56 gears in it that I knew I wouldn't need, had a guy drive 100 miles to hand me 5 Ben Franklins for it.

[DetroitDan]

Originally Posted by BigBlocksRule

C&C is about 63.5, SRW is 67.5, dually is 72" or so. If you have a C&C dually rear and go to a SRW axle, you'll move the mounting surface outward about 2" on each side.
Whatever you do, don't sell that C&C rearend cheap, they're the ones the frame draggers want when they convert to 22.5" wheels, they have to move the wheels inboard for clearance and that axle is exactly the one they need. I had one with 4.56 gears in it that I knew I wouldn't need, had a guy drive 100 miles to hand me 5 Ben Franklins for it.

Well, I didnt mean I would be swapping out the axle, I was curious as to what would happen if I removed the dual wheels and put on a single rear wheel. It sounds like it would be 2 inches inboard of where it would be if I had a srw axle. Probably would have to add spacers to get them back out where they belong. I don't think they'd interfere with the frame or anything, not on a dually drum hub, but it might look a little silly. I was just told today that to run military wheels you have to add spacers in the front because of the offset, this being for a srw front axle. (I'm considering military 37s because of the size and availability). So, if I did use the Hummer wheels (ugly) the rears would probably look even more wrong, but I wonder what I'd have to do in the front? Maybe I could get away without a spacer if I left the dually hub on? Or would that probably space it out too much.. idk

Ideally I'd like to find some cool chrome wheels in 16.5 but they're getting rare. And of course this would only be so I could run the military 37 inch Wranglers, they're bada** looking and cheap. Another option would be to find some 16 inch wheels and run a 35 or 36 inch tire. I know I want to add a little more lift to the truck, but it's already standing up off the little dinky 235/85 tires as it is.

I don't know what to do. Like I said before, most of the reason for getting the truck was because I always wanted what I call a tucked dually, but I really want a taller truck with some big tires on it. I kind of hate to give up the dually, but there's just no cool options for dually tires. I've been hunting for 9.00-16s for two years now but nobody has them anymore. Also wanted to run an 8 lug 19.5 with 245/75s but haven't had any luck finding them either.

What should I do? Stick with a tucked dually or make it into a 4 wheeler?

[GMC91]

How wide is it if you measure from outside tire to outside tire? Or where do I need to measure from? And how wide is a dually rear end?

[BigBlocksRule]

Measure from wheel-mounting-surface to wheel-mounting-surface, widths are in my previous post. Dually rear is about 5" wider than single rear wheel, the tires would be outboard of where they'd be with a conventional single wheel axle.

[b454rat]

You could leave the rear as is, and convert the front to SRW. Swamper is the only company I think left that still has tall skinny's.

Or, you can swap the backing plates, hubs and drums off a SRW 14f and make yours a SRW. The housing and axle shafts are the same between C&C and SRW full floaters.

[DetroitDan]

I think what I'm going to do is put two inch spacers in the rear to move the tires away from the springs, and in the front just pull off the front adaptors

[BigBlocksRule]

Let me know if you don't want to save the adapters, I could use a set!

[ghetto_superman]

Get yourself a set of SRW rear hubs and be done with it!
Per Billavista's 14 Bolt Bible:

"The SRW and C&C axles use the same housings and shafts, with the difference in width being in the hubs. The housings are actuallly[sic] identical except for the location of the backing plate flange. Drums & hubs are different, but backing plates, shoes, and wheel cylinders are the same)"

Ref: (about halfway down the page- "The Different Types of 14 Bolt")

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billav...ble/index.html

Hopefully no one minds that I linked to an outside thread!

Edit: The article doesn't specify what would need to be done about the backing plate flange, so you'd be on your own there. The beauty of the 14BFFs is that there are many different configurations and thus combinations that can be had on the cheap!

[DetroitDan]

Somebody else told me I could do that too with the rear hubs, but I want to keep my axle as it is now, so that in winter I can swap back to dual wheels easily.

So, I'd want to save my front hub adaptors too. No idea whats involved with pulling those off.

[b454rat]

Need to find single rear wheel hubs for the front. Good luck, they are expensive to buy!!

[DetroitDan]

Originally Posted by b454rat

Need to find single rear wheel hubs for the front. Good luck, they are expensive to buy!!

well this idea is going to hell fast. I was supposed to be getting a set of 37" military wranglers this friday. doesn't look like I'll be able to use them. I'm just so aggravated by these little puny tires I have now. Like I've said before, the whole point of this truck was the tucked dually fleetside look, so I didnt want to go srw, except I cant get any bigger tires that will work with the dually wheels. And I dont want to do a tremendous amount of work to change it to srw, I wanted to be able to switch back and forth as needed.

Anything wider than my 235/85s and I'll need fender flares, which stinks but I'd do it if I was getting some nice tall rubber. My last dually had 255/85s but with the 1.5" spacer they were a heck of a lot wider than what I've got now. I'd even consider buying six 37s if I thought I could get them on my wheels and maybe put a dually bed on it. But I think I'd end up rubbing the springs on the inside. Adding spacers would be dumb because I'd need spacers between the wheels too, so I'd have a lot of spacer and a lot of leverage, at which point I'd be better off with a different axle.

I'm about to replace the junk 4" front springs with some HD 6" front springs, at which point I'm afraid the 235/85s are goinng to look even more weenie.

[DetroitDan]

Originally Posted by DetroitDan

I'd even consider buying six 37s if I thought I could get them on my wheels

just thought that through, remembered the 37s are 16.5. No biggie, I can get 6 16.5 dually wheels. But a 10 inch wide 12.50 tire is probably too much for a 6 or 6.5 inch wide rim. Although I have seen it done..