dually's?

Not all semi's are swapping to Super Singles and those that have are already figuring out the bad aspects, They 'float', on rain, on snow on mud pretty much everything with very little traction in all. Are fine for long distance highway in perfect conditions and do reduce drag as to rolling resistance but that is about all. They are problematic, have a flat are stuck, no limping on the second tire dual to a service center, MUST be consistently watched for pressure and heating as once start to heat is unrelenting until the carcass fails, tire thumping is worthless and a gauge Must be used everytime. One particular odd aspect is sidewall 'Roll' if you get sea sick these are NOT your cup of tea, they also are tucked deeper inside the dimension of the machine where roll over is at a lesser angle, on a dually pickup one aspect of safety is they are well Wider in the load carry region and not so side roll(waddle) sensitive. Duals have their place, can chain a single tire in duals for better snow/ice traction, have load share but not the float of a wide tire, will dig to a useable traction soil or thru snow, do have the expense of two on one hub as opposed to the SS but those are nearly as expensive as a set of duals, wheels are ALL position unlike SS wheels. Pickups with extra wide tires are hogs on ice in slick, I have actually gone BACK to narrower lug tires on my 99 SD F250 as better traction and durability.

Edited by DMiller - 03 Dec 2018 at 5:49am

What is known as Unsprung load stress will not bode well for adding these so-called dually kits. The extending out off center on the wheel bearings of load stresses is not good. Over many years have seen these work out well for those that have little need for loaded weight as to duals such as extended wheel footprint to support a light RV but for those that used them as heavy trucks they ate seals and wheel bearings regularly. Also very hard on lug studs unless pull and verify the torque on them regularly, no impact or guessed armstrong torque to these.


Have seen old pickups converted to duals under a narrow flatbed for load capacity on the standard hubs, tires will get close to springs not always against them where borrowing a rim or substituting a dually spare for a existing tire will show if can work. If HAVE to HAVE for weight factor, find a salvage yard, buy a close year model wide dually housing axle, rebuild and exchange it into your own truck.   That I have done several times with excellent results.


Edited by DMiller - 02 Dec 2018 at 8:11am

shameless dude wrote: any of ya'll ever put them dually kits on your trucks? see an ad from "arrowcraft.com"

What ya need duals for...…? To haul your money to the bank...? Darrel

I had a dually kit I could put on one of my Jeeps way back when. I had 40" tires inside and 38.5" outside front and rear. The taller tires inside made it easier on the steering when on hardpack. Made it too wide to haul but it would float in open water.