jimbo486

The factory clips actually aren't that bad. I broke the driver side trying to figure out just how it's supposed to hook in there. I figured it out and got it right on the passenger side but tied them both to be sure I never have to do it again.

whereswaldo250

Jimbo, Looking bud I like what you have done thus far. I could't see too well in the pictures, but when you got new bearings from Quad4x4 did you get Timkin bearings with the kit?

jimbo486

Yep. Timken bearings, bearing races and National wheel seals.

jimbo486

Worked from about 6pm to midnight last night to get this done! There's a big difference in the dimensions between the cab and chassis axle and the pick-up axle. These are only dimensions I found in threads here but they read 55" between the backing plates of the cab and chassis axle and 60" between the backing plates of the pick-up axle. They seem to be close to that. Wow!









This sure would have looked awkward if I had left the narrower axle on the '90!







Here are the clearance issues I'd run into if I hadn't done the swap. You can see the inner wheel well is directly above the shoulder of the tire. 500lbs would probably introduce them to each other.

Driver side.


Passenger side.

TRENDZ

Yeah the inner wheel wells need alot of work to get clearance. My bed floor is 48 1/2" between the wheel houses after modification. You definetely went the right route with swapping axles.
These are great pictures for reference. Had I seen this, I most likely would not have modded mine, but I was in to deep by the time I could see this for myself.

whereswaldo250

Sweet that is really good to know.

tech-eh

when i did my conversion it ended up at 48 1/4 from one side to the other had it originally set up at 48 1/2 and it rubbed with a load and bumpy roads just ever so slightly but enough to score the sides of the tires

TRENDZ

My truck has 19.5 tires/wheels. There is almost no sidewall bulge, and the wheels are closer together than factory, so I got away with a little more than I should have. Do you have pics of yours?

Bumble76

Just out of curriosity, what did you do with the "Champaign Room" I've been looking for one of those and man are they hard to come by.

AUGIE DOG

Jimbo,was the original axle narrower than the axle you put in?I just logged on here so I haven't been following this closely.If the axle was narrower could you have used it and just add fender flares to a stock bed instead of using a dually bed.I thought the chassis type model axle was narrower than a stock truck with bed etc. etc.Just wondering. My rig is a crew cab short bed that I am also installing a dually axle but it would be so much easier to use a chassis axle placing the wheel inside wheel well and just use wide rubber/fiberglass flares. Just wondering!!

jimbo486

Still got it. PM me if you wanna work something out.

Yes, the cab and chassis dually axles are narrower than the pick-up axles. If you look at the last 2 pictures I posted, you can see the clearance issue. TRENDZ did just that with his truck. He kept the narrower axle and used a SRW bed, cut the wheel wells out, added sheet metal and made his own fenders. I think it looks really good! He also had to make the wheel tubs inside the bed deeper to clear the inner tire. If you can find a pick-up dually axle, that'd definitely be the way to go!

gadget.35-06

Altering the wheel tubs to accomodate a chassis/cab axle will sure put the kybosh to hauling full sheets of plywood or drywall, should the need arise.

TRENDZ

Not so on mine. I have 50'' between the widest part of the tires. Wheel wells are 48 1/2" inside to inside.

jimbo486

I've been working out in northern Arizona for the past couple of weeks and ran into another first gen and started BS'ing with the owner. I told him what my latest project was and that I was hoping to find another bed. Turns out, he has one that he was ready to send to the scrapper. It's mine for $100!! The only damage it has is the driver side rear. I'll use a section from the front of this one to fill the space I'll have between the cab and bed.

gadget.35-06

You're gonna need some herding dogs to keep them head o' Rams from strayin'.