SRW or DRW?

jefe 4x4 wrote:
Okan,
At the time i bought the truck the determining factor for me was the higher spline count, bearing and RG&P upgrade, and larger axle diameter that they Just started putting on 3500's with the V-10 option in 2000 and only in 2001.5 to 2002 with the Cummins H.O. engine and NV5600 combo. No D70 parts anywhere to be seen. I know this for when I installed the Power Lok rr limited slip, they had to re drill the D-70 plate to fit the larger RG parts. These did not appear before that time, but were the 'detuned' versions you speak of. If it weren't so I certainly would not have plunked down my cash for a new truck that year. I have a friend with a 17K pound MoHo with a gas 454 and the self same Dana 80 to-the-max under the rear. His is rated at 13,500 pounds. He had a leaky pinion seal and had me crawl under there to see what was what. I got under there and lo and behold it looked exactly like the D80 under my rig. Of course, it's hard to tell unless you take it down to see if it's mostly Dana 70 air inside the pig.
regards, as always, jefe

http://www.crateaxle.com/products/dana-80-axles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dana_80

Motorhomes and larger cab and chas trucks Dana 80`s have the 37 spline and 1.58 dia. axles same tubes , different length ,always always dually with larger wheel bearings.Different larger gawr
.
THe dana 80 and 70u in SRW have 35 spline 1.50 axles and the same hubs and brakes , pre 2001.5 drum brakes =2 1/2 " wide shoes , after same disc`s
DRW had 3 1/2 " shoes
On Pirate 4x4 forum , where they modify these axles , Ive heard the center section/ pumkin gives you the torque rating and the wheel bearings give you the Gawr
http://dodgeram.org/tech/specs/axle/267RBI_specs.html

http://dodgeram.org/tech/specs/axle/286RBI_specs.html

What gets me is the front dana 60 on 94-02 trucks. The diffrence between the dually and the single rear is only the unit bearing hubs and the dually spacers . The highest rating I can find for it is 5200 lbs , the front of my truck empty is 4780 lbs , not much to spare, Dana even refered me to that #, it must be more.
http://dodgeram.org/tech/specs/axle/axlespecs.html

Ive been looking at putting a DRW Dana 80 on my 99 Dodge SRW truck,and front DRW hubs and dually spacers , mega cab dually flares like this

17" dually rims & tires ,and cab &chas 8 leaf spring packs, cost =4000.00 +
Just mulling it over before I spend on SRW vision 19.5 `s
I love my SRW and have way to much on it to start over again , but also looking for used 2001.5-2002 HO Duallys

Your rear axle is way beefy :)

Okan,
At the time i bought the truck the determining factor for me was the higher spline count, bearing and RG&P upgrade, and larger axle diameter that they Just started putting on 3500's with the V-10 option in 2000 and only in 2001.5 to 2002 with the Cummins H.O. engine and NV5600 combo. No D70 parts anywhere to be seen. I know this for when I installed the Power Lok rr limited slip, they had to re drill the D-70 plate to fit the larger RG parts. These did not appear before that time, but were the 'detuned' versions you speak of. If it weren't so I certainly would not have plunked down my cash for a new truck that year. I have a friend with a 17K pound MoHo with a gas 454 and the self same Dana 80 to-the-max under the rear. His is rated at 13,500 pounds. He had a leaky pinion seal and had me crawl under there to see what was what. I got under there and lo and behold it looked exactly like the D80 under my rig. Of course, it's hard to tell unless you take it down to see if it's mostly Dana 70 air inside the pig.
regards, as always, jefe

3800 dry on any SRW is on the bleeding edge even with mods. The question is how much do you want to carry with you as well. For some people, that's up to 1500 lbs. With my SRW, I was careful about what I brought along. My SRW had a GVWR of 11400.

As is always pointed out, it's easier to buy a newer DRW as long as a DRW isn't too limiting in other ways. Also, note not all DRWs from all years handle heavy loads the same. Older DRWs only have an advantage of more tires on the rear. Look into the GVWR of the DRW before assuming it will give a good ride and can stop. The gap between older ones and newer ones can be thousands of lbs.

There is always a tradeoff.

Regardless of whether the "dry" weight is a base camper, camper with options, it is still going to be well over 4000lbs loaded and ready to camp. Plus passengers.

4000lbs is my personal cutoff where I, under no circumstances, would recommend anything less than a dually. Under 4000lbs you can fudge the numbers and bolt on widgets and doodads and make it work, but there's a diminishing return on that as you get heavier, and need more and more addons.

Redsky wrote:
Second option is to replace the factory rims and tires with 19.5 rims and 19.5 tires rated at 4400 lbs. per tire which will cost you about $3500. This will increase the payload up to over 5,000 lbs. but is expensive.

I just did this on my truck and didn't spend that much and I got 5 19.5's. I think I am about $3200 into 5 Vision Type 81's with Toyo M608z's in 245/70R19.5 LRG tires and counteract balance beads in all 5.

4500lbs a tire is nice, and even at 55-60 psi they are far more stable with a load that LRE's ever where with 80.. and they ride nicer.

jefe 4x4 wrote:
Teach,
It looks like you have not purchased a TC as of yet. If that is indeed the case, consider the paradigm shift of buying a smaller camper and a bigger truck yet. Some of the most successful TC-er's on here have learned the hard way about reading the GVWR on the door pillar. Consider a TC with a wet weight of around 2000 pounds and putting it on a dual rear wheel, long bed,3500/350 truck of choice with the highest GCVWR.
The rr axle load rating on my Dana 80, 35 spline, FF, 1.53" axle is 13,500 pounds. How can that be with the GVWR on my rig of only 8800 pounds? Simple answer: tire rating. The formula mfgrs use is, "The lowest rated part in the chain IS the GVWR".
My rear tires are 33-15.50R16's on 12" wide rims with a 3750 pound rating and a 16" wide foot print. They are defacto super singles or Duplex tires meant to take the place of a set of duals. My fronts are 33-13.50R16's with a 9.5" wide footprint. Lots of tire/air space to float on. So what? If i deflate them down i can run the beach or sand dunes or down a sandy arroyo. Also, to keep the XTC concept going, I am constantly playing with pressure in tires to fit the road surface. On terrible washboard, I'll deflate down to 30 lbs. front and 28 lbs. rear. Goodbye washboard. The tires become a flexible part of the suspension. Modern tires can take it.
So, I have neither SRW skinnies, or DRW skinnies. It's not for everyone.
Some more to think about on my 2001.5 Dodge 2500 camper special:
1. GAWR: frnt axle: 5200 pounds
2. GAWR, rr axle, non-camper special: 6084 pounds.
4. GAWR, rr axle, camper special: 7500 pounds
5. combined GAWR: non-camper special: 11,284 pounds
6. combined GAWR: camper special: 12,784 pounds
My loaded wet weight rolling down the highway is about 10,200 pounds.
Any 350/3500 will have a higher rating than above.
Always, always, always, did i say always? get a much higher weight rated truck than your camper requires. So, this means a duallie. This is such a hard paradigm coming from a TT or 5th. There is just nothing sexy about a duallie, unless you like big hips. There is something to be said about under stressing by not getting near your GVWR.
Of course coming from either a TT or a 5-er, downsizing your living quarters can be a challenge. IF...you can do with less interior space, take advantage:
1. park in a regular parking place or along the curb.
2. stealth camp in a regular parking place or along the curb.
3. camp in ANY N.P. or N.F. campsite that has length restrictions.
4. No set up.
5. travel like crazy, pull off in any short pull out along hwy 1.
6. drive out from under the TC and have a multipurpose rock truck.
7. drive down a two track road and have less worries about getting stuck or trying to turn around.
The folks posting above know the TC business from many perspectives. Take advantage.
Happy hunting,
regards, as always, jefe

Good points, but a dana 80 in a 94/02 Dodge dually has a "Dana" axle rating of 10100 lbs not 13500 lbs , a SRW DANA 80 in a 94 to 02 SRW has a center carrier / tubes / shafts , of a dana 80 but Dana 70u hubs and bearings , a 70u has a axle rating of 7500 lbs , Ive never found a Dana rating for a hybrid Dana 80 like yours , Ive called Dana they refer to the Dodge #`s
Im sure its almost as much as a dually dana ,but smaller wheel bearing have to allow for some weight reduction.
You still have way more rear axle than you would ever need , a 8800 gvw is a farce , I have one too

Teach,
It looks like you have not purchased a TC as of yet. If that is indeed the case, consider the paradigm shift of buying a smaller camper and a bigger truck yet. Some of the most successful TC-er's on here have learned the hard way about reading the GVWR on the door pillar. Consider a TC with a wet weight of around 2000 pounds and putting it on a dual rear wheel, long bed,3500/350 truck of choice with the highest GCVWR.
The rr axle load rating on my Dana 80, 35 spline, FF, 1.53" axle is 13,500 pounds. How can that be with the GVWR on my rig of only 8800 pounds? Simple answer: tire rating. The formula mfgrs use is, "The lowest rated part in the chain IS the GVWR".
My rear tires are 33-15.50R16's on 12" wide rims with a 3750 pound rating and a 16" wide foot print. They are defacto super singles or Duplex tires meant to take the place of a set of duals. My fronts are 33-13.50R16's with a 9.5" wide footprint. Lots of tire/air space to float on. So what? If i deflate them down i can run the beach or sand dunes or down a sandy arroyo. Also, to keep the XTC concept going, I am constantly playing with pressure in tires to fit the road surface. On terrible washboard, I'll deflate down to 30 lbs. front and 28 lbs. rear. Goodbye washboard. The tires become a flexible part of the suspension. Modern tires can take it.
So, I have neither SRW skinnies, or DRW skinnies. It's not for everyone.
Some more to think about on my 2001.5 Dodge 2500 camper special:
1. GAWR: frnt axle: 5200 pounds
2. GAWR, rr axle, non-camper special: 6084 pounds.
4. GAWR, rr axle, camper special: 7500 pounds
5. combined GAWR: non-camper special: 11,284 pounds
6. combined GAWR: camper special: 12,784 pounds
My loaded wet weight rolling down the highway is about 10,200 pounds.
Any 350/3500 will have a higher rating than above.
Always, always, always, did i say always? get a much higher weight rated truck than your camper requires. So, this means a duallie. This is such a hard paradigm coming from a TT or 5th. There is just nothing sexy about a duallie, unless you like big hips. There is something to be said about under stressing by not getting near your GVWR.
Of course coming from either a TT or a 5-er, downsizing your living quarters can be a challenge. IF...you can do with less interior space, take advantage:
1. park in a regular parking place or along the curb.
2. stealth camp in a regular parking place or along the curb.
3. camp in ANY N.P. or N.F. campsite that has length restrictions.
4. No set up.
5. travel like crazy, pull off in any short pull out along hwy 1.
6. drive out from under the TC and have a multipurpose rock truck.
7. drive down a two track road and have less worries about getting stuck or trying to turn around.
The folks posting above know the TC business from many perspectives. Take advantage.
Happy hunting,
regards, as always, jefe

Redsky wrote:
Several ways to get around that limitation. One is to replace the stock 3195 tires with 3750 (Nitto or Toyo) rated tires to gain 1100 lbs. more load capacity at the rear axle. I did this and it cost me $500 out of pocket as I sold the factory tires on Craiglist. Second option is to replace the factory rims and tires with 19.5 rims and 19.5 tires rated at 4400 lbs. per tire which will cost you about $3500. This will increase the payload up to over 5,000 lbs. but is expensive.

A set four 19.5" rims and tires can be found for around $2000. There are drawbacks to using this setup: Heavier unsuspended weight, Poorer performance in loose sand and snow, Harsher unloaded ride.

Remember you can add dually wheels to a SRW for about $1500, that is if you want to buy 6 tires instead of 4 and have all the problems of parking a dually when you don't have the camper on, have you ever seen a dually with the rear extended fenders banged up?

I agree that even with todays higher SRW ratings, 3800 dry is in the DRW territory. Now if you were wanting to go where DRW aren't allowed like some beaches, you could make it work with after market upgrades, but I would suggest down grading the camper instead.

After a certain weight, the extra width of the rear wheels and more tires on the ground are really worth the DRW.