What would you do?

d3500ram wrote:
Adapters, while an easy change-over to create a pseudo-dually, I have heard opinion that there could be other or different wear factors because the axle tube dimension (track/ width) is longer on the dually where as the SRW has a narrower width.

IIRC it had something to do with axle bearing placement relative to the outer edge: a longer moment is created on the bearings by the fact the force (CL of wheels) is further away when compared to the factory dually axle track.

Any opinion on that? I had thought briefly of doing the conversion on my SRW 3500 until that thesis was presented to me.

A Few years back I looked into this as I was thinking of going the other way , DRW to SRW for beach travel . Never went further as DRW are now allowed on most beaches . Bare in mind this is for '01 - '10 GMC . Other brand and years may differ . A DRW pickup axle is 4" wider than a SRW pickup , the frame width is the same . A DRW cab/chassis has a 4" narrower frame and the same width axle as a SRW . So I would conclude that GM is using the same axle for SRW and a DRW cc except for spring perches . To convert you would also need the front wheel spacers . I have not checked the pn for the bearings but I bet they are the same . The centerline for the load on the bearing whether drw or srw are almost the same. The problem with the bearings with a conversion is now you need extra spacers for the rear for the inner wheel to clear the springs because you have the wide frame and the narrow axle . This configuration will put extra load on the bearings . To do it right you need the longer axle from a drw pickup