Question about a Ford F 350 Drw

[mattyj]

We are going to be getting a new TC and fairly new Truck probably in the coming year, I plan on retiring on 12/31/21. (If I make it) My wife loves the Adventurer 901 DB with a full wall slide,California King mattress and the U shape dinette and me too. I know it’s a heavy camper and it needs a DRW , my question is can a Ford F3 50 dual rear wheel handle any Truck Camper out there? Or are there certain campers that need even more then a F3 50 DWR can handle?

[cptqueeg]

mellow wrote:
I will leave this here: https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/camper-tech/installing-super-singles-on-a-ford-f-450/

Thank you, 2 good articles.

[Grit_dog]

cptqueeg wrote:


In theory, btwn sand and snow super singles seem to be a good fit for me.

In reality, you’re building a high $ overland rig in your head which is awesome.

[toddb]

For a single slide a drw 350 is fine. 450 will get you a lot of gear you most likely won’t need.

[Kayteg1]

My 2017 F350 has exactly 8' between fender flares.
Don't think it can be wider for legal reasons.
That gives me not much than 1-2" clearance between camper jacks.
I had to watch it on slopes as driving over jack foot would take the 1" clearance very fast.

[mellow]

I will leave this here: https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/camper-tech/installing-super-singles-on-a-ford-f-450/

[cptqueeg]

Avid Fox wrote:
"Don't you run out of room btwn the DR tires when aired all the way down?"

You would if you didn't space them correctly. 285s need wider rims than stock also, which use 245s. Yeah, there would be some expenses... prob about $5000.

Maybe super singles are not such a bad investment after all.

In theory, btwn sand and snow super singles seem to be a good fit for me.

[jimh406]

My Host is probably wider. I think 8’. I think 2 inches would be helpful, but maybe my brackets are a bit wider as well.

[NRALIFR]

Really? Interesting, all I know is my ‘95 F350 dually fit between the front jacks, and my first F450 (a 2010) didn’t. The 2016 also needs the extra room. I wonder if your Host is wider than my Lance? Mine’s 94” wide.

Another thing that could make a difference is how the front jack mounts are installed. The way mine are installed, it puts the hinge points forward of the camper corners. If you flipped them, it would put the hinge points to the side of the camper, and you’d have more room between the jacks.

:):)

[jimh406]

Fwiw, my fenders are the same as F350s for my year. So, I think it’s worth checking the new ones to compare if that is what you will buy. I didn’t have to do anything special other than buy DRW brackets since I had a SRW previously.

[Avid_Fox]

"Don't you run out of room btwn the DR tires when aired all the way down?"

You would if you didn't space them correctly. 285s need wider rims than stock also, which use 245s. Yeah, there would be some expenses... prob about $5000.

Maybe super singles are not such a bad investment after all.

[cptqueeg]

NRALIFR wrote:
I did go over the front jack mounting plates and made sure they were secure, and improved them a little. They already had some sheet metal backing plates on the inside, and self-tapping bolts that went through the plates. I made sure they were tight, and put some nuts and big fender washers on the bolts. There really wasn’t enough thread engagement between the bolts and the backing plates for my taste.

:):)

Really nice! Thanks for the pics.

[cptqueeg]

Avid Fox wrote:
I don't think a widening adapter on the front brackets would be much extra stress, unless it was abused. They are already wide enough to torque themselves off and break the corner supports if stressed badly enough. An extra 2" per side likely requires the same amount of care when down as the OEM parts.

It would be awesome to float over the sand in a camper like a sand rail, but the noise on the other 95% of road driving would be super annoying.

For me, ideal tires for a dually would be 285 sized, load range G, working air range from 20-110psi, and with a BFG KO2 type tread. But, they don't make it... Probably for technical or engineering reasons.

Don't you run out of room btwn the DR tires when aired all the way down?

[NRALIFR]

I did go over the front jack mounting plates and made sure they were secure, and improved them a little. They already had some sheet metal backing plates on the inside, and self-tapping bolts that went through the plates. I made sure they were tight, and put some nuts and big fender washers on the bolts. There really wasn’t enough thread engagement between the bolts and the backing plates for my taste.

:):)

[Avid_Fox]

Nice job! I've not seen that done before, but clearly it works.

NRALIFR wrote:
Adding a little width to the swing-out dually brackets can be done easily.

The F450 pickup bed width is a few inches wider across the dually fenders than the F350’s, so I had to extend my swing out brackets. I used 3” wide flat stock, 3/16” thick, and sandwiched the jack and bracket between two layers.



Don’t extend them too much, or you could hit the cab with the jack when you swing them in.



Mine end up pretty close to the front tiedowns, so I have to center the camper in the bed carefully.



:):)

[Avid_Fox]

I don't think a widening adapter on the front brackets would be much extra stress, unless it was abused. They are already wide enough to torque themselves off and break the corner supports if stressed badly enough. An extra 2" per side likely requires the same amount of care when down as the OEM parts.

It would be awesome to float over the sand in a camper like a sand rail, but the noise on the other 95% of road driving would be super annoying.

For me, ideal tires for a dually would be 285 sized, load range G, working air range from 20-110psi, and with a BFG KO2 type tread. But, they don't make it... Probably for technical or engineering reasons.