what does scrapping the dana 60 have to do with tire wear?  

i thought dodge dropped the dana 60 because dana filed for chapter 11 in 06 or 05.   same with ford and GM all making there own axles now.  

it usually happens that way, just like dodge used to use kelsey hayes brakes which were the same as chevy for years, you could do a brake job on a dodge and see GM stamped on the rotors and drums. it's just a contract with a manufacturer type of deal, isn't ford designing there own diesel now beacause of warranty issues with international harvester?  

The replacement of the D60 shows the extreme weight on front axle the rear axle has to push down the road when the subject of tire wear being faster on some trucks.

And Dodge went to new axle in 03, not 05 or 06 and Dodge is not making its own axle as a replacement as GM does not either. AAM was a division of GM many many years ago before it became AAM but it was spun off on its own long ago and is not part of GM. Then GM14 bolt corporate rear axle is not a GM built axle anymore and has not been for years. Granted it is still used by GM but it is a AAM axle as is the IFS 7.25, 8.25 and 9.25 drive axle GM uses and the 9.5 14 bolt and 11.5 is too.  

Snoman, i don't think anyone has ever asked you but what do you do for a living and where do you get your information?  

Semi retired consultant with a engineering back ground that does this for hobby. I am beginning to think about retiring from here though because I am giving away to much free knowledge. (just look at my number of posts over the years as I kinda helped shape this forum) I subscribe to a lot of tech reading and inside automotive news. When ever GM, Ford or Dodge makes or plans a major component change I usually know about it long before public. I had all the inside info on V10 GM was planning to replace 8.1 with when they shelved it last year when fuel prices skyrocketed. (it was supposed to be offered in 08 2500 and 3500 trucks) I even have some dyno charts on the engine somewhere as they had two of them, one for SUV rated at 400 HP and one for possible use in Vette that was about 550 hp. It was going to be a 7.5 (a 6.0 with two added cylinders) Bet you did not know that you could special order a Allison with a 6.0 in a 07 2500 or 3500. The reason was 6.0 has a different bellhousing than 8.1 and Dmax (which share same design there) and new planned 7.5 had a 6.0 bolt pattern so they started building a few of the trannies to bolt to it to work the kinks out of and offering them special order in 07. When V10 was killed so was Allison for that bellhousing. One more thing, Dodge uses a 10.5 inch 14 bolt in its 2500 and 3500 gas powered trucks but it is not the same 14 bolt that GM uses as it is a slightly weaker and cheaper axle to build. ALso that new GM 6L80, the driving force behind it is that it costs less man hours to make (2 man hours vs 6.5 for older 4 speed) as it was designed to be assembled by a robot. You can learn a lot if you know when and where to look.  

nice  

manontractor:
Geo450racer i decided on ford basically due to experience with different shop trucks and of course style but mainly with engine design and ability to run waste vegetable oil. i don't like the chevy duramax due to the injector layout and my experience with them when i worked for chevy, and we have a few super duty pickups at work one of which is a 4x4 powerstroke which i love driving.

yeah i see what you mean about the duramax i also wouln'd buy one, but i would very easily reccomend a dogde ram 3500 4x4 as ive driven that and my unlce's F-350 and well they are both great trucks but i just rather be cummins than stroking  

SnoMan:
Semi retired consultant with a engineering back ground that does this for hobby. I am beginning to think about retiring from here though because I am giving away to much free knowledge. (just look at my number of posts over the years as I kinda helped shape this forum) I subscribe to a lot of tech reading and inside automotive news. When ever GM, Ford or Dodge makes or plans a major component change I usually know about it long before public. I had all the inside info on V10 GM was planning to replace 8.1 with when they shelved it last year when fuel prices skyrocketed. (it was supposed to be offered in 08 2500 and 3500 trucks) I even have some dyno charts on the engine somewhere as they had two of them, one for SUV rated at 400 HP and one for possible use in Vette that was about 550 hp. It was going to be a 7.5 (a 6.0 with two added cylinders) Bet you did not know that you could special order a Allison with a 6.0 in a 07 2500 or 3500. The reason was 6.0 has a different bellhousing than 8.1 and Dmax (which share same design there) and new planned 7.5 had a 6.0 bolt pattern so they started building a few of the trannies to bolt to it to work the kinks out of and offering them special order in 07. When V10 was killed so was Allison for that bellhousing. One more thing, Dodge uses a 10.5 inch 14 bolt in its 2500 and 3500 gas powered trucks but it is not the same 14 bolt that GM uses as it is a slightly weaker and cheaper axle to build. ALso that new GM 6L80, the driving force behind it is that it costs less man hours to make (2 man hours vs 6.5 for older 4 speed) as it was designed to be assembled by a robot. You can learn a lot if you know when and where to look.

well alrighty then  

Hey tractor,

Not sure if you remember what I pull but I agree the Dually is best for the heavy hauls.  I know for what we are pullin now we need a full size tractor type rig,

I do see snomans point on the tire wear,  I know the rear on my rig bounces around a lot and I need to pay attention to air pressure most important, (gee just like obama says LMFAO) the front does carry more weight it SEEMS to me...  With the add a leaf lift and blocks on my rig with no weight it is a real rough ride...    So in Snomans theory or fact is does make sense to me and I am just a dumb ass so take that for what you know of me...  

Another note on duallys is when you gotta do tires man that hurts.. but man they sure are a sweet ride when pullin max weight up a 8% grade for 5 miles, slow but sweet power


Chris  

Chris,

i remember your rig from when we meet at azusa when you and shayna were down here from washington it was quite the setup. the only thing i will currently be towing is my scout so i know i don't need a dually and a gooseneck but me and my wife do aspire to own a boat in the future and i don't want my tow rig to limit my boat purchase know what i mean? in my experience working at independant shops, tire shops and working for chevy as long you had the right tires on your truck with the proper tire pressure and paid attention to your alignment then the tires won't wear at an accelerated rate compared to a passenger car or non diesel truck. oh and since my plan is to run WVO then the cost of tires on a dually wouldn't have the same sting since cost of operation won't be as high. a dually does look pretty anyways even when not towing anything but depending on what kind of trucks are out when i am able to buy will obviously effect my decision.  

"So in Snomans theory or fact is does make sense to me and I am just a dumb ass so take that for what you know of me..."

It does not make you dumb just because you do not know. The fact that you can look at it objectively and say that there can be merit to it and it could be a issue actually tells me you are pretty bright because you are at least thinking about it.

Also another thing that can hasten wear on dualie rear tires is that when ever you turn the tires have to scrub off some because they would have slightly different rolling radius in a turn so tires would have to slip/scuff in tires. BP oil here in Ohio long ago went to abig single tires on their tanker tractor trailer combos rather than dualies to reduce rolling resistance and tire scrub in turns and save a little fuel and when a oil/fuel producer does that on their own fleet that tells you something.  

i was under the impression that they went to a wider single tire because it has a larger contact patch and provided better braking and made the trucks safer.  

manontractor:
i was under the impression that they went to a wider single tire because it has a larger contact patch and provided better braking and made the trucks safer.

Well yes for that reason too, but the main reason is as SnoMan says, which in turn all boils down to money saved. I owned my own 94 Peterbuilt, and my own trailer as well, the first time you have to put new tires on you gonna cry. Go for the F-350 single rather than the dulie, trust me your wallet will thank you for it.