Hey guys,

I'm a newbie here. This is my 3rd dually. Its an 02 with a 7.3. My first two trucks were 6.0 trucks. So I'm here trying to learn more not only about the 7.3 but about the in's and outs of a dropped dually. So far I've done a djm 3/5 drop. Right now its getting an 07 harley front end and an 08 bumper. Future mods will be a cowl hood, 08 tail gate, and last but not least wheels. I'm torn between 19.5's and 22's. I really want 22's but I'm concerned about towing. My last dually had 22.5's but it rode like a tank. I'm wanting something that rides a little better but will also pull like a champ. Right now I only have a 24' car trailer,but one day I'd like to go 40' or bigger. Thanks for stopping in.







let me know what you think

nick

welcome... truck looks good

i wonder if somebody has put a ford 7.3 in a chevy?...lol (googling it right now.. )

Nice looking dually. Good thing you upgraded to a 7.3, I had an '05 6.0 and it was the biggest piece of crap engine I've ever had. Welcome to the site and you can do plenty of towing with 24's.....

Welcome to the site.

7.3 is the way to go on the Ford Diesel trucks. You can pull anything you want with 22s or 24s. We have customers all over the world pulling with these wheels and they are hauling some major weight on the trailers.

I had a new 03 with a 6.0 and it gave me quite a bit of problems, but it was under warranty. My 05 that I just sold had egr delete and a banks kit, it ran like a champ. The only reason I sold it was it was 4x4 and I was wanting to do a dropped dually this time.

I noticed there are a lot of chevy's on here, but this site isn't chevy's only is it?

Most are Chevy owners here but there are alot of Ford owners too.

A few Dodge guys here as well. But yeah, Chevy/GMC is the majority. Don't let it scare you off though, we aren't h8rs, but we might give you a little good-natured shit about the Ford.

When you say going to 19.5 or 22.5, if you don't intend to mill down to an even number and run light truck type tires, biggest you're going to get away with is 19.5, using the shortest 19.5 tire available - 225/70/19.5 tire, about 32" tall. This is also the most common size used on light trucks with 19.5's from the factory, like the F450SD and the original 3500HD's.

If you go with the milled wheels (19, 22) you've got a lot more options for going low, and quite a few of the guys here tow plenty of weight with the light truck type low profile tires. Makes me a little nervous but whatever, it looks damn cool especially on a bagged truck. Hit the "Random Duallys" thread in the Photo section and you'll see lots of it.

Richard

Thanks for the kind words guys. I don't mind a little ford vs chevy bickering. It makes things interesting. I'm trying to fix up my truck on a budget, so I would love to put 22's on it but its on the verge of being out of my budget. I think the 19.5's will last longer, thus part of their appeal to me. I'll keep you guys posted on what mods I got going on.

thanks,
nick

Nice truck, welcome! I'm a municipal fleet mechanic, and I can tell you from experience the 7.3 beats the hell out of the 6.0. The 7.3 is a lot noisier but as far as durability and reliability theres no comparison. Good luck with the truck!

welcome welcome.. nice truck and nice mods so far... good to hear you switched to the tried and true 7.3.. lots of goodies to make it tow better ...... would love to have a newer ford guy.. theres only a few of them on here but glad to see more.....

Thanks for all the kind words gentlemen. Right now I'm overseas at work, and in my spare time I've been looking at wheels untill my head spins. But hopefully when I get home I'll be able to post more pics of the progress.