Posted by Clint Dixon on Tuesday, August 22, 2006 at 11:34AM :
In Reply to: FFPW Dually Rims posted by Dan H on Monday, August 21, 2006 at 9:32PM :
I have never seen any mention of a dual wheel option for WDX-WM300 model Power-Wagons in any the sales literature, salesman books, parts lists, or equipment catalogs that I have studied. However, I have been told by several old timers, that Budd produced a wheel in the 6.5 size which had a special deep offset to allow 9.00x16 tires to be properly dualed on the rear axle of a Power-Wagon. This offset was apparently deeper than what one can create when modifying a stock set of 6.5 wheels by knocking out the rivets and moving the center out as far as physically possible in the wheel. The centers reportedly had a deeper offset than the stock Power-Wagon Budd centers, not just a simple relocation of existing assembly parts.
Rare examples of these Budd wheels have reportedly shown up on a truck or two attending the VPW Rally in Iowa over the years and I have been told by VPW employees that others have also been witnessed by them. I do have some old photographs taken in the 1950’s showing duel 9.00x16’s on trucks set up for oil field exploration, apparently for better floatation in soft ground. The dual wheels which appear here on the Forum for sale from time to time may very well be these oddball Budds.
I have no published proof that these wheels ever existed. One may have to search out old Budd literature, or they could have been a one-off available through the SEG. Maybe some company in the business of outfitting oil field trucks had something to do with getting them produced. It remains a mystery. However, I do know that not everything is documented on paper. For example, I have seen first hand physical proof that rear belt pulley drive units, delivered to the dealer, were shipped with a protective formed sheet metal cap over the splines and mating surface of the gear box. This cap was obviously a production item with a particular application, but no one has come forward and reported seeing any reference to it in print…yet.
As far as using 5.5 wheels for dualing, there is a difference in the 5.5 wheels used on the ½-ton military Dodge and those used on the WDX-WM300 model Power-Wagon. The Power-Wagon version 5.5 wheels can be dualed with a resulting close sidewall to sidewall distance. The military version of these wheels has a deeper offset. I got rid of mine and don’t remember of had if they had centers with a deeper offset, or had the same centers but riveted in an offset location. The problem with the military wheels is that their offset places the inner surface of the wheel closer to the brake drum. This was not a problem on the ½-ton military, but on the civilian Power-Wagon these wheels can come into contact with the larger brake drums. When tightened down, this can result in warped or broken drums and/or cracked wheels around the mounting stud holes.
One issue with running duals on a Power-Wagon, that never seems to get the attention it deserves, is the question of strength. The Power-Wagon axle assembly was designed to run single 9.00x16 tires and wheels. Is it really up to the task of turning double the rotational mass and unsprung weight? Dualed wheels will put a lot of leverage on the wheel bearings and the axle shaft diameter is much smaller than what is normally used in axles designed for dual tire combinations equal to the 9.00x16 sizes and weight.
Junior
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