Posted by Brian A. on Wednesday, January 22, 2003 at 10:22PM :
In Reply to: Re: W500 Compared to F600, etc... posted by MoparNorm on Wednesday, January 22, 2003 at 9:49PM :
Just a bit of a follow-up here. The W500 front is a Timken, later bought by Rockwell I believe, FDS-750 and the rear is the Rockwell H-141. They have rated capacities of 7,500 and 17,000 lbs. respectively. MoparNorm is correct about the 6.8:1 axle ratios.
The state of Michigan DNR also used several medium duty I-H trucks, mostly Coleman conversions, with varying degrees of success. The state mechanics I talked with, all really respected the Dodge W500s for their durability. The problem was that they could no longer find a reliable parts source for the front axles.