RAM vs. Ford SRW Chassis Cab for Flatbed Grandby?
- Thread starter Durango
- Start date
plainjaneFJC
Deplorable
AEV Conversions
Observer
Correct, the 3500 Cab/Chassis has similar axles to the pickup.
Pro's:
There are lockers, gears, and diff covers available as well as hub kits and more.
Aftermarket suspensions will work
Cons:
Turning radius in theory is less than the 4500-5500. Though my truck, single cab, 167" WB is listed at 47.9' curb to curb, and the 5500 in the same config is also listed at the same 47.9. Not sure if that is a mistake or not.
There is a chance they limit the HD steering on the shorter wheelbases and leave the super high angle for the very long wheelbase trucks (197"/200"+wheelbase(!))
The other "pro" for the 4500/5500 is that the front wheel is already moved forward 1" which makes putting bigger tires on it easier...though the flares on those trucks also make the wheel opening smaller...so using an AEV flare with a small lift will get you in the 40" range. On the 3500 with the AEV Suspension we move the front axle forward ~1.5", which is why we provide a new draglink and panhard bar and how we can do the large tires on 3" of lift. This also gets you 5" of uptravel vs the four with a stock 3500 and less yet with the 4500-5500.
dh
Pro's:
There are lockers, gears, and diff covers available as well as hub kits and more.
Aftermarket suspensions will work
Cons:
Turning radius in theory is less than the 4500-5500. Though my truck, single cab, 167" WB is listed at 47.9' curb to curb, and the 5500 in the same config is also listed at the same 47.9. Not sure if that is a mistake or not.
There is a chance they limit the HD steering on the shorter wheelbases and leave the super high angle for the very long wheelbase trucks (197"/200"+wheelbase(!))
The other "pro" for the 4500/5500 is that the front wheel is already moved forward 1" which makes putting bigger tires on it easier...though the flares on those trucks also make the wheel opening smaller...so using an AEV flare with a small lift will get you in the 40" range. On the 3500 with the AEV Suspension we move the front axle forward ~1.5", which is why we provide a new draglink and panhard bar and how we can do the large tires on 3" of lift. This also gets you 5" of uptravel vs the four with a stock 3500 and less yet with the 4500-5500.
dh
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Aren't lockers, available gearsets, and diffcovers, just as available for the wide track front axle?
I drive a 176" wheelbase C&C with a standard width front axle, before the wide track was available. My curb to curb is published in the specs as something well over 70 feet... I want to say close to 72 feet (71.9?). After a decade and a half of steering that bs, if I could afford to buy new today, there is no way I would pass up the wide track front axle. No matter how many (or how few) aftermarket doohickys are available, nothing would beat a factory engineered solution that offered more maneuverability in close quarters than the standard width axle.
I drive a 176" wheelbase C&C with a standard width front axle, before the wide track was available. My curb to curb is published in the specs as something well over 70 feet... I want to say close to 72 feet (71.9?). After a decade and a half of steering that bs, if I could afford to buy new today, there is no way I would pass up the wide track front axle. No matter how many (or how few) aftermarket doohickys are available, nothing would beat a factory engineered solution that offered more maneuverability in close quarters than the standard width axle.
AEV Conversions
Observer
Not saying I've measured them myself and there are many mistakes on the website, but according to Ramtruck.com under the specs:
Do those numbers make sense? I don't know, sorta kinda? Does 2" of wheelbase between my truck and a long bed crewcab increase the turning circle by 5'? Seems a little odd, but I can tell you my truck seems fine to drive around for a camper, not as nimble as my traybed single cab 140" but I wont be taking the camper to the same spots that things been...at least not a few of them
As far as I know there are no lockers available for the Magna front axle or the rear axle in the 4500/5500.
dh
- 3500 CC Reg Cab 4WD 167.5 wheelbase, turning circle 47.9
- 2500 Crew Cab Long Bed 4WD 169.4 wheelbase, turning circle 53.2
- 4500 CC Reg Cab 4WD, 168.5 wheelbase, turning circle is 47.9
- 4500 CC Reg Cab 4WD, 204 wheelbase, turning circle is 57.2
Do those numbers make sense? I don't know, sorta kinda? Does 2" of wheelbase between my truck and a long bed crewcab increase the turning circle by 5'? Seems a little odd, but I can tell you my truck seems fine to drive around for a camper, not as nimble as my traybed single cab 140" but I wont be taking the camper to the same spots that things been...at least not a few of them
As far as I know there are no lockers available for the Magna front axle or the rear axle in the 4500/5500.
dh
Not saying I've measured them myself and there are many mistakes on the website, but according to Ramtruck.com under the specs:
- 3500 CC Reg Cab 4WD 167.5 wheelbase, turning circle 47.9
- 2500 Crew Cab Long Bed 4WD 169.4 wheelbase, turning circle 53.2
- 4500 CC Reg Cab 4WD, 168.5 wheelbase, turning circle is 47.9
- 4500 CC Reg Cab 4WD, 204 wheelbase, turning circle is 57.2
Do those numbers make sense? I don't know, sorta kinda? Does 2" of wheelbase between my truck and a long bed crewcab increase the turning circle by 5'? Seems a little odd, but I can tell you my truck seems fine to drive around for a camper, not as nimble as my traybed single cab 140" but I wont be taking the camper to the same spots that things been...at least not a few of them
As far as I know there are no lockers available for the Magna front axle or the rear axle in the 4500/5500.
dh
Yes, it makes sense, because the wheel cut (number of degrees the wheels can turn sharply from center) is greater on 4500 chassis cab than on the 2500 crew cab. The five extra feet in turning circle required by the 2500 isn't due to the less than 2" increase in wheelbase on the 2500. It is far more likely due to the 15 degree (just a guess) increase in wheel cut in the wider front axles of the chassis cabs that accounts for the 10% reduction in turning circle. But then again, if your 3500 CC SRW has the exact same standard axle as the 2500, my reasoning wouldn't make sense in that case, would it.
So let's look to the suspension... my understanding is that the front suspension for 4WD is different on the chassis cabs (four/five link carryover) than it is for the 2013 up pickups (3 link that copied Ford's long radius arm front set up). If axle width is indeed the same, and if the suspensions are different, then maybe one suspension type affords more wheel cut than the other. If the axle width AND the suspension styles are the same, and the width and wheel cuts are verified as the same with actual measurements, rather than visual guesstimations, then I would be just as suspicious as you are about the accuracy of Ram specification data. Ford makes the same kinds of mistakes in their Source Books.
Full disclosure... my chassis cab is a Ford, not a Ram, so the personal experience and knowledge I have is more based on Ford.
However, both Ford 550 and Ram 5500 chassis cabs have used the same Dana S110/S111/S130 in years past. And Dana offered a factory option helical gear TrueTrac limited slip option for this banjo housing, welded cover plate, square tubed, drop in third member axle family. (The new 2017 Ford chassis cabs use Dana's new M300 round tubed, cast housing with bolted cover axle family in the rear). The front axles are indeed different, and I know nothing about Magna axles, only Dana.
This is a beautiful vehicle!!! :drool: I'm just starting to get my head around the different truck platforms and what size of camper they could carry as I think toward the future. This company (link) is starting to make fiberglass, flat bed truck campers in what appears to be custom lengths up to 16'. This AEV 3500 with a crew cab (need room for my little man and his car seat) with a flat bed camper would be like an EarthRoamer Lite for probably half the cost! In the case of the Bahn camper, how long of a camper would fit on a 3500 crew cab?