dually with only one?

[Andyman]

I have a 77 GMC Scottsdale Dually (C30) 2wd which came with a snowplow that I would like to use. I am in the process of rebuilding the hydraulic pump, but I've come across a problem, which is that I can't seem to figure out how to put chains on the back tires. Many things I have read on the internet suggest that a single chain can be placed on the outside tire of the dually, but there is not enough room between the tires for the chain to fit. Also, there is only 3/4" space between the inner tire and the leaf springs. I'm wondering if it is possible to take the inner wheel off and just run chains on the single tires? Does anybody know if/how this can be done, or does anybody have any other suggestions? The only other thing I can think of is to try to take the cross links off, shorten them, and reinstall so that they do not wrap around the tires so far and interfere with the inner tires. I have tried tirechains.com but apparently they do not sell a dually chain that will fit across both tires and not wrap around the sidewall more than about an inch.

[blazing816]

tirechain.com sells chains specifically made for dually's.

http://www.tirechain.com/TRUCK-SUV-CHAINS.HTM

[Andyman]

The chains which they sell wrap around the tire too far; there is only 3/4 inch clearance between the sidewall of the tire and the leaf springs, and the chains are approximately 1" in thickness.

[Greybeard]

Not the best solution but they make dually spacers for between the two. This should move the outer tire out far enough to fit the chain without rubbing on the inner. Although you will have to keep a close eye on inflation pressures because of the inevitable bulge of the sidewall at the contact areas. If you take one dual off the inner will be the only safe one to put back on. If you put the outer one on alone it will stress the bearings although if you aren't going to carry any load this might not be a problem, personally I wouldn't do it but that's just me. It's from driving dumptrucks to semis for over thirty years, it might cause weird handling characteristics in a pickup also.

[Andyman]

I don't see how a spacer would work, unless I changed out all the studs because all the wheel nuts already have only a couple threads showing. Perhaps that is the only solution? I was hoping that it would be OK to remove the inner wheels. I don't understand why that would affect the wheel bearings.

[MANCHU1-9IN]

If you go that route, use adapters over spacers. Adapters use your existing studs to bolt to the hub, and have new studs to bolt your wheels on.

[Greybeard]

Do a search for dually wheel spacers and you will find tens if not hundreds of available options. The amount of space between the tires and chains chains does not have to be as much as you might think, they are, after all, rolling in the same direction. The bulge at the bottom is the concern, which is why I stated that paying close attention to the air pressures is critical. If the chains touch the other sidewall it won't be the end of the world. But you do want enough space there to to able mount and dismount the chains easily. Technically the chain only has to wrap around the sidewall about 2" on a side. Any more than that s it's hard to keep the chains tight. I have seen soooooo many poorly fitted chains over the years. The chains slapping the ground and coming dangerously close to the fender openings. A tight fitting chain works as good if not better than a loose one. All a loose chain does is roll under the tread and reduce the speed you drive at. When time is of the essence doing the work faster requires getting from job to job faster. If loose chains are limiting you to 5 or 10 mph that's just a waste of time. The tool used to make working chains is not cheap but it makes life soo much easier. If you've never seen one it looks like a large funny shaped cable cutter with claws instead of blades http://www.tirechainsupply.com/product98.html . We had one at the shop and it became commonplace to use them for putting the chains on, and repairing broken links (pretty much what it was designed to be used for LOL).

Anyway, it's good practice to never touch your chains with a hot wrench of any kind. A cuttoff tool is the way to go. But if not reusing the links torch away. A cleanly cut link can be reused...saving money.



 

[Andyman]

follow-up: Thanks for the info, I wasn't aware of wheel spacers, and I will keep it in mind in the future. However, considering the cost of the wheel spacers, and the fact that I already purchased a new set of chains, (non-returnable/craigslist), and the added cost of another set of dually chains if I purchased spacers, I decided to modify the chains. I only had to make a support jig and force open one side of the "u" link on one side of the cross link, then cut off 4 cross link pieces, then reassembled the whole thing. No heat required. But by making the crosslinks shorter (they still wrap close to 2" over the sidewalls on each side) that made the required circumference of the chains longer, so then had to order additional set of cross links from tirechains.com before I can finally get them mounted. (otherwise the spacing between the last two crosslinks was too large, resulting in the side rails going too far inwards between the two tires, right where the chains connect). Tirechains.com is awesome as they ship USPS Priority flat rate within an hour of ordering.
FYI this truck came with the plow which wasn't operating, and after spending quite a bit of money and time, I finally finished rebuilding the hydraulic pump. I am mostly doing this to make the plow operable and to satisfy my curiosity, as to do it for business would require a substantial change of insurance coverage. I have never plowed snow, so it will be a learning experience once its all up and running. However, at this point this winter, I really wont be able to use the plow once I get the chains on, because we have received so much snow this year that there isn't anyplace left to plow snow to anymore! I think I need a loader bucket on the truck instead of a plow! LOL!

[Greybeard]

Glad you got it together. I just finished plowing my drive with my tractor and a box blade, tomorrow we are supposed to have another blizzard with up to 10". I wish I had a loader bucket too!

Back in the 80's I remember when the first rearend plow was seen in Vail, co. It was a eyebrow raiser. Push going forward and push going backwards. Saved a lot of time and ruined a lot of ring gears in the front ends. I guess they are still pretty common out west where the snow is lighter though.

Dually chains...that's a new one to me. We usually just used chains on the outside wheels or when it was really bad (very seldom) we would just use two single wheel chains. I guess the trucks we had didn't have the right tires because there was never any chain interference that I recall.   

I imagine with a little research I could fit your truck with a loader bucket. LOL. I read a tractor book once on the history of front end loaders on tracks. I don't recall who built it but back in the early to mid 1900's there was a tractor that had a bucket that would go all the way over the crawler so it could be used forwards and backwards. It was able to do this full too. Not me..no way. I've had large rocks leave a skidsteer bucket and fall on my legs, that is bad enough. Don't need to be carrying them over my head. But I guess that's why we don't see this type of contraption around anymore.

[Elpresidente]

We've taken the inside tires off our '85 C30 that we had as a plow truck. It made a huge difference for sure, and there were chains on it as well. We only did this setup in the winter when it was strictly a plow truck though.