Singling your truck

[Rotorhead]

I am curious to know from those who have done this, what kind of price is it to get it done? Does it take a long time? 

I may need to get brakes next spring and wouldn't want to spend money on that and then turn around and take an axle off. 

Thanks,

Chuck

[Darryl&Rita]

All depends on the price of labour in your neighborhood. The days of swapping the removed parts for the work done are long gone, so it boils down to labour costs.

[Rotorhead]

Not sure about all the shops. I know the Dealer (Stealer, haha) is charging $145/hr. But I don't know that that is a job they would do anyway.

[rickeieio]

Best option is to find a factory single axle in a junk yard with a ratio you like, then work a trade for that axle against your tandem.  That gives you a more robust gear set and input shaft.

[Rotorhead]

18 minutes ago, rickeieio said:

Best option is to find a factory single axle in a junk yard with a ratio you like, then work a trade for that axle against your tandem.  That gives you a more robust gear set and input shaft.

That's a great idea. Thanks. I know there are several places in the area with a lot of trucks that are picked over. Maybe they would have one. Guess I could go find out.

[Vegas Teacher]

12 hours ago, Rotorhead said:

I am curious to know from those who have done this, what kind of price is it to get it done? Does it take a long time? 

I may need to get brakes next spring and wouldn't want to spend money on that and then turn around and take an axle off. 

Thanks,

Chuck

Chuck,

Contact Jack Mayer, he is in S.E. Kansas near Parsons Ks. Jack is a great person and can help you with this. Look at RVH Lifestyles to see what his shop can do, it is amazing. Parson's Ks is about 45 minutes from my home town of Pittsburg Kansas. The last two summers that I went home, I went to see his shop and talk to him. Last summer I even took my parents for a ride to visit with him and see all of the trucks and what he does. Jack is a very nice person and will take as much time as you need to answer all of your questions. This summer I am driving the 780 back home for him to do the work on.

Hope this helps.

Later,

Cory O

[SuiteSuccess]

Something to keep in mind.  What are your future needs for the truck?  Are you going to just be carrying motorcycles, smart car, or golf cart?  Or is a Jeep or other larger vehicle in the offing.  If the latter, then you’ll be better served by potentially leaving it tandem.  Realize smart cars are not being sold in the US except electric versions.  Yes four more tires but added expense is more than offset by expense for singling.  I remained tandem upon advice from someone I trusted and after 12 years have never regretted it.  More and larger objects on the bed with a drom can overload even these behemoths especially if singled.  My opinion only, you need to do what you want.  BTW rickeieio gave a viable option.  Having the work done probably $3-4k especially if you need a new drive shaft.  Those are prices I’ve heard discussed before.  May be more than that.

Edited April 9, 2022 by SuiteSuccess

[Av8r3400]

I had mine singled at a local chassis shop.  They also installed my ET hitch at the same time.

It cost me about $5k.

That included a new driveshaft, u-joints, brake cans and alignment.

Edited April 9, 2022 by Av8r3400

[jenandjon]

If I could do it again, I would not have a singled truck. I like it just fine but after having it a while I wish I had bought a tandem. 

Here are some of the problems I had with a truck that was singled by someone who didn't know what they were doing. 

The rear end is a bigger rear out of an older truck. That is good its heavy duty and I had new bearings put in it so it will last my lifetime. But it's an older rear so ABS is deleted. 

Second is the driveline. I've been chasing a vibration. He had the driveshaft angles all wrong. It took me 2 years to figure that out. I had to change the pitch of the rear end by a lot. I had to get saddles for a front rear. This is how far I had to drop the rear carrier bearing. The front carrier only had to be dropped a few inches. 

So, singling a truck is a heck of a lot more involved then oh, let's just pull the front out rear and extend the drive line. That don't work. 

The only thing this guy did right was using a bigger rear with a locker. 

I know you are going to ask me how big the rear end is. Honestly, I am having a brain fart right now and can't remember. I didn't write it down. It's big. 3 guys could not pick it up. It came out of a single axle semi. I want to say it a 30 something thousand lb. rear end. 

 

[mr. cob]

Howdy Rotorhead,

Unless there is a specific reason you want a singled truck, you just like the look for example, I would suggest leaving it tandem.  I doubt you will ever recover the cost of doing this in better fuel mileage, having had a singled truck before building the tandem Pete, I much prefer the ride and stability of the tandem truck, more brakes more tires on the ground in case of mishap and a thing that has always been a factor in my mind RESALE value.  Once you single a truck you pretty much kill its commercial resale value.

Leaving it tandem gives you more options as to what you can carry and not have to worry about over loading it.  If you have or plan to do a full on RV hauler custom build and would only be interested in selling the truck as an "RV Hauler" singling the truck shouldn't hurt its resale value and may add to it for the right buyer.  If on the other hand you build your truck so that it is EASILY convertible back to its original commercial configuration when it comes time to send it down the road you can sell it as an RV Hauler or take the deck off if you have one, replace the stock 5th wheel and sell it back into commercial service.

When I build the Pete, which is the type of truck that does have commercial value as there is always an owner-operater looking for such a truck, I built is so that it can be sold as it is now a dedicated RV Hauler, or take the deck off and sell it separately, reinstall the factory 5th wheel and it can be easily returned to commercial service, if I had singled the truck its commercial value would have been ruined.

So just something else to consider, it's your truck, your money, do what makes YOU happy.

DAVE

[rpsinc]

As to singling, I am considering this option but dont really want to do it for many of the reasons shown above.  The factory went to a lot of work to get that driveline to work right and my truck is an '08 with only <84K miles, so parts are NOT worn out.  I did see though on a FB page where a few owners have run single tires(not super singles) on each instead of duals.  This is interesting to me mostly due to my tires are OEM('07) and while not a lot of miles the casings are showing some cracking.  The input from those running single tires was positive and I like the idea of buying 4 tires instead of 8(which I will NEVER wear out)

[Case20hp]

I singled mine as I wanted it to be a little shorter. The frame shop that did the work pulled the front axle and moved the back axle forward and had the driveshaft reworked to fit. The issue that was had on mine was the ABS. 09 Kenworth 660 was a chore to get rid of the light on the dash. The fix the they did was putting all 4 wheel sensors on the one axle. I hope to find a better fix in the future but it does work for now. The shop did the work for $2000. 

[rickeieio]

Another vote to remain tandem.  I'm just finishing our second truck.  Left the first one single because I wasn't sure this RV thing would work out.  Left this one tandem because in the future we may upgrade to a larger trailer and overload a single.  Yes, it does happen.

Another factor to consider, it's much easier to overload the FRONT axle if you single the rear.

[SuiteSuccess]

1 hour ago, rickeieio said:

Another vote to remain tandem.  I'm just finishing our second truck.  Left the first one single because I wasn't sure this RV thing would work out.  Left this one tandem because in the future we may upgrade to a larger trailer and overload a single.  Yes, it does happen.

Another factor to consider, it's much easier to overload the FRONT axle if you single the rear.

And if you do decide to single, consider mid over short or long because that will usually accommodate the better weight and balance depending what you load and where on the bed it is loaded.  I hate to repeat but these trucks can be overloaded.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

If I had known then what I know now, I would have gone with a tandem truck or a factory single with a 23k rear axle, a 13.5k front axle and a locker in the rear axle.  Our 1998 Volvo has a 12k front axle, and an 18k rear singled short.  It turns on a dime, is very maneuverable, but if I change the bed to carry our Smart, put the Smart on, and carry our current 4800lb pin weigh, we will max the 18k axle.  If I move the axle back to the "Mid" position, chances are I'll overload the front axle.  

[GeorgiaHybrid]

I had the luxury of ordering a factory single so it came with a 13.2K front and a 23K rear. I prefer this over a tandem but would think long and hard about singling a tandem down and having a 19K or 20K rear and a light front axle. 

Take a look at rickeieio's answer above where he said to trade for a factory single. These will be 23K axkes.

As far as where to get it done, pretty much any major city will have several companies that are VERY capable. Just ask around.

[Rotorhead]

On 4/8/2022 at 10:44 AM, Vegas Teacher said:

Chuck,

Contact Jack Mayer, he is in S.E. Kansas near Parsons Ks. Jack is a great person and can help you with this. Look at RVH Lifestyles to see what his shop can do, it is amazing. Parson's Ks is about 45 minutes from my home town of Pittsburg Kansas. The last two summers that I went home, I went to see his shop and talk to him. Last summer I even took my parents for a ride to visit with him and see all of the trucks and what he does. Jack is a very nice person and will take as much time as you need to answer all of your questions. This summer I am driving the 780 back home for him to do the work on.

Hope this helps.

Later,

Cory O

Ok thanks. I was just thinking about things. After reading all these I may very well keep it tandem. I have already put a lot of work into it. It may just be easier and cheaper to add a rv fifth wheel and take the commercial one off.

I was also kinda of thinking about doing hotshot with it if I don’t get the rv side going. ???? Lots of things to consider.

[Vegas Teacher]

On 4/10/2022 at 5:21 PM, Rotorhead said:

Ok thanks. I was just thinking about things. After reading all these I may very well keep it tandem. I have already put a lot of work into it. It may just be easier and cheaper to add a rv fifth wheel and take the commercial one off.

I was also kinda of thinking about doing hotshot with it if I don’t get the rv side going. ???? Lots of things to consider.

I am leaving my truck tandem too.

[Rotorhead]

13 minutes ago, Vegas Teacher said:

I am leaving my truck tandem too.

Roger that. I need to spend money on the clutch. I'd rather spend money on a vacation though, haha.

[GlennWest]

Mine is singled and am am very satisfied with it. Left lots of room for storage boxes. And I filled it up too.