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Hi, i was reading a thread about putting new axles from www.marlincrawler.com on an 18ft Sunrader and switching to single tires in the rear. I just bought a minty 78 Sunrader and am trying to figure out if i have to take the plunge on the 6 lug swap or if i could just buy heavy duty axles.

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If you want to explore single wheels, I'd suggest you start from the ground up. If you're thinking of staying with 14" wheel, get it weighed. The highest 14" load rating is 1875lb/tire, so if you've got more than 3750lb on the rear axle, you'll have to go to 15". Once that's sorted out, you can look at the axles, etc.

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Thanks for the quick reply. I was just pondering where the closest place to get weighed would be. So if im over 3700 lbs i'll need to get 15 inch wheels, does that mean i'll need 15 inchers for the front too?

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Yea weigh less than 3000lb on the rear axle

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Is your Sunrader the rear door one. If so it has no bathroom with holding tanks and was not included in the recall. Just to be sure you can google

public weigh stations in your area and check the weight. If I had axles with the standard lug pattern I'd go with the 15's either way. Just look cooler

LS

OK, sorry for the redundant question but, is there a way to avoid swapping for a one ton axle?

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I "think" that the Ford Ranger pickup has the same bolt pattern and some came with 15" rims

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Is your Sunrader the rear door one. If so it has no bathroom with holding tanks and was not included in the recall. Just to be sure you can google

public weigh stations in your area and check the weight. If I had axles with the standard lug pattern I'd go with the 15's either way. Just look cooler

LS

Mine is the rear door one. I've heard things that made it seem as though it was included and also that it wasn't. Will running my VIN clear this up?

It doesnt have holding tanks under the bathroom. I'm heading to a weigh station tomorrow.

Regardless of weight i'm going to start looking for some 15's.

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Weigh the vehicle at a truck stop. You can find a weigh station near you by calling around truck repair shops. Once you have the weight, then you can inquire with a rear end specialist as to what would be best for your Sunrader. You must also take into consideration the dry weight and the total weight of the vehicle after adding all the stuff (clothes, pots, pans, dishes, etc) that you will be taking inside the vehicle. I have a 1980 Toyota single axle (5 lug) which has only 16000 miles on it for sale. I upgraded to a full floating 1 ton dually on my Huntsman. That's because I felt insecure towing a 3500 lb. trailer with the smaller rear. I have a six lug pattern on the back and the original 5 lug pattern front rims. All are 14" rims. So I have to carry two different spare tires but I feel more secure.

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you dont need heavy duty axles, you need a full floater kit for a rear axle. it places the load on larger bearings that are retained instead of the 1 inside bearing and if soemthing breaks it wont lose a tire/wheel/axle shaft.

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Will running my VIN clear this up?

Weighing will clear it up. If you've got what I think you've got, I don't think you need the FF axle. If I had what I think you've got, at most I'd swap in an axle from Toyota Pickup 1-Ton SRW. This would still be semi-floating 5 lug which would allow switching to 15" rims at a reasonable cost.

Switching to a 1-Ton FF will probably cost you ~$1000. Add to that ~$200/rim (4 or 5) for custom 15" rims plus the cost of 4 (or 5) rear tires. Adds up too quickly for my liking (and wallet).

Is this what 'yours' looks like?

http://old.tgeller.c...hics/moby-dork/

Or this?

http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo73/advocateone/1978%20Sunrader/100.jpg

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The crawler axles have a much bigger radius where the axles and the hub meet and will stand more abuse but still weight is a factor if you are light enough that maybe your answer regardless ditch the welded wheels and use "D" rated tires.

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