Rear end delete

[Rawze]

Everyone I ever talked to that did this complained like mad and saw little gains mostly due to the offset in tire wear. The active drives only lasting them 180-200k miles and them getting eaten up all the time. You are essentially doubling the load wear on the tires and they will not last nearly as long as spreading among 4 tires does.

Just what I have been told by some of those guys who did this in the past. I know I wouldn't do it because the tire rolling resistance difference is negligible at the lower weights that a single axle can carry. Remember, rolling resistance gains are only at the max load for the tire. As weight lessens, rolling resistance comparisons become less and less important.

Completely removing all components for, tires, axle, springs, hangers, etc. and getting the weight of the forward axle assembly off the truck all together, the gains would likely be just high enough to be worth the effort. Adding to this, you could use a lighter weight rear drive axle assembly, low-pro tires, etc. to further improve this. Maybe something off a car-hauler? -- There again it goes back to only hauling light weight freight all the time. I have seen a few guys do this and get some gains, but they still complain about accelerated tire replacement just the same. Who knows what these gains would yield and if they would be worth it over the long term.


Sounds like your mind is already made up. Just thought I would throw in something to consider along your journey.