With all of the information out there about custom trucks, one of the great mysteries seems to be how to get an ’88-’98 Chevrolet dualie to lay out on a big wheel. There’s a lot of misinformation out there, including one big one about the front spindles. The common misconception is that if you want to tuck a 22-inch dualie wheel up front, just swap out your stock dualie spindles with a set of 3/4-ton spindles and rotors. Then you can narrow the track width and squeeze in that big wheel. The thing is, by installing the 3/4-ton spindles and rotors onto the suspension with stock control arms, you suck in the wheel six inches per side, making turning awkward and giving your big truck a weird appearance. Better yet, the bearings on the 3/4-ton and 1-ton spindles are the same, so you don’t even need to install 3/4-ton spindles—just the rotors.
| When comparing it to the rear wheels, notice how the front and back wheels now sit approximately the same amount inside the fenders.
The crew at Lowboy Motorsports, in Mesa, Arizona, are huge fans of the ’88-’98 Chevys, particularly the dualies. After a few years of playing around with different setups, they decided to do something different and get it done the right way. These are Lowboy Motorsports’ new upper and lower control arms for the ’88-’98 Chevrolet dualies. They’re designed to be used with a 3/4-ton brake rotor, but the new arms are three inches longer than the stock models. This pulls the wheels in three inches per side, which gives the truck a better turning ability when tucking such a big rim, and at the same time, looks natural when compared to the rear wheels. This allows the bigger dualie lugs to fit under the fenders of a body-dropped truck.
Todd Burton, owner of Lowboy Motorsports, had a customer who wanted a bit more clearance with his big rollers. We tagged along and watched Todd build a set of arms from scratch, then install them onto the truck. At the end, the 1-ton handled and drove better than stock.
From the Driver Seat
Prior to installing the new control arms, the truck had a decent ride and functioned well, but the owner couldn’t cruise as low as he wanted to. Changing up to the new kit not only made the truck ride better because of the perfect shock location, but the handling increased substantially as well. Now that’s not to say the truck handled like a Porsche, but things definitely felt tighter and cleaner than they did before the new kit. That’s partially because this kit includes provisions for the stock sway bar, something which not all dropped control arms offer. Shortly after Lowboy Motorsports built this kit, Todd installed another set on his own truck, a ’93 dualie that’s body-dropped on 22s. The wheels tucked hard on the stock fenders with no modifications and cleared the lugs with no problems. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Your Questions Answered
Time Spent Working:
7 hours
Degree of Difficulty:
Moderate
Tools Needed: Assorted wrenches and sockets, drill, metal drill bits, and a ball joint press.
P
arts Used:
Lowboy Motorsports Dually Control Arm Kit
$1,200 shipped
3/4 Ton rotors
$61.99
New bearings and seals
$34.97
Total:
$1,296.96
(prices do not include tax, shipping, or installation)
| 11. Once everything was put back together, the finished product looks amazing. The wheels tuck in the front fenders perfectly, but not so much that the fender casts a shadow.
