cobra said:
Is there any way to take off the ambulance back off, and put a regular truck bed in the bed? Also is it possible to make it a dually? any comment/suggestions/ideas, would be very helpfull, thank you..
The frame is the same and will accept a regular bed. You will need to cut/remove and block off the fuel lines that went to the rear heater. You will also need to seal up the hole in the back of the cab, and you'll probably want to add a window while you're at it. I'd probably see if I could find a regular M1008 cab to use instead....
Correct dually conversion involves gettng a 4.56 geared Dana 70HD and a rear sway bar setup. They are almost the same as civilian dually K30's of the same era. As was pointed out, the axle tubes are 4", so you would need new lower U-bolt saddles. You would also need the sway bar brackets, washers/spacers and longer U-bolts.
If you stick with the stock rear, you will need to use spacers on the drums to have the wheels properly positioned in the wheelwell because the stock 14-bolt has a narower track than the dually Dana. Military duallys also used the same LT235/85R16 tires as the regular M1028/M1008 (instead of the LT215/85R16's used on civilian trucks) and therefore used a spacer between the 2 wheels as well. The spacer is needed to keep the rear tires from rubbing while driving heavily loaded or cross country. The spacer is about 5/8"-3/4" thick and the wheelstuds of the military Dana 70HD are extra long to accomodate it. While you can use the stock rear with dually wheels and no spacers, you will probably need to install longer wheel studs to mount the 2 wheels and clamp ring. The wheels will not be positioned properly in the wheel well and the wheel studs are definitely not long enough to fit the spacer between the wheels.
Finding a civilian K30 dually rear is probably just as cost effective as making something. If you are not sticking with correct military, then a 14-bolt dually rear from an '88 -'98 should fit. The tube diameter is slightly larger, so you should get the correct U-bolt saddles as well for that rear.
Let us know what route you take! Good Luck!
