4x4question

I'm looking at buying an ex army Mercedes 1017a 4x4 or a similar model with higher BHP . I am going to build the a box for it with all the bells and whistles , but my question is this: how come all the Mercedes I'm looking at have twin wheels at the back and all the adventure truck conversions only have rear singles, do I have to change the rear axel to achieve this or can I just take the inside wheel off. As you can see my basic mechanics is in need of a course, but you've got to start somewhere.
I hope some one can help
Simon

Hi There
as far as I know I thought the 4x4 versions of the 1017 came with single wheels? If not then you will need to replace them with a single wheel with a different dish offset and a different diameter and width and then an appropriate tyre to take the axle weight of two wheels in a twin set up. you don't list the tyre size but there will probably be a tyre and wheel combo that will replace the twins with a single it's just a ,matter of getting the right tyre wheel combo that will take the weight and be legal so talk to a specialist to get the right choice.

Tip if you do change to a single wheel, change the wheel studs to single as well with the correct inner wheel cone (these may not be used if the hub is spigotted) and wheel nut to suit your wheels, steel and alloy wheels require different wheel nuts and cones. use the shorter single wheel studs because when the longer twin ones are full of mud you will fight them every millimeter of their length, the last thing you need with a flat in difficult conditions.

Hope this helps but their may be someone on here with more knowledge on the 1017.

Hi again
Further to my earlier reply, I've looked a little deeper into 1017's and it seems that 4x4 ex military types are twins on the rear so I have learned something! However if you checkout this page http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/6586-MB-1017-based-rig you will see both types in the images twin and single wheels with the different rims and center web offsets clearly visible.
Rgds. Rob

Hi,

Pat and Neil have converted an ex German Firetruck 1017. They have done all the ground work so if they are still watching this Forum they will be able to give you some excellent advise.

Regards, John.