Patent ID: 7506940

Claim:
An axle spindle and a wheel end assembly combination for a heavy-duty vehicle, said heavy-duty vehicle including an axle having a central portion and a pair of said axle spindles, said axle central portion having a pair of ends and each one of said pair of axle spindles being connected to a respective one of said central portion ends, the heavy-duty vehicle further including a pair of said wheel end assemblies, each one of said pair of wheel end assemblies being rotatably mounted on a respective one of said axle spindles, each one of said axle spindle and wheel end assembly combination comprising: an inboard bearing immovably mounted on said axle spindle; an outboard bearing immovably mounted on said axle spindle outboardly of said inboard bearing and spaced apart from the inboard bearing, and said inboard and outboard bearings including respective inner diameters of generally the same size, wherein the ratio between the distance from the inboard surface of the inboard bearing to the outboard surface of the outboard bearing and the maximum outer diameter of said axle spindle at said inboard and outboard bearings is in a range of from about 1.15 to about 1.75; and a wheel hub rotatably mounted on said inboard and said outboard bearings, whereby said wheel end assembly selectively accommodates a dual-wheel, standard-tire configuration and a single-wheel, wide-tire configuration, including a wheel having a two-inch offset for said single-wheel, wide-tire configuration.