Dually or not? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

jagco · RV-Dreams Family Member

Dually or not?

Luvglass · RV-Dreams Family Member

Duallys are more expensive, harder riding and more difficult to park, but are necessary if your trailer is above ( I think ), about 15,000 pounds. It depends on the brand and model you are interested in.

I think anyone would rather drive a regular truck, but those of us that chose long, heavy trailers have no choice but to have a dually.

It really all depends on the GVWR of the trailer you choose. If you do some searches in the files you will find quite a few past discussions on this topic.

Good luck,

-- Edited by Luvglass on Wednesday 17th of March 2010 02:13:41 PM

-- Edited by Luvglass on Wednesday 17th of March 2010 02:14:07 PM

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

I agree with Fred (Luvglass). In addition, a towing vehicle that is a dually will also be more stable, especially on turns.

Plus, I have to think that the heat buildup in each of the tires would be lower since there would be 4 tires instead of 2, leading to less flexing of the sidewalls of the tires.

Terry

thebearII · RV-Dreams Family Member

I actually got to experience the difference a couple of years a go.

My dually had a problem and I borrowed a friends Ford F-250 SRW long bed truck. He tows a similar size and weight 5th wheel as ours.

He had load range g tires on it with 110 lbs of air. These tires have very hard sidewalls.

The most notable difference was the squirrelly feel in the rearend. It felt like the rear tires were following the grooves cut into the pavement. The dually feels rock solid when headed down the highway, going around a curve or making turns. The SRW truck always had this wiggly feel to it, like the sidewalls of the rear tires were giving way.

I got use to the feel but just didn't feel as stable as with the dually.

I always wondered why my friend was tempted to add one of those dual wheel kits to his truck. After towing with it, I know why.

Other than that unstable feel to the rear end the SRW truck did great.

When looking for my new truck, I had considered a SRW, but I ended up going with a dually and an MDT for the turning radius. You won't believe how tight of turn an MDT dually crewcab with a longbed will make. My wife's PT cruiser makes wider turns than the MDT.

-- Edited by thebearII on Wednesday 17th of March 2010 03:35:54 PM

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bear brought up a point that I had forgotten. I don't know if it applies to all dually's, but when we were looking at trucks, we considered a whole lot of them, from MDT's on down.

Cost on the MDT's (mini Freightliners) for used were about $90,000 and more. We found a used 2008 Ford F450 that they were asking about $35,000. One thing about the F450 is its turning radius. I had a Ford F250 SRW and the F450 is 3 feet longer, but it turns in about the same radius as the F250.

Also, regarding weights, always consider the GCVW (Gross Combined Vehicular Weight) when choosing your truck. Don't go by "towing" weight too much, although it is a consideration. In my research, I found the Fords to be better on weight capacities than Chevy/GMC and Dodge. In fact, the equivalent Dodge and GM products (compared to the Ford F450) weren't even close in capability.

Now, having said that, I'm not sure what will be in the future. From my understanding, the new 2011 Ford F450's will have smaller wheels (17" versus 19.5" on the 2008), so I don't know if that will affect the F450's future weight capabilities.

Terry

-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Wednesday 17th of March 2010 04:17:49 PM

Charlie and Peggy · RV-Dreams Community Member

Jeff,

If I could get a do over on my purchase of a single rear wheel Dodge 3500 1 ton, I would get the dual wheel truck. Although I had planned on a smaller unit, by the time of the purchase, it ballooned to from a 30 ft, to 36ft. After about 4 thousand miles of towing with the SRW, I would love to have that nice stable 4 rear wheels on the pavement.

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry makes some excellent points. But in the “more info department” the new Chevy capacities are way up from before. Like 4,000 lbs GCVW higher capacity for the 3500’s. So like the older F-250’s you have to check the exact model year you’re looking at. Otherwise you can be burned. All Chevy 3500 and Ford F-450’s, etc. are not the same as every other 3500 and F-450. It depends on model year and equipment.

Safe travels

Bill

-- Edited by Bill and Linda on Wednesday 17th of March 2010 06:45:41 PM

jagco · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks for all the great information. I am now just researching for the future, but when the time comes I hope to have as much info as possible. Just trying to do things right the first time :)

chevman · RV-Dreams Community Member

I don't believe you can do better than a dually for towing over 30 ft. Duallys are trucks srw's are pickups.
chevman