Community Forums

Scarab0088 · 03-11-2014, 10:31 PM

If buying new...best luck.

If buying used...consider shopping in Texas. We flew from CA and saved $7000 on a Dodge 3500 5.9L DWR 4x4 Crew over an identical used unit in SoCal.

Big trucks are common in Texas, so prices are better than other places.

Best luck in your shopping.

DMAN302 · 03-12-2014, 05:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by K-Star

the only place my dually doesn't fit is the car wash. never had a concern driving around town. it is our (myself and DW) daily driver.

Sounds like a happily retired dually owner....that said, there certainly is a lifestlye for a dually owner...but for a couple who work/park in the city, where the truck is not a work truck, and run a never ending number of kid related trips, a dually was a challenge. I simply grew weary of the hastle that comes with our lifestyle vs a long bed ext cab dually. Make sure your choice works for you when the campers parked, and when out and about...ask your trailer dealer his thoughts...ask the dealers transport guy his thoughts...ask everyone who knows....then decide when all the info is in.

wa8yxm · 03-12-2014, 07:44 AM

A very common question folks ask around here is Can My Truck tow This?

Some people do not ask that question,, Here is why TRAIL-HAULER.COM

handtools · 03-12-2014, 07:58 AM

But the salesman said it was half ton towable!

jamvir · 03-12-2014, 11:14 AM

To determine which truck to buy so you can tow safely and be within the specs of the tow vehicle, you must calculate the weight it must pull and the weight it must HAUL (payload). Many people make the mistake of only looking at the weight it has to pull - that's the easy one. To calculate the amount it must haul you have to add the weight of passengers (and in some cases fuel), and what you will have in the box - hitch, tools, generator, etc. Since I have a generator that sits in the bed of my truck, I would calculate the payload for YOUR fifth wheel at this (using fully loaded weight): hitch weight (estimated at 15,500 * 20%) 3,100 + passengers = 400 + hitch = 150 + tools = 200 + generator = 150 for a total of 4,000. I have found that most of the 1 ton trucks can pull the weight you are looking at, but can they CARRY 4,000 lbs?

Another item to think about - will this rig definitely be the one you will stick with, or will you want to upgrade in a few years? If you think you will upgrade in a couple of years, I would get a bigger truck than I need now.

Good luck,

Jim

wandering1 · 03-12-2014, 03:12 PM

1st step is to choose the trailer.
Now that you know the weights for the trailer, next step is to get an adequate tow vehicle.
Read the towing specs for each make of truck (ford, chev, dodge, etc.) and pick the one that will handle the trailer. The towing specs are based on the truck configuration.

SultanGris · 03-12-2014, 10:09 PM

Ive got a srw f350 6ft bed And payload is 3300 I think or close. Don't know what a drw payload increases too. Srw is hard enough to drive and park in cities but I don't think a drw would be much worse, they just don't make the spots big or long enough so you need 2 anyway, lol

Rob_Fla · 03-13-2014, 08:08 PM

We started out with a Chevy 2500HD with our Jayco Pinnacle, made a few trips to the Carolinas and Texas.

We knew we had too much trailer for the truck, switched to a GMC 3500 HD DRW, wow what a difference. Much smoother and much more stable, a real pleasure to drive.

Since we fulltime and travel quite a bit, the change to the 3500HD DRW made sense for us. Our parking space is next to the 5er at the CG.

We are heading from South Florida to Baltimore MD to Houston Texas to California during the next few months, sure glad to have the 3500HD DRW.

Scottybdivin · 03-14-2014, 06:35 AM

There are a lot of people pulling 15.5K trailers with SRW's. The new 350 /3500 have payloads over 4K. There are a few pulling 18K rigs with them too but they are overloading their truck, any way you want to spin it. I would say you are on the threshold of a SRW/DRW, but I would definitely go with a 3500 / 350. They have the same footprint, drive train, and tires as a 250 / 2500 and cost just a few dollars more. With that said, the difference in towing with a DRW is huge, no comparison. They are just a bit more challenging unhooked. I drive mine every day but that's another story. I would say if you are buying it primarily for a tow vehicle, get a dually. If you will be driving it every day, maybe not.

caissiel · 03-14-2014, 07:14 AM

For me the 15500 lbs is the limit for a SRW. It works for me with the Ford.
Remember that stability on towing has nothing to do with the number of wheels but the spring plies and capacity that holds the truck straight. Most new trucks are weak in that department, due to the need for smoother rides. Ford is the first to reduce spring capacity for smooth ride. And depend on the overloads that is wrong because it ruins the loaded ride.
My last 4 trucks have been fixed in the spring department because I want solid spring while the tires soften the hitched ride. And it can only be done using a SRW while the rear tires are fully loaded with full air pressure for safety.
My duellies owner friends cannot believe I tow with 80 psi in my tires and still run smooth. I tell them that I would not tow without tires filled to capacity. But they reduce tire pressure for comfort and I tell them I would never leave the yard without full pressure.
For each his own. But SRW are so much less to care for. In my observation of most duellies the front tire that is always to small always has a wear problem. And most unless equipped with standard steel rims cannot rotate tires properly.
I will never own a dullie and feel that a heavier trailer is not required as we do very well in a 39 ft 4 slide unit with more stuff then most.

Scottybdivin · 03-14-2014, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caissiel

Remember that stability on towing has nothing to do with the number of wheels but the spring plies and capacity that holds the truck straight.

I agree with most of what you said, but I respectfully disagree with that statement. I have towed the same rig through mountains and across windy desserts with a 1 ton SRW for 4500 mi, and now with a DRW for 8K mi. The difference in stability is like night and day and has as much to do with the wider stance as anything else.

caissiel · 03-15-2014, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottybdivin

I agree with most of what you said, but I respectfully disagree with that statement. I have towed the same rig through mountains and across windy desserts with a 1 ton SRW for 4500 mi, and now with a DRW for 8K mi. The difference in stability is like night and day and has as much to do with the wider stance as anything else.

Your dully had more spring plies that greatly increases stability. My SRW has 2 more plies to leave the overload out of the equation because the ride was stiff. And without the additional long ply support the truck was rocking side to side.
My previous 2500 GM was great but the F250 Ford was like a rocking chair due to improper sprong support.
BTW F350 has the same spring arrangement and the new F350 DRW has only one more ply that has been causing axle wrap. To me it's not enough for the load rating of the truck.
My truck was also set for industrial service for 70 k miles. In addition the spring shop told me that the Ford spring were prone to failure when I went to replace one of the already failed long ply. My opinion is the Ford smooth ride with a heavy truck leaves it open to required spring improvement for heavy service application like hooked up to a 5er for months at a time like mine is.
And with properly installed additional plies the truck rides as well or better then my previous GM 2500 and can carry the load as well and better, but stock it was a bear to ride loaded. I tried it, I had and tried the option of moving spring plies for best result. It's not the first truck I set properly by using additional spring plies. Every one in town here does it because air bags are not popular in the rough roads in the woods. And every service truck is loaded to the max.

2500HD · 03-15-2014, 06:07 PM

If you are sticking to mid range fifth wheels under 40ft a 1ton dually should be within the limits of all of them 15-17,000gvw. If going to one of the high end fifth wheels you may need an f-550 or better to pull it.

Frankwh · 03-16-2014, 06:41 PM

I am driving a 2004Dodge Diesel towing a 2012 Brookstone 366RE 40 ft. Long. Here are the scale weights. Ft 4560, SRW 7280, trailer tandom 11900. See the problem? The tongue of this trailer is over my rear axle and tires by 880 lbs. No W&D. No water, only a Generator. Find out what the real tongue weight is. Consider a long box.