Dually or no dually?

[Palmeris]

My 2014 F450 Dually is my daily driver. As been stated you get used to it very quickly.
As a contractor, the limitations that I have encountered are in the big city with parking garages, not all but some. Google maps is your friend. I have found alternate parking, surface lots that may require and extra block or 2 of walking to my destination.

Also when parking, I am out at the far ends of the lots, try to back in when ever possible - the back up tail gate cameras are a must.

Having 5k of payload and 24k of pulling capability with the stability of the dually , the excellent turning radius , coupled with the creature comforts of the platinum trim outweigh the minor challenges

[Toby Dog]

JMO but the right SRW 350 diesel will do you just fine. If you were going to travel the country I would definitely say DRW but your trips as stated will be interstate pretty much only and without any crazy inclines etc.
The main issue will be at your destination. Driving a dually around Florida or where ever for 9 months will be absolute torture. A long bed srw is bad enough, trust me. Plenty of folks tow huge 5ers with short beds and the correct hitch.
As someone else posted 4WD and 4 doors are musts. I got such a deal on my current truck I skipped the 4WD and shouldn't have.

[jenandjon]

Save yourself a lot of money and go to a HDT. If you get a real nice truck for 30 grand and you never have to worry if it's big enough.

[ac5501]

Originally Posted by Toby Dog

JMO but the right SRW 350 diesel will do you just fine. If you were going to travel the country I would definitely say DRW but your trips as stated will be interstate pretty much only and without any crazy inclines etc.
The main issue will be at your destination. Driving a dually around Florida or where ever for 9 months will be absolute torture. A long bed srw is bad enough, trust me. Plenty of folks tow huge 5ers with short beds and the correct hitch.
As someone else posted 4WD and 4 doors are musts. I got such a deal on my current truck I skipped the 4WD and shouldn't have.

Could not have said it better myself. In your case, if you travel a lot with FW, get a dually. If only towing twice a year, go with properly equipped SRW, and you will have more than enough towing/payload capacity.

You will also be able to GO THROUGH AUTOMATIC CAR WASHES with the SRW. That could be an issue.

[IC2]

A 1ton SRW will do just fine with that trailer and pin weight.

- A DRW will not fit through a "standard" 9x7 garage door
- A DRW will seldom fit in a parking lot space widthwise, lengthwise, never nor will a SRW LB
- A DRW will seldom be able to turn into that parking lot space from the usual roadway.-
- A DRW costs more to buy and those 6 tires also are more expensive
- Many service garages do not have lifts that these trucks will fit though most dealers will.

I would love to have a DRW but my SRW LB hauls our 12K, 38 foot 5er just fine and has for 28K miles all over the US and Canada

[Spdracr39]

If you really are only moving twice a year why not have it moved for you? You can buy whatever you want for a daily driver. A small SUV will be substantially cheaper than a 1 ton in maintenance and gas mileage and will satisfy your desire to have something easy to drive.

[JDT]

Originally Posted by Itchytoe

It is quite cumbersome at first. A month later, eh, it's not so bad. I mean, it's big, but more importantly, it's long! That's what the big issue is. 6 months down the road and you're taking it through downtown Nashville and squeezing her into parallel parking spots in Hot Springs, AR. If you can do it with a 1/2 ton truck, I can do it with my dually. I have yet to find anything that actually limits me because I have a dually. Having a crew cab and a long bed has limited me a bit. Having those two extra wheels hasn't.


Oh, wait, that's not entirely true! I can't take it through automatic car washes that have the rails on the side that your wheels go in. Other than that, dual rear wheels hasn't prevented me from doing anything.



Okay, you're getting diesel then. There's no reason to even consider gasoline if you're towing 15,000 pounds. You are also firmly in DRW territory. You need about 4,000 pounds of available payload with that setup. Can you get that in a SRW? Yea, you can probably find a configuration that will give you that. Would you want to tow that trailer with that truck? No, you wouldn't. It would be a hard tow the whole time. The truck will be maxed out trying to wrestle that big trailer behind it.


According to Ford's 2020 Spec Sheet, yes, you can find trucks with that much payload in a SRW setup. You can't have a crew cab though, which means you're getting a low end trim package. No King Ranch or higher for you. If you want a decent trim level, you're going to be stuck with 2wd. Good luck selling either of those trucks in the future. Nobody wants a 2wd truck, and nobody wants less than a crew cab. You're going to get hosed on resale value on a SRW.



On the other hand, the DRW trucks give you plenty of payload, better stability, and you won't have problems selling an F450, or F350 4x4 DRW Crew Cab truck down the road.


If you're like me, you're not going to want to stop all the time to get fuel. You'll add an auxiliary fuel tank to the truck. That's going to eat up some payload, especially when you fill it up with fuel. With my setup, I can make it about 1,000 miles between fillups while towing. I almost can't burn a tank of fuel in a day. I stop when I want to, not every 250 miles. (250 because you can't run it till you're completely empty. You'll want to stop when you get down to 1/8 or 1/4 tank. It's not worth stranding yourself with a big trailer behind you because you pushed your fuel just one more town.)


Bottom line, just get the dually. It's not as big as it seems at first.

Just a comment on the Ford payload. I have a Platinum crew cab with most options and my payload is 4562. So, yes, you can get a loaded crew cab with over 4K payload. Like I said before, it has to be specific in how it is equipped.

[grindstone01]

Originally Posted by jenandjon

Save yourself a lot of money and go to a HDT. If you get a real nice truck for 30 grand and you never have to worry if it's big enough.Attachment 282430

Until you take your HDT to a service garage and discover everything is a $500 min service cost. Next, you discover that resale is equal to scrap price. There is a good reason why trucking companies sell these disposable trucks cheap and owner/operators go broke buying them.
I know of a dozen HDT owners that use them for commercial or RV travel and each owner has their horror stories about their HDT owner expense. HDT ownership requires deep pockets! A relative of mine has a 2008 Volvo sitting in his back yard that needs a $35k motor. I just heard that his replacement truck needs $9k in other repairs.

[bddadles]

Originally Posted by grindstone01

Forget buying a truck and hire a transporter to move the fifth wheel for you. The cost of truck ownership (unless you want a truck) savings would pay for the transport cost (about $2/mile).
Search Craig's List for transport RV or contact Horizon or Star Transporters.

I agree with Grindstone. If it is only moving twice a year and unless you really want a truck you don't need one. And if you still want a truck you could then buy an F-150 or a 1500 of some make. A 350 or 450 is a big investment for twice a year use.

[Steve578]

Originally Posted by RyanStryker

Hello, I’m new to the RV and 5th wheel world. I’m a disabled veteran and I’m close to closing in on a 38 foot hemisphere 378FL 5th wheel. We’ve been looking into duallys but having one as a daily driver seems cumbersome.

We are going to be traveling with the 5th wheel twice a year when the seasons change. We would be leaving the North-East in late August and returning to the North-East. Otherwise we won’t be towing the 5th wheel anywhere. So roughly an 1100 mile trek, sit for 9 months, then return another 1100 miles and sit for 3 months.

The 5th wheel is about 12k pounds with an additional 2.5k pounds CCC which we will likely be close to maximum. After you add our family into the vehicle you around 15k pounds. I’m assuming the hitch will also add some additional weight.

Is it possible for us to get something like a 350 that can tow that weight? Is 2200 miles on this annually too much of a risk to not get a dually? There’s just so many more affordable options without one. Thanks for reading this.

If you want an affordable option, consider a previous suggestion to contract with a transporter to move your 5er. The annual expenses of depreciation, maintenance and insurance on a truck, not to mention the risk of moving it yourself are greater than hiring a transporter.

[consolenut]

Originally Posted by Filthy-Beast

I just bought a F350 DRW, looked at the F450 but went 350 because it has almost 1000 pounds more payload than the 450.

when looking at the pickup yes at its restricted to class 3 and 14k gvw. if you looked at 450 chassis cabs. You can get those with GVw 3-6k more then your 350. a lot more truck and a lot more capacity.

[consolenut]

Originally Posted by grindstone01

Until you take your HDT to a service garage and discover everything is a $500 min service cost. Next, you discover that resale is equal to scrap price. There is a good reason why trucking companies sell these disposable trucks cheap and owner/operators go broke buying them.
I know of a dozen HDT owners that use them for commercial or RV travel and each owner has their horror stories about their HDT owner expense. HDT ownership requires deep pockets! A relative of mine has a 2008 Volvo sitting in his back yard that needs a $35k motor. I just heard that his replacement truck needs $9k in other repairs.

Resale isnt an issue as you wont wear out an HDT. Unless you out a million miles on one and dont maintain it. Same with MDT and 350. No maintenance yeah its going to tear up. Ask a guy who lives in thepark here. 2 motors in his 450 and a trans in his 250 in two years. He runs it into the ground. 30k for an HDT and put the other 20k in the bank youd normally spend on a new truck for maintenance. Ya do that youll be in good shape.

[kdauto]

Original poster asked for an opinion, mine is that those weights are a LOT for any SRW truck. RAWR and tire capacity will often be close to max or even above. I always like having a bit of reserve capacity,especially on tires.

You can't beat the stability of a dually, be it in windy conditions, bad roads, anything. Rear Tires last longer on loaded duallies vs loaded SRW trucks, so the cost of 2 extra tires almost pays itself right there.

My DRW truck has fit in several automatic car washes. It also goes through a 9'W x 7' H garage door regularly, but it is tight. I also back in everywhere and want to park at the far ends anyway, keeps the dents and dings down.

A DRW seems to keep a better resale value here.

You may find a SRW truck that'll work but weigh it up when loaded and ready, all water tanks full. You may be in for an unpleasant surprise. I also run an auxiliary tank/toolbox in the truck bed, a good 300-400 lbs right there.

[aknavy]

Lot's of good comments here. When I started, I had a 2016 F350 SRW 4x4 F350 Lariat. I towed a 39 foot Cedar Creek that scaled at about 18k pounds, give or take depending on food, water, and sewage load. We did alot of traveling and alot of boondocking, so we traveled with full water tanks pretty often.


We put over 30k miles on that combo - and went from Florida to Alaska, California, back to Florida, and many other places. All kinds of towing conditions. The truck did just fine. We are now in a DRW. It is a nicer experience, and we have a bigger trailer. At your weights, I'd do the SRW and be done with it. If you were towing regularly, I'd say DRW, but at twice a year....fitting in an auto carwash is nice! My DRW is never clean.



Only thing I did on my setup was add airbags so my headlights pointed to the road and the ride was decent.


The other option that has been mentioned - use Uship and have it transported. Way cheaper than a late model diesel truck, especially if you can plan in advance. Then you can drive whatever you want. I've had fifth wheels transported that way as well, and it was a great experience, and I couldn't do it for much less than what they did it for.