To Dually or not to Dually... That is the question...

[macman83]

The 450 is really nice. I scaled the truck and trailer and discovered that the pin weight on my 3905 is almost 3400lbs. That is a LOT of weight to handle on a set of singles, especially if you have a blowout. The duals are not only more stable, but have the added redundant safety factor of 2 tires if one goes flat. With the TPMS I am hoping to avoid that, because those 19.5 inch MD truck tires are expensive!

[07dmax360]

I'm running a 2015 chevy 3500HD dually with a V3605, pulled in 50mph cross wind, was blowing hard, but felt stable, same trailer a month earlier with my 2006 gmc sierra 2500HD, and had pull over and pull the seat out of my crack a couple of times. The gearings all the same for me, power levels are relatively similar, except chassis length and width were the difference. I strongly suggest anything trailer over 12,000lbs be pulled with a dually now. I'm a believer. Just my 2 cents.

[carhopper]

I purchased our Voltage 3970 back in September of 2014. It was pulled to a local campground for free and there it sat until now. I went to the Ford dealer shortly after purchase and the salesman talked me into a 2012 Ford F250 SRW 4x4 Powerstroke. He showed me in the on line towing guide that it can pull 16k with a 3,460lb cargo. It was barely enough but he said the only difference between an F250 and F350 was an extra block in the springs and the 250 had camper overloads too. I was sold because I loved the truck, but what he didn't tell me was that with a diesel 4x4 the cargo capacity dropped to 2,400lb. Would it be OK with air bags, maybe but after months of contemplating and losing sleep while it sat, I finally bit the bullet and took it back to the dealer for an upgrade to a dually. Finally this Friday I'm going to pull it from Tennessee to Florida. It will be more than fine as this truck is rated at 22,000 and 4,600 cargo with stock suspension. I may still install air bags if it doesn't ride level, but I want to tow it first.


Oh, and to answer the original question. The dually is my daily driver and I love it. People move out of my way with the clearance lights and wide stance. It looks like a big rig when it comes up behind you at night. I would never try to parallel park with the awful turning radius, but I just park in the back 40 or back in when I can. People have hit my fenders twice in a month while backing out, but they are fiberglass and very resilient. My wife even drives it with no problem. Just keep an eye on the back end in drive throughs and turn wide.

[wahoonc]

Ask my wife about dually fenders and fence posts..

She claims it has "hips".

Love my duallys, mine is a 1996 F350 PSD DRW XLT+, only has 150,000 miles on it. In it or hitched to it... IT WILL go with it! I have 40 acres and two circle drives.

Aaron

[eightydo]

It ain't a true Dually unless it has a broken rear fender.

[Fanboy]

Originally Posted by eightydo

It ain't a true Dually unless it has a broken rear fender.

I don't want true dually! Lol

[donzinger]

Had both - dually is ONLY way to go for all the reasons listed above. My 3/4 ton pulled it great (or at least I thought so until I got my dually). Night and day difference.

[carhopper]

Originally Posted by eightydo

It ain't a true Dually unless it has a broken rear fender.

I thought about putting non skid pads on my dually fenders so it rips the paint off of anybody that rubs me. They might be more careful.

[Contractornick]

My wife and I just bought a 3990 and pull it with a 2015 Silverado 3500 hd srw .
Pulled it 900 mi from Vegas to oregon no problem only mod was Firestone air bags and I only ran at about 35psi
Was way impressed dully was not an option for me while around job sites. I had an 09 and the frame of this truck is vastly different-better than the 09 I had. I think gm went to the new box frames in 2011

[hddecker]

Welcome to the forum, Nick.

Nice little part of paradise you live in. Been about 15 years since our last visit to your area, we sure had a "blast."

[J&HinMT]

My tow vehicle is also my daily driver when not towing so I stick with SRW because DRW is a pain in the butt for everything other than towing/hauling. I'd swipe the fender off of it going through the bank the first week I had a dually, then I'd be grouchy trying to fit it in parking spots designed for economy cars, topped off by dually's being absolutely worthless in the snow and ice we get up here in NW Montana.
I'd love it for towing 3 or 4 months of the year, but for the other 8 or 9 months it would annoy me.

[Nate42379]

From running HOTSHOTS back in the day....I will always tow with a dually..traded for a SRW when done with that business and then 10yrs later when bought my first toyhauler..bought a dually again with a month of toyhauler purchase...I will always tow with a dually!...4X4 is a must IMO.. 4low is a handy dandy thing when backing 20k up a hill or pulling it up a hill.... or hell just wet grass.. lol.. plus resale is much better as well.


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[Bmxboysmom]

Always a dually!

[Texan458]

I don't like what I'm hearing because that means I have to get a new truck and sell old reliable! I have a 2000 F250 SRW V-10, Currently with 35s (but was going to switch to 33s and airbags). We recently purchased a 2017 Voltage 3605 TH. We will be full timers with our 4 kids and 2 dogs. I have been debating on getting a DRW and was hoping I didn't have to. For all intensive purposes, it will not be a new one, and I love the V10s.
So is what I'm hearing true, with my dry weight 16k TH, and around 18-20k loaded, I really do need a DRW?

[pdonoghu]

Originally Posted by Texan458

I don't like what I'm hearing because that means I have to get a new truck and sell old reliable! I have a 2000 F250 SRW V-10, Currently with 35s (but was going to switch to 33s and airbags). We recently purchased a 2017 Voltage 3605 TH. We will be full timers with our 4 kids and 2 dogs. I have been debating on getting a DRW and was hoping I didn't have to. For all intensive purposes, it will not be a new one, and I love the V10s.
So is what I'm hearing true, with my dry weight 16k TH, and around 18-20k loaded, I really do need a DRW?

When we first got into RVing, bought a 28' travel trailer, it was about 5,000 lbs and supposedly towable with our '98 Ford Explorer with a V6. Power wasn't the issue, a passing minivan would push the trailer which would then push the Explorer. Passing trucks and busses were downright scary. Total white knuckle experience. We upgraded to a 2002 F250, 7.3 diesel, tow package, low geared for towing. Power and handling were amazing! No more white knuckles, it was almost fun to tow. We traded the 28' TT for a 32' one, about 7,500 lbs, still no issues.

In 2013, we upgraded to a Voltage 3105, 5th wheel TH, same F250. Our trailer is similar to yours, with a GW of 16,500 lbs. While not white knuckle, and still good power, it would get squirmy going down grades at highway speeds. A bit challenging to handle, and stopping was a bit of a concern. We blew the transmission coming up the back side of our mountain, steap, but only 1,200' elevation. Had an aftermarket torque converter and custom trans rebuild, no more trans problems. The final straw was I noticed uneven wear on the front tires. I always kept an eye on tire pressures, figured it needed an alignment. Took it to my Ford dealer, alignment was fine. Seeing the 5th wheel hitch, he asked what I was towing. His eyebrows went up when I told him. He said I was way over weight for that truck, which I was. Take a look at what your trucks towing capacity is for the engine, gearing, and specific to 2/4 WD. Remember to add in weight for your family, and what you will have in the TH. It will probably come out to more weight than you think. You can add airbags, which is just going to level the truck better, and absorb some of the bumps. You're not changing the underlying suspension, braking capability, or chassis load carrying capacity.

Last year we bit the bullet, new F350 crew cab, dually with 6.7 diesel, tow package, and super low gearing. It tows the Voltage without breaking a sweat. Handling on the highway is solid, passing trucks and crosswinds don't bother us. We towed from NJ to CO and back last year, to FL twice, and up to ME. No issues. Would I recommend a 1 ton dually for that sized TH, absolutely. Yes, it's a big expense. Do I feel much safer, and in control, you bet.

[Nate42379]

After doing this and hauling for years I wouldn't tow a 5'er regularly with out a dually .. much much more stability and safety is the key ....a 20k fifth wheel is within the limits of a newer diesel 3500 or 350 drw... and way way over on a 2500 or 250. And make it a gas 2500 and you're asking for trouble with that combo. Heck your way over on "towing cap" with a gas dually on either brand... these HEAVY toy hauler were designed for the upper limits of a newer diesel dually


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[RVNevada]

Well everyone above is for a Dually, I will just put my 2 cents, we use to have a 32ft 5th wheel and a 2500HD Chev, all was good, then we picked up the Voltage 3895, loaded it up and had our Can-Am in the back, well coming back on Hwy 80 West, had a little wind that day, as we got into Nevada, the winds picked up, a nice new Ford Truck F250 pulling a 24ft Trailer passed us doing about 65, we at 60, all of a sudden, he's all over the road, and over he goes.....I had already slowed to 50, but the wind pushing our 3895 was moving the Trailer all over, .....After getting home, went right on line and ordered a Dually...Ford was out of F450's, so off to Chev for a 3500HD, Again coming back on 80, you will know how much better you will feel, when the big winds hit you land sail, you don't feel it....Which ever truck you buy, make it a Dually

[3wheeler]

18k to 20k on a 3605? Forget the dually, your camper is way overloaded.

I tow my 3305 with a srw and have no problems. I guess I'm out here on a limb by myself. A dually is just not practical for us. We are getting a new silverado this spring but it will still be a srw although it will be a 3500. I should be good on all my weights with the new truck. With my current TV, I'm over about 650# on the rear axle but all other ratings are in-line. The truck handles it fine at 70mph down the interstate. Only reason I'm upgrading to the 3500 is just in case something happens, I want to be "legal" for insurance purposes.

[Texan458]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I am really glad I decided to ask before we decided to set sail this summer. As excited as we all are, I will feel much more at ease if I know safety is not so much an issue, and it seems that with a DRW, it will not be. We plan on going a few local places here in TX first (Big Bend, Garner SP, South Padre) to work out any issues we read that one encounters often with a new RV. So now that the SRW/DRW question is answered, how about 2 WD or 4WD, I would think that with that much weight on the back, it really wouldn't matter either way. Any thoughts?

[lcv800]

If you're not going off-road ( I mean really off-road) or doing a lot of snow covered roads, there is no need for 4 wheel drive, although I had it put on mine since I never ever plan on selling my F-350 Platinum, and don't know what the future holds.