Newbie Help! Cyclone 3800 or 4200 and 2015 F350 DRW??

K

KBS

Member
New to the forum and full of questions! So please have a little patience with a newbie.


Apologize if this has been addressed already elsewhere but cannot seem to locate this specific question when searching. My wife and I are taking the plunge and after much research have narrowed our search down to a new Cyclone 3800 or 4200 (the wife and I have not been able to agree on required bed size yet).

We will be easing into a full-time status over the next few years. So we will need to buy a TV that will work with either of these. I get the basics of GVWR etc but after awhile is all gets a little confusing. CY 3800 Dry weight is 14765 and hitch is 3100. CY4200 Dry weight is 15725 and hitch is 3525.

I have my eye on a 2015 F350 Crewcab Dually FX4 6.7L Powerstroke Diesel. New is what we want because of warranties and comfort level.

So to my question - Do we really NEED a dually to SAFELY pull this amount of 5th wheel? Or can we get by with SRW F350? F250? Don't necessarily mind the DRW but as it will be our daily drive maybe a SRW would be a somewhat better drive when unloaded (?) In talking to people I seem to get different answers, so I thought I would reach out the experts on Heartland products to get some thoughts.
 
cookie

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Hello KBS and welcome to this great forum.
Depending on which truck in particular you are interested in, the GVWR of an F-250 4x2 is 9,900 pounds. Then going up to an F-350 dually 4x4 having a GVWR of 14,000.
You said that you have had a lot of different answers, and you will get a lot more here.
I vote for an F-350 DRW

Ford payload specs. (Link)
Ford towings specs. (Link)

Peace
Dave
 
porthole

porthole

Retired
I would never own another 2 or 3 axle full size toy hauler with less then a 350/3500 series DRW pickup as a minimum tow vehicle.

That said, I was happy to see my GMC 2500 SRW go after two seasons of pulling the Cyclone and replaced with the F-350 DRW.

That said, I told Deb during one of our excursions this year that we are either getting a smaller trailer or a bigger truck (450 range)

Where you live can have a lot to do with it. Lots of our camping is in the hilly areas of PA and NY.

A DRW as a daily driver takes just a bit of getting used to. Here in Jersey one of those things is the automatic double increase in tolls.
You need to always back into your spots, preferably over small curb-islands or park far enough way and just take 4 spaces.
Other then that, the ride is about the same.
 
Bob&Patty

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Forget the dry weight issue. That does come into play. You need only to be concerned with GVW of either 5er. You will need at least a 3500/350 DRW. I'm not sure but the 4200 has a GWR of 19K I think. If I were to buy a 5er that had that high of GVW....I would get a 450 or 550 and would even consider a MD. Your pin weight is 20% of the loaded/ready to travel weight. You could be close to 4K pin weight. Pin weight also is added to by people in the TV, fuel, tools, dog, cat, the hitch and everything in the truck. You did not say what your going to be hauling in back. BTW, if you order one make sure you get the GY G614 tires. Its a must have.
 
caissiel

caissiel

Senior Member
Toy haulers are duelly requirements. Though I see a lot of SRW 3500 towing them. Max for a SRW is still around 15000 lbs.
 
OEFVET

OEFVET

Well-known member
You will definitely need a DRW truck to pull either one of those rigs. Safety out weights the inconvenience of having a wide side daily drive vehicle.
 
W

whp4262

Well-known member
I've towed with SRW and DRW trucks and I like the stability of the duals much better. As far as a daily driver I've had a dually for the last 10 years and it hasn't been much of a problem. Sometimes I can't park where I would like to and I almost always back in to the spot when I do park. When going through tight spots if my mirrors will fit so will the rear fenders. I have a Cyclone 3914 with a GVW of 18000#, my Dodge pulled it but it struggled with it sometimes but my 2013 HD 3500 Duramax doesn't have any issues at all towing the TH. Dodge, Chevy and Ford have really improved their trucks over the last 4 or 5 years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Jim-Lynn

Jim-Lynn

Well-known member
I would forget about the dry weight, look at the max of 19,000 - 20,000lbs, and both are big rigs to haul. I have a DRW and have never had issues with stability or worrying about overloading the tow vehicle. If you have a SRW, try it, it you need to get a tow vehicle get a DRW - all three manufacturers made a great truck.
 
L

LanceR

Member
KBS said:
New to the forum and full of questions! So please have a little patience with a newbie.


Apologize if this has been addressed already elsewhere but cannot seem to locate this specific question when searching. My wife and I are taking the plunge and after much research have narrowed our search down to a new Cyclone 3800 or 4200 (the wife and I have not been able to agree on required bed size yet).

We will be easing into a full-time status over the next few years. So we will need to buy a TV that will work with either of these. I get the basics of GVWR etc but after awhile is all gets a little confusing. CY 3800 Dry weight is 14765 and hitch is 3100. CY4200 Dry weight is 15725 and hitch is 3525.

I have my eye on a 2015 F350 Crewcab Dually FX4 6.7L Powerstroke Diesel. New is what we want because of warranties and comfort level.

So to my question - Do we really NEED a dually to SAFELY pull this amount of 5th wheel? Or can we get by with SRW F350? F250? Don't necessarily mind the DRW but as it will be our daily drive maybe a SRW would be a somewhat better drive when unloaded (?) In talking to people I seem to get different answers, so I thought I would reach out the experts on Heartland products to get some thoughts.
Click to expand...
I am in the same predicament you are in, so I will share what I have learned. First, payload needs to included in the conversation because your pin weight comes out of our your payload allowance. To determine the exact payload of the truck in question, you need to look at the label that is affixed to the driver side door jamb. Remember, payload will be your pin weight, and ANYTHING to put in the cab and bed of the truck. As far as trailering is concerned, if your dry weight is pushing 16k lbs, you'll be overweight on 3/4 ton after loading your RV. In my opinion, the DRW is the only way to go based on the dry weight of your vehicle. For comparison purposes, I'm looking at a Sundance with the GVWR of nearly 14k lbs (dry weight is about 11.5k lbs) with a pin weight of around 2750#. If I went SRW with a payload of around 4000#, once I added my hitch, my family, my extended range fuel tank, and my generator, I would be WAY overweight. You would have to have the F350 with a 11200 GVWR package to even get 4000 of payload in the SRW. Your pin weights almost require the DRW. You get a minimum of 5300 payload with the DRW 4x4.

Happy shopping!
 
BLHFUN

BLHFUN

Well-known member
Same. F350/3500 minimum for the 4200. DRW is not mandatory, but worth a look. You will be amazed at the difference between the SWR and DRW. With full gear, fuel, water etc. your banging the rev limiter on weight even with the F350. Personally I wish I had the 450 DRW. Mine is not a daily driver, so that's not an issue for me. Good luck on the decision. 4200 is an AWESOME rig!!!!
 
AAdams

AAdams

Well-known member
Would suggest if you are getting a Ford, the F-450, or Ram 3500 CTD/Aisin/3.73 or 4.10 and either one you choose IMHO a DRW. It will improve the stability when towing. Need to

figure you are towing 18k ( CY3800 ) or 20k ( CY4200 ). The 4200 has a 3525 pin so figure 4k loaded. Our RW has a listed 3300 pin, I'm not worried about being overweight with

our truck shown below. Just figure you will not be sorry buying a little too much truck, but will really regret it if you buy slightly less than you should have. If you plan on traveling

in the mountains, then be sure to take that in to consideration.
 
kjm1970

kjm1970

Active Member
I just purchased the Automated Safety Hitch. I have a 2014 F 250 PSD that I will be pulling a 2015 RW 420 worth a gvwr of 18000. If you get the hitch you don't need a dually, www.automatedsafetyhitch.com. I did a year of research and even went to Texas (from NY) to see it, test drive it and talk to the inventor. You should look at it.
 
OEFVET

OEFVET

Well-known member
I have seen these and they are the only way to safely tow an 18,000-20,000lb rig. (Without getting a DRW truck) My concern would be backing up. With an extra pivot point it could make backing up interesting.
 
GWRam

GWRam

Well-known member
OEFVET said:
I have seen these and they are the only way to safely tow an 18,000-20,000lb rig. (Without getting a DRW truck) My concern would be backing up. With an extra pivot point it could make backing up interesting.
Click to expand...

I just finished watching all the videos on the automated safety hitch site. From what I see on how it is attached, it connects to your truck at three points, it is basically an extension of your truck frame. The only pivot point, as far as turning goes, is the trailer pin.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
porthole

porthole

Retired
JMHO,, but personally, I'd rather spend the money on a proper truck.

BTW - Ford just announced the 650 and 750 are coming back on line, are redesigned for 2016, will be powered by the 6.7 and back to being built in the the US.
 
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