To Dually or not to dually that is the question

I am specifically posting this in bighorn because that is what I am thinking of buying next and boy am I confused. I am new and bought a heartland TT 31RLSS and love it but I am beginning my research for upgrading to the Bighorn 3800RD. My question is tow vehicle which I do not want to get into a debate of brand. As an example only the chevy silverado 250 says 17,500 lbs towing and the silverado 350 says 21,700 lbs. towing and the Bighorn 3800RD has max weight of 16,000lbs ----
I have 2 questions;
1) Why would I not get a silverado 250 which claims a tow weight of 17,500lbs since the 3800RD says max weight of 16000lbs?
2) Or -- if the 350 makes more sense then why a dually instead of single wheels.

My wife doesn't like the dually not being able to be parked in the garage but I am wondering if any huge advantage.

Any thoughts would be great!!

If you are going to tow short distances then the SRW should be fine for you. If you are going to full time or tow long distances then the stability of the DRW's is worth a lot. Also you don't have to worry about watching the SRW's load capacity closely as you will be near the maximum load on them when the Coach is loaded up.

I pull a 3670RL with a 2500HD and ride rite airbags. I am about 250 lbs over the GVWR of my vehicle, but well under the axle ratings of the truck, and combined weight rating (tow rating). Having said that, a 3500HD would be nice, and I'd still go with a SRW for my purposes. I agree with lwmcguir, if you are full timing of long distance towing on a regular basis I would go with the dually. The rig you are looking at is very similar to mine, as far as weight, length, and pin weight.

I would be concerned with how much pin weight you will be carrying and the load capacity of the rear tires. Think of having a flat or blow out on the rear. There is nothing like the stability of the extra width and foot print in a good cross wind.

From a female's perspective: dually feels safer! That's a big rig behind you. The dually's outside wheels are the width of the 5ver's, so it's easier to tell where it's tracking behind you. We've never had any issues with sway or wind or big trucks passing. It just stays put. Also, maybe you will upgrade to something heavier one day. I'd rather have more truck than I need, rather than wishing I had more.

MHO, Erika

hoefler said:

I would be concerned with how much pin weight you will be carrying and the load capacity of the rear tires. Think of having a flat or blow out on the rear. There is nothing like the stability of the extra width and foot print in a good cross wind.

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There is a lot to be said about this reply. On the way to Nashville I stopped for fuel and smelled hot rubber as I got out of the truck. As I was looking for the source, I found an inside rear was flat as a pancake. Well, not really flat but all the air had gone out. It had been that way for a while.
I thought the truck had felt a bit strange but I actually thought it was due to the road. Had I not had the dually, I may have been on the side of the road waiting for service. As it was, I was able to get into a parking lot and have it changed safely.
Our rig is right at 3000# on the pin and we are slightly under our max carrying weight. The newer trucks are rated higher but I would still get the dually if I were to be shopping.

I think in this case pin wieght is key for you. I have owned both a 2500 and now a 3500. The 3500 is much more comfortable on the highway, it handle the pin weight better and is much more stable. It is easy to forget the 3580 is back there.

Bruce,

I agree with the others about the advantages of the dually setup, but bought a SRW F350 instead of the dually version. We are weekend travellers (and maybe a few days more each trip). Our truck is also used on our farm. The extra width of the dually is a real disadvantage in many cases. Besides if you are in poor traction conditions (like snow), the dually is a real disadvantage. You might think it has better traction, but just the opposite is true. The greater surface area of the 4 rear tires allows them to float on top of the surface and frequently just spins. The SWR tends to dig in and grip. The neighbor has a F350 dually and it is a common joke between us about pulling him out of the fields. He can't pull a hay wagon on wet grass.

The other disadvantage of the dually is the use of the truck when you have the 5er parked in a CG. The truck is darn hard to find a parking spot for, whether is be at a grocery store or some museum or place of interest. Very few places have big enough parking spots, unless you want to walk from the outer edge of their parking lot every time every place you go.

Your real deciding factor needs to be the consideration of your pin weight when loaded to go. So the specific trailer needs to be known, and where its water tank(s) are and how the wet weight affects the pin weight. My bets are that in the next decade, trailers with the ammenities we want and buy will be made lighter as a selling point towards better fuel economy. So as we maybe consider our TVs to last long enough to be pulling our next 5er, and not just the immediate one, we may not need the bigger, wider truck. But that is just a pure guess, but something you may consider also.

Good luck in your decision and purchase!!

Paul_in_MN

Paul_in_MN said:

The other disadvantage of the dually is the use of the truck when you have the 5er parked in a CG. The truck is darn hard to find a parking spot for, whether is be at a grocery store or some museum or place of interest. Very few places have big enough parking spots, unless you want to walk from the outer edge of their parking lot every time every place you go.

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I have very few problems parking the 450 in any parking lots and the 450 is longer and slightly wider than a 350 dually. I have even parallel parked it downtown a few times. Never had an issue at Target, Costco, or Albertsons. Banks and drive-through can be an issue, so walking in can become necessary.

Had a single rear tire Chev 2500 with larger tires and air bags pullin my 3950. Scared me as I was still overweight and I I blew a tire>>>>> Went to a one ton Dodge short box dually. World of difference and safe. I look for two parking spots and take most of them up to protect my doors from bangers. Mine fits snug but fits in the garage. Go try out the different trucks and take them home to park in the garage. I won't leave mine outside so in the garage was necessary. Long box Chevy big cab would fit but I couldn't get around it to get to my third bay.

BruceL said:

I am specifically posting this in bighorn because that is what I am thinking of buying next and boy am I confused. I am new and bought a heartland TT 31RLSS and love it but I am beginning my research for upgrading to the Bighorn 3800RD. My question is tow vehicle which I do not want to get into a debate of brand. As an example only the chevy silverado 250 says 17,500 lbs towing and the silverado 350 says 21,700 lbs. towing and the Bighorn 3800RD has max weight of 16,000lbs ----
I have 2 questions;
1) Why would I not get a silverado 250 which claims a tow weight of 17,500lbs since the 3800RD says max weight of 16000lbs?
2) Or -- if the 350 makes more sense then why a dually instead of single wheels.

My wife doesn't like the dually not being able to be parked in the garage but I am wondering if any huge advantage.

Any thoughts would be great!!

Click to expand...

There have been a lot of great replies in this thread, many of which I can only agree with.

When it comes down to it it depends on the nature of your use.

For example we are weekend warriors, we only get a handful of trips a year and not many are long drives.

It was obvious that the benefits of the dually were not as advantages as the needs of the family.

SRW benefits
-5 vs 7 tires to ensure serviceable, rotated and purchased every 40k+
-Narrow track, DW would have taken out a few objects by now with the DRW.
-Equal track is much easier to drive in 8" of snow.

DRW benefits
-Weight distributed over 4 tires vs 2
-larger payload capacity
-higher GAWR weight
-can help stabilize load in cross wind conditions

Again the benefits of the SRW full time vs the DRW part time benefits made the decision easy.

Now we are considering upgrade to a toy hauler in a few years. At that point we will move up to an F450 or an F550 chassis with hauler bed. This will become a dedicated hauler vs the F350 now performing contractor truck, family vehicle, and rig hauler.

It all depends on how you want to use it.

Cheers

I find tow rating weights to be deceiving.I always look at the GVWR of the vehicle for the safest combination.You would probably bring
the 3800 to 15000 lbs with your cargo and all.That would be a pin weight of 2550 lb using the 17% ratio.
Most HD diesels have a dry weight of approimately 7000 lbs.That would be total weight of 9550 lbs.
The GVWR of most single wheel trucks are around 10000 lbs.Also the weight of passengers and fuel will be extra
weight for your truck and don't forget about the 150 lb fifth wheel hitch,I could go on...
The GVWR of a 3500 with dual wheels is 11400 lbs.
I don't like driving a dually for 6 months in Florida but thats what I need to haul my Pinehurst.

I think it depends, If full time a dually for sure, part time SWD will be fine!

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts!! I am soooo excited to have found Heartland and then find this owners forum has been incredibly helpful!! Lots of decisions but I know I should go to 3500 (or 350) and both the dually or non dually would work. My job for 30 years has been insurance and when I hear lower risk and safer that appeals to me. Now the next step--work on the mrs that the dually makes sense--I am going to try to park it in my garage and see if it will fit with her CRV--thanks again everyone!!
Bruce

Bruce, you should go buy the new TV and tell the little lady she has to park her CRV outside. OBTW, get back with us and let us know how it worked out...FOR YOU. LOL

You could park the CRV in the bed of the dually!! I hope you go with the dually. My extended family has 4 fifthwheels. Everyone but one has a dually and he wishes he could change up. Much more stable. I drive mine solo but all of my sisters-in-law have no problem maneuvering their duallys.

Ray LeTourneau said:

There is a lot to be said about this reply. On the way to Nashville I stopped for fuel and smelled hot rubber as I got out of the truck. As I was looking for the source, I found an inside rear was flat as a pancake. Well, not really flat but all the air had gone out. It had been that way for a while.
I thought the truck had felt a bit strange but I actually thought it was due to the road. Had I not had the dually, I may have been on the side of the road waiting for service. As it was, I was able to get into a parking lot and have it changed safely.
Our rig is right at 3000# on the pin and we are slightly under our max carrying weight. The newer trucks are rated higher but I would still get the dually if I were to be shopping.

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I had a similar thing happen after I left Nashville too. My outer driver side tire had a sudden loss of air. I heard a pop, but I did not see anything wrong in the mirror. Considering this was my first time ever experiencing this, I wasn't sure it really happened. I felt no change in driving. I continued to drive about 10 miles to a truck stop and it was then I verified it happened. I'm convenced that any truck other than a dully would have been a different outcome.

I started out with the '08 Ram 2500 and realized I made a mistake and it cost me to trade up to the same year model 3500 dually. You don't want to say "I wish I had..."

Hows come I see a gazillion 350,3500 SRW Fords and Dodges but very seldom see a 3500 SRW GM? Just asking. I always figured if I was going to a DRW I would go to a 450, 4500 or larger but with the ratings of the new trucks coming out I'm really not sure I would anymore.

retired4fun said:

I always figured if I was going to a DRW I would go to a 450, 4500 or larger but with the ratings of the new trucks coming out I'm really not sure I would anymore.

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I hear ya, the new 2011 Cheyy/GM raised the bar. If I were buying now, my first choice would be Cheyy/GM 3500 dually. I bet the others are jumping through hoops now to match it or beat it. Of course, Ford upgraded the software to increase power.

GM does make a SRW 3500. They will also have a SB 3500 this year. Not sure if it will be DRW or a SRW.