Dual Rear Wheels vs. Single Rear Wheel

[mopar1]

quote:Originally posted by richfaa

It has been raining for 3 days here at the Escapee's rally in Sedilia,Mo. everything is sinking into the grass parking area. We are @ 30 feet off the road and need 4X4 to get in and out. A big wrecker just pulled out a motorhome two spots down and the F-550 Ford (no 4X4) next to us was stuck in a hole about 2 feet deep. A chebby 4X4 yanked him out. We pulled across the road and parked the truck on a hard road that is not being used. The 3400 is listing to the left and the bathroom door now swings open and hits the shower stall. I can see about 2 inches of the 4X4 blocks on the front jacks. I hear voices outside..more folks are stuck. My F-350 looks like it ran through a giant mud puddle....But... we are having fun.

Wow, how soon till you pull out (or get pulled out) of that mess? Did you have anything under your tires? Sounds like if you did, you may need a shovel to get them back!

[sreigle]

quote:Originally posted by richfaa

so the the only real difference between the F550 and the F-350....ARE SOME SPRING SETS... the devil made me post that.. all I need is some springs and I can be a 550..

Awww, Rich, even I know there's a huge difference in the frame and suspension on the F550, unlike the F250/F350SRW comparison.

[richfaa]

Like I said the Devil made me post that. There is a big difference.

[PackerFan]

Dave, I got the Quad Cab, 4x4, long box, 6.7 Cummins Turbo Diesel. I love the four doors and all of the extra room it provides. Now I just have to get a 5th wheel hitch installed in it and have a spray-in bedliner put in.

[dsprik]

quote:Originally posted by PackerFan

Dave, I got the Quad Cab, 4x4, long box, 6.7 Cummins Turbo Diesel. I love the four doors and all of the extra room it provides. Now I just have to get a 5th wheel hitch installed in it and have a spray-in bedliner put in.

Really nice!

[richfaa]

I do have to say that I think the dually helped me roll out of the muck at the Sedalia fairgrounds last week. I was the only truck in our row that got out. I put it in 4X4 low range and just let it idle, kept it in a straight line and did not spin a wheel till the last couple of feet. The weight of the truck and 3400 @22K did leave a fair trench in the muck. Single wheel drives in both sides of us had to be pulled out as well as non 4X4's and as well as all of the M.H's. Folks on the other side of the road who were not even trying to get out had lined up their chairs and were watching the fun. We got a lot of cheers and applause. I figured that if the truck would move the first couple feet and I could keep it in a stright line we could make it.. Much to my surprise the plan worked. Folks were making the mistake of going out at a angle and dragging the camper through the muck.

[sreigle]

I'm glad you got out without having to pay for a tow, Rich. I don't have to use the 4x4 often but in those situations it sure is helpful. I did use it for a short time backing into our current site. It's a gravel site on which I have to make a turn while backing up a pretty good hill. The nose of our Montana is high enough I can walk under any part of the overhang without ducking. We were 2/3 of the way back when the rear wheels tried spining so I stopped and engaged the 4x4. No problem.

Sometimes I use 4x4 low if we have to pull up on any significant heighth of boards to level side to side. It will pull on up by just idling. That seems a lot easier on the transmission to me, rather than giving it enough throttle to get it rolling up on the blocks.

I suspect your technique was the most important factor to your getting out of that mud. Otherwise it probably wouldn't matter if you had ten tires back there or one.

[NCFischers]

Pulling out straight and slow was the key. If you had turned the wheel, I'm sure you would have bogged down. You had a arrgg arrgg arrgg moment. I bet it felt good to be the only one to make it out on your own.

[Jim Jarvis]

We all know the value of 4X4 but that is only part of the equation. If you don't have good rubber you will sit there with 4 wheels spinning. Good tire tread is almost as important as 4X4.

[rames14]

The other key, with the 4x4, is putting it in low range. Many people don't understand how beneficial the low range 4x4 is in those situations.

[RickW]

Before heading out on this trip I was following this thread with great interest. While I knew the F250 could get the job done, it is not the idea TV for the 3400. Looking at the mfgr specs will tell you the 3400 is too much for the F250. Now with the F250 I was pushing other MH and trailers up the hills in western states. I have intake, programmer, exhaust and exhaust break. With full gauges I could see that nothing was being pushed too hard or beyond it capabilities. As for breaking, I am so grateful I have the exhaust break. It is so nice and does a wonderful job. On 2 different grades though the use of the exhaust break and downshiffting got the trans temp much warmer than I would like for it to be. 230d on 6% 6 mile grade. I also peeked at 250d on another long 6% grade.

Before leaving on this trip I was 75% positive that I would replace the F250 with a F350/F450 in 2012. I figured I would let Ford get the new motor on the market for a year to see if there was any problems before I take the plunge. All hoping to avoid the 2004 6L type of problems.

Before buying the Monty we were also looking at other brands. Some were much heavier than the Monty and I was already thinking about MDT to pull those trailers safely. So we started talking about a MDT again. So after following this thread, talking about the wife driving the TV (She drives the F250 all time but has zero experience pulling a trailer). We discussed that we really do not want to drive a MDT around when we get to our destination. Pulling a toad behind the Monty is a option but not all states allow you to pull doubles and backing up pulling doubles is not really a option either. While we are still researching, we are about 90% positive of going the HDT route to pull with. We would piggy back something like a jeep on the back of the truck. This provides the perfect vehicles to both pull the trailer & jeep and the jeep is perfect for our needs when we get to our destination.

I know this does not really fall in to the single or dual rear wheels discussion but this discussion really made me think hard about what our TV should be and how we will use it. It got us thinking both about how to safely pull, be comfortable and how to get around once we get where we are going.

[PackerFan]

RickW - I guess I need a little help understanding your reply:

What is a MDT & a HDT?

[Exnavydiver]

MDT= Medium Duty Truck, like a Kodiak or Loadstar. HDT= Heavy Duty Truck, full sized semi, Volvo, Freightliner, Mack, Kenworth... Dave

[Fordzilla]

Congrats Packerfan, You will be very happy with the cumins power and the extra long truck will ride very nice on the rougher roads.

[dannyl]

I have towed with both.
I'm now pulling with a Dodge 3500 and feel like the truck doesn't know the 5er is behind it most of the time.
I drive through the Bank Drive-in and make it fine. Haven't tried the car wash as I like to wash and wipe mine myself.

[cmp-shooter]

HERE IS MY UPDATE
http://i30.tinypic.com/24xnh3a.jpg"

[Bill-N-Donna]

Nice!

[KathyandDave]

Nice truck! Same as ours, but they've improved the wheel coverings and the step.

[vgforbes]

it realy depends on your trailer... I use a dooley for my 36 montana and I also haul a big boat trailer and enclosed car hauler. I like the safety/stability and load handeling ability ( also have a 70 gallon saddle tank on her. A friend hauls his 36 with a 3/4 single wheel and has over 200000 miles on the truck with no issues..gary 36 rl/2006 3500 duramax

[sreigle]

I read again a few pages of these posts and wanted to make a couple of my own comments.

Another time I like to use 4x4 low range is when I need to pull the trailer up on several blocks to level it. In 4x2 or even 4x4 high there is a bit of strain on the transmission as the engine revs a little to get things rolling up onto the blocks. In 4x4 Low I just put it in drive and let it idle up onto the blocks. Seriously. I then have to remember to go back to neutral to get out of low range, though.

As for dually or single rear wheel, I think a person has to consider all the factors, including everything they plan to do with the truck, from towing to sightseeing to parking, plus add personal preference. No matter what decision, some of those factors will require a compromise. When we make a conscious decision to compromise, we accept the limitations and the risks, if any. Like everyone else, I made my decision. We love backroads (not towing) including 4x4 roads, although having a big truck does limit this to the easier ones. Here's a couple of pictures of just a few of the trails and backroads we've done with our truck. Some of these could be done with a dually. But some could not. We enjoy this kind of thing and made our decision and our compromises accordingly.

Willow Flats 4x4 Trail, Arches NP


Shafer Trail, Moab, UT


Yes, it's a sheer drop off the edge on the Shafer Trail


Tower Arch 4x4 Trail, Arches NP. It was raining and we got to some mud and gave up on this one.


Gemini Bridges Trail, Moab, UT. We didn't finish this one. Turned around and took the highway to get there.


Heintooga Round Bottom Road, Great Smokey Mountains NP area