Dually or not to Dually - Montana Owners Club

Montana_1603 · 05-28-2004, 03:48 AM

Have been looking at a new truck. Have option for either a Dodge 3500 with or without Duals. I understand that duallies provide stabilization for the truck but how would any of that stabalization be transvered to the 5er with a single point contact hitch. Is it worth the extra for the dually pulling a 3575RL? Thanks.

Utahman,
Dodge Ram, In process of purchasing Montana 3575.

sreigle · 06-16-2004, 11:37 AM

My opinion agrees with Kenny. If you're more comfortable with a dually, go for it. But I don't think it adds much for towing a Montana. We've never had any kind of stability problem. Montana Sue mentions the situation where I think a dually would be valuable. Horses shifting around are going to move things around. Dually is good in that situation. Other than that, I think it comes down to what you're comfortable with. There's nothing wrong with having a dually. Just my opinion.

NJ Hillbilly · 06-16-2004, 12:00 PM

If I can get my mirrors through, I can get the truck through. I have been through some narrow "holes" that people in a car in front of me would not drive through. It just takes some getting used to. I have driven 102" wide straight trucks through NYC, Philadelphia and D.C. without many problems.

It just takes a little getting used to and some good judgement(that comes with time in the saddle). I'm not knocking either since I haul with both a srw 2500 and a 3500 dualie along with a 3500HD. The 3500HD has a 8' wide flatbed that I pull gooseneck trailers with. My largest horse trailer is 37' long with the axles 2' from the rear of the trailer so it tows like it's 45' long, the wheelbase is almost as long as my Montana is.

John

sreigle · 06-17-2004, 12:35 PM

I've only seen a couple of places where a dualies were prohibited and that sure wouldn't be enough to make me not buy a dualie if that's what I wanted. One was the drive to the Hot Springs in Big Bend National Park. It's posted no dualies and you wouldn't want to try it. It has a straight up cliff on one side and a drop on the other and there just isn't room for anything that wide. It was tough going with my SRW and I had the mirrors in the non-towing position. Vicki just closed her eyes. There's a parking lot there where some folks parked and walked the mile to the springs. But I sure wouldn't avoid buying a dualie for that reason. There's rarely any places a dualie can't go that a SRW can.

Montana_464 · 06-21-2004, 07:44 AM

When I first got the dually I had some problems with the curbs that jumped out and hit the rear wheels but after a while I can park that puppy anywhere I need to. You just get used to it and you know where your wheels are. I think it handles better than the 2500 SRW I had before. This truck loves to tow and I love this truck

Montana_1652 · 06-21-2004, 02:28 PM

We have a 2001 dually Dodge, quad door, and it is a very rigid ride and can be a bear in traffic sometimes, but the plus to all of this is when your heading west on I80 and the NW wind is hitting you ya kinda appreciate the wide stance of the dually for stability and I've been in a 34' Fifth Ave. and now a 2004 Montana 3400RL 4slide and I'm glad I have the dually.

Ken and Karen

Montana_1520 · 06-22-2004, 02:17 PM

This is ONE GOOD topic! We could all write for days about our own personal choices and we would never convince the other guy! None of you could convince us to change our favorite color or convince us that your Montana floor plan was better than ours. That's kind of the way it is with dually/no dually. But we love some of your comments! And we want to put out 2cents in, too. We've had lots of trucks (pickup type) and pulled several trailers, even had a Class C motorhome. But this BIG SKY of ours needs a BIG TRUCK to pull it and we stuck with our favorite GMC brand. The male fan just felt like he needed that big 3500 1-ton and felt the dually just "looked the part". It has more interior "conveniences" than the Chevy Tahoe Z-71 we had and rides just as comfortably. Yeah, the curbs did jump out and bite us once or twice but they were just in the wrong place. We take our dually anywhere and everywhere. Guess it just take the right kind of driver to drive it. In short, WE LOVE THAT DUALLY!
#29 fans
04 3670RL BIG SKY
04 Chevy 3500 CC Dually 4WD Duramax/Allison

c est la vie · 06-23-2004, 08:39 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by dlott84040

Have been looking at a new truck. Have option for either a Dodge 3500 with or without Duals. I understand that duallies provide stabilization for the truck but how would any of that stabalization be transvered to the 5er with a single point contact hitch. Is it worth the extra for the dually pulling a 3575RL? Thanks.

Utahman,
Dodge Ram, In process of purchasing Montana 3575.

I have owned a 1994 Ford Dually and prior to that and 84 F250 Single wheel and a Alumalite 5th wheel I bought a new 1999 F350 single wheel long bed teh Legal Gvrw is 100 lbs less than a dually 9900 lbs and we have went to a Mountaineer 33.5 TT Which we Have towed over 15000 miles to date If I could keep tires on the trailer I would consider it a perfect match and will never put up with all the inconveniences of a Dually again.

Montana_1603 · 06-30-2004, 03:45 AM

Thanks to all for your replies. This seems to be a hot subject to some. I have not bought the new truck yet but appreciated all the thought on the subject. I like having the numbers in my favor so we are still looking to get a dully just because we may want to upsize in the future and we would not have to worry about buying a new truck no matter what the size of the rig we would buy. After driving all the brands and all the size beds and cabs we found out that the longer the unit the better the ride and the less towing/GVW/axel weight that it will handle. In the end I think everyone must have peace of mind no matter what is behind the truck. We see a lot of rigs (all sizes) being pulled by 3/4 and 1 ton rigs both DW and SW and there seems to be no problems. I just want to be safe and aware of the maximum weight allowable on our truck. Some people have to be within the numbers to feel comfortable and others realize that each manufacurer will keep those maximums lower to lessen thier liabilities. Thanks again and enjoy whatever rig you have. Happy camping.

DrivesBGM · 06-30-2004, 09:21 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by dlott84040
... I like having the numbers in my favor so we are still looking to get a dully just because we may want to upsize in the future and we would not have to worry about buying a new truck no matter what the size of the rig we would buy. ...

Just a friendly word of caution. I don't think that there is a One Ton Truck made by the big three that can handle a 5er greater than about 15,000 pounds. (Based upon the truck manufacture's specifications.) But there are plenty of "top of the line" 5ers available that weight more than that and they would require a Medium Duty Truck.

Craig

Montana_1683 · 07-08-2004, 03:02 PM

Utahman:

I choose to go single axle or 2500HD GMC rather than 3500HD with duallies. Those in Kansas I talked with stated that the dual wheels don't track well in snow, of course we are known to get some in the winter time. You do loose about 500 pounds of towing capacity by going single axle, according to GM, and the cost of the truck is is less by going 2500HD instead of 3500HD. Also there is the cost of buying 2 extra tires when it comes to getting them, my wife didn't like the sticker price of the new trucks, but our Chevy Van wasn't up to pulling our travel trailer even though our dealer insisted it would, had the rear end replaced twice and was going out again. Thank heavens for extended warranties. This of course is for 2001 when I bought my truck, 3500HD came with dually wheels while the 2500HD was single axle. I also only had a 26ft Prowler travel trailer with a super slide, and not a 5th wheel. Since then we purchased a 2005 3295RK and haven't noticed much of a change in the ride and pulling the trailer.

sreigle · 07-08-2004, 03:17 PM

Gimmy2001, that's a good point about the snow. I hadn't thought about that.

Saw your post about Melvern. Used to spend some time fishing there and camped in Eisenhower State Park a few times. We lived in Topeka until 16 months ago when we started fulltiming. We're temporarily in Independence, MO, visiting kids/grandkids in Prairie Village and Merriam.

I see you're a retired schoolteacher and live in Gardner. A very good friend from High School lives in Wellsville. I **think** she used to teach in Gardner but now I think teaches in Wellsville. Kathy Reddy, if you happen to know of her.

Sue · 07-08-2004, 03:50 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by gimmy2001

Utahman:

I choose to go single axle or 2500HD GMC rather than 3500HD with duallies. Those in Kansas I talked with stated that the dual wheels don't track well in snow

EXCELLENT point. Living here in Michigan I will agree, dullays in the snow are not that great.

Enjoy your new ride!

Montana_1280 · 07-09-2004, 03:42 AM

I am new at pulling a 5er. Was able to find 1999 3500 Dodge 5.9 diesel at reasonable price, so made the move. The dually is very stable and highway driving feels very solid. Will probably add air bags to rear for better ride when pulling the Mony 3295. Don't have any experience with SRW trucks and towing 5er's, but would go the dually route again.

NJ Hillbilly · 07-09-2004, 08:16 AM

I can't complain about the performance in the snow, I use mine to push a 8 1/2' plow (actually wife does, I drive one of my other 2 trucks with plows). One of my dualie trucks with a plow is only 2wd. I do prefer the extra tire contact when it comes to ice though. I do get the srw's and the dualies stuck though most diesels are front end heavy and tend to bury themselves in the mud.

John

Bob Pasternak · 07-09-2004, 02:25 PM

John doesn't drive through snow; he puts 2000 lbs in the back, then pushes the snow out of the way!!! :-)

Flastro · 07-13-2004, 07:39 AM

Since this has been such a hot topic, was pondering the dually vs single , what about a blowout on the rear with the fith wheel in tow? I have heard pros and cons on that subject as to safety, I have never had that exp and I have had both SRW and DRW
Any takers on that subject?

sreigle · 07-13-2004, 08:50 AM

Flastro, I've not had that experience, either, but someone posted about that awhile back and reported no control problems at all. Usually a blowout on the rear is easy to control because you still have steering. I wouldn't think having a fifthwheel in tow would make any difference but that's just my opinion.

Flastro · 07-13-2004, 09:11 AM

Steve, Good points, the reason I bought this up is I did have someone tell me awhile back that they had a blowout towing a fifth wheel and that it was not a fun exp, it was srw Ford, this was right after I got my first fifth wheel, Then again, I did not agree that either and felt that there had to be other circumstances like exessive speed etc.

sreigle · 07-13-2004, 05:09 PM

Could be. Hopefully someone who has experienced a tow vehicle rear wheel blowout while towing will post their experiences. I can only guess about it until it happens to me. I had a blowout on a fifthwheel and didn't even know it until another driver clued me to it. Couldn't see it in my mirrors (right rear wheel on the fifthwheel). It was not on a Montana.

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