DRW

[cmcree]

I am a new MOC member with 2006 Dodge 5.9L (6sp manual) 3500 with the single rear axle, towing package, and overload springs. I have noticed that many members of MOC have pix of their rigs with duallies. Is there are reason for this? I am intending to purchase a heavy (3400 or 3500) Montana. The official tow weight for my rig is just under 16,000 lbs fully loaded. I just want to be sure that there will not be a problem towing without DRW. Thanks for replies.

[Glenn and Lorraine]

You may have opened a can of worms with this post as we all have very different opinions on which is the best TV for our Montys. The biggest opinions are GM vs Ford vs Dodge The next would be 3/4 ton HD vs 1 ton. Than comes SRW vs Dually. You can be sure that you are going to get some HD opinions with this thread.

Now having said that..
I currently tow with a 2500HD GMC BUT my next TV will be a 3500 and yes it will be an SRW. IMHO, the difference towing between an SRW and a Dually is insignificant. Some will say that a Dually has more stability, I say "Not so". In my past life I drove Duallys and SRWs and the stability issue was barely noticeable. For me, the biggest issue is parking. The BIG BUTT Duallys can and are a pain in the BUTT. More often than not you find yourself at Wally World parking out in no mans land as that big butted dually won't fit.

Now the rest of the answers you will receive in this thread will pretty much fit into 1 of 2 categories...
1. I own a 3500 SRW and the SRW is the only way to go.
2. I own a 3500 Dually and the Dually is the only way to go.

[Bill-N-Donna]

Let me say this, I have not towed the 5th wheel with a SRW so I can't do a comparison. However, when I purchased the dually it was kind of like the tail gate, it sort of just came with it. When I did start towing with it, I was towing an Airstream pull trailer. Comparing that with a full size Chevy van, there was no comparison in how much better it felt towing. Overall, the 5th wheel has been the best towing experience I’ve ever had.

Welcome to the MOC forums!

[richfaa]

I have had two duallies and it is not the only way to go. Each truck has a set of specifications and ratings. I am among those who believe that those ratings are a statement by the manufacture of the capabilities of the truck and should be adhered to. One should research the weights of both truck and camper, examine the manufactureres specs on both and purchase whatever falls within the spec's, SWD or dually. Pin Weight is the most over looked spec's and that is were the dually is of benefit without add ons or modifications to the truck.

IMO Duallies are are pain in the butt to drive around.They do not fit in a lot of places
Any of the trucks 3/4 or 1 ton will pull the campers..pulling is NOT the issue.
Can not comment on stability as we do not drive a SWD BUT it seems to make sense that 4 wheels on the ground will be a bit more stable than 2 wheels on the ground. Perhaps one of our engineers can enlighten us on that.''We did not choose to have a dually truck. Ratings and Specs dictated our choice. We purchased what we needed not wnat we would rather have.

So there is a third catagory.. Those who beleive that the stated ratings and spec's of the truck and camper are the manufacturers statement of the capibilities of their product and should be adhered to.

Please do not get what I have,get what you need.

[rvfirefighter]

Here go the opinions, and some are based on experiences.
I have a dually, I purchased this unit not for weight carrying but for stability. I have had both and pulled for years. I feel more comfortable with a dually.
Yes they are big, I knew that before I got it, I deal with it. It has not been a problem.

The answer that I see to your question, " NO " There will not be a problem.

[Delaine and Lindy]

We have been Blessed to have owned many different Trucks. Most have been DRW Trucks because we have pulled heavy and have had a heavy pin weight. I will only say I disagree with people who say there is no difference in a DRW and the SRW. When we were full timing we were always over the GVW of the Truck and Trailer. We learned that we took stuff we didn't use. I have a DRW and its weight is 8,160 when ready to tow. So for example if your 5th wheel does weigh 16,000 so you totalal weight is 24,160 and the DRW 1 ton total towing weight is 23,500. I have found most 5th wheel weights are wrong. So until you put the Truck and Trailer on the scales your just guessing. I always would go for the larger Truck, but thats just my opinion. I will also say in the next 90 days or so will be a great time to buy a HD Truck and a 5th wheel. Due to the inability of our Congress Oil will be (Diesel) around $6.00 a gallon. Supply and Demand is the problem when there is high demand and not enough supply the prices are high. Sorry about getting off subject.

I recomend going at least with the 1 ton SRW. Good Luck with your choice. GBY..........

[Waynem]

I have an. F350 Dually. Dually's are all I have ever pulled with so I cannot give you a comparison of towing capabilities. There are 3 5th wheels in this CG right now, me being a 4th. The other 3 are pulling with 3/4 ton SRW, one pulling a Montana and the others are SOB's (Some Other Brand). They are not complaining, nor are we discussing towing issues. As said previously, do your research, and this forum is a good start, and come to your own conclusions. Then if you are comfortable with everything, buy your choice.

As for parking a DRW, there is only one requirement that I need. Enough room to make the turn. Some times I have to do a couple point-to-point in and out turns, but if it is an 8ft spot, I can get it in there. There have been a few times when the turn was just to tight to eve do a poin-to-point, and in that case, I just find another spot. The neatest spots to park are pulling straight through so when you leave you just have to move forward.

Good luck in you choice.

[exav8tr]

I HAVE towed with both SRW and now with DRW. I can honestly say I don't see much difference in ability to tow or ability to stop with the rig attached. I would advise to become cognizant of ALL your associated weights and do what you must. Do your own homework and do not rely on dealers to help you, remember, they just want to sell you something, and it is usually what they have on their lot.

Having said this, the DRW IS more demanding when it comes to parking. I find myself not even trying to find a place near the doors of an establishment and park further out. This is a good thing as I need the exercise.

I think the thing that makes a difference more than any other is the Hitch and Hitch pin you choose to pull with, of course, this is an individual choice also and those that have a particular hitch swear by it. I went with an air ride hitch this time and I love it. Takes a lot of the bounce out of the ride, both the trailer and the truck. Wife really notices the difference between how it rides now compared to how it rode before with a solid hitch. However, it was expensive, but we full time and hope to keep this rig for many years.

Keep this in mind, these are my opinions and you know what they say about opinions.......

[OntMont]

I have towed my trailer with both a Chev 2500HD SRW and a Chev 3500 DRW. Both were Duramax diesels. There little difference in the towing, there is a big difference in the stopping. I went to DRW mostly for the added weight carrying capacity. If you have an existing truck, why not try using it for a start? Get everything loaded in then go to a scale and get some real world weights. Go through those weights carefully against your truck's specs, and then if necessary consider a truck with more weight carrying capacity. Note that it is weight carrying capacity you are looking for, not just GVWR. Published figures are not usually for a truck equipped the way you would want it. Unfortunately the only real way to get these numbers is to weigh YOUR truck with YOUR options and accessories. People on this forum may be able to give you some close approximations based on THEIR truck. Unfortunately there is no easy answer to this question. (at least that is my opinion).

[skypilot]

Welcome to the forum; as said, a lot of opinions. I'll add mine as well -- I've towed with both SRW and DRW (currently have an 06 Dodge 3500 DRW). I personally feel that there is a little more stability with the duals - especially in crosswind situations. But it is definitely not enough to warrant a trade - and may be more subjective and seat-of-the-pants evaluation than scientific. You do have an extra tire on each side if one happens to go flat but you also have 2 more tires to replace on replacement day; you lose several hundred pounds of load capability by having the dually as well because the weight of the tires, wheels, etc., take away from what you can carry. By the way, the reason I currently have a dually is because that is what the dealer had when I 'had' to trade -- had another brand truck that was giving me fits and I had lost confidence in it -- left the wife and I stranded out in no-where west Kansas one time which was one time too many. The truck I traded was a SRW and pulled without a problem when the engine worked. That, as they say, is another story though.

So, back on topic - will your current vehicle pull the trailer -- yes; one more caveat - if I read correctly you have a six-speed manual tranny -- if that is so, then get the exhaust brake immediately, if not sooner. Dodge used to have it in their manual that the exhaust brake was required when pulling with the manual tranny; the 06 is the first year that the auto transmission can take the exhaust brake as well (3rd generation dodge -- earlier could as well then there was a gap).

Again, welcome.

[richfaa]

I do not have the Dodge..but for your reference.We have the 08 F-350,6.4L CC,LB, Dually,4X4.Loaded for towing, full fuel, Helen, Self and bird aboard we weigh in at 9083lbs..last time we ran it on the scale it was 9212..can't remember what we took out of the truck??? .But as you can see it is much heavier than Delaine & lindy;s Chevy. Fords are heavy Those are the kind of numbers you need to consider....The only question on your truck in terms of being within listed spec's is the pin weight of the mentioned campers and the CC of the truck..

[TLightning]

You are getting a lot of information on 3/4 vs srw vs drw. However, many posters have chosen not to mention the biggest difference between the drw and the others. You mentioned your 'tow rating'...you'll find that the tow rating is within a few hundred pounds of being the same for all thise trucks. The difference is the ability of the drw truck to handle the heavy pin weight of the Montana. Your truck will have a Tire and Loading Information sticker on the left rear door post...it will give you the maximum cargo capacity for that truck. Check it out and do the numbers...the total weight in my truck (pin weight, weight of the hitch, people, tools, extra fuel (I have a bigger tank), misc junk, is about 3500# well over the capacity of all 3/4s and most srw one tons.

[levietta]

I have towed with both srw and drw; also with both the 3/4 and the one ton. It makes sense that four tires down will provide more stability than two tires down. One point to remember is that a drw pickup is substantially more $ at the toll booth here in the northeast, and across some of the northern states.

[skypilot]

Levietta: Now I didn't know that about duallies up north /northeast. I know we pay more for each axle (4 axles (2 on truck, 2 on trailer) pays less than 5 axle (3 axle trailer) but I never knew that they charged more per tire up that way. Learn something every day on this thing...

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Recently ran the PA turnpike from Breezewood to western end and then the Ohio Turnpike from east to past Toledo.

Our bill was based on axle numbers, not number of tires. Got us for 4 axles. 2 on Tana, 2 on Big Butt.

As far as why we have a Big Butt, cause it was the truck that would handle the pin weight of our 3295.

Is Big Butt a problem?? Nahhh, like a few others have stated, park it out in the lot and get the exercise.

[billhoover]

When considering this question, forget towing ability, as noted, it's virtually the same for all diesels. I don't understand what parking, tolls, etc, have to do with a TV...if you need a particular truck (DRW), you need that truck, all other considerations are secondary. The main thing you should consider is pin weight.

[richfaa]

Bill said it all..Pin weight is most often over looked and miss understood.Just understand all the factors before you purchase.

[Okie Guy]

I have never pulled with a SRW Pickup. I grew up on a farm and we pulled heavy stuff. We always had a dually for the heavy equipment we pulled. I just carried the logic over to my RV tow vehicle. If I am pulling something heavy I want the bigger truck and the two extra wheels in case of a blow out while in tow.

[sreigle]

You will have to make your own decision on this question. We've been towing Montanas since January 2001 and have towed all of them with single rear wheel. We've fulltimed for over five years with a 2003 3295RK and this 2007 3400RL. Total weight difference between the two was 260 lbs with the 3295 having the higher pinweight. So there's little difference in towing the two.

If you want to stay within the specs you will probably need a dually with the two models you mentioned. During our fulltiming we've put on around 100,000 miles towing with single rear wheel and have never ever experienced any instability. On a very windy day, when passing or being passed by an 18 wheeler I'll feel just a very small amount of movement but no more than I'd feel on a windy day inbetween hills. Certainly nothing of concern. To me, the reason for a dually is the additional payload capacity. Stability is, I think, an issue only when towing livestock trailers with those thousand pound plus animals moving around back there. And, of course, to stay within payload ratings if that's a concern.

We had to choose between the dually and single rear wheel, knowing we'd be over the payload rating with the SRW. The tradeoff is our non-towing lifestyle. We like to do a lot of backroad drives including 4x4 roads, those not requiring dedicated offroad equipment, that is. We've been numerous places a dually cannot go or is not allowed to go (a few of those). So we chose to knowingly be over the payload rating. We have towed these Montanas with a 1999 Ford F350, a 2003 Ford F350, a 2005 Ford F250 (yes, F250), and this 2007 Dodge 3500 Megacab. All SRW. The F250 actually had the highest ratings of all these trucks except the Dodge GVWR is 100 lbs higher. The Ford F250 tow rating and GCWR were significantly higher than any of the others we've had. Some say the Ford is heavy. Yes, but our F250 was a little bit lighter than this Dodge 3500 SRW so it's not **that** heavy.

On that F250 we got 70,000 miles out of the OEM tires. Brakes were good and never had any work done on them (the truck brakes) although we didn't put more than 85,000 on any of the trucks. Handling was not a problem.

In the USA, it is not illegal to be over those ratings. However, if you cause an accident, a good lawyer may try to figure out how to convince a judge or jury the accident was caused by you being over the ratings. That is a risk I accept. Not everyone will agree with me.

You will have to digest all the replies and make the decision you think is best for you.

Good luck.

On edit -- I looked up the last weighings. This Dodge 3500 MegaCab shortbed with hitch, steel cross-bed toolbox (heavily loaded), all our gear, full diesel, weighs 8560 lbs with the two of us onboard. The 2005 F250 crewcab shortbed with the same toolbox, hitch, gear, full fuel, and us was 8260.

Your dodge is a quadcab, I believe you said, so should be a bit ligher than the megacab.

[DonandJudy_12]

as others have stated- the tv each of us has is THE ONE to have- I have a dually crew cab and a 38' Montana- the stability of the duals when being passed by 1 18 wheeler after another has been a blessing and we are confirmed believers in duallies- just my 2 cents worth- I hope you are satisfied with whatever you choose- Don