Moving from 3/4 Ton to Dually - any regrets - Montana Owners Club

DarMar · 02-09-2006, 09:58 AM

Maureen & Darwin are currently shopping for a new truck and we just can't decide if we should go for the dually. We test drove a Chevy the other day and found it to ride similar to our 2500hd short box crew.

On one hand we like the stability and extra gvw rating, but it is a LARGE truck!

So, to those people that have gone to the duallys do you have any regrets???

My wife currently handles our 2500hd quite well in parking lots etc. but I just don't know about those duals. Are there some women out there that can give us advice one way or the other? In the back of our minds we know the 3500 is best to tow any Monty but ther will be at least 6 months of the year that it will be at home. Thanks in advance to all!

jrgwdenner · 02-09-2006, 10:01 AM

We like having a dually. It just makes us feel more stable and secure. It is large when it comes to pulling into a parking lot but ours seems to ride quite well. I've seen women driving MDT like they are a Toyota. When there's a will, there's a way.

Wagonmaster · 02-09-2006, 11:54 AM

I don't regret trading our f250 for our dually. I like the feel of the stability of it and who knows what the dw has planned for the future. She really likes the 3400. Jack.

richfaa · 02-09-2006, 12:24 PM

They are large trucks and finding a good place to park can be a challenge.No reason way a female can't drive a big truck .If a guy can drive it so can she.Helen drives it with no problem. Now our Tv is a TV only.If the truck is your daily drive it can be a little awkward. This is a case where we figured bigger WAS better.

CountryGuy · 02-09-2006, 12:40 PM

Drive it, no problem, parking has NOT been a problem for us, we just park it out further in the lots and walk, lordy, only knows we need the exercise. I took it just last week into town to the city library here in McAllen, by my self, found a parking space without any trouble. Just is no issue for us. Turning radius is a bit long, again, we have adjusted, and ohhh, it is allowed to pull forward and back up a few times to get into a tight spot or out of it. We use it as our everyday vehicle for 3 months while we are in the Valley. For me, no problem, I don't even think about it being a DW anymore.

Carol

Al says as far as he is concerned the ONLY time parking is a challenge is when we get into a small town with street parking. His comment, walk, it is good for ya, (like I said we need the exercise)

Montana_89 · 02-09-2006, 12:51 PM

We also own a dually (signature) and my wife loves it as much as I do. The stability with the 37 foot 5er is absolutely unbelievable. Parking not a problem and the wife loves driving it...even with the trailer. (I think she just loves the horsepower and 70 mph!)It rides a little stiff (empty) but we have gotten use to it. I recommend it.

Parrothead · 02-09-2006, 01:51 PM

You can see by our signature that we have the new 06 GMC 3500 D/A DRW and long bed. At first I was a bit timid about driving it but several months ago Ed wasn't feeling well and I wanted to go shopping. Nothing keeps a woman from shopping! I now drive it with no problems. It is our only vehicle. The new mirrors on the GMC help with parking. It (his name is Brutus) tows Monty with no problem, pulls up mountains easy and as Ed said we don't have to worry so much about weight. We notice a big difference from our old TV when the big rigs pass us on the freeway. No movement at all. We also think it rides nice empty but then that is one thing GMC trucks are known for - their comfort.
Happy trails...................

Ironman · 02-09-2006, 02:14 PM

We are a two dually family. Mine is a super-cab and my wife's is a crew cab. No problem fitting them in parking spots but usually we park out in the south forty just because after you spend all those $$$, you are more cautious about who or what you park next too. Wouldn't trade either one for a regular truck for anything.

rickfox · 02-09-2006, 03:41 PM

Be sure you know the local laws and ordinances before you buy. Increasingly, many towns and cities are making it illegal to park duallys on residential streets - claiming that due to their extra width they are a safety hazard and can impede other safety vehicles like fire trucks from moving through the streets.

I live in Richardson, TX, a suburb of Dallas where it is illegal. Making matters worse, I have a rear entry garage with alley access. My driveway is so short that my current 2500HD has to be parked at an angle.

I already have to park the trailer at a storage facility - parking RV's and trailers that can be seen from the street (even if on private property) is also illegal ($2000 fine!). It didn't make sense for me to purchase yet another vehicle that had to be parked off site.

Montana Sky · 02-09-2006, 07:01 PM

I sure do love the look of the dually, just an awesome looking truck. I would like one but that means I can't go through the carwash anymore. =( Not so sure I want to wash that baby by hand every week. While I think they are a awesome looking truck but, I cannot find a reason to buy one. My 2500HD has done the job so well I think I will run it unitl I have 250,000 miles on it, then trade it in.

Glenn and Lorraine · 02-09-2006, 11:10 PM

If all you're looking for is the extra pin weight Chevy/GMC does have a 3500 SRW (Single Rear Wheel)
I've been dragging my 2955RL around with a 2500HD for years with no problems and see no need to go to a 3500.
In my opinion dual wheels make little or no difference in the handling. You also have 2 more tires to buy and balance and it costs a fortune to properly rotate your tires. And please, nobody bring up the argument of tractor trailers having dual wheels. Comparing a big rig to a 1 ton dually is like comparing apples to oranges.

5rvers · 02-10-2006, 12:53 AM

I have a dually and I just mainly use it to pull the Monty. I do take it to work once a week, but most of the time it's parked at home in front of the Monty.

steves · 02-10-2006, 01:22 AM

Dually or not to dually - this becomes a personal decision. The dually has to give more of a stable ride because of the amount of rubber on the road and provides for handling a higher tongue/bed/pin weight. If I was pulling trailers with 3000+ pin weights I would be using a dually. What I thought through when I purchased my 06 TV was the pin weight, how did my previous SRW handle the 5th wheel, how was I going to use the TV on a daily basis, The cost of tires (new and rotations), ability to put in my garage, the extra width in tight driving conditions (IE road construction and bridges), the ride of the dually and the GVWR of a dually. So what ever decision you arrive at you will be correct - be happy and enjoy you TV.

Bob Pasternak · 02-10-2006, 02:45 AM

It is nice that most extoll the virtues of a dually: Me, you couldn't run fast enough to give me one.

If I needed a one ton, it would be SRW. Dodge 3500 SRW is rated to tow 15900 with 4.10 rear end, and if stability was a problem, load range "F" tires.

HomeOnTheRoad · 02-10-2006, 02:54 AM

If you drive on ice or snow dually is a negative. On dry it is probably more stable. I never have seen a problem with single rear wheel. If you need the extra payload capacity that's the reason to go dually. Otherwise I do not see it. The 3400 your dw likes has a very light hitch weight so dually is not needed. But if you want dually then get it if you'll be more comfortable. There are some places in national parks and off the beaten path places you cannot take a dually. It has its pros and cons. Dually or not, both will do the job. Your choice. This is just my opinion.

Emmel · 02-10-2006, 03:05 AM

Ok lets look at this from the 2006 towing guide from Trailer Life. The conventional(trailer) weight for both the 2500 and 3500 is 12000lbs for a deisel. The fifth wheel weight is 14200 for the 2500 and 14700 for the 3500, also the deisel. But you must also look at the gross combined weight rating is 22000 for both trucks. These ratings are for the GMC and Chevy trucks and the Ford and Dodge are very close in either direction. I will not argue with anyone on what tows better because they are so close to each other in GCWR and you have to make your own choice as to what truck you want for yourself. I personally like certain things about the Ford and some other things about the Dodge and the same with the GM's, employee discount usually wins though.

richfaa · 02-10-2006, 03:30 AM

We got the Ford, V-10 CC,Lb ,4.30 rear end ratio,12,600GVWR package, GCWR 23,500, fifth wheel tow 16,100, Dually.because that's what we wanted, that's what we needed,that's what we got.. The numbers for the Montana 3400RL fit and that's it..Oh .Whatever you have is right for you.Just like mine is right for me...

BillyRay · 02-10-2006, 07:14 AM

there are pros and cons for everything. we went for the d/w for the same reason your considering it. the big question I have would be how much of the time are you towing? if the answer is alot, I'd go with the dually. the single wheel will pull it very well if the answer was no. My wife won't drive it, but she didn't drive my F-150 when I had it either.

DarMar · 02-10-2006, 10:43 AM

Thanks folks for your comments, you have indeed pointed out some very good things to consider but I have yet to find anyone that regrets buying a dually!
Of course our present tv handles the 2955 VERY well, but we hope to keep this vehicle for 5 to 7 years and there is no doubt after looking at 3400's our next 5er will be bigger.
Maureen sends special thanks to Carol, Helen, Roe and Sue for the women's point of view. I agree it would take more than a dually to get in the way of the wife's shopping trips!
One further thought is will there be much difference in fuel economy as well?

Bear Hunter · 02-11-2006, 05:29 AM

After having 6 single RW 3/4 ton trucks we finally got a DW and have found it tows much better. You can have a semi blow by and not feel the rig getting pushed around. This is also true when we were out west. I seems the wind was always quartering and still no sway problems. The only down side is if you make a BONE HEAD mistake like I did only once and thats not watching the fender pulling into the garage. Not good!!! You won't make the same mistake twice after you pay the repair bill. Over all we love the truck and would get another.

You may also like: