Dual Rear Wheels vs. Single Rear Wheel

[dsprik]

quote:Originally posted by TLightning

I don't understand why stability is even a point of discussion...four wheels vs two wheels??? Like any other support mechanism...four 2 x 4s will give more support than two 2 x 4s.

Exactly my point, Tom. 3/4 ton SRWs are plenty stable enough to pull any Monty and I believe most 3/4 tons are also under the GCVWR - I am very happy with both of these parameters. Now when it comes to CC and pin weight I am NOT happy.

A duallie one ton would be great, but I can't afford one right now and as mentioned before it would never get me back to our property up here in N. Mich. - an absolute necessity for me and my family. I have to bring my mirrors in through that trail as it is.

[sreigle]

I have not read this entire thread but imagine it's similar to the many other threads we've had on this topic. If you want to stay within all specs, you'll need the dually.

I won't go dually. We do too many things where a dually just won't work for us, including backroad 4x4 type exploring. We're over the ratings a little bit on the truck but we've never had any problems resulting from the weight. None whatsoever. We have zero problems with stability. That argument just doesn't hold water with me, at least not for our Montana. I won't try to tell you to go single rear wheel. That has to be your decision. But, for us, the SRW has worked very well for something over 150,000 miles of fulltime traveling in over six years plus a total of 14 years of towing fifthwheels. I guess we each have our own experiences and opinions on this topic.

[jjackflash]

quote:Originally posted by dsprik

Exactly my point, Tom. 3/4 ton SRWs are plenty stable enough to pull any Monty and I believe most 3/4 tons are also under the GCVWR - I am very happy with both of these parameters. Now when it comes to CC and pin weight I am NOT happy.

A duallie one ton would be great, but I can't afford one right now and as mentioned before it would never get me back to our property up here in N. Mich. - an absolute necessity for me and my family. I have to bring my mirrors in through that trail as it is.

Dave, once you bring in your mirrors the fenders still don't go beyond the mirrors.
Jack

[billhoover]

quote:Originally posted by dsprik

Exactly my point, Tom. 3/4 ton SRWs are plenty stable enough to pull any Monty and I believe most 3/4 tons are also under the GCVWR - I am very happy with both of these parameters. Now when it comes to CC and pin weight I am NOT happy.

A duallie one ton would be great, but I can't afford one right now and as mentioned before it would never get me back to our property up here in N. Mich. - an absolute necessity for me and my family. I have to bring my mirrors in through that trail as it is.

I don't know what Tom's point was, but when I have 3,500 pounds in my truck, it is much more stable than a truck with just two wheels back there...and as Steve mention...overloaded to boot.

[Fordzilla]

I have a DRW because I have a heavy pin weight on our 3685 front living room Monty. I also have towed it with a SRW 1 ton ford and in a storm we were being pushed around the road because the single tire didn't hold it's position on the road as well as the DRW does. Ask the big rig drivers that are running the big new super single tires. Most I have talked to don't like them for the same reasons I mentioned. The water does not disperse as easily from the one wide tire as well as it does from under the two narrower tires.

[richfaa]

I am not the brightest light in the sky So I have think simple and relate to things in simple terms that I can understand. Stand with your feet close together...now take a wider stance, feet say a couple feet apart. Which feels more stable. In which position would it be harder for someome to knock you over from the side??? The wider the stance the more stable I feel... Why is that?????

[dsprik]

quote:Originally posted by jjackflash

Dave, once you bring in your mirrors the fenders still don't go beyond the mirrors.
Jack

I may have not described the situation very well, Jack. I was talking of folding my mirrors in against the window. I believe that is in tighter than the fenders of a duallie. I have a SRW long box and it is like threading a needle with that around our sharp turns. A duallie would need a trip to the body shop.

We have woods up here (trees). We have to keep our windows rolled up while driving down our trail to keep the branches from slapping you in the face. We keep it like that on purpose to keep out at least some of the undesirables... Some of you know the type of two track I'm talking about I'm sure.

[dsprik]

quote:Originally posted by richfaa

I am not the brightest light in the sky So I have think simple and relate to things in simple terms that I can understand. Stand with your feet close together...now take a wider stance, feet say a couple feet apart. Which feels more stable. In which position would it be harder for someome to knock you over from the side??? The wider the stance the more stable I feel... Why is that?????

What I'm trying to say is that a M-1 tank is a more stable than a one ton duallie, but it is a moot point. I have never been in weather where I was worried about stability of my 2500HD/3400RL combo. That would not even enter into the equation if I had was weighing pros and cons. Pin weight and GVWR would. Also, the braking is going to be better on a duallie, but I would be hesitant to defend that braking statement in wet or icy roads... SRW might perform better there.

I might add that I do have a long bed, which may be more stable than a shorter wheel base? But I have been in a 50 mph cross wind going through mountains and didn't even know the wind was blowing that hard until I stopped at a rest stop and the wind blew the door out of my hand when I went to open it. I understand that your experience has been different than mine, though, Ron.

[DarMar]

Simply stated Rich!!!

[jjackflash]

quote:Originally posted by dsprik

I may have not described the situation very well, Jack. I was talking of folding my mirrors in against the window. I believe that is in tighter than the fenders of a duallie. I have a SRW long box and it is like threading a needle with that around our sharp turns. A duallie would need a trip to the body shop.

We have woods up here (trees). We have to keep our windows rolled up while driving down our trail to keep the branches from slapping you in the face. We keep it like that on purpose to keep out at least some of the undesirables... Some of you know the type of two track I'm talking about I'm sure.

Sorry about that Dave,I was thinking,pushing and pulling,I never thought about swinging them in,I understand now.
Jack

[sreigle]

I have never stated, and never would, that a SRW is as stable as a dually. I agree the dually is more stable simply because of more rubber on the road.

HOWEVER, the additional stability in a dually is a solution to a problem I don't have. If my truck wasn't plenty stable with this FW then I'd go dually. But there is no problem. Thus, no need for a stability solution because there is no stability problem.

If anyone wants to carry further the argument that a dually is required because it is more stable than a SRW, then don't stop there. A medium duty truck is more stable than a 1 ton dually, so I guess that's what we all should have. Or, gee, a semi tractor is even more stable... and on and on and on. That's overkill? No more than saying the SRW isn't stable enough.

To me the ONLY valid argument for going to a dually is to stay within the payload specs. If that is important to a person, then the argument is moot. Go for the dually. On the road performance is the same from everything I've experienced.

I always chuckle when someone says you need the dually or you need the 1 ton because you have to be able to stop the beast. Let's see, the dually has brakes on two front wheels and two rear wheels. Just like the one ton. And the 3/4 ton. And in the Ford and Dodge (not sure about GM) the 1 ton and 3/4 ton have the same brakes. And the 3/4 ton is lighter. So, the 3/4 ton stops less weight with the same brakes. Hmmm, that should mean it stops more quickly. The dually is even heavier. I bet it can't stop as fast as the SRW. To be fair, I'm not sure if the dually brakes are the same size as the SRW so the dually may not stop any slower than the SRW.

[ols1932]

I still think that it is a personal choice and no amount of discussion will change that. There are always going to be arguments both ways.

Orv

[richfaa]

Parked next to me here at the Escapee's rally is a 07 Ford F-550 truck .Nice truck with one of those custom beds. I was looking it over. It had 19 inch tires so it sets higher than mine with 17 inch tires. Otherwise it looks pretty much the same.. It has some awesome springs in the rear and a set of leaf springs on the front. The sticker on the door shows a far greater CC than my F-350 and his GVWR is 30k while the best a F-350 can do with a 4:30 Diff is 19.3K..over a 10K difference. That stuff on the door sticker is not legal and is viewed by many as only a recommendation 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..Who needs bigger brakes..so it takes longer to stop.. Just be careful.

The stability issue is a non issue. We all know the answer to that.Again..If you don't need a 1 ton truck or a dually then why in the world would anyone buy one or why would anyone tell a person they should.

Here at the Escapee's rally @ 500 units. There are a very large number of Motor homes and I never saw so many MDT and HDT TV's in one place.. Scores of them. Of course a large nmber of Escapee's are full timers and have large rigs.

The 1 ton dually is the TV of choice, all brands, there are plenty of Single wheel 1 ton also. You have to look hard for a 3/4 ton truck..however today I parked next to 1/2 ton Chevy with a 16K reese hitch in the bed??????

I am learnig a lot in the very good seminars. Water filter systems today. Boy is there a lot of bad information out there. Our Good friend Gay Wheeler (Mor Ryde) is here and I ran ino one MOC member thus far.Ronstan) They weigh RV's here... I will try to sign up to get mine weighed..each wheel...Etc. $49.00 though.....

[PackerFan]

Further update:

Well, I took the big leap and purchased a 2009, Dodge 3500, SRW, 4x4, Long Box.

I should be picking it up as soon as the dealer gets it here in a couple of days. Thanks again to everyone who provide thier input and advise on this subject. Sorry if I started a major debate over this but I always felt that a good debate is always good for the soul now and then. Just remember that we all leave as friends afterwards!

Thanks again everyone and Rich, see you this summer!
Scott

[DarMar]

Congrats PackerFan!! I also couldn't agree more with your final thoughts.

[dsprik]

[quote]quote:Originally posted by PackerFan

Further update:

Well, I took the big leap and purchased a 2009, Dodge 3500, SRW, 4x4, Long Box.


I should be picking it up as soon as the dealer gets it here in a couple of days. Thanks again to everyone who provide thier input and advise on this subject. Sorry if I started a major debate over this but I always felt that a good debate is always good for the soul now and then. Just remember that we all leave as friends afterwards!

[richfaa]

Good choice packerfan. Although we now drive this big ole Ford the Dodge /Cummins was my choice of trucks.. It just did not fit our all over needs. I sure hope that somehow the big Dodge will continue to be made.
We also enjoy a lively debate. I usually learn something from them. This has been a good one..

[mopar1]

I bought my 2X4 97 Dodge 1 ton dually diesel last fall. I have not driven it in the snow and do not plan on it. I would liked to have bought the same truck in a 4X4 model but could only find them in V10's in my price range.
This spring I needed to move our Montana out of the back yard. I do not have a driveway back there yet so I was pulling it through our slightly frozen grass yard.
I did not have any problems until I unhooked the 5th wheel and removed the weight off the tires. Then I was stuck.
I could not even pull out from under the pin. I couldn't rock the truck because of the hitch pin so I just spun all 4 tires till I found some traction and got out.
So my vote would be for a 4X4 dually diesel. Although a 1 ton single wheel drive would be easier to maneuver like has been said before.

[richfaa]

It has been rainng 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 throuh a giant mud puddle....But... we are having fun.

[dsprik]

As I mentioned on the phone with you today, Rich, it sounds like your Canadian mud bath adventure a couple years ago at the Family Motor Coach Rally. You're a lot better equipped this time with that duallie 4x4. Good luck and keep having fun!

Oh, and thanks for the info, too.