Towing with a 3500 SRW? You Bet!

[Tom S.]

For those who giggle at the idea of someone towing with a 3500 single rear wheeled truck, I give you the 2006 1 million mile Duramax:

http://www.mlive.com/business/mid-mi...t_river_defalt


Note that they have towed all kinds of trailers. Also note the key to longevity: maintenance!

[PackerFan]

I also drive and tow with a 3500 Single Rear Wheel. No problems or issues and I only have to replace 4 tires instead of 6 each time.

[bruiser]

I bought my 2009 GMC on Sept. 1, 2009. I use the truck mainly for pulling the Montana and in almost 3 years only have 19,000 miles on her. This averages out to about 23 miles per day, 365 days a year. At this rate, I will pass the 1,000,000 miles in about 117 years. I will be 176 years old. I hope the GM plant is still there to greet me when I hit the million mile mark.

[TLightning]

quote:Originally posted by Tom S.

For those who giggle at the idea of someone towing with a 3500 single rear wheeled truck, I give you the 2006 1 million mile Duramax:

http://www.mlive.com/business/mid-mi...t_river_defalt


Note that they have towed all kinds of trailers. Also note the key to longevity: maintenance!

That's a stretch. 1m miles in six years boils down to 14,000 a month or 3,470 a week or 490 miles a day...providing you drove seven days a week.

[kab449]

I have no doubt the Duramax is a good truck, but I have a hard time also with the claim of a million miles in 6 years. Call me skeptical if you will.

[Flymutt]

Congrats on your milestone!! My '05 only has 65K on it...i'd better get busy!

[MIMF]

I need to get busy, too. My '05 has 113,000 miles on her and is still acting like it is breaking in.

[grayghost03]

You all need to pick it up, my 08 has 84,000 miles on it, yep some of us actually drive em more then once a week :-)

[Art-n-Marge]

I've read the story and it makes sense. They are trailer transporters working all the time and when they vacation they drive long distances to do so. I don't doubt they got their one million miles but just like when odometers were only 5 digits and rolled over, it's humorous that their digital odometer went belly up and affected the engine when it should have just rolled over. Another example of a manufacturer being short-sided.

I wonder what is gonna happen to a Ford or a Dodge? They mention 600-800 miles a day driving. What are the odds they weren't towing any trailer under 65mph?

[Tfthorp]

Think about how much it cost in fuel!!!!! Ouch

[mlh]

Think about all the money they made with all that fuel they bought. Like my accountant, I was complaining about taxes he looked out over has glasses, never raised his head and said "I'd like to pay a million dollars a year in taxes". I never complained about taxes again.
Lynwood

[DQDick]

My problem is, I retired so I wouldn't have to drive like that or push myself to reach goals like that.

[richfaa]

It was always a question of stability and carry capacity.(pin weight)

[bigskyjimmy]

I do not know why anyone would giggle at a SRW I have a 99 f350 V10 gas SRW that does a great job!rock solid! and tow a 3402rl 39 footer,granted you diesel guys beat me up the pass but OH WELL I do not see a need for a dually but heck whatever works for ya!

[sreigle]

No problems towing with SRW here, either. We've been fulltiming for more than nine years and somewhere around 150,000 + miles with single rear wheel trucks towing Montanas. 3295RK and 3400RL.

As for what happens with Ford or Dodge relative to the Duramax story, I'd bet there are similar stories out there. The majority of those transporters are using the Dodge Cummins, from what I can see. Plus, the Cummins is rated for 100k more miles, MTBF, at least last time I checked. All three will serve you well if maintained properly, as someone noted.

We started our fulltiming in March 2003 with a 1999 Ford V10 gasser, moved to 2003 Ford F350 diesel, then 2005 Ford F250 diesel (and that 2005 F250 had most ratings higher than our 2003 F350 due to frame and suspension improvements), and, now, this 2007 Dodge Ram 3500 SRW Cummins diesel. This truck has over 88,000 miles on it. My log says it has towed this 3400RL 36,000+ miles, with nary a complaint.

As for being a problem towing a Montana, I've never experienced a white knuckle moment that could be related to being SRW. Brakes are the same as the dually and the truck is actually lighter than the dually, so stopping should be slighly better with the SRW. The main difference is carrying capacity, in the bed. Tow rating on the SRW is higher than the equivalent dually (because the dually is heavier). But the rating for weight in the bed is higher on the dually and that relates to pinweight. As noted, though, we've had no problems and it's been rock solid.

There is a point (weight) at where I'd feel compelled to go dually, but we've not yet reached that point. Plus, I like being able to explore places with my 4x4 SRW that no dually can go. To each his own.

[helmick]

quote:Originally posted by sreigle

I like being able to explore places with my 4x4 SRW that no dually can go. To each his own.

Got that right.

[Campingmike]

I have a 2005 Dodge 3500 diesel dually 4x4, my next truck is going to be a Dodge 3500 diesel megacab SRW 4x4...never been in a circurmstance where I felt I needed a dually. Just alot of extra width, which can be a pain in some parking lots. When the right deal comes along, I will trade Love my DODGE !!!