Looking for New Dually - Montana Owners Club

Wicked1 · 05-27-2018, 10:00 AM

Anyone have a Dodge RM 3500 dually? I am trying to find out which one Dodge, Ford, or GM gets better mileage when not towing as I use my TV for personal and everyday use as well.

I am getting 19-22 everyday going back and forth to work, 19 combo and 17-18 just in the city with my 2016 F350 PSD Crew SB

After buying our Montana we decided to add some more safety margin and upgrade to a Dually so now in search of a good all around truck. IMHO they all perform well and have similar options but just need the DRW for stability, better payload.

My current Montana is 13,200#’s loaded and we don’t plan on loading more or going bigger but I would feel better with a Dually for stability.

PNW Fireguy · 05-27-2018, 10:19 AM

I think that your gear ratio will probably have a more significant impact on your gas mileage. We have an older Ram 3500 DRW (2011) have 4.10 rear end. That results in about 14 mpg as a daily driver. The trade off is it pulls our monty like a pack of sled dogs when going through the mountains passes out west.

mlh · 05-27-2018, 10:43 AM

You are wasting your time asking. Everybody drives different in different conditions so everybody’s mileage will be different. The real truth is there won’t be much difference. They are all about the same size engines about the same HP and torque and weight close to the same with near identical engine management so there won’t be but very little difference in your day to day driving. Buy the truck that fits your needs the best. Go drive the all several times and buy the one YOU like the best and what I think don’t matter.
Lynwood

**AZ Traveler** · 05-27-2018, 10:52 AM

Agree with Lynwood. Would also spend a fair amount of time on test drives in congested areas to see the tradeoff of a dually as a daily driver.

BB_TX · 05-27-2018, 12:52 PM

As Lynwood and Zack said. Depends very much on the driver. I can drive conservative and get 20+ mpg highway on my F350 6.7 3.55. Or run 75+ and drop to 19 or less. Same for everyday driving. Watching my mileage and I get 16 mpg or more combined city/hwy. Get a little more aggressive on starts and stops and it will drop to 15.

1retired06 · 05-28-2018, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlh

You are wasting your time asking. Everybody drives different in different conditions so everybody’s mileage will be different. The real truth is there won’t be much difference. They are all about the same size engines about the same HP and torque and weight close to the same with near identical engine management so there won’t be but very little difference in your day to day driving. Buy the truck that fits your needs the best. Go drive the all several times and buy the one YOU like the best and what I think don’t matter.
Lynwood

Agree 100%

mlh · 05-28-2018, 07:18 AM

I just sold an F150. I was getting 22 MPG. The friend who bought it is getting 19 with about the same driving conditions.
Lynwood

richfaa · 05-28-2018, 07:31 AM

Understand the daily driver issue. We do not use our dually as the daily driver it was purchased for the sole purpose to tow a heavy Montana and to stay within all specs in doing so. One has to make the determination as to what the primary purpose of the truck will be then purchase accordingly. If one is a weekend camper or low use Rver perhaps the dually is not the proper choice. We are long timers and travel many,many miles per year and we travel heavy. Our daily driver is a Honda Odyssey. MPG is a concern but these big trucks and heavy RV's are not going to get high MPG and MPG was not the primary concern when purchasing the proper truck for the job.

2 Yoopers · 05-28-2018, 07:35 AM

I agree that the gear ratio has the most significant effect on your gas mileage. My F 450 comes with a 430 gear and gets 14 mpg with the 6.7. Love the way it pulls though.

mhs4771 · 05-28-2018, 08:39 AM

Probably the one thing that effects MPG the most is the right foot of the driver, with grear ratio next. Weight seems to have minimal effect as I pulled a little 24' TT, then a 30' TT, and then our '10 2955RL Monty and so no real difference in towing mileage.

TLightning · 05-28-2018, 11:38 AM

They'll all do the job with about the same MPG. The higher rear end ratio is not really necessary. I would avoid that and it will help your mileage.

Wicked1 · 05-28-2018, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TLightning

They'll all do the job with about the same MPG. The higher rear end ratio is not really necessary. I would avoid that and it will help your mileage.

I was looking at the F350 Dually bc I drive it everyday for work so thinking the 3.55 would be better and I am a gentle driver not very hard on my gear

PNW Fireguy · 05-28-2018, 07:27 PM

With all due respect for us the gear ratio was a big consideration. Out in the west we regularly traverse mountain passes (not hills). The higher gear ratio made a significant difference for our towing through the passes. The trade off was a little poorer gas mileage. That was a price we were willing to pay. Our friends have a similar setup but with a more gas friendly rear end gearing they get a little better mileage while not towing but it's a tougher tow through our mountains passes.

It's a personal choice based upon what is important to you and your priorities.

powerhaulic · 05-29-2018, 06:14 AM

3.73 gear here, no choice on a GM truck.
No shortage of mountain pulling power, did 11.1mpg from Fla to upstate NY via I77/I79 NC and WV mountains at 24040#.
Get 21-22mpg empty highway, 15-17 around rural roads home.
Extremely pleased in general with our Truck

dfb · 05-29-2018, 05:27 PM

2017 ram 3500 dually 4x4 aisin, 4:10.. 6000 miles.. empty about 16.7,,, town,,,11... we have a hybrid as a primary car.. hyundai sonata ...46 mpg...

Dam Worker · 05-29-2018, 06:55 PM

I just bought a new F350 DRW with 4.10 gears. It was a hard decision on gearing with the 6.7 diesel as they offer only 4.10 or 3.54 or something close to that. I probably would have liked 3.73 or 3.91 as either of those would probably fit my driving style and the weight I plan on towing. As mentioned before if you drive easy and are not at 75 mph express ways you should get decent mileage. I think as a general rule a lot of Chevey owners get good mileage along with several me of the Dodges. I think Ford seems to be a bit more hit or miss on mileage. I think Chevy and Dodge are doing more upgrading to their 2019 trucks than Ford is but they were behind especially in the technology area. Waiting until the fall of 2019 will get you a diesel with a ten speed transmission at least for the Fords. If you have enough gears you can still run towing rearend gearing and just add a few more over drive gears for running solo.

Tom Marty

Wicked1 · 05-30-2018, 01:18 PM

We have a friend who works for GMC I used to work for GM but just have to wait and amsee what they do with the GMC Sierra 3500’s

Our 2016 F350 with 3.55 gears Crew SB SRW does fine towing the Montana, but we will wait a year or so before deciding if we want to upgrade. I know the DRW also do the 4.10 in the F350 Dually and 4.30 in the F450 Dually but don’t need that much power, we only do a few trips per year and our unit is under 14,000 #’s loaded

MARK A · 06-01-2018, 08:17 AM

I have not heard this first hand, but it is my understanding that DRW pickups aren’t allowed on the Road To The Sun in Glacier Natl. Park any longer. These folks have to rent a car for the drive. Seems very inconvenient.
Mark

dfb · 06-01-2018, 08:38 AM

never heard of that NP..

dfb · 06-01-2018, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wicked1

Anyone have a Dodge RM 3500 dually? I am trying to find out which one Dodge, Ford, or GM gets better mileage when not towing as I use my TV for personal and everyday use as well.

I am getting 19-22 everyday going back and forth to work, 19 combo and 17-18 just in the city with my 2016 F350 PSD Crew SB

After buying our Montana we decided to add some more safety margin and upgrade to a Dually so now in search of a good all around truck. IMHO they all perform well and have similar options but just need the DRW for stability, better payload.

My current Montana is 13,200#’s loaded and we don’t plan on loading more or going bigger but I would feel better with a Dually for stability.

It was extremely difficult finding our Ram.. we wanted the truck that is advertised as a towing capacity of over 30,000 lbs. Dealers DID NOT STOCK THIS TRUCK!. Lots of little kids trucks however. Every Dealer had shortbeds. Lots of them. VERY FEW longbeds, and even fewer duallies. Finding a dually ,aisin, autolevel, 4:10s, took 2 years!... Dave smith in idaho had 400 trucks and not One truck what we were looking for. GM DID NOT have the tow capacity, i have owned 3 powerstrokes, so it was Ram..If you want fuel mileage, you need a smaller trailer. Pulling 13,000 lbs is not conducive to to great mpg.. i think a 3:42 instead of the 4:10 will get lower mpg towing. The engine must work harder to tow the load. Truck is in tow haul in 5th gear, unlike the 4:10s..But for everyday, i think the Gm may have the best mpg. Dad's 06 2wd duramax got 23 on the hiway. My fords and dodges never did that well..

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