New Chevy truck

[Papafish]

Hi all. As a new member I've found this site to be very knowledgeable and helpful so I'm looking for some advice on a new TV. Question is, what would you recomend in 3500 Chev TV, SRW or DRW & long or short bed for pulling a 2010 3400RL ? Thanks, Steve

[H. John Kohl]

Every answer you receive will probably be different. I went Dually for more stability in my mind. I went with long bed to haul more stuff. Any of the options you mentioned will work. With the short bed some worry about turning too tight and putting nose of monty into rear window. The newer nose helps to eliminate that and of course a sliding hitch will eliminate it.
Dually's are wide and I have to park out some times.
Good luck and good question.

[Tom S.]

I mostly agree with John, except I don't see the stability issue with dually vs single rear wheels. Others won't agree with me, but we've been from Maine to Alaska, and stability has never been an issue. What I do see however is weight capacity difference - the dually has more. Check with owners here and see if you can get an idea what pin weight will be on the unit before you make and decision.

BTW: if you plan to order new, you can only get SRW's right now, as Chevy will be changing to the new body style for HD's starting in December. Dealers won't be able to take orders until late February or early March

[mlh]

I have a Ford F250 long bed but I'm pulling a relatively light 2955 RL. If I had a 3400 I would wont a long bed DRW. You can get by with a SRW truck but why would you wont to? When I travel most large campers I see are being pulled by single wheel trucks so it can be done so again I see no reason to buy a single wheel truck to pull a 3400. If you already have a SRW keep it but don't buy a new SRW truck to pull that camper.
Lynwood

[mhs4771]

My preferred TV, 350/3500 Long Bed Diesel Dually, Extended or Crew your choice. Next TV will probably be a 450/4500 Series just because of our SOB's weight.

[TLightning]

No doubt...3500 long bed, dually with a diesel engine. The dually has about twice the cargo capacity as a 2500 and much more stability than the SRW.

[akf15e]

I have towed my 2009 3400 with a 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 HD standard bed with airbags and my current 2011 GMC Sierra DRW long bed. Here is a synopsis of my experience. Even though I had a 2500 SRW and not the 3500 SRW you are considering, some of the lessons may be applicable, just to a lesser degree.

Standard vs long bed - towed 2 fivers with my standard bed and never had issues with nose-window contact. I did not have a slider hitch either. I will tell you it was very close a few times where I really had to watch carefully. You must pay attention! With the long bed I never even think about it. Nice peace of mind. Long bed also carries a TON of stuff. Now I must say the long bed I have now is my daily driver and it is a nightmare in some parking lots. Like others have said, just accept parking on the back forty and walk to the store. Long bed will not fit in my garage. Turn radius is terrible.

SRW vs DRW - remember that I went from a 2500 to a 3500 DRW so my towing capacity jumped immensely. However, I still noticed what I perceive to be more stability on the road - no sway, solid as a rock. However, that could also be related to the fact it is carrying the weight better than my old truck. Stopping distance is also going to be a bit shorter with more rubber on the road in a dually. I also love the peace of mind that if a tire goes flat I can get to the side of the road much more safely. The weight carrying capacity of the dually is amazing. I no longer worry about what I toss in the truck or pin weight. You can approach limits on a SRW if you take the kitchen sink. Big minuses - those hips stick way out. Say goodbye to drive-throughs. Toll booths can be scary. Other people will open their doors right into your hips in parking lots, leaving nice dings (another reason to park far, far away). If you don't get valve stem extenders, checking air pressure is a PITA! Tire rotations cost a bit more. When the tires need replacing it is going to hurt 50% more!

My recommendation for your rig (and future heavier rigs, because they don't get lighter!) is the dually long bed if it is in your budget and you can live with some of the inconveniences I've listed. Never having to count pounds and having so much room in the bed is a huge plus for me. However, if not, the SRW 3500 is certainly up to the task with no problem at all, though if you upgrade to an even heavier rig down the road, you could approach weight limits.

[Papafish]

Thanks for the input. What I hadn't included in my initial post is I'm moving from a 2004 silverado 2500HD short bed CC diesel with a pull right 20k slider, so I have the turning problem solved. Stability seems fine but this being my first rig I don't have anything to compare it to. Thanks, Steve

[bigskyjimmy]

Hey akf15e,say goodbye to drive-thru's?????? I take mine all the time through them,toll booths are scary???? how so? and I just park in the back in shopping malls never had a problem with people dinging my hips,valve extenders are cheap and easy to put on yes the turning radius sucks but overall I agree with ya I've had both but for bigger rigs Duallies are the way to go, smaller 5th's I would take a SRW every time they are just easier to ride around town in AND my wife does not mind driving a SRW she does NOT like driving around my dually TOO BIG A BUTT

[dsprik]

Also, you need to consider what you will be doing with that tv. I did a mileage analysis on my towing over 7 years and found I towed with the truck 30% of the miles and used the tv for a daily driver for 70% of the time. Since parking is an issue, especially in the winter months, a dually would be problematic for us - big time. We did upgrade from a 2002 GMC 2500HD D/A to a 2013 3500HD D/A though. We wanted more truck under our Montana, but still be able to park at work. So the 3500 HD SRW was a great choice for our situation. If you are going to be mostly towing with your tv, then I would have opted for the dually - maybe even a 4500 or 5500. So it depends on what you are going to use your new truck for...

[HOOK]

I agree with John Kohl. Dually for stability, much wider stance provides more control.

[mhs4771]

I too have gone through Drive thru's, now some Bank drive thru's are close, so you need to go slow, as for Toll booths, Semi's go thru them all the time without a problem, plus remember that Montana behind you is just as wide as the Hips on the TV.

[twindman]

I have only driven a SRW, so can't speak to the DRW. But I kick myself for not looking for a 3500 instead of 2500 Silverado when I recently purchased it. I think the 3500 carries about 1000 lbs more weight and therefore pretty much eliminates the pin weight issue. I assumed they would be $4000-5000 more, but turns out they are only about $1500 more.
Good luck

[TAKPAK]

Papafish, for what it's worth I have been hauling a 3400 (now upgrading to a 3725) since 2008 with our GMC 3500 single rear tires duramax/allison combo. I went with the one ton rig for several reasons, and it only cost $1000 additional to get the one ton vehicle over the 3/4 ton. First, I just liked the looks of the GMC better that year. Second, I went with the duramax/allison combo because of the pulling power and milage, and I've never regretted it. Third, I stayed with the single rears, because the capacity was not that much different, and because at the time I was still driving in city traffic, and parking in an underground garage, so width of truck was a serious concern.....and still is. Fourth, I just do not like the looks of a "wide hip" pickup. My own opinion, of course. I have NEVER had any stability isssues, even on winding roads. I think the trailer would tip over before I ever lost traction. And, later on, you can always go with a big wider wheel and tire. You notice that a lot of the over the road rigs are now going with a "super single" tire arrangement. Anyway, it's a personal choice, but I've had no problems with the "singles".

[akf15e]

My bad - not toll booths (we don't have them here in NC). I meant to refer to the airport ticket booth for the parking garage I go into all of the time. That I can assure you only has about 4-6 inches clearance on each side. As for drive thrus - I never use them anyway, so I guess I shouldn't have spoken about them. Too many times getting stuck behind clueless people. I'd rather park and walk in anyway. Burns an extra 10 calories from that 800 calorie meal I'm about to have!

[bigred715]

Would definately go with 3500 dually. The new trailers are getting heavier. My 3500 SRW is slightly over GVW pulling my 3000RK, but my GVW is only 9900# and there isn't much difference from the 2500 in 2007.

[Papafish]

Great input and opinions on both sides by all. Thanks. Steve

[Papafish]

Great input and opinions on both sides by all. Thanks. Steve

[jhudson]

I went with the SWR mainly because I did not see a need for the dually. The single wheel GVR is much higher on current trucks. Mine is 11,600 pounds, which is fine for me. Now where you get in trouble is with the rear axle on the SWR is limited because of the tires. Same spring pack and axle as the 3500 dually, but the tires bring the rear axle rating down to, in my case 7050 pounds. But again for my trailer and load I am fine. I am not over any of my vehicle ratings with truck and camper loaded.

Now the funny reason that I don't want the dually. My youngest daughter didn't like the way they looked. She always would say....daddy look there goes another truck wearing a diaper. This isn't the reason I don't have a dually, but it still makes me laugh when I think about my youngest and her opinion of dually trucks.

[sambam]

I've towed with both, love the dually. It does feel more stable. The considerations above are true, parking in the next zip code at the store, the tightness at the ATM, but to me, it's all worthwhile. I have a second vehicle which I use for commuting to work, so mine isn't a daily driver. If it was, I'm sure I would have considered staying with the SRW. I bought the truck long before I needed it. I knew I would eventually get into a 5th wheel, and didn't want my choices to be restricted by my truck. Turns out, I probably could have pulled my Montana with my '04, but it wouldn't have been as pleasant. Plus, I personally love the looks of a dually coming down the road.