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Old 06-13-2011, 09:55 AM   #1
troutchasers
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Dually Questions & Dealer Addons

We pick up our new F350 crew cab dually this coming Saturday in Florida. It was delivered to the dealer from Ford a few weeks ago. We had a Pace Edwards Jackrabbit cover, bug deflector, window visors and a tint job done on it while it was sitting down there. Our new Montana will be ordered toward the end of the year.

Having never driven a dual rear wheel vehicle before I'm hopeful Folks might offer up some do's and don'ts. You know... tragic mishaps "the other guy" told you about. Things like carwashes, toll booths, etc... Any words of wisdom would be appreciated.

I'm sure the dealer is going to press us hard to stop sitting on our wallets and sign up for extended warranty and/or road side service and what have you. Any advice, experience or wisdom anyone wishes to share? Regrets they may have had AFTER leaving the dealership.

Will post some pics next week. Thanks for any help here.

Cheers!

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Old 06-13-2011, 10:59 AM   #2
Slufoot733
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WOW, congrats on your new tow vehicle. Sounds like a beauty.
My friend is on his second duel wheeled F-350 and he loves them. However, I have watched him while attempting to manuver that monster and have had a few chuckles at his expense. A crew cab duel wheel pickup is a BIG truck. It's considerably longer, and wider, than your usual pick'em up. First, you will find the turning radius is very wide so plan ahead for that. Parking at the mall is another situation you'll have to get used to. And don't even consider most parking garages. Trying to manuver in there is a real bear. My buddy had cars blocked for close to 30 minutes one time in Norfolk, VA, when we entered a parking garage. I had no problem but he had to back down the ramp cause there was no way to turn around.

The duel wheel fender does stick out some so you'll be reaching a little further for that toll booth ticket. Oh, and you can't rotate your tires unless you dismount them from the wheels. The front wheels are mounted one way, the outside rear wheels the other way. And the inside rear wheels are not the fancy aluminum jobs you see outside....they're painted steel. Well, you can rotate them to a degree but you'll end up with the nice alloy wheels inside and the steel one outside. You'll also find that with that long truck and the wide turning radius that the front tires will wear much faster than the rear duel wheel tires.

Please, I'm not trying to rain on your parade. The big duellys are great trucks and it should serve you well for a long time. There are just some points that are different than the smaller trucks. As for the extended warranties (and they WILL hound you to buy it), that's up to you. Personally, I take the gamble. I take good care of my vehicles and so far (knock on wood) they have not let me down. But my buddy burned up TWO automatic trannies on his first truck! He had the extended warranty so he was saved.

One other thing. If your new truck has the automatic transmission GET A GOOD AFTER MARKET TRANSMISSION TEMPERATURE GAUGE....AND USE IT! The one they put in the insturment panel is a joke. That's why my buddy burned his up, no gauge and he didn't know it was hot.

That's it, I'm done. I'll shut up now....enjoy your new truck. And pictures would be nice
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Old 06-13-2011, 10:59 AM   #3
stiles watson
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Be careful. You are big. Look....every where. It is easy to get too close. Do buy the ESP Plan of your choice, but do it online and save some bucks. Park out, away from close quarters and walk up to the store. You probably need the exercise anyway. Right turns are your nemesis.

I hated straight-in parking like in WalMarts. If you have a crew cab, double everything I said. Radar in the rear bumper (if you have it) is fantastic. Even better is the tailgate camera I have in my new F350. I went back to the SRW in my new F350 to eliminate some of the space issues. Enjoyed my dually....mostly. Hope you enjoy yours.
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Old 06-13-2011, 11:00 AM   #4
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Having lived in Anchorage for 14 years, I would say be very careful with the dually in the ice and snow as they are not very good in the traction department. Friend owned a plowing business and tried the duallies but went back to SRW drive as traction was much better and easier to get chains on for plowing. Rear fenders do stick out a little bit so be very careful in your turns. Must go out a little farther before making the turn. Extended warranties can be purchased at a later date when your original warranty runs out. I would suggest waiting on that unless you can get a good deal from your dealer. Remember, the dealer makes a lot of money selling these things.. Most automated car washes do not allow duallies. In fact, I have not found one yet in 3 years of owning a dually that did. Don't know much about the Fords, but an exhaust brake would be a add on I would splurge for. You might already have one from the factory. When you get your hitch installed try and get the Montana dealer to install to match the height of your king pin on the trailer. You want the trailer to sit as level,(front to back), as possible. For the best ride, I would go with an air hitch. Trailer Saver makes a great hitch, albeit costly. I'm sure others will be along to give more advice. Hope this gets the ball rolling for you. Congrats and good luck!!!!
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Old 06-13-2011, 11:34 AM   #5
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We have a dually crew cab -- yes, B-I-G truck. I'm going to point out something that only a short person would. You can't see short people standing behind your truck. That means in an RV park or neighborhood where there are kids playing, don't just jump in the truck and start backing. Go back there and make sure kids aren't standing right up by your bumper. Seriously. I have stood right up behind the truck before and made Bernie get it in the truck. He can barely see the top of my head in the rearview mirror.

Phil is right. We live in Seward and traction is not that great.

These are big trucks. Look twice. Give yourself more room and enjoy!!! We've had ours now for about 9 years or so. We've not had any problems. Even shipped her up from Georgia to Alaska when we moved because it was so much cheaper than buying another one. The only thing I'd do different is buy 4 wheel drive. But we're not planning on buying a new one anytime soon.
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Old 06-13-2011, 12:01 PM   #6
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Just practice driving it around, you'll do fine. Also, ALWAYS use a ground guide when maneuvering the Montana. Now I don't want to irritate my Ford driving friends out there, and I write this in all seriousness, I would get the ESP. Ford has had horrible luck with their diesels. The 7.3 was fine, but 6.0, 6.4, and now the 6.7...the track record is not good. If it was a Cummins or a Duramax I would not get the ESP, but I would with your Ford.
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Old 06-13-2011, 12:37 PM   #7
Delaine and Lindy
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Congratz on the new Ford. As for the dually, the SRW's just wouldn't work for our needs (pin weight). The SRW will not handle the pin weight of our 5th wheel. The extended warrant is nothing more than you betting you will have problems with the Ford. If its a in house warranty it might be alright, however some of the other warranty's just aren't worth the money. Did you ever wonder why the big 3 sells those warrantys??? (MONEY)

As you know you want be using drive thru banks, carwashes etc. However you don't have to worry about pin weight. The braking system is much better and handling is better.

You want have a problem with driving the Dually, remember if the Ford is like the GM's if the mirrors clear the fenders will also.

The DRW Truck is a good choice. You want have a issue with driving. I also recomend a Trailer Saver Air ride hitch, I have owned three of them and really don't want my 5er riding on a steel hitch. The Trailer Saver does as its name says. You may know about some who have had frame issues, I do believe that the Trailer Saver does in fact save the Frames. Good Luck. Happy Trails...
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Old 06-13-2011, 01:01 PM   #8
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Have driven duallys for years, no sweat, just go easy until you get used to it. Even my DW drives it like a champ. Sure they are bigger and much safer. they will take a lickin and keep ticken. As some one said earlier , I prefer the GM. The Allison trans is indestructible. You don't have to make upgrades to have plenty of power, I catch myself running too fast, so I've made a habit of cruise cont.......If you do get the Ford remember to get the heated tailgate option....just kiddin.
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Old 06-13-2011, 01:46 PM   #9
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Congradulations on the new wide body, one comment I can make is when backing up and if you have mud flaps try not to hit those wheel stops when parking it, sometime they are so close to the tire the mud flap hits the cement stop and then the tire will hit the mud flap and runs over it pulling it from its mounting bracket and messes up all kinds of brackets for the flaps.
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Old 06-13-2011, 01:57 PM   #10
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If by new you mean a new 2011 with the 6.7 diesel I thought I read that they drastically improved the turning radius but I don't know if it included the Dually. For this reason I would get a new truck but still not necessarily a dually. My current Ford requires a W kind of U-turn since the Y ain't enough. I almost need 2 counties and some semaphores to make a U-turn since the turning radius is so bad.

I think this might make maneuvering something as big as this dually even more exciting, if it turns better than you expect and the rear end width is not watched carefully. Wouldn't that cause some tail swing on the truck?

I hope you also got the 4x4. I hear from MANY others that a dually without 4x4 is bad news in wet, snowy or icy weather. If I ever buy a dually, it MUST have 4x4.
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Old 06-13-2011, 02:24 PM   #11
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Pay no mind to some on here with brand X or Z ... they fail to remember that their brands have their own issues whether past or present. Selective memory I'd guess. You'll be very happy with your truck once you get used to some of the above mentioned issues. Some swear by their SRW, but I've always run a dually ... like my grand dad used to quote ... one can never have too big a truck. What sold me on dual rear wheels was once in Nebraska, I had an almost instant flat on one of the rear wheels ... had it been a SRW, I'd been changing a tire or calling Roadcare. With the dually, I just continued on to the next town at a much reduced speed on the outside dual. As for the extended warranty, like others, shop around or wait till your factory warranty nears its end ... the "stealer" makes a tidy stash of cash pushing that warranty on you at point of sale.
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Old 06-13-2011, 06:03 PM   #12
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We have the 08 F-350 Dually. It is big, ugly, needs a football field to turn, takes up two parking spaces, will not go through bank drive troughs or auto car washes and is a general PITA to drive around....but... It will pull a house and it is a tough truck.You will love it..

We waited till the 3 year OEM warranty was about up then purchased the Ford ESP plan. You can purchase it from any Ford dealer in the country and at a discount price. Learn to keep a eys on the big butt rear end.
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Old 06-14-2011, 01:05 AM   #13
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Always back in to a parking space, you are less likely to be boxed in by other cars when you drive out. If driving in snow 4X4 is recommended, it works fine with a dually. They are a bit large in tight spaces, but are the best vehicle to have for towing on the open road.
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Old 06-14-2011, 01:44 AM   #14
H. John Kohl
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All good comments. You will find you forget the outside dual is there and it will kiss the curb. Been there done that so I guess that would be the first big difference, watch corners and take them as if the monty was behind you all the time.
Second I find backing into parking spots is much easier. I equate it to parking a wheel borrow. The rear tires is the tire on the wheel borrow and the front tires are the handles.
As stated if the mirrors get by on a straight path so will the rear fenders.
With the duals watch the inside tire pressure. ( I use a tire monitoring system. Mine is TST.)
Practice pulling the spare, check its pressure and put it back. That way you are not learning when it is required.
Congratulations and good luck.
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Old 06-14-2011, 02:07 AM   #15
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Great posts, not anything I can add. Thanks John for the reminder of pulling the spare. I need to do just that. This is my 2nd dually and I've yet to drop the spare to see how it works. This is a very good suggestion indeed!


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Old 06-14-2011, 02:51 AM   #16
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Couple of notes I would add: If you fine your self with cars parked on both side of you (you know those folks who don't want anyone parked next to them, but will park next to you out in the far corner of the lot) pull forward quite a ways before starting your turn. Almost took the fender off on my 05 Dually first time I drove it to work. You may find that you can go thru the Drive-in Tellers, I can with our Bank, but very slow as there's only a few inches on either side, but then you almost have to crawl out the window to reach the machine. I have put good traction tires on mine and find it does very good in that nasty white stuff. Congrats and happy trails.
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Old 06-14-2011, 04:13 AM   #17
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If it is the 2011 Art is right, they have drastically improved the turning radius. Our 2011 DRW F350 turns much tighter than our 2006 SRW F350 did. As for the duals, like the salesman told us; if the mirrors pass ok then the duals will too. I still watch very closely in the mirrors to make sure they do. Car washes are an issue if you don't hit it just right the dual tire will hit one of the tires. Backing up is fine due to the back-up sensors and the back-up camera. I have no problem parking in the back of the parking lots a malls and walking more. Sometimes I take two parking spots to make sure that I have room and that someone without much care for others property don't park too close and hit our truck trying to get in and out. You will be fine, just go out and enjoy your beautiful new truck! We sure LOVE our new DRW truck.
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Old 06-14-2011, 05:05 PM   #18
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Long ago we had an '86 F350 Crew Cab Dually. That thing was a monster! I swear it wouldn't do a U-turn in a football field!

We just pulled our 3400rl 2,000 miles in 4 days of driving (plus a one-day break in the middle) with our "new" 2003 F350 SuperCab Dually 7.3L diesel. Except for two check engine lights (but no code saved - must have been transients) it ran flawlessly!

I'm glad we don't need a crew cab anymore; the shorter length and better turning radius of the SuperCab is great and the dog pack don't seem to mind the lesser knee room.
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