I love my F150, pretty sweet old truck. Runs good.. But
This payload thing is kind of nagging at me. Plus Dually's are flat cool.
Ok, I am digressing.
Straight up, I found a 97 Chevrolet Extended cab Dually in really sweet condition for what I think is a very fair price.
V8, Automatic, cloth interior, everything works.
Now the problem......Its got a 5.7 V8 in it!!! My first thought was... huh? A 350 in a Dually?
Anyway, any of you have any experience with this set up? My trailer is GVWR at 7700 lbs. Surely a 5.7 dually would pull this trailer much easier than my half 5.4. Then again I don't know.
I know, I know, I should hold out for a 454 but,, would this truck actually be much of an upgrade? I know my payload will go way up. Just wondering how the 350 will do pulling the trailer.
thanks!
TT: 1995 Layton 2910
Tow Vehicle: 1999 F-350, v10, 2wd, Crew Cab, Dually
Hitch: Draw-Tite Trunnion WD Hitch
Sway Control: Valley dual friction sway control
Brake Control: Tekonsha Voyager
"It's Kind of Fun To Do The Impossible"
~Walt Disney~
Unless its a dually diesel it's just a pickup with an extra set of tires....
06 Montana 3000RK
07 Dodge 3500 Dually Sport 6.7 Diesel
07 Pearl White Ultra Classic (My new Baby)
10 Chrysler 300 Touring
Texas Boomers---Stop by for a Margie some time!
I have a '97 F350 with a 5.8 V8 (351). It has single rear wheels but being a 4wd crew cab, it is just as heavy as a 2wd dually. Anyways, as long as that 5.7 engine is backed up by 4.10 gears in the axle, it will pull the 7700 lb trailer just fine.
A '97 C3500DRW will have 10K GVWR and 7500 lb rear axle weight rating. You'll have a good 3500 lbs or more payload capacity and 4000-4500 lbs of load capacity available on the rear axle. That's quite a step up from your 1/2-ton pickup. The dually opens you up to the possibility of carrying a truck camper or pulling a fifth wheel trailer with a heavy hitch weight. Your 1/2-ton can't do those things because it lacks the payload capacity.
The dually, even with a 5.7 engine, will be a step up from 1/2-ton for sure. That said, I would hold out for one with a 454/7.4 instead. More power and about the same loaded gas mileage, a bit less unloaded.
A 97 will have a vortec 350 which has 255hp and about 330 lb ft of torque. It has every bit as much power or more than some of the TBI/4bbl 454's I had before the 2000 C2500 with this motor in it.
"IF" the truck suits what you want to do, buy it! Just because it has a smallish motor, does not mean you might not want or NEED the heavier chassis for payload. IF you haul 6 adult size people, at 200 or so lbs ea, HW at 1000 lbs, some toys in the bed, maybe a rack on the truck with a couple of canoes, you could VERY WELL overload a SW rig, and need a dually "JUST" for the needed payload of all the people etc you put in a given rig. BUT, in your case, you may not want or need the power of a 300hp/440 torque BB! Nor do you want the MPG of said BB either!
Like all things great and small, if it suits what YOU need to do with the truck, who is to say one needs a dually for a 7700 lbs trailer. I know myself, with my family of 6, when my kids were adult size teens, I would have the OP's F150 at GVWR before loading up said trailer he pulls, so his truck would be nothing more than a people mover, with NO use for towing a trailer! Different trucks for different folks and how we use them! oh yeah, I am one of them have a rack ont he truck, haul a canoe or two, 6 people at 1200-1300 lbs, 700 lbs of HW........many SW trucks including 2500's are at GVWR or above with a 6500-7000 lbs trailer!
Marty
05 Chev CC D/A LS Dooley
92 Navistar dump truck, 7.3L 7 sp, 4.33 gears with a Detroit no spin
00 Chev C2500, V5700, 4L80E, 4.10, base truck, no options!
92 Red-e-haul 12K equipment trailer
3 Single axle utility trailers
My neighbor used to have that same truck years ago. He pulled a two horse trailer with it all over Southern Indiana. He said it was slower than the other folks getting going and around town but once up to speed he was fine. I love the looks of that year of Chevy Dually's. The only thing to check on the engine is to make sure the intake manifold gaskets are good. they are known to go bad and leak coolant.
blt2ski wrote: A 97 will have a vortec 350 which has 255hp and about 330 lb ft of torque. It has every bit as much power or more than some of the TBI/4bbl 454's I had before the 2000 C2500 with this motor in it.
"IF" the truck suits what you want to do, buy it! Just because it has a smallish motor, does not mean you might not want or NEED the heavier chassis for payload. IF you haul 6 adult size people, at 200 or so lbs ea, HW at 1000 lbs, some toys in the bed, maybe a rack on the truck with a couple of canoes, you could VERY WELL overload a SW rig, and need a dually "JUST" for the needed payload of all the people etc you put in a given rig. BUT, in your case, you may not want or need the power of a 300hp/440 torque BB! Nor do you want the MPG of said BB either!
Like all things great and small, if it suits what YOU need to do with the truck, who is to say one needs a dually for a 7700 lbs trailer. I know myself, with my family of 6, when my kids were adult size teens, I would have the OP's F150 at GVWR before loading up said trailer he pulls, so his truck would be nothing more than a people mover, with NO use for towing a trailer! Different trucks for different folks and how we use them! oh yeah, I am one of them have a rack ont he truck, haul a canoe or two, 6 people at 1200-1300 lbs, 700 lbs of HW........many SW trucks including 2500's are at GVWR or above with a 6500-7000 lbs trailer!
Marty
Marty,
Thank you for this info. my boys are growing and both are over 100 lbs in weight.
I weighed my half ton and my "little" trailer a few weeks ago.
I am over my GVWR on my F150 right now and thats if the boys stop growing! (we know how that works right?) Even though I am under my axle ratings and under my tow rating. (Funny, the weight police always told me that, turns out it was true)
Here is the thing, we would like to buy a golf cart and haul it in the bed, eventually we would like to buy a travel trailer with a slide out. All these things add weight.
I am not disappointed in the pulling power of the 5.4 but the payload is terrible.
We are going to go check out the dually, hopefully I can figure out how to identify the rear axle ratio and if it is 4:10 or lower then I think it would be an ideal Tow Vehicle for us.
Not to knock your current set up , But you will be amazed how much better the dually pulls your trailer. Your towing experience will improve dramatically.
07'Duramax dually,12'Open Range 399BHS
Hawkshead TPMS,Hensley BD3,Killerbee exhaust brake
Blue Ox Bedsaver,air bags w/compressor
Arvika pin box bike rack,Bak Flip tonneau cover
5500 Onan LP,EMS-HW-50
14'Porta Bote w/8.0 Nissan
Vu Cube 2000,Splendide 2000S
A buddy has the truck you are talking about, and he can stay right with my 7.4 dually. It will have the 4L80E trans as it is a 3500. He may be slightly harder into the gas, but I have no way of knowing that. He tows a 26ft enclosed with a very heavy old hot rod, and he goes everywhere. He was going to sell it once, but I passed as it is a 2WD. I would not be afraid of that truck engine combo.
When I upgraded my 2003 F-150 after 2 camping seasons, I wanted to improve both suspension capability and power. I would hold out for a big block, specifically if you can get into a newer 8.1L/Allison.
How does the current truck/TT combo feel? Is is just the numbers in your head or does it feel stable enough to let your wife drive for example? FWIW, the 99+ F-150's had more power and payload. My GVWR was 6750, I think 500 pounds more than my brother's 97 Scab with similar equipment. I am sure mine weighed 300 pounds more, but that truck was stout enough to handle 1000-1500 pounds over GVWR for landscaping supplies.
A & A parents of DD 2005, DS1 2007, DS2 2009 2011 Suburban 2500 6.0L 3.73 pulling 2011 Heartland North Trail 28BRS 2012 VW Passat TDI
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