Jrork wrote: First off, I apologize for stirring up a ****storm over this. That was never my intention. I was just blown away how much better the dually drove compared to our old truck. Wasn't implying that a SRW won't work and in fact, I thought I did mention that our old truck served us very well.
For those wishing us well, thanks very much. We're headed out this weekend and can't wait.
Basically you are right. Big truck campers work "better" with big dually trucks. Basically that is a fact.
Brad or others like myself really don't want a dually and have mid size TC's where a SRW works just fine.
I was just amazed even with my pop-up the difference between a 5th wheel and putting on a truck camper. The difference between towing a heavy load vs sitting it in the back of the truck bed is night and day.
Even those of us who don't want a dually are happy for a fellow TC'er who has a set-up they really like and it's working for them....congratulations.
dadwolf2 wrote: Brad or others like myself really don't want a dually and have mid size TC's where a SRW works just fine.
Ah……….no. I luv my dually and I would not say the two srw trucks that we hauled our 4,000 lb Lance on for 6 years did a “Fine” job. At best the srw trucks did an adequate job most of the time until we also wanted to tow a 7,000 lb trailer. But I am honest enough to admit that a dually comes with its own set of issues, compromises and trade-offs.
Putting a dually under a truck camper will solve many problems, but create others. I listed 20 something possible issues, but the list is far from complete. People who are considering buying a drw truck should be told the whole story on duallys and carefully consider whether the drw benefits outweigh the drw problems. I remember a fellow on this forum many years ago who traded his practically new srw truck in on a brand new drw only to find out that his neighborhood covenants did not allow trucks with more than 4 tires to be parked on their property overnight. That is called learnin' something the hard way.
Brad
* This post was
edited 04/24/12 08:07pm by BradW *
Internet forums only exist to serve their members; never the other way around.
1996 Lance 500 and 2006 F-350 PSD 4X4 DRW Our Truck Camper Photos
As far as a dually being too wide to fit in a garage, if the mirrors on your single rear wheel truck will fit in the garage, so will the rear tires/fenders of a dually. The mirrors are wider than the rear tires.
The only issue I had fitting my dually into the garage was the length, not the width. The washer/dryer at the back of the garage meant I only had about one inch of clearance in front and rear of the truck between the garage door up front and the washer/dryer in the back.
If you have a single garage door that is only 8' wide, a dually pickup's rear fenders likely won't fit, since most are close to 96" wide. However, you'll be swinging in the mirrors to make a single rear wheel truck fit in that same garage....
"Won't fit in the garage" is a lame excuse... You KNOW that you haven't been able to fit a vehicle in that garage in 10 years, and there isn't a snowball's chance in heck that your vehicles will see the inside of that garage in the next 10 years.
2002 Chevy 3500 DRW 8.1L/Allison
2000 Palomino B1500
...and the reason why I need a DRW to haul a Palomino:
2004 United 7x14 tandem axle enclosed toy trailer
2011 PJ 8x20 7-ton deckover equipment trailer
JRORK, went down that same road also with my 2001.5 CTD Ram 2500 4x4 Quad Cab. Thought I could make my truck handle my Eagle Cap 1050, all I did was make my truck adequate, but never felt truly safe. I did everything including upgraded rear sway bar and 19.5 rims/tires. All in all I spent close to $5500 on upgrades over the years on that truck. That's a lot of wasted money.
Last year I finally broke down and bought a new Ram 3500 dually CTD C/C L/B 4x4, the difference with the camper on the truck was night and day. The only upgrades on the truck are the Rancho RS-9000 shocks (without remote my last truck has the air compressor for the shocks) and stable loads. Total spent on upgrades was less than $1000, hmmm. No more two fisted white knuckle drives either!!!!!
Yes, this truck is not my daily driver not just because it's a dually, but diesel fuel is damn expensive and my truck is very long. I also have 2 other vehicles to drive. When I bought my house 20 years ago I ensured I had room to expand in my garage. My big A$$ dually will fit in my garage, proper planning on my part. It's a close fit, but it fits!!
I laugh when people state that it's hard to park a dually at Wally World and such. Yes, it is hard to park if you insist on parking up front where you will get shopping cart dings. I always park far away no matter what I'm driving, I value my cars and the little walk isn't bad either.
Some say that duallies are poor for forest service roads. Partially correct!! I don't go true 4 wheeling with my camper on my truck period. Plus and my camper is as wide as my dually. It's not my truck that is the limiting factor it's my camper. I also fight forest fires for a contractor during the summer and we use F-550s extended cabs on almost any forest service road. The forest service uses type 4 International trucks (duallies) Yes, there are some roads we cannot get down, but I wouldn't take my camper down there on a SRW either. If I had a popup then maybe yes, but then I wouldn't need a dually.
I like it when those SRW people with the 19.5" rims/tires tell me that I have to spend more for my 2 extra wheels. HMMM lets see which is more expensive. My Toyo 19.5" tires (from my last truck) listed for $350 each and I can buy 17" tires for $200 each (new truck). So lets do the math 4x$350=$1400 and 6x$200=$1200. Looks like the dually comes out ahead. Yes, I have 2 more tires to balance, but I don't need a special shop to do it and most shops charge more to balance and mount the 19.5" tires anyway.
There are many reasons to not own a dually and I understand most reasons. If you don't have a big camper don't get a dually, it's that simple. Big campers require a dually for safety sake. You can make that SRW work with all those expensive upgrades including the 19.5" rims and tires, but your just fighting the truth.
2011 Dodge Ram 3500 4X4 Crew Cab/LB, Rancho RS9000XL, Stable Loads, Superhitch and FastGuns. 2009 Eagle Cap 1050, Hickory interior with on-board generator, A/C and Honda EU2000
I like it when those SRW people with the 19.5" rims/tires tell me that I have to spend more for my 2 extra wheels. HMMM lets see which is more expensive. My Toyo 19.5" tires (from my last truck) listed for $350 each and I can buy 17" tires for $200 each (new truck). So lets do the math 4x$350=$1400 and 6x$200=$1200. Looks like the dually comes out ahead. Yes, I have 2 more tires to balance, but I don't need a special shop to do it and most shops charge more to balance and mount the 19.5" tires anyway.
Show me your 17" tires with 70,000 miles on them. I have a set of 19.5" Michelins with 70,000 miles on them and I intend to get another 30,000 out of them before I re-groove them. I don't balance my tires - I let the Centramatic dynamic balancer do the balancing for my 14 PLY 19.5" tires and wheels.
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