pwregan

I have been shopping for a newer truck to replace my 1999 and have been seeing good deals on duallys.
Besides tires 6 at a time are the operating costs more for a dually?
I have been told that fuel usage is the same and idk if I believe that.
I don't tow much or often enough to need the drw , but if the price is right- why not?
seems that the same 2 trucks srw and drw - the srw will usually be more expensive
what have you folks found?

patdaly

About the same, DRW is usually less expensive. They can be a pain for you to get used to with their wide "hips", and of course the extra 2 tires are painful when you replace them.

Other than that, I have never known one to get less mileage than a similar SRW Cummins.

They are a godsend when you are towing heavy, much less squirm.

rich

Having had both and mainly duallies. The tires are the main cost difference.

Z06-LITE

If everything else is equal, always go for the dually........

patdaly

One other thing to consider, plates are more for a duallie, at least if you want to be legal.

I can get away with B plates here in Illinois, but you would automatically be suspect with B plates on the 3500.

About a hundred dollars a year more for the bigger plates.

Hvytrkmech

I tow a 15k 5ver with the rig in my sig. I'm all for a dually when needed, if its not needed your wasting your money, if its less than a swr initially, it won't be on the first tire replacement or when a fender gets ripped off of it. I did not compare prices when I bought mine. I knew I wanted a srw so that's what I pulled the trigger on.

Jeff in TD

I had a 3500 SRW and 30' toy hauler. When I started shopping for a bigger unit, I got a similarly equipped dually and towed the same 30 footer with it until I got my current 40'.

Though the SRW handled the 30' unit just fine, I found myself fresher and more ready to play when I got to the campsite when towing with the dually. Somehow the more planted feel seems to be less fatiguing towing up a narrow winding highway.

To me, if you are going to tow a 5th wheel or have a camper of significant weight, a dually is the way to go. New tires does hurt, but the rears on a dually seem to wear longer than they do on a SRW if yiu have a bunch of weight over the rear axle.

If you aren't doing that kind of stuff, then skip the training wheels.

SIXSLUG

You can't get as far off road...wider stance and less traction...

bhaugen

Couple things I have noticed in comparing them.

1. Fuel economy. More duallys are equiped with 4.10 rears. This will cut your fuel economy some, but allow you to tow more with less stress on the drivetrain. Most SRW will have a taller gear.

2. Duallys suck in the snow compared to a SRW.

And also as mentioned the added cost of 2 more tires.

Numidian

Wut? Less traction? 2 more tires = more traction and a lighter footprint.

Wider stance is a benefit in an off camber situation (although I'd turn around long before that in my own dually LOL)

pronstar

But the tires most duallies run are rock-hard street tires, they get stuck way more often than SRW, mostly for this reason IMHO

joem

A stock DRW tire in the snow is horrible, so my friend took 2 sets of chains and welded them together thus each set of tires had one huge chain over them including the gap. Then that truck was like a snow cat and with a 600 pound quad in the back was simply unstoppable! This was a decade ago when we were younger, and yes we did drive it up a packed ski run in the middle of the night!

Numidian

And if you run those same tires on a SRW, you'll have the same issues... That's not a dually issue, it's a tire issue. I haven't done much other than drive on some wet grass in my truck and so far I've had no problems and not even needed 4wd where I would have needed it in my old F150.

pronstar

...and that's what I stated in my post.
We're in agreement.

bentwings

I've got over 300k on my 99. It's mostly a daily driver. About 100 miles a day. I still get 20-21 mpg with 4.10 but I watch the speed much more. I usually cruise right at 59-60. I use cruise as much as possible, especially on the rough roads.

I have to drive over the curb at the bank drive up and get out to operate the tube. It's not a big deal. You just have to watch the "hips".

There is no equal when pulling the GN trailer. Mine weighs right at 11.5 k. I did deliver a 16k equipment trailer earlier this year and it was a bit marginal as the trailer brakes quite about 5 miles into the trip. The dually brakes saved to day.

I learned to drive in snow and ice long before 4wd was common and the rule was just don't go where you will get stuck and carry chains. The dually with chains can get around in about anything.....remember rule #1.

If you want a 'real truck' get the dually....all else are just big cars. haha