Sorry if this seems misplaced, but I figured anyone that hangs out here knows these capacities by heart...

Could someone help me sort out the real numbers when comparing these two when evaluating my future needs for a 5th wheel (not yet purchased) with a pin weight of around 2000 lbs????....

dieselthunder00

I'm fighting the urge to buy a dually.. my wife and the practical side of me says: "single rear wheels are okayyyy..." She looks at me funny when I'm searching Autotrader for 3500's and then I'm drooling over the duallys and my speech is slurred...

 

We got a dually to pull a 5th wheel with a GVWR of about 11K don't remember the exact weight. Dually has less sway I have been told. There is a lot of information on here about the towing capacitys. Either would work well for what you are planning.
Good luck, and let us know what you get.
Dually won't go thru a lot of drive in lanes.

 

I have towed ALWAYS with a SRW. Towed 2500 miles, around town and sometimes little jaunts on the weekends. All spratic at best, I don't do it with any kind of frequency. The FIRST time I towed a bumper pull trailer with a DRW truck it took me all of a month to say to myself, "self go out and get a **** dually". I would vote DRW if a 5th wheel or goose neck trailer are in your future. If your going to have a bumper pull I would vote SRW leanign strongly towards, the dark side...........DRW.

 

little story, coming back from a horse ride guy in front lost control of truck an trailer .they started jack knifing at times i could see air under truck and trailer tires .one horse was throne out of trailer on interstate 81 in va.it was raining beleive it or not the horse was not hurt just some hair missing.i was driving a 99 ford srw crew cab ,wife in truck watching all this .i told her that probaly would not have happened if the guy was driving a dually .she said tomorrow were going to get a dually.got my firstCTD drw i had never driven one before even though i have towed racecars , boats , campers for 35 years.but let me tell you now after towing for the past 5 years with a dually .if i had to go back to a srw i would quit towing.i tow big heavy goose neck trailers an at times i forget they are there.that !!!never!!! happened in 35 years with srw.the only draw backs to a dually are car washes and parking spots are tight. let your wife read this story ,by the way there is one other draw back i have found ,my wife of 40 years that would never sleep in a truck or car when we were towing now sleeps every where we tow and i have no one to talk to when driving.good luck an good night.

 

Well I have hauled with tons of guys and everyone has their own opinion on what works best.

I like the DRW for the simple fact that it doesnt sway and you have a better control, not to mention what if you have a blow out on the rear of a SRW with a load not to fun.

You can get a little bit of firmness back to a SRW with air bags and running a super single style of wheel and tire that will give you a larger footprint.

On real heavy loads you are going to get increase where on the SRW tires but it may equal out because I have 4 in the back that wear slower.

In the end all with what you feel comfortable with your going to be the driver after all!

 

If you feel you want to option to haul a heavier or higher profile 5th wheel in the future, or you want a more versatile truck for towing or hauling, with higher weight ratings, get the DRW.

You will have a wider vehicle, which requires more caution when parking - and of course you will have one additional set of tires to replace. Otherwise, from an operational cost, they don't differ much.

Just as you chose your RV for your USE, so apply the process to your selection of your tow vehicle. Same process for people who choose the quad or mega cab over the standard - or even the 6spd/Cummins over the auto, or perhaps a gasoline power plant.

 

go DRW! if i had a fifth wheel and i was hauling large distances, i would have a DRW. i haul equipment with my truck. skidloaders, tractors, etc. can get heavy, but i never go far or fast. i have driven DRW's. they are nicer and don't sway.

 

Two things here first of all if you ever pull with a dually you will never go back it doesent matter if you are towing a tent trailer or a 38 foot trailer it simply performs better and it is absoluty safer, second same story with a goose or 5th if you pull on of these you will never go back to bumper except for very specific reasons.

 

Oh yeah I fogot!!! In 2 wheel drive DRW form the suck on the ice!!! All that weight spread out gets you pretty light even when you gross out at over 26,000lbs but slap a chain on and you are fine!!

I could do Ice and fairly deep snow drifts on the highway with my last SRW truck with no probs with the DRW it gets tricky in spots!!

 

No offense but I disagree with that.

 

non taken

I just know guys have driven past me and around me and I am sitting there spinning my face off trying to go!! with load or without load my 2wd DRW has a hard time in the ice. It will slip and get all kinds of loose, my srw would do tons better in the ice. Since you have more weight on less tires.

Same thing with the big trucks they will loose there drive tires pretty fast in just a little patch of ice even with all the weight they have but their weight is spread out over 8 tires

 

I would say it depends on how you use it. I have a 32' 5th wheel that has about 2K on the pin. I tow mostly in the mountains and probably run about 5K miles a year(40% of my annual miles) loaded. The dually is nice and stable, comfortable to drive on long runs even with wind. I could handle the same load with a SRW, but I'm sure it would not be as much fun. If I was mostly towing in the flat lands on the highway, I might consider SRW.

On the down side, the DRW can be a pain to park and it's doesn't fit in the carwash .

 

I really dont think there is much difference in sway between a DRW and a SRW, of course a DRW will be slightly better though. A flatbed will make a big difference though. Get the right set of tires on these trucks and it wont matter which one you have, trucks still gonna be way too front heavy when unloaded. But the original question was regarding towing and if that's the primary use of the truck then I would go with the DRW but if you are using it a lot as a daily driver then it might be a matter of preference as to which one you choose, The dually doesnt fit through a lot of drive throughs and can be difficult to find a parking spot but I dont mind, I still get by using it as my daily driver.

 

Hey, thanks so much for your input guys...

..and I did let my wife read this and she says: "alright.. alright.. how about you choose: an automatic dually or a six speed srw?"... When she saw the look on my face she said:"I suppose you want your cake and eat it too?"

Haahaa... still drooling!

I'll keep you posted!...

dieselthunder00

 

After coming from a SRW to a DRW there is a big difference in sway! Just depends on the conditions that you are in I guess to fully feel the difference. Parking is tuff in some places and a blow out tends to destroy the whole fiberglass fender!!

Then again on the sway I have pushed my truck before to the point that even the DRW was getting jerked around make you pucker up at times!!