I am looking at my next truck, and want to see what ya'll think about whether or not what I do constitutes buying a dually. I have a 32' travel trailer (bumper pull that weighs 7700lbs GVWR) The truck will also have an auxiliary tank in the bed. We are planning on a few long distance trips every year, but mostly shorter camping trips. I plan on carrying firewood in the bed, as well as maybe a four wheeler or some toys. I also plan on using the truck as my daily driver, and for hauling firewood and other stuff, etc.

I have had both trucks, and despite the added aggrevation of the 2 xtra tires to buy when you have to, not to mention what a pain doing rear brakes are, plus the loss of fuel economy, not as good in the snow etc. but the xtra stability and safety when towing weighs heavily on my decision. I think I am right on line between either or. What does everyone think?? Eric

 

I went from a 2000 3/4 ton to the 06 dually I have now. Don't think I'll ever go back to a single wheel for towing. I would say get the dually. I think the few downfalls they have are more than made up for in safety and stability.

 

Dually all the way. There's a reason commercial vehicles are dually on all but steer axles.

 

On the 03+ trucks, the brakes are the same job on the rear.

The snow aspect of the whole thing is what really gets me, but I'd do a dually again for sure. No regrets here.

You could take off the inner dual in the winter I guess?

 

With an 8K lbs trailer and living in Maine I'd get the SRW. The SRW is rated to tow way way more than that.

 

I'd have to go with the dually. I had a single wheel pulling the same trailer I have now and the dually is much safer.

 

I went from a 2500 to a dually & I wouldn't go back. But I bought not only because of the heavy 5vr I had at the time but because I knew some day I would have the TC I have now. Plus I plan on towing a boat. You need to think of what long range goals you may have for your truck. I don't know what the big deal is on driving in the snow. I throw a little wood in the back & drive over the mountain passes with no trouble & have only had to use 4x4 because the cop that was checking for chains said you either had to be chained up or have good tires & 4 wheel drive.

 

consider the pros and cons very carefully of you plan on a dually daily driver... that truck will be a pain in the rear at times when it comes time to park it etc, and also consider never being able to take it thru an automatic car wash...

what you're towing is not justification enough for a dually.. I'm towing a 7k trailer on SRW and don't find it "unsafe" at all..

 

I had a 2002 Dually for 3 years that was my daily driver, it never really bothered me at all. As for snow, i agree, a little weight in the bed and a good set of tires and you are good to go. I know that I am no where near the weight capacity that would require a Dually, but I figure that between the weight of the trailer plus 1500lbs or so in the bed at the same time, I might be just a tad safer with the Dually. I am also thiking if I were to have a blowout on a trip the dually wouldn't be as dangerous. The only time the Dually bothered me was when I needed to go out in the field for wood ( got stuck a few times) or changing the rear brakes.

Your telling me that I need to remove the rear axle shafts for all trucks +03 and up regardless fo SRW or DRW, or just the rotor and not the shafts??

 

Personally I would go with a SRW. Your well within the capacity and why pay for the extra expense you have with a dually.

 

I think you would be fine with a SRW, but during the time that you plan to own the truck will you get the itch to get a bigger RV?

I went from an 03 SRW to the 06 Dually because I was looking at upgrading the 30' 5th wheel toyhauler to a big one.

I thought the SRW towed the 30' one fine, and it did, and it was within its ratings... but when I towed the 30' toyhauler with the dually I found it was much more relaxing especially on twisty uneven narrow mountain roads. I didn't really notice driving, but I arrive at the destination much less fatigued.

Now that I have a 40' 5th wheel, I'd have been over the SRW's rear axle weight rating, gross vehicle weight rating, and tire weight rating.

Anyway, as long as I'm towing anything significant, I will always have a dually.

Sure I have to pay a bit more attention to get through a drive thru, and I can't use an automatic car wash, but I can live with that.

 

I have both, a single wheel and a dually. I my opinion, I prefer the single wheel. Duals suck in snow and mud. I know all of you will say a dually is much more stable, but get a good 1 ton on singles, add air bags and you will like it alot. If i dint have to pull 25,000 pounds alot i would get rid of my dually.
To me unless you pull very heavy a dually is not required. I am legally licenced for 21,000 pounds on my 3/4 ton. The truck weighs approx 7700 with my slip tank full of fuel, so that leaves me 13,300 pounds for a trailer.

Look everything over and if you dont haul heavy, stay with a single wheel, you will like so much better, as the single wheel will also ride smother as well.

Good luck on your decision

 

I see people using weight alone as a factor. Sure, 7700 lbs. isn't that much. The difference is this is a 32' long box he's towing. Say it was a car on a 16' car trailer weighing the same amount, I'd probably give a different answer. Weight isn't the only issue here.

A 2010 Dodge Dakota is rated at 7200lbs towing capacity. Granted, this trailer is rated at 500lbs over that, just using it as a kind of extreme example. Would you enjoy pulling a 32' travel trailer behind a Dakota? And yes this is kind of comparing apples to oranges, but I think you get my point.

 

So your saying the DRW based on the length of the trailer? That is something I thought about, but most of my experience towing has been equipment trailers that were heavy but only 17' long and flat.

 

Basically, yeah that's what I'm saying. I've got a 24' travel trailer that weighs about 5000 or so. Not much weight at all behind a Cummins, but pulling it behind my 3/4 ton I had a lot of sway in the wind. Enough that I've had to slow down at times. You've got another 8' beyond that, which only magnifies the sway.

At work I have an 08 Regular cab GMC 3500 SRW Duramax. I regularly pull a 12' dump trailer grossing about 18k and a 25ft flatbed grossing about 18k. These are both GN, so it's a little different. It pulls both fine. I don't know if it's over the ratings or not, I'd rather not look. But, if I had a choice, I'd definitely rather pull either trailer with my dually than the Duramax, just based on stability.