what would be the main advantage or disadvantage of having a dually over a single truck? (other than the extra two tires to buy)

I will be towing a 5 - 6k boat and I have a camper.

Is the dually a rougher ride or not really.

Thanks

 

get a 2500 . u will spend most of your miles empty so ride easy. dualls just 2 more tire to wear out. 2500 is just the same as a 3500 just 1 leaf of spring.

driver311

 

How heavy is your camper? If you tow just the boat then you don't really need a dually. If you're pulling the boat and also have the camper in the bed then a dually might be a wise choice.

A lot of the campers I'm seeing up here in Anchorage now are big enough to need their own zip code, let alone a dually.

Mike

 

if you are going to go off road on some beaches, usually National Park Service beaches, they do not allow dually on the beach. They actually make you remove one wheel from each side to get a beach permit.

Guess it depends on what & where you are going to use truck. A friend bought the dully for his camper so he could surf fish what a pita to remove the extra wheel.

 

A dually sucks on snow unless it has some weight in the bed or 4wd (I had one in Co.) but the one I have now is fine where I live. Duallies are more stable even with bumper pull trailer. I have two friends that will attest to that. I'd seriously consider one for a slidein but not necessarily for only a 5-6k boat. Craig

 

[QUOTE=DJM;2793079]if you are going to go off road on some beaches, usually National Park Service beaches, they do not allow dually on the beach. They actually make you remove one wheel from each side to get a beach permit.QUOTE]

Wow! That's a surprise. I wonder why...duallys (as noted in another post about snow) tend to float more if not loaded to cap (physics) and when on the sand that's what you want - to float on top of it. Could it be that by limiting it to one wheel per side, and hence limiting the weight before you dig in, they're trying to limit the size of what goes out on the beach?

 

My guess, and it's exactly just that a guess, is that when you air down the dual tires maybe they touch, rub against each other, or they have a tendency to dig in for traction which would result in the rig bogging down.

Maybe some else knows the reason for sure

 

There seem to replies from folks may not have experience with both SRW and DRW. I have had actual experience with both with a 10.5' Lance camper and a 16 ' flatbed trailer with a Jeep on it. I had a SRW Chev 3/4 ton Vortec 350 with airbags, overload springs and other mods. It did not handle the camper/Jeep trailer well, especially in the Rockies where I live. When there were cross winds the truck was unstable and underpowered. It also was under braked, took much too much time to stop. I got a Cummins 1 ton dually and all these problems were fixed. The Dodge is rock stable in the wind and stops very well. I will never go back to a SRW set up unless I stop hauling the camper, etc.

 

The wider stance of the dually alone is worthwhile when hauling a camper. It lends a LOT of side/rocking stability to the rig.

While I have not hauled a camper with a SRW truck, I have a few thousand miles hauling a lance 10.5' camper, and can say with conviction, that I would NOT want to try hauling any camper over 8' with a SRW truck.

Tony

 

I drive both, and my opinion is unless you need it for the weight, take the single wheel. Much better in both mud and snow, and the single wheel will ride alot smoother also. If you do haul heavy now and then, add air bags to the single wheel and it will be alot more stable as well. If i didnt have to gross 30,000 now and then i would dump my dually and run single wheels always.

Do all the research yo can, and then decide, even take both out for a drive and see what one you like better. Good luck with your decision!

 

Unless Dodge changed things - a dually has better brakes than a 1T srw. A 1T srw has the same brakes as a 3/4T. Craig