Single vs. Dually

[CumminsPusher]

Curious what some people that have owned both have to say. Haven’t considered it till lately due to a couple reasons.
Obviously drive thru, mud/snow that sort of stuff, but more stabile. What are the other positives negatives? Also do they ride much worse on dirt roads?

 

[Admin]

 

[gtsum2]

How much wil you be towing and or hauling? That wil be the determining factor. I have a srw 3500 and tow 17k all loaded up. I’m at max gvwr, cgvwr, and rear axle rating. Any heavier and I would need a dually imo. My payload capacity is 4074lbs and my pin weight is about 3200....when u load family and gear and hitch etc up, it eats up payload quickly


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[JTW]

I wouldn’t think you’d need duals..

 

[CumminsPusher]

Honestly won’t normally be towing much but do haul Pioneer in the bed. Hasn’t been any issue with single. Considering a camper for some weekends is the main reason I’m asking, but it’d only be used occasionally. Pickup I’m looking at is dually and it would be worth more as such, but I had been thinking about single conversion until the wife said she wouldn’t mind driving it

 

[CumminsPusher]

I wouldn’t think you’d need duals..

Not sure I do. That’s why I’m asking questions

 

[kswaterfowler]

Our brush trucks were all duals when I started. Everybody has transitioned to super singles. For us it was the mud and snow problems. Only time I was glad to have them was a fire in az. I spent alot of time in those engines.

 

[JTW]

Honestly won’t normally be towing much but do haul Pioneer in the bed. Hasn’t been any issue with single. Considering a camper for some weekends is the main reason I’m asking, but it’d only be used occasionally. Pickup I’m looking at is dually and it would be worth more as such, but I had been thinking about single conversion until the wife said she wouldn’t mind driving it

How big a camper? I thought that what the jap truck was for

 

[CumminsPusher]

How big a camper? I thought that what the jap truck was for

A larger one, for sure not a pop top. The van is more a local rig. Does awesome for anything under 300 miles. Top speed is 70 so it’s not a cross country rig. Plus camper be nice for family and friends.

 

[Vikes79]

A modern SRW 1 ton pickup will haul a lot of camper.

Unless you are full timing it, I don’t see the need reason for a dually.

For what you may be gaining in stability (debatable) you are going to pay more in fuel and tires and the already mentioned traction problems in the winter and the mud.

 

[DDDonkey]

Unless you are hauling all the time I would not get a Dually, the extra cost of tire and fuel is not worth it.

 

[CumminsPusher]

A modern SRW 1 ton pickup will haul a lot of camper.

Unless you are full timing it, I don’t see the need reason for a dually.

For what you may be gaining in stability (debatable) you are going to pay more in fuel and tires and the already mentioned traction problems in the winter and the mud.

Unless you are hauling all the time I would not get a Dually, the extra cost of tire and fuel is not worth it.

well crap I kinda assumed someone would come up with more good to say and talk me a little more into it. Never owned one but mainly no need is why. Figured this’d be the chance if I were too.
I guess just curious what you all had to say

 

[Alan_Vander]

nowadays basically the options are dually and 3/4 ton. i wouldnt waste the money on a single tire 1 ton. dually on dirt roads wet road empty will get a little squirrelly. i have 12 duramax 2500 4x4. crew cab. iv hauled over 26k gross weight with no problems. other than being illegal. but i usually take this set up when hunting or riding for the weekend

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[JTW]

[QUOTE="Alan_Vander, post: 534295, member: 16853]
iv hauled over 26k gross weight with no problems. other than being illegal.View attachment 163470

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Lol.. that made me laugh!

 

[Alan_Vander]

i will say this though depending on the make the 1 ton come with the higher number ratios for gearing the 3/4 ton comes with lower number gearing. on the chevy when i got mine the options were 3.73 for 2500 and 3500 srw. and 4.10 for the drw and srw. if most the time your running empty. daily driving youll get about 3mpg more out of the lower numeral gearing. with the above set up with camper and sxs im about 18k gross weight rolling down the road with 12-14 mpg. wind on the camper really gets me on mileage. when i haul my uncles backhoe for him. im about 28k gross rolling down the road and get about the same mpg. unless im just speeding around with it i never get below 11 mpg.

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[Alan_Vander]

[QUOTE="Alan_Vander, post: 534295, member: 16853]
iv hauled over 26k gross weight with no problems. other than being illegal.View attachment 163470

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Lol.. that made me laugh![/QUOTE]i actually back that into the campsite all the time all together.

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[elkaholic]

CP, I have owned both. A lot more SRW trucks and DRW. But both times I have owned DRW trucks, I have needed them.

First DRW was when I had a 10 foot Lance slide in camper and even them I was overweight in that 2003 F350. That truck needed bags to make it “comfortable” with the camper and a Jeep in tow.

I had a ‘17 F250 when I bought my current toyhauler and pulled with it for a year. I was over on every weight measure but it pulled fine ... real issue was rough pavement would cause the rear suspension to bottom HARD even with bags at 80+ PSI. With the bags set low, the truck rode rough but I didn’t really realize the difference until I bought the dually this year

It handles the weight soooooo much better than the last truck. No bags on it and I have yet to bottom the rear suspension driving over the same roads. But what surprised me is that the ride empty is better than the 250 was with the bags at minimum pressure. The rear will still beat me if the bump is sharp enough for the ovreloads to contact, but it really is a surprisingly good ride.

Now for the negatives ... if I lived in town or had to drive into town a lot, I think I would slit my wrists. It just simply is a PITA to park in crowded lots. I live in the sticks and commit 75 miles a day round trip. Right now I average 18.6 - 19.4 MPG while commuting - including all commuting miles - which is better than my F250 got. Not bad for an 8700 pound vehicle!




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[Vikes79]

nowadays basically the options are dually and 3/4 ton. i wouldnt waste the money on a single tire 1 ton. dually on dirt roads wet road empty will get a little squirrelly. i have 12 duramax 2500 4x4. crew cab. iv hauled over 26k gross weight with no problems. other than being illegal. but i usually take this set up when hunting or riding for the weekendView attachment 163470

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it used to be that a 3/4 and 1 ton srw were the same. This is no longer the case with Ford anyway. The 3/4 has a smaller rear axel that the 1 ton srw.

pre ‘16 Superduties had a leaf spring and a larger spacer in the rear spring pack.

1 ton Srw trucks have alway had larger payloads than their 3/4 ton counterparts.

 

[JimmyA]

I have a dually and have hauled many sizes and shapes of camper across the USA and if I were going to consider doing it again, you can't beat having the stability of the extra 2 wheel on the rear. Pro's of having a dually, more stabile, better traction in all weather conditions when not loaded the truck rides like on rails in curvy roads , Con's of a dually fuel mpg worse, 6 tires to replace plus brakes ride is very stiff. I would not take for my dually ! Oh by the way it has the 6.7 CUMMINS cranking out 370hp w/ 800ft pounds of torque. My son bought a 3/4 ton truck to do the same as I was doing, less stable in windy conditions, less traction in all conditions but he got 2t3 mpg pulling loads up to 14,000lbs and 4to5 mpg unloaded 19/21 mpg highway with 3:42 gearing. My truck has 3:73's. If you can handle the extra expense of having a dually, you will no regret buying one.

 

[Vikes79]

well crap I kinda assumed someone would come up with more good to say and talk me a little more into it. Never owned one but mainly no need is why. Figured this’d be the chance if I were too.
I guess just curious what you all had to say

On one hand you have the extra expense of tires and poorer fuel mileage, and lousy winter weather driving.

On the other you have better payload and stability.

In the case of a camper that could be towed by either, for me it would come down to how many of the miles I drove would be with the camper vs without. For me that number is well over 75% would have to be towing.

if your camper is such that it’s dually only, then it’s obvious.

 

[Backwoods]

I have owned both and still have my flat bed . I prefer the single rear wheel if weight permits it just for general driving. One of my favorite heavy trucks was a F 350 single. They each have their place .