Dually vs Straight

It is simple, get the truck the has a GVWR and GCWR that exceeds these forces applied by the trailer you plan to tow.

Engine torque/hp, frame strength, brake capacity, etc... should be within an adequate range if you do this.

If you have been on this forum for a while, it should be apparent that a title like yours would bring out all the dually jargon.

Why not crunch the numbers yourself and get what you need and what fits your personal desires?

Me, I would never own a dually or a long bed. My F250 short box meets the towing specs and is the truck that I personally wanted.

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Seriously why would you want to go backwards?

. Exactly.... But, you're gonna do it regardless of advice given, as requested. That's what most do, and knowing they exceed their trucks payload rating as shown on their door post. Justification used - "I've never had a problem" - "Mine tows great" - "mfg ratings are wrong" -?? .... Towing ability has no bearing if you exceed the truck posted payload, and, don't buy the catalog payload ratings. Those are for stripped down models before options. If you get a loaded option list, you can subtract close to 1000 lbs from the catalog payload ratings. Been there, done that, made the mistake myself and learned my lesson. Stick with the DRW.

We've had both SRW and DRW with large 5th wheels and prefer the dually. Just gives more control and security. And as far as DEF is concerned, we bought one of the last dually 2007 GMC Sierra "Classics" around. GM changed models and engines mid year when the new exhaust control rules requiring ultra low sulpher diesel went into effect 7/1/07. We were in the process of retiring at that time and had found our favorite snowbird destination in San Carlos, Mexico. We've spent every winter there since 2007. Mexico doesn't have ultra low sulpher diesel except at a few stations along the border. My Duramax runs just fine on Mexican diesel. Anyone with a newer diesel engine, with DEF and requiring ultra low sulpher diesel is supposedly risking engine damage running the regular Mexican diesel.

I had a SRW F350 and now a DRW 3500, I much prefer the DRW. There a couple bridges we cross over while towing on I20 and we would cringe every time we went over it the SRW, felt li,e your spine would break. The first time over with the DRW we braced and it was smooth, wow. Also no more side to side motion especially in cross winds. Will never go back to a SRW.

Do what you feel comfortable with but... We fulltime and see things go on all over the country. Overloaded and unsafe is a pretty common occurrence. We see folks with the newer trucks with SRW and if you watch them, you can see the difference. We see trucks squatting with too much pin weight all the time. Please keep in mind the safety of your family and others when you're pulling. Yes, we could have stayed with the Chev 3500 DRW when I was still working but in our minds we wanted to be safer yet when we retired and went fulltime on the road. That is why we went bigger yet with the C5500. It was cheaper than a new truck and is a whole lot more stable that the 3500. Stay safe...

I got them both and I can say that DRW is a lot better for heavy trailers.

You'll be just fine.

To answer your question...No problems towing that sized rig with a Reg bed, SRW truck. Mine weighs 14,250 full and no problem with my Ford F350. No pushing, No bounce, No unstable feeling. good handling all around.

DEF is a non issue. A $12.00 jug every few thousand miles when towing. Not towing 5 gallons lasts to 5000 mile oil changes. I do believe it helps gas mileage. I get about 11 to 12 towing.

I can easily understand why one might not want to continue with a dually. But if I were you I might hold onto what you have for a few more years. I think you will lose your shirt for very little gain. And in fact you might feel some loss in handling without the dually. Many that never had a dually don't realize how well they handle heavy trailers.

I had one. It did tow well from a handling point of view. But the inconvenience factor finally got to me. And also the SRW trucks caught up with stronger suspensions. Couple that with the fact that we moved into a house that had a long narrow winding driveway. The longbed, long wheelbase, dually and the 102" wide trailer made it nearly impossible to back down our driveway. So I made the switch to reg bed SRW, and glad I did.

But I went from a 2006 dually to a 2012 SRW. So not really a good comparison.

But the apples to apples comparison, the dually is still the towing champion.

We too went from a SRW to a DRW. The SRW felt squishy as one stated here, but not the DRW - stable.