Need advise on tow vehicle 3500 or 3500 dually

garysol wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

I know all you guys with SRW trucks think you can tow anything but length of a RV does come into play.

Thats a pretty damn wide brush you paint with.......

Hope you don't get with a side wind out of the blue or have a panic lane change on a 6% downhill grade.

Those are the conditions that are no fun and I am sure the more box there is back there will effect control.

I knew there was a limit to my 2500RAM because I did have conditions make me realize it had it limits.

I am sure you will be fine! My comments are more directed to the 2500 crowd.

Cummins12V98 wrote:

I know all you guys with SRW trucks think you can tow anything but length of a RV does come into play.

Thats a pretty damn wide brush you paint with.......

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Glenn West wrote:
Pin weight on my Teton is 5280. Puts my dually at max on rear axle. Towing at max is no fun and rough on truck. So 3500 dually not good for all of them

My pin is 4,500# with rear axle weighing in at 8,780#. Another 780# would not be a problem as mine rides like a dream as is.

I know all you guys with SRW trucks think you can tow anything but length of a RV does come into play. I truly could not believe how stress free towing my combined load of nearly 29K is in all weather and stopping/lane changing conditions.

I travel a lot along HWY 10 between Palm Springs to Phoenix the wind can come up on you without notice. You have to look along the side of the road at the foliage to see if the wind is blowing.

Bottom line is if you want a big heavy/long RV be prepared to step up to a Dually and even more than that if needed.

My trailers weigh 18,000 and are as long as your whole rig and I have 0, nun, notta problems out of my SRW 3500. I have no air or 19.5 thingys on it either.

retispcsi wrote:
Transamz9 The 5500 does not come in the Longhorn trim. Nor does it come with a sun roof. I do like my comfort. In have previously owned a 2012 Laramie dually and a 2003 srw Laramie, both excellent trucks. As far as towing heavy the dually is superior to a srw. The 5500 has similar tow ratings only with a 4:88 and yes payload is twice as much. The downside is that the 5500 rides like the truck it is. The fuel mileage will be far less then my truck with the 4:10. The post was in ref to srw vs drw and after towing lots of miles with both the drw does a better job.

So what you are saying is that you can have too much truck. Instead of getting more truck you wanted a certain trim and a glass roof. Some of us don't want 4 tires on the rear and to big bubbles on the side of the bed to have to reach over. Your DRW does fine for you and a SRW will do fine for the OP.;)

I drive and tow with DRW trucks day in and day out and have owned them and I still choose SRW trucks to tow my rig. A SRW truck will handle it's rated capacity great and the OP is looking at a rig that can be handled great with a SRW 3500/350.

sdetweil wrote:

Tinbangertom wrote:
Thx. again everybody for your comments I will add the airbags and upgrade the tires in the spring, is the only way to know about the weights is to go to a scale to find out or is their any other way?

A scale is the right way. then you will know the facts.

I would add be sure and get the trucks separate front and rear axle weights as a single gross weight tells you nothing about overloading individual axle/tires.

Tinbangertom wrote:
Thx. again everybody for your comments I will add the airbags and upgrade the tires in the spring, is the only way to know about the weights is to go to a scale to find out or is their any other way?

A scale is the right way. then you will know the facts.

Tinbangertom wrote:
Thx. again everybody for your comments I will add the airbags and upgrade the tires in the spring, is the only way to know about the weights is to go to a scale to find out or is their any other way?

If you have OEM 17's you will have to do more than upgrade tires, a swap to 18 or 19.5 is needed to get any capacity.

Your cheapest solution would be to take the truck back for a 3500 SRW. While the differences are minor, they are things that help with a big pin weight.

You where given false information by GM, or you didn't provide them with the proper weights. There is no way they reccpmmended the truck you bought if you told them it will have a pinweight of 3100+. By the time you add a driver, passenger, and a hitch you will be close to 1,000lbs over GVWR. If GM was given all that data then you should be able to get the proper truck.

It seems wrong to buy a $$$ truck and have to sink 3K+ into it when you knew the weights before buying it.

Thx. again everybody for your comments I will add the airbags and upgrade the tires in the spring, is the only way to know about the weights is to go to a scale to find out or is their any other way?

Tinbangertom wrote:
Ok all I purchased a 2015 Silverado 2500hd diesel il'l post pics soon enough thx. for all the advise as we are probably not traveling many long distances till we retire completely the gm manufacturer ( not dealer) says no problem with the 2500hd with what we are towing the Big Country 3450ts as for the dually,safety checks every year and the city work changed my mind.

GM weights calculator in their online ordering guide shows that configured truck can have a 2700-2800 lb payload depending on actual options and actual base weight packages.Of course the Dmax/A front and rear axle are the same in the 3/4 ton and SRW and DRW so we know it will have no problems pulling the 15500 GVWR-11900 dry weight 3450 TS.

Doing some actual truck load numbers on the combo shows your going to be close if not over a bit on the trucks 10k GVWR.
The biggest safety issue is staying under the trucks 6200 RAWR/tire load ratings as it carries all the pin weight on a short bed crew cab truck.
Generally GM 2500 trucks as yours is configured can have a rear axle unladin weight in the 2900-3000 lb range which leaves a 3200-3300 lb payload before exceeding the trucks axle tire capacities.
The 3450 TS has a 2200 dry pin weight or a 3100 fully loaded pin weight.
Numbers show you will be close if not over on the 6200 RAWR which includes tires/wheels and rear springs.

If your over the trucks 6200 RAWR then its time to do as was suggested and add bags and 19.5" tires and wheels.

The 3500 SRW with its 7000 RAWR is a better choice for the 3450 TS.

don't forget to add almost 80 pounds to the pin weight just for propane...