maverick66 wrote:
Hey Everyone. Thanks so much for this great information. I am currently shopping for a truck with the purchase of our first 5-ver planned for 6-8 months from now. I've been debating between F250 diesel longbed and F350 diesel longbed dually. Although I would have liked to have the (relative) compact size of a SWD F250, after reading the posts and a number of articles I've decided to go with an F350 dually to give myself plenty of "room to grow" on the rear axle. I'll also likely opt for higher gear ratio to get extra towing capacity.
This will be my first dually truck and I just wanted to ask the folks out there if there are any major handling differences between a SWD and DWD. From a purely handling perspective do folks prefer one over the other? Also, is it a real pain to replace a tire or check the tire pressure on the inner tire of a dually? Thanks again everyone!
I drive my 2500 daily, to and from work, all around town and on trips. I lent it to a friend who drives an F150 and he couldn't believe how rough the ride is. I put it in my garage and zip around town with the best of them. I refuse to have an expensive truck and leave it outside in the Nebraska weather, but that is me. If I were full timing, I would go with DRW, but as a daily driver, I like my setup, a lot! Fully capable 3/4 ton one day, a little air in a bag and you have a one ton the next! I don't have enough weight (12500 gross on the 5er) to have a safety concern because I don't have a dually. If your truck doesn't sag and drives and stops good, you are fine with any 2500 or 3500. Very little difference. I know that I couldn't use a dually like my 2500, and I have to admit, I really like driving my TV. So I am not giving that up to have added "safety" when I don't need it. If you put my trailer on my truck and put the same trailer on a 3500 DRW at the bottom of a 7% grade, drop a green flag; both trucks will reach the top at the same time; safely. And for those of you who think a 3500 DRW will stop significantly faster than a 2500; keep this in mind. Both trucks with the same trailer going down a 7% grade will be just as safe as one another and slow and stop the same. As long as both are equipped for the load (2500 would need a helper spring or air bags), both trucks, DRW or SRW, perform the same. Your biggest safety concern is a tire failure due to a heavy load, so if you overload a 2500, you are really running the risk of that. The heavier, the more the risk. Air bags will give you more weight but will never give you blowout protection like a dual rear wheels. To think that 18000 lbs will be easily handled because you have a 3500 badge and 6 pieces of rubber on the ground is faulty logic. I should hope anybody pulling heavy weight is always cognizant of the weight behind them. Our hobby requires a lot thought, always, on and off the highways. That's what makes getting there so rewarding!
One more thought; I love my Cummins, but the Duramax is a beast AND has the proven Allison tranny. I drove one and LOVED it. Drives like gas with diesel perfomance! They are more expensive, though. That is why I went with the next best, Dodge and the Cummins. $10000 less and I got a Laramie.
