I'm considering trading my 6'4" bed Ram SRW for a 6'4" bed Ram DRW (8' bed won't fit in the garage). Having never owned, or even driven one, I have some stupid questions.Can I expect the ride to be more harsh in a DRW, all else being equal?Can I expect similar fuel mileage?Is the turning radius the same?What about tire wear? I assume tire rotation is no longer an option?Just looking for the negatives, I already know that they are less convenient to park and such.

Do they make short bed duallys? I don't think I've ever seen one.

I've never owned a pickup truck so I was a virgin. I jumped straight into the deep end of the pool, buying a F450 dually. The reason for the dually was I didn't know yet what trailer I was going to buy. But I knew that pin weights are often higher than advertised. Also I knew I was going to eventually want to carry extra water, a 3500W generator, and other stuff. That kind of weight adds up.Another issue is managing a heavy load when you encounter heavy crosswinds. Time and time again I read that the duallies are just more stable in crosswinds - which makes sense.To me the ride isn't bad at all. On good roads it's actually incredibly smooth. On bad roads I can definitely tell this is a 1 ton truck with jiggling back there. I suspect when the trailer is hooked up it will be fine.I opted for the long bed because I knew I would need the room to carry all the stuff we'd be bringing along. I opted for the F450 because it turns much tighter than the F350 - about 6 ft tighter. I can make a U-turn in the truck on a 4 lane road. You'd have to do a 3 point turn with most other trucks this long. Finally the F450 has gigantic 15.4" brakes. That should help with a heavy trailer in the back.So far I'm really impressed with the truck. I've not towed with it yet as our trailer won't be here for another 2 weeks. The acceleration on this thing is phenomenal. It feels like a 747 taking off.

agesilaus wrote:Do they make short bed duallys? I don't think I've ever seen one.Ford made one and may still. Have never seen a GM or Ram from the factory.There are companies that stretch frames on the mega cab rams, but the conversion is mega $$$$$$$$. Like a D/A Suburban mega $$$$$$$$.

Mega cab Ram is a short box, but the same length as quad cab 8' box. Crew cab 8' box is the longest in the Ram line at about 24'.

We have a 3500 DRW Mega Cab. The towing is much more stable. Overall is about as long as a crew cab long bed. Tire rotation can be done with steel wheels not so easy with aluminum wheels. The ride is no harsher then a 3/4 ton truck.

Never owned a dually | Good Sam Community

161 Replies

blofgren
Explorer
Apr 07, 2018
Me Again wrote:
Cummins12V98 wrote:
Plenty more to discuss here no need to close!

We need to find someone in the NW with a 3.73 Aisin dually and a 3.42 Aisin dually and do our own test including your 4.10 Aisin dually. Might be fun day. Highway 2 Stevens Pass would be a good place to test them.

I would be willing to come down for that! :B
Passage0ftime
Explorer
Apr 07, 2018
Larry-D wrote:
2015 RAM 3500 dually with about 48K miles so far. I still curb the rear tires sometimes. I park out in the parking lot because it fully and a little more takes up the whole space. The truck's rear "hips" stick out about one foot on each side. Front tires wear 2x the time/distance than the rear. Had to replace the front @ 38K because some belts broke in each. Same brand on the rear are fine. Rides great. Turning radius is wide, possibly the 4wd causes some of that.

I have been told that when you change tires on a dually you have to do all six at once. The explanation I got was that the wear on the tires gradually reduces the actually radius of the tire, and having differing radius will harm the differential and transfer casing. Truth or urban (country) legend?
4x4ord
Explorer III
Apr 06, 2018
Me Again wrote:
Cummins12V98 wrote:
Plenty more to discuss here no need to close!

We need to find someone in the NW with a 3.73 Aisin dually and a 3.42 Aisin dually and do our own test including your 4.10 Aisin dually. Might be fun day. Highway 2 Stevens Pass would be a good place to test them.

What you would find if you tested the three different gear ratios with the same trailer behind each truck on various grades the winner would not always be the same gear ratio.
FishOnOne
Nomad
Apr 06, 2018
OP,
My advice is to enjoy that new jewel...
Me_Again
Explorer III
Apr 06, 2018
Cummins12V98 wrote:
Plenty more to discuss here no need to close!

We need to find someone in the NW with a 3.73 Aisin dually and a 3.42 Aisin dually and do our own test including your 4.10 Aisin dually. Might be fun day. Highway 2 Stevens Pass would be a good place to test them.
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Apr 06, 2018
Plenty more to discuss here no need to close!
Learjet
Explorer
Apr 05, 2018
I thought after "dude" and "panties in a wad"...this thread was over...guess not :)
4x4ord
Explorer III
Apr 05, 2018
larry barnhart wrote:
Me Again wrote:
blofgren wrote:
I am speechless as to how far this thread has gone..........

Yet, people to discredit what RAM engines state the trucks can do with a given axle ratio. they appear to know a lot more than the engineers that designed them. Chris

Is it any different than souping up an engine that the engineers designed.

chevman

The idea of "souping up" an engine is to make that engine perform better. Selecting a higher numerical gear ratio than what the engineers recommend for a particular weight trailer without knowledge of how the engineers derive their values will likely cause the tow vehicle to perform worse..... slower up the hills and poorer fuel economy. I can see selecting a lower numerical ratio than what is recommended .... you stand to gain a little on fuel economy, especially running empty at the expense of a few miles per hour on the odd hill. There are some buyers who are capable of doing the math and calculating what gear ratio is best for their unique application but those individuals are not going to be asking the question on a forum.
Powerstroke2000
Explorer
Apr 05, 2018
Currently have our F450 '09 Ford CC King Ranch 4X4 dually, and it has impressed me from day one, and still does! There again I take good care of my vehicles, but the F450 has a very impressive front wheel turning radius, compared to the 3/4 ton trucks. The OEM sound system is wonderful, as are the components in the truck. I've added a programmer, even though I'm now a senior citizen, any hill can be climbed at whatever speed I choose. I've added air bags, as I pile on an Arctic Fox 990 (with slide) camper in the bed, then attach an 18' enclosed trailer behind and it's never complained. I do have the 'Torklift Superhitch & truss extension, as I have an added custom set of stairs on the camper.
I park in the far reaches of parking lots, giving me plenty of room, and fold the mirrors in when parking (push of a button). I've never had a cracked fender....so I'm not sure where that comes from on some trucks other than bad drivers perhaps?
JIMNLIN
Explorer III
Apr 05, 2018
well dude don't get your panties in a wad, your not a thread police either however the op 5 days ago says.....
"Wow people, it's over. The decision was made, and then made again. It’s not completely uninformed. I have been towing with 3.42 gearing for several years. I understand that not everyone agrees, and I don't care.