Never owned a dually

Bedlam wrote:

4x4ord wrote:

Bedlam wrote:
That tow rating is not for a high profile camper with large wind drag. I don’t see those numbers being realistic when you have a big brick pushing air.

The wind drag at 60 mph on a high profile fiver is not really that big of a deal..... it might require 60 HP to overcome. There are many things hauled on flat bed trailers that catch much more wind than a 5th wheel.

Ford specifies frontal area in their tow guides. If Ram does not, it does not mean they exempt from physics laws. Look at the validating done with pallets of brick or water tanks - They are not hitching up a 13’x8’ wall when specifying gear ratio for a particular load maximum. If you have towed in gusty winds, you know any type of box or flat surface works against you more than a piece of machinery.

I know what you're saying; you'd think an RV with that big frontal area would pull hard but I have observed otherwise. The effects of wind resistance can be measured quite easily by measuring fuel economy. Pulling my fifth wheel rv I get 8-10 mpg. Towing equipment on my tandem dually flat bed I seldom see 10 mpg and have seen as poor as 5 mpg. I think just towing the flat bed without anything on it I only get about 12 mpg. The flatdeck trailer only weighs around 7000 lbs. I remember being amazed at how much fuel it took to tow this:

I towed it 400 miles at about 50 mph traveling into a bit of a head wind and averaged less than 5 mpg. (I towed it by its own hitch ... not loaded on a trailer)