Pickup truck tow vehicle stability tests

High profile trailers are where the Dually will shine.

I found no difference in handling a 12K equipment trailer tween my 05 dually with 8500 lbs of suspension, and my 96 K3500 that had singles, ONCE I changed out the SW setup with an 8500 lbs suspension.

I would also be willing to bet, generally speaking, that if you took a rig with singles, that are AS WIDE, same suspension tire capacity etc as the dually, BOTH would handle any given trailer the same. Most tests I have seen comparing semis with super singles and duals, the SS setup handles BETTER than the dual tired drive setups. Real issue is to a degree, the human factor.

This is not to say that some single tire tread designs may not be as good as some dual tread options.....Most SS tires I have seen advertised are more hwy oriented. If you drive in snow.....I would imagine a dual setup with traction tires would do better. With or with out chains.

But from a typical pickup standpoint. Duals will generally do better with larger loads than singles etc.

Marty

Repeat...didn't say dually...it is the track...AKA width...

BenK wrote:
Common sense is very UN-common...

stand with both feet touching and have someone push you sideways

Again with feet wide apart

Which one will have that person pushing you sideways easier?

But...this is a common sense topic, so tough to get common sense into the
discussion...

valhalla360 wrote:

RinconVTR wrote:
Take the stability of 2 rear tires and multiply by two...give or take.

OP, am we missing something? Is there a hidden question here?

Wow, not even close to reality. By this logic is we fit the entire length of the axle with tires (say 8 tires) it will be 8 times as stable (it's not).

The answer is yes, dually's are more stable but as long as you are within weight ratings, there is no safety issue. SRW trucks don't fall over because they are missing the training wheels. You would be very hard pressed to document a situation where a SRW would roll but a dually would stay upright while towing.

I suggest you start watching semi's. You will notice a great many are going singles (a little difference as the outside width is held steady). If they were falling over left and right, trucking companies wouldn't use them. That is about as objective as you can get on the subject.

The reason to get dually's is because you need the extra load capacity.

Question was about stability...not load...not safety...stay on topic. You answered the question yourself...but yet you go on.

If you look at the trucks converting from dual to single tires, they are not carrying the highest loads and the single tire is VERY wide. VERY WIDE! Now why would they do that? Hmmmm

Also stability while towing...IMO...does not mean resistance to tip over. Roller over "stability" I don't believe was the point of discussion here, but if it was, I'd simply take measure. The wider version likely wins. And is that not the dually?

Bedlam wrote:
IMO: The extra weight of the DRW fighting the FW helped break the hitch sooner than the width keeping the truck upright. I also feel the kingpin was defective or worn for that separation to have happened.

So just how much extra does a DRW weigh than a SRW, 200# 250# maybe 500# spacers on the front, heaver wheels, unless Aluminum.
Is a DRW more stable that a SRW, it is basic physics! Wider stance, and far more tire capacity. :S

BenK wrote:
Why my Suburban has -1.5" offset alloys....stock is +1.5", so the net for both
sides is an increase in track of 6"...plus that my rims are 10" with stock at 6.5"

Means another 3.5" wider track

Plus my tires are 10mm wider, so 10mm wider track

All adds up to about 10.5" wider than stock track, front and rear

A dually has an even wider track






It is not any one aspect, but all of them in concert that matters...AKA in context


If this guys car had a narrower track...think he could do this with the
exact same car?...or would he roll over?

This is part of what a dually does better than a single with a narrower
track...managing that 'push' and 'sway' from the trailer

leanbar sidewall aspectratio track

Would this car corner harder/be more stable with dual rear wheels?

You would have to have a serious thinking problem if thinking a SRW could be as stable and a DRW on a heavy fifth wheel.

chevman

IMO: The extra weight of the DRW fighting the FW helped break the hitch sooner than the width keeping the truck upright. I also feel the kingpin was defective or worn for that separation to have happened.

There is a forum member who uses the user name Veebyes.

Driving through Wyoming somewhere near Laramie on I-80 pulling their fifth wheel with dually truck, they got hit with a huge side burst of wind.

The kingpin of the fifth wheel was torn out of the hitch in the box and the fifth wheel ended up rolling down an embankment, destroying itself in the process.

The fifth wheel dragged the truck some over towards the shoulder of the road before the kingpin tore loose, but the truck stayed upright.

Veebyes has stated he believes the dual's prevented the truck from following the fifth wheel on down the embankment and rolling too.

Anecdotal, yes, but had this operator had a single rear wheel vehicle, would the results have been the same??????