A few weeks ago I broke my own cardinal rule and arrived at the cg after dark. The last 20 or so miles had been driven in deepening darkness on a twisting 2 lane in the Kentucky foothills. Had been a long day, so we just went to bed, without unhitching. While unhitching the next morning, found my outside dually tire completely flat, with a puncture in the sidewall. It was fine the last time we had stopped, so I don't know when it happened. It is very possible that the DRW kept me out of a very dangerous situation on a dark road. I'll never complain about having to park further from the door or not fitting into the drive through.

You are very blessed to have a dually! My DW backed our 1989 Chevy crewcab dually into a gate post and cracked the paint on the rear fender and never drove it again. Three years later we bought a Ram 3500 SRW megacab and she drives it everywhere except towing our 5ver. (She does have the class C with RV endorsement)

When I had both my F350's driving, one SRW and one DRW, similar in year and otherwise similar, the handling difference with the dually was quite noticeable. At similar load weights, and even heavier for the dually, the dually cornered flat, like it was on rails, compared to the SRW. Driving on twisty roads was much better with the dually. Both trucks were similar in overall length and wheelbase length and despite the dually being slightly wider than the SRW, I parked both trucks in all the same places with equal ease. The dually never kept me from doing anything I needed to do or going where I needed to go. It is a myth that you can't park a dually like a SRW.

It's also very possible a SRW wouldn't have experienced the sidewall damage at all. It has a narrower track. ;)Regardless, arrinving safe is always a good thing.

It's simply a matter of pros and cons. Not unlike diesel versus gas or pickup vs SUV. I'm sure a dude in a Prius has barely made it to a gas station on fumes before, but that doesn't make it the best vehicle for everybody.

Buy what you NEED not what will only fit in your garage!

Still can't decide between DRW or SRW? | Good Sam Community

73 Replies

Threebigfords
Explorer
Sep 05, 2016
As far as comparing SRW 19.5" to DRW 17" I have this to add,

First Superduty: 1995.5 F350 7.3 DRW CCLB 4x4 17" E rated stock suspension

Next Superduty: 2003 F350 7.3 SRW CCLB 4x4 19.5" G rated tires Rickson wheels Extra rear overload springs, Timbrens, larger rear sway bar

My experience was that the DRW always felt more stable with the truck camper in it. With bumper pull trailers the difference was less noticeable.

I eventually switched back to an 18" wheel and E rated Toyo MT's on the SRW and felt it was a better compromise for where we traveled, as the 19.5's rode too harsh empty, and didn't work well in the sand.

When it came time to get a new truck, the SRW wasn't even on my radar. Even with the 19.5's the newer F450 rides better than how I had the F350 SRW set up.

As stated earlier, the wide track front axle and tighter turning radius more than make up for any extra width when parking or going through drive thru's.
kennethwooster
Explorer
Sep 04, 2016
After many SRW to tow with and now DRW, its the way to go.
SoCalDesertRid1
Explorer II
Sep 03, 2016
The independent front suspension of GM trucks does ride smoother/softer than the solid axle front ends of 4wd Fords and Dodges. Ford did improve it some when they changed from leaf springs to coil springs up front on the 4wds. It's just the nature of a solid axle, versus independent a-arms.
FishOnOne
Nomad
Sep 03, 2016
GeoBoy wrote:
FishOnOne wrote:
My BIL drove a ram 3500 DRW as a daily driver (farm/ranch) and just grew tired on getting beat by the rough ride. He now switched to a 2015 Super Duty F350 SRW and is so much happier because of the ride quality.

We kept the ram for those special heavy loads but it's not a daily driver anymore.

I can't comment on older Ram 3500's but my 2015 GMC 3500 HD dually rides much nicer than a 2014 Ford 350 SRW that the boss owns. Both of his Ford 350's, 1 -DRW and 1 SRW, ride very rough.

I would tend to agree with you that the front suspension on the GM ride a bit smoother.
GeoBoy
Explorer
Sep 03, 2016
FishOnOne wrote:
My BIL drove a ram 3500 DRW as a daily driver (farm/ranch) and just grew tired on getting beat by the rough ride. He now switched to a 2015 Super Duty F350 SRW and is so much happier because of the ride quality.

We kept the ram for those special heavy loads but it's not a daily driver anymore.

I can't comment on older Ram 3500's but my 2015 GMC 3500 HD dually rides much nicer than a 2014 Ford 350 SRW that the boss owns. Both of his Ford 350's, 1 -DRW and 1 SRW, ride very rough.
Me_Again
Explorer III
Sep 03, 2016
FishOnOne wrote:
Cummins12V98 wrote:
FishOnOne wrote:
My BIL drove a ram 3500 DRW as a daily driver (farm/ranch) and just grew tired on getting beat by the rough ride. He now switched to a 2015 Super Duty F350 SRW and is so much happier because of the ride quality.

We kept the ram for those special heavy loads but it's not a daily driver anymore.

Nice comparison Fish, what year was the RAM?

The last of the good ones... 2007 with a 5.9

Well there you go, proof that Ford uses soft springs to increase ride quality, and they almost all get bagged to carry a load.
FishOnOne
Nomad
Sep 03, 2016
Cummins12V98 wrote:
FishOnOne wrote:
My BIL drove a ram 3500 DRW as a daily driver (farm/ranch) and just grew tired on getting beat by the rough ride. He now switched to a 2015 Super Duty F350 SRW and is so much happier because of the ride quality.

We kept the ram for those special heavy loads but it's not a daily driver anymore.

Nice comparison Fish, what year was the RAM?

The last of the good ones... 2007 with a 5.9
1jeep
Explorer II
Sep 01, 2016
my 2016 crew cab dually has a tighter turning radius than my previous 2011 f250 crew cab long bed and they are both the same length.
SoCalDesertRid1
Explorer II
Sep 01, 2016
I used to take my old GM dually through drive-throughs often. It was a regular cab long bed pickup. The width of the duals wasn't a problem most of the time.

When I replaced the dually with my crew cab long bed single rear wheel F350, I found it harder to go through drive throughs with the F350 than with with dually. The problem is the wheelbase length of the truck. Even though the single rear wheel truck is narrower than the dually, the extra length of the crew cab makes it turn wider. Most drive throughs have a tight turn or 2 to go through. I have taken the crew cab through many drive throughs, but I have to do a little back and forth jockeying sometimes to get it around the turns, which I usually didn't have to do with the regular cab dually.

I find it easier to just park in the parking lot and walk in. No biggie.
AMG1978
Explorer
Aug 31, 2016
I sneak my SRW F-250 6.75' bed through almost every single drive through. Sometimes requiring retracting my mirrors, or slightly pushing the rear tires off the curb, but I have always made it. I wouldn't go in almost every drive through If I had a DRW.

However, I agree if you have extreme payload in your truck, from say a 5er or something, then DRW makes sense. I'd get one if I needed it.