Tow Vehicle - Dual tires in back or single? Which is best?

I know a couple that full timed in a 30' Airstream, towed by a then new 1979 E-350 van. They lived in it for about 15 years, upgrading to a 34' Airstream along the way, also raising the roof on the van by 18" with a fiberglass raised roof. The van had the standard 460" carburetor V8 with about 200 factory HP, and less torque than most V6's these days. But that was one of the more powerful engines at the time, and towed the 18,000 combined weight around the country without troubles. A little slow up the mountain grades, but that was to be expected. It was single rear wheels, and they kept good tires on the van, never having a tire blowout while towing.

I think that the single rear wheel will be much better while driving around town, especially in a parking lot, and will tow the small trailer easy. If the trailer was a 15,000 pound fifth wheel with a 3,000+ pound pin weight, then you might need a dually.

Modern trucks also have heavier rated tires than in years past. Ford started putting on 18" rims in 2005 model year trucks, increasing the GVWR by about 1,500 pounds over the 2004 model. The tire weight rating also went up by about 400 pounds per tire.

Fred.

Out in the western states I seldom see a DRW truck unless it is towing a very heavy horse trailer. The DRW are usually ordered by the dealer with 2WD and with a regular cab or a crew cab. 80% of the trucks I see with a 5th wheel and everyone I know with a 5th wheel have SRW trucks.

Once you put the trailer in a space and unhook it from the truck most people want a SRW truck and the question then becomes which cab and whether to go with a short or long box. Most also go with 4WD.

The people I know who have done extensive towing with their SRW trucks have all praised the shock absorbing king pins like the ones from Trail-Air and others. DRW may be better is you don't have one of these but it is a poorer solution overall.

Where a DRW is needed is with a trailer weight in excess of 15,000 lbs. as the load on the rear tires is such that it needs to be handled by 4 tires.

Jack_Diane_Freedom wrote:
If you are towing a TT then you do not need the dually. Also I have towed six different trailers over the years with 2WD only and never once would have needed 4WD. I would not take my trailer anywhere that would require 4WD to get there and out.

I didn't have a choice as 4x4 was pretty necessary to park it at the house. Is it something against 4wd trucks or "rustic" campgrounds?

Anyhow, I would hold out for a 4wd system and the only downsides to duallies are pretty much economic.

Until you get into size and weight that needs a Dually, it's you choice.
When we got our first Dually we were only towing a 24' no slide TT, yep really over kill, but the dually was a deal to good to pass up plus we were debating moving to a 5er.
But on the flip side, we had been towing with a '95 Chevy 1500 and even tho it pulled OK, at the end of a days travel I was beat. With the Dually, towing became a breeze and I enjoyed the drives.
And when we were ready for the 5er we didn't worry about size or weights.

We have not regretted having our 2nd dually and 2wd. It fits our driving style.

4x4's are better for most but we all know this.

chevman

When we were full-timing, I towed a 32 foot fifth wheel with a 4X2 Dodge 3500 dually. It was also our daily driver. I never had a problem in parking lots at any store or restaurant. I never got stuck.
After we settled down and bought a house and two horses, I used the truck for hauling hay. 35 bales on the truck, and 100 on the flatbed trailer behind it, at 65 to 75 pounds per bale. Never got stuck.
Of course, at the same time I had a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited...

mlts22 wrote:
I used to think that way, buying 2WD pickups, but the trick is to engage 4WD before you get stuck. Otherwise, make sure you bring along a heavy duty wench.

Not sure what you mean by the "wench" part, but I'm willing to listen ;)

As to when to engage 4wd, I usually do it the other way. Use 2wd until you need extra traction, then use 4wd. Seems to me that if you shift into 4wd right away, if and when you get stuck you are really stuck.

mlts22 wrote:
make sure you bring along a heavy duty wench.

Make sure your wife is okay with the wench first. If she is anything like mine she will make you leave the wench at home and just bring a winch for the trailer...;)

Moved to Tow Vehicles

Moderator- TT's

Well the kids ended up getting the SRW Dodge Ram since the dealer called them back and was willing to negotiate a reasonable price.

Thanks Old Biscuit and everyone else for all your help. I shared your feedback with them and they were impressed with all the helpful feedback.

They will be joining the RV.NET family.