What Are The Upsides & Downsides To Driving A DRW Truck?

sleepy wrote:
You really did see the jacks... didn't you? Hmmmm just kiddin'

Well .... I indeed didn't notice the jacks as being TC jacks.:o

I see so much interesting stuff on the rear of motorhomes that those round white tubes on the back corners didn't catch my eye.

What DID catch my eye was that there was not a door in the back - just like (most) motorhomes don't have. I'm used to most TCs as having a door in the back - which was not the case in your photo. Also, in your photo that TC looked very wide - just like my E450 dually Class C looks from the back ... hence my question on it possibly being a motorhome.

Based on the dimensions you gave, MAYBE we could fit between those big trees too ... but it would be very close. The trickiest width situation we have ever run into was getting trapped in a small parking lot due to folks coming in after we had parked. We had to have a spotter on both sides help us get out of that parking lot ... about 1 inch between the walls of our rig and a car on each side.

Duallies do sometimes pose a problem .... however, IMHO their advantages far outweigh their disadvantages .... their most outstanding advantage being safety in the situation of a rear tire catostrophic failure at highway speeds.

I agree with you to sleepy and my truck is no grocery getter!! Can do all that with my Adventurer 8'6' model. Did it, done it, Been there..I will be towing with it too with my 5.9 Cummins Turbo diesel and Tranny with power and torque to spare...If I ever upgrade to a bigger TC like yours I would want to upgrade to a dually for those extra 2 tires. Which is the only difference with 3rd genny Dodges. I have same 1 ton axle and brakes. I know members that haul AF 990s and also Lance 1050 slides with my model with minimal mods with no problems.

Agree with you Sleepy, whole heartily! Doug

My TC is 12' in the bed... two Lance 1161 campers weigh as much as three 8 foot TC's... and I have a slide out and 6'8" ceiling that adds weight

I have a full 1/2 of an 8 foot camper behind my rear bumper

I need a real truck, a 1 ton dually... not a tricked out grocery getter

Do you have any idea how many 1161's were sold.

Add the heavier Lance 1191's replaced the 1161's in 2005... they are almost a foot taller. There are thousands on ther road.

And the lance 1181's are huge... their slide have nearly as many cubic feet as an 8 ' TC... they need a ton dually or bigger.

Host has a three slide... haul it on what? Its really huge.

There are many other brands out their that have huge TC's, multiply slides...

The big TC's are needed for large familys or people like me and Janet that travel for months at a time. We couldn't do it in a "starter" TC

The place we go in our 12' TC's require engines that will take us to 12,000 feet or higher, up hill and down... not parked along the road with the radiator boiling over like we see when people who try to use hobby trucks to do big dog work. We never see MH's or trailers up there.

We can pull a trailer or a boat with the TC loaded... no problem... a 1 ton dually is designed to work, and play... without over working the engine, transmission, or suspension...

It's nice to remove the TC at home... use the truck for our projects... and they'll still get the groceries if we happen to be at the grocery store.

And do you know what is best? Watching others look of envy as our rigs goes by.... and you know that they dream about their future big dog trucks every night when they go to sleep.

Sleepy

Wintersun ..You do make some good points. My DW has been talking about a medium size C class in late 2014 !!:R I just purchased the Nitto Durra grappler 285/75r/17 10 ply with a load index of 3970 lbs. at 80 psi. Had to replace the Nitto Terras that lasted 45,000 miles hauling a 11' shadow cruiser and my heavy 8' 6" Adventurer 86 FB that I just weighed again at 3060 lbs. dry. I like the way the truck handles with the Durras. Have not tested camper loaded yet on them. Bad storms here in Dallas. Will try and load TC on truck maybe Thursday.

Well, I have a dually because I have a very top heavy (7' inside ceiling height) camper and like to race around twisty mountain roads really fast! Turning corners really, really fast with a 3,500-4,000lb camper is better with dual wheels.... ;)

:)
Dak

If dually trucks only downside is that they cost a couple thousand more to buy and need an extra pair of tires then why do you suppose that 99% of the trucks on the highway are SRW pickups and why are 80% of the people pulling 5th wheel trailers using SRW pickups?

A DRW pickup is needed for a camper setup that is going to way in excess of 4500 lbs. but that is a small minority of truck campers. Current 3/4 and 1-ton trucks from GM exceed the 1-ton trucks of 5 years ago in every regard and will handle any 10' camper being sold today. Ford and Ram make less capable 3/4 ton trucks for marketing purposes but even their 1-ton SRW trucks have enough payload capacity for all but the 11' campers - where you do gain that super critical dry bath.

As for general hauling other than campers how many people put anything even close to half the payload capacity of their pickups into the bed? I can see no benefit of a large and wide DRW pickup with a huge turning radius and a 11' slide in camper over a Class C motorhome and quite a few big drawbacks, especially in terms of available and easily accessible cargo space.

This is really a great example of rationalizing a purchase decision that has already been made for largely emotional reasons.

I have been following this thread for a few days and do not see any down sides to having a Dually. In 2006 I was living in fort Lauderdale, Florida at the time had was having a hard time finding a good used dually. Not many dealers had any and not many private owners were selling duallys in great shape. At the time should have thought more outside the box. Also my homeowners association had a rule defining them as commercial trucks and were not allowed. I ended up buying a new Dodge 2500 CTD quad cab 4x4 long bed. With the money spend on mods just to make it a 1 ton SRW and do not get me wrong I like the truck and has been great with the 5.9 Cummins but wish I looked harder out of state perhaps. I reside in north Dallas, Texas now and I am in Dually heaven here!! Dually trucks save a lot of time and money when it comes to hauling a TC or anything else. When I am able I will be upgrading to a DRW.

pnichols wrote:
sleepy,

Hmmm .... is that the rear end of a TC or motorhome in your tree photo above?

In either case, what is the width of the TC or motorhome? I'm betting it's around 96 inches??

My DRW Class C on the E450 is 101.5 inches across the back and the duals come out very close to the edges of the coach walls - the spacing of just my duals themselves is easily 96 inches or slightly more. It makes for great lateral stability but lousy travel in forests!

Hmmmmm ... thanks for taking an interest

I read the post ... went away for a while and decided that maybe I should answer.

I know that the author could see the jacks on the RV in my picture... he knows that it's a truck camper. He was pulling my leg.

And I'll bet that he read where I posted earlier that the TC was 98" wide... the widest gap is from the outside of one of the jack base's... to the outside of the opposeing jack base....105.0625" (1' 1/16")

My dually tires are 98" outside to outside.

I don't seem to have any trouble going anywhere as long as there is an 1" to 2' clearence at the sides.

But then my truck and slide in truck camper are only a little more than 27 feet long.

I worry more about all of my solar panels... I can't see them as easily... I wouldnt want to strike a limb or over pass...

You really did see the jacks... didn't you? Hmmmm just kiddin'

Sleepy

sleepy,

Hmmm .... is that the rear end of a TC or motorhome in your tree photo above?

In either case, what is the width of the TC or motorhome? I'm betting it's around 96 inches??

My DRW Class C on the E450 is 101.5 inches across the back and the duals come out very close to the edges of the coach walls - the spacing of just my duals themselves is easily 96 inches or slightly more. It makes for great lateral stability but lousy travel in forests!