Do I need a Duelly ?

[jbstack28]

Ok, getting very close to making the plunge. Buying a 40 foot Montana model 3791RD. Empty weight 13225, loaded 16960. My question is do I have to have a Duelly? Or can I get away with a 2500. Hope to go everywhere, include out west. Fairly new at RVing just do not want to over do, nor leave myself with limitations where I can go.

Also what is Hitch, mine is 2960. Is this weight put on the Hitch in my truck?

Thanks so much,

Charlie Stackpole
Montana 2015 3791RD
(no Truck yet)

[jerem0621]

RedJeep wrote:
Dually mpg sucks. Washing the dirty old truck is a pain. Buying six tires is expensive. Running over curbs at the bank and taco bell makes me spill my Coke. Having to park far far away is a pain.

Towing with a dually is Great!

And exhaust brakes are also Great!

you pretty well summed up my experience with Dually's as well.. except you forgot the one where people are asking you for your contractors card, or you get waived through the barrels when approaching road work. yes I am exaggerating.

I hated my dually... except when towing down the highway.. then it was awesome.

I never had an exhaust brake.. I had the pleasure of owning a V10.. I just geared down on hills and it worked great.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[RedJeep]

Dually mpg sucks. Washing the dirty old truck is a pain. Buying six tires is expensive. Running over curbs at the bank and taco bell makes me spill my Coke. Having to park far far away is a pain.

Towing with a dually is Great!

And exhaust brakes are also Great!

[ol_Bombero-JC]

2oldman wrote:
Advantage/disadvantage dually
dually or no 2011
More dually w/5er 2011

I'm not a dually fan - and planned accordingly (via trailer weight/size).

Forget the 2500!..:R

*YOU* need *at least* - a 1T dually.

Suggest you visit the Escapees MDT and HDT forums before dropping the coin on a new dually pickup.

Good luck with your selection.

~

[rhagfo]

ckwizard777 wrote:

jbstack28 wrote:
Ok that is what I thought. Thanks to everyone's Quick and informational responses.
To expand on the question. I had a 3500 dodge previously with a fifth wheel.
It was not a 'Duelly'. Do I have to have that wider base, and additional Rubber on the road to be the safest?

Yes because the weak link is the tires, you will max out the tires weight rating on a srw before you hit the max axle weight rating.
Get the dually.

Not true the listed axle rating on the VIN sticker needs to be equal to or less than the combined tire rating on the rear axle.
If one puts replacement tires on that are not the same rating as the stock tires that is an issue!

The stock tires on my 01 Ram have a weight rating of 3,042# ea. rear GAWR is 6,084#. My truck with optional 265/75-16E with a rating of 3,415#, this doesn't raise the VIN rear GAWR, but does give me an extra margin of safety even at max axle rating.If running max axle rating (per VIN)I am at only 90% of my tire rating.

[The_Mad_Norsky]

Think about SRW versus dually this way.

In most pickups, I would guess 60% of the weight is forward, and 40% over the rear.

So at 40% rear on an 8,000 pound truck, there exists already 3,200 pounds over the rear axle and onto the two (SRW here) tires.

So one tire is already close to capacity just carrying the truck around. Depending on tires of course. Some have load ratings of 3,095 pounds per tire, while other sizes in the 17, 18, and 20 inch sizes have load ratings of up to around 3,600 - 3,700 pounds per tire.

So dependent on tires, the hitch, the passenger weight added, the hitch weight of the fifth wheel itself (the real deal breaker here) is ALL being carried by just the one remaining rear tire.

So you better hope it is not one of those 3,095 pound rated tires.

[Veebyes]

There you go. I'm guessing you got told by most what you did not want to hear.

You are buying a monster & you need an appropriate truck to SAFELY pull it. Put your own life & DW's life at risk if you want just to save a few $ but don't put everyone else's lives on the road at risk because of too much trailer for the truck.

[thomas201]

I will ask you another question. My purpose with a fifth wheel is to drop the trailer and then use the truck for moderate 4 wheeling. DRW, 4X4 trucks can be used in the mud and narrow roads, but it ain't fun.

If this is your goal, you must size the camper for a SRW. Otherwise DRW and drop down about 20% from the trucks tow rating for an easy drive.

[ckwizard777]

jbstack28 wrote:
Ok that is what I thought. Thanks to everyone's Quick and informational responses.
To expand on the question. I had a 3500 dodge previously with a fifth wheel.
It was not a 'Duelly'. Do I have to have that wider base, and additional Rubber on the road to be the safest?

Yes because the weak link is the tires, you will max out the tires weight rating on a srw before you hit the max axle weight rating.
Get the dually.

[Pipeman]

Yup you need a dually.

[mdamerell]

Coming back from CT a couple of years a go we got caught in storms coming through Akron OH. The wind blew the big green exit sign into the right lane along with tree limbs and other debris. Trailer just sat there like nothing was happening. Found out later a tornado came through behind us so we were on the edge of that storm. Driven 18 wheelers for 19 years and that 5th wheel with the dually behaves better than most semis I've driven. We did have to stop and point her into the wind for about 20 minutes waiting for the storm to let up. Rain so heavy you couldn't see the road. Watch the weather radar on my phone.

Going up I-95 into CT and all that construction the trailer light cord came unplugged and I lost the trailer brakes. 20 minutes or so later I was able to get out of traffic and plug the trailer back in. Zip tie kept it from coming loose again but stop and go traffic without trailers brakes is not fun the way they cut in and out of traffic....Don't skimp on truck braking; the trailer brakes can fail.

We have friends who pull a new Bighorn with a 2007 Ram 2500. I asked him about it and he said the dealer called Heartland with his VIN and Heartland said it was ok. I think the dealer blew smoke up his tush. I can't see Heartland making such a statement.

I don't understand dropping $40-80,000 on a trailer and then skimping on the truck to pull it.

[dezl_dr]

I towed with my old SRW 1 ton about 60K miles with 35 foot double slide challenger. It hit the scales at about 13,000. I stopped by a Cat scale and I was within all tire and and axle weights. Total was 21,400 combined.
It towed OK, I had plenty of brakes. But, when a truck would pass me I could feel it push and then pull me. Also During high side winds I had to really work to keep it straight. I hit water standing in VA once at 65-70 mph and thought I was going to loose it. A dust devil just north of Vegas knocked me across two lanes and again I about lost control. The other 10 years of towing was fine. I did have a supercab long bed, and yes the longer the tow vehicle the better. I felt I was safe and towed mountain passes just fine. I lost a rear tire on the truck once, and had in been on say the WV turnpike I might not be here today.

Even though I love the look of the new trucks and 20 inch wheels I love my DRW and how well it tows, the extra margin of safety for the once every 5 year or 30,000 mile instances where the******hits the fan.

Now hitting the scales at 29,040 and a 38 foot rv I wouldn't want a SRW truck for a rig that size.

Think about this, road construction, two lanes with concrete barriers on each side, the lane shifts across the median, with a tractor trailer beside you. The roll at pitch of the road will cause the SRW some issues that might be just enough to rub the side or trade some paint. I wouldn't pull my current rig on a smaller truck, the above happens all the time, to me anyway and the thoughts of it on a SRW gives me white knuckles.

If you plan on towing a lot, get a DRW, it's just set the cruise and drive with one hand, or one finger if you want. Sit back and enjoy the drive.
Or you can buy a SRW, fight the wind, the trucks passing, pitch and roll of the road, maybe you'll never have anything other that long stress filled days, or maybe not.

[Halmfamily]

btd35 wrote:
You need a dually. Mine is same demensions. I pulled it with a SRW once. It's fine on the straight, but get on a curvy road and it feels like the trailer wants to push the back end over. Not a nice feeling.

Be aware that a 40'er doesn't fit on lots of campgrounds like state parks. Hope you're good at fitting it in tight places.

Agree you should get a dually. Pulled my fiver with both a SRW and now a dually and I can feel a difference in stability. As for your length and state parks I have not had an issue in Alabama or Georgia. Good luck.

[DutchmenSport]

Here is something to think about.... the truck that you are most considering ..... does it have enough braking power to stop both the trailer and truck in the event the trailer brakes fail! This is not such a stupid question, as this actually happened to us a couple years ago.... no just once, but about 3 or 4 trips ... no brakes in the trailer and we limped the trailer home. After a couple visits to the shop, found out the brake wires on the trailer rubbed and were shorting out. This we finally learned after the 3rd time to the shop, and they examined both truck and trailer and still missed it the first 2 times.

Believe me when I say, my wife and I were truly on panic mode driving the trailer with no brakes, but at the same time ... completely confident the truck had enough "umph" to it to handle both flawless! We did take secondary roads, got off the interstae, and drove much slower, and I started braking much sooner, and prevented us from getting into any tight squeezes that might require a braking lock-down situation (which never happened).

So what I'm saying is, the bigger the truck, the more tires on the road, the heavier the truck body, the stronger the brakes, is the truck you want.

Far too often, folks consider only the towing ability ... they forget about the braking ability ... If you were in the mountains on the down hill side, and all of a sudden your trailer brakes when out .... what kind of truck would you want to be in? Then, you decide!

[transamz9]

The safest would be tandem duel with 18 speed on tall rubber, but yes a dually will do fine.