Pulling a 30' 5th wheel

[Mickey_G]

Is a dually really needed to pull a 5th wheel over a Single Rear Wheel truck?
I know many of you have dually's and say that's the way to go, but what are the pro's and con's with dually's and single rear wheel truck's?
I was looking at a 2008 F350 SRW with a 6.4L diesel, and was wondering if I would go wrong with this truck?

[waltbennett]

I've seen people towing three axle toy haulers with SRW trucks - IMHO, stupid is as stupid does. That said, you can pull anything you want with your truck, just don't have an accident. We're quite pleased with towing our 38' 5er with a dually. No problems with weight, cross winds, etc. Yes, it can be slightly problematic finding parking spaces when doing the tourist thing, but it hasn't been all that difficult in five years and now 45 states. (I drove Glacier's Going to the Sun Highway in both directions with it six weeks ago!)

Since you're thinking about a 30', I'd say you could go either way (unless you're planning on hauling a lot of rocks). 5ers that size usually aren't over 15k GVW and you can adjust pin weight by distributing cargo (if the fresh water tank is at the rear, fill it up).

[Coach-man]

As stated your pin weight is the deciding factor. Don't forget to add the weight of the hitch,passengers, and cargo to the 5th wheel pin weight. Now the big reason for a dually is your wheels and tires. In a dually you can do with average tires and wheels since you would have 4 of them. On a single wheel setup you really need to pay attention since your divide the weight by two! Good luck. BTW I tow a 36 foot Solitude with a Dodge 2500!

[Road_Phantom]

MY 5th wheel is also 30 ft long. You didn't mention the weight of the Trailer. Mine is 8500 at the scale. I pull it with a Ram 2500 Hemi and have no issues whatsoever. We towed it throughout the western states from Pa. and the rig is very stable with power to spare.

[Me_Again]

Durb wrote:
Here are a few esoteric advantages of a dually: When buying used the paint finish probably isn't all scratched up from car washes. I have a tri-fold tonneau cover that I fold up when towing. As a result I cannot see the hitch when backing in to hook up. I use my mirrors to align the sides of my rear fenders with the trailer sidewalls and it centers me on the kingpin every time. I enjoy the peace of mind knowing I have safety margins.

Or you can just install a small video display and camera pointed at hitch.

[Durb]

Here are a few esoteric advantages of a dually: When buying used the paint finish probably isn't all scratched up from car washes. I have a tri-fold tonneau cover that I fold up when towing. As a result I cannot see the hitch when backing in to hook up. I use my mirrors to align the sides of my rear fenders with the trailer sidewalls and it centers me on the kingpin every time. I enjoy the peace of mind knowing I have safety margins.

[muzzledan]

The cons of having a dulley are parking, it won't go through a car wash and you have 2 more tires to buy when it is time to replace them.

[JIMNLIN]

For safety reasons only actual scaled axle weights numbers (tire/ground interface only) should be considered. That way the operator knows if the rear axle/ tire/wheel/spring pack is overloaded.

[MudChucker]

rhagfo wrote:

MudChucker wrote:
Just scaled today, 19680 pounds total, 4200 pounds in the bed of the truck...hardley know its back there.

Sorry, your weight in the bed doesn't make sense! 4,200# is too big for a pin on fiver that would fit within a 19,680# GCVW. Now if the weight of the fiver is 19,680, then about correct.

How can it not ad up ?

The rear axle weight was 4200 pounds higher than with no trailer hooked up.

The trailer axles (both trailer axels fit on the scale at once) were 15480 pounds....i added the 2 together to get 19680.

Have i figured incorectly ?

Keep in mind this is a 5th wheel deck trailer...it weighs 7k, my machine and tooling weighs 7k and a load of steel pipe is about 6500 pounds.

[Hammerboy]

Mickey G wrote:
Is a dually really needed to pull a 5th wheel over a Single Rear Wheel truck?

More than likely not. Those that insist you do, probably will use a 3 pound sledge hammer to drive a 4 penny finish nail as well. Simply check and verify your numbers.

Dan

[1jeep]

OP...30' 5th wheel most likely will be within the weight range for 350srw, depends on the trailer though as some toy haulers are heavier.

ford 6.4 had emissions issues I had an 08 that I deleted, once that was done it ran great. some of the earlier ones had bad radiators also. If this is your first diesel I would avoid it, step up to the 2011 ford 6.7 or look for a dmax or cummins. BUT NONE of them are trouble free, they all have their flaws it just becomes picking the one you like. 2011 up all seem to be good, my previous 2011 ford 6.7 was a great truck down part was it was a 250.

I wouldn't run from a ford 6.4 if I got a great deal and didn't mind tossing it some $$ to delete it.

[rhagfo]

MudChucker wrote:
Just scaled today, 19680 pounds total, 4200 pounds in the bed of the truck...hardley know its back there.

Sorry, your weight in the bed doesn't make sense! 4,200# is too big for a pin on fiver that would fit within a 19,680# GCVW. Now if the weight of the fiver is 19,680, then about correct.

[MudChucker]

Just scaled today, 19680 pounds total, 4200 pounds in the bed of the truck...hardley know its back there.

[mr__ed]

I pulled my 30' Hitchhiker fiver successfully all over the US with my Dodge one-ton 3500 diesel Ram, 6 speed manual, single rear wheels. Never had an issue using a SRW truck. I also liked the idea of having fewer wheels and tires to be concerned with. Of course, a heavier pin weight could mean a DRW setup is necessary. Do your homework before deciding.

[blofgren]

Halmfamily wrote:
If go with the Ford have it thoroughly checked out. The 6.4L PSD had several issues and was replaced by the 6.7L after only a couple years of production. As for the dually or not, I've towed with both and prefer the dually. Just feels more planted and stable going down the road.

X2. And run from that 6.4L Ford diesel. A coworker of mine bought a 2008 new and it had terrible fuel economy. He had it deleted and about 2 years ago it cost him about $12k to repair head gaskets and a trashed fuel system due to a failed HPFP. About a month ago an injector stuck open and fried the engine entirely at 170k kms. He is now trying to decide whether he is going to put a new engine in it or move on to something else.

And his story is not a one off with that engine.