Real towing experiencing with SRW

[norm]

Okay "Fivers", I've been around this forum a few years now and have on occasion shared my opinion based on my experiences. Hopefully someone has found at least one of my experienced based opinions to be helpful. Over the years I have owned a number of TT's, motorhome, and cab overs. Basically, I apparently have adult ADD so my mode of RV'ing interest changes with the wind . I have full timed for a year (2002), traveling the US, pulling a 30' TT with a half ton SRW. Many "experts" on this forum said it couldn't be done safely and would destroy the truck. Yeah, sure pal! Well, it must have been dumb luck. Because not only did I put 20,000 incident free miles on that rig, in one year (like I said...ADD, gotta keep moving!..LOL)but I sold it for top $. So, my point is....while theory and prognostication can be insightful and entertaining, they don't replace "real world" experience. With that said, I am currently considering selling my cab over and trying out a 5th. My tow vehicle is an 04 Cummins 2500 quad (mildly chipped) SB, SRW, with 19.5 tires/wheels and airbags. I would appreciate hearing from "fivers" towing with a similar rig. Specifically, what "fiver" are you towing and what is/are your opinion/s, good and bad?

[Cummins12V98]

norm wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Gemstone wrote:
"Thanks for your honest story!

I think too many people know they really should be towing with a Dually but make every excuse in the book to justify what they have"....

I hope that is not a slam against the rest of us who did not reply with a similar story....which are no doubt just as honest as the one referenced. Is it because the story fit your own preference for a DRW truck ? Did it help justify your personal decision ? I'm just curious as to why you seemed to weight this story more than the others ?

Understandably, there are people who should not be towing a particular rig with a particular truck, like new RV'ers who don't know any different, or as you allude to, hard headed RV'ers who won't accept the fact that they made a mistake. Not that I am looking for one, but I believe everyone who replied honestly about their real world experiences should be thanked for their input to the OP's question....
Threads like this will help new RV'ers make the right decision, and we know it won't do a thing for the hard headed population.

Regards
Gemstone

I appreciate people that realize what they have is not adequate for the job at hand and do something about it!

I could have beefed up my 98 2500 4X4 12V Ram with air bags and 19.5 tires and wheels and been like so many other people that put bandaids on their rigs and pretended it was fine. My Mobile Suites is very heavy so I stepped up and bought a 1 ton Dually to safely handle my new RV.

No slam as you put it but you are right the hard heads won't get it!

I must respectfully challenge your conclusions. To label those that disagree with your opinion as "hard heads" denotes a posture of superiority. Perhaps that is not your intention? Perhaps you can provide factual evidence to support your position? I must also respectfully point out that there is a significant performance difference between your 98 Ram and todays Rams. For that matter, there is a significant difference between a 98 Ram and my HO 04 Cummins. The intent of my post was not to provide a platform for arguing the personal opinions of the merits of DRW versus SRW. Just as I do not engage in posts that promote brand wars. I happen to like DRW's as much as SRW's. If you prefer one over the other because of personal like or dislike, fine, let your personal preference be known. But please do not marginalize another persons choice of equipment based upon unsupported claims of inferiority. Hopefully we are all beyond the "my toy is better than your's" phase of our childhoods by a comfortable and ego secure margin....:B

I am not the one that came up with the hard heads comment I just agreed with him.

The 98 is a different animal but it has the power to pull my MS and with 19.5 tires, air bags rear disk kit built trans and so on but it still would not be safe in my opinion.

The 98 has 300rwhp and 750tq on the Dyno.

The type of person that thinks everything is fine like the guy with the mega cab with 28K combined load are irresponsible in my opinion and should have a Dually.

No brand war here just know there are many people that know they should step but make every excuse in the world not to, like it wont fit in the garage or drive thru, hard to park the list goes on.

It is all about being responsible.

My experience with towing 3 different 5ers with single rear wheeled trucks and now a Dually with a much larger 5er there is no comparison even with 8K less weight with a single rear wheeled truck.

[samandtheduck]

I tow a 33' fifth wheel (16k GVWR) that was weighed at 13.8k loaded for camping (no water and waste tanks empty). I am a few hundred pounds over the GVWR of my '06 2500 4x4 CC Chev. Duramax but well under the axle ratings. I have pulled through the Black Hills of South Dakota and been to Arizona from Canada once with no issues. I have towed tent trailers, travel trailers and smaller fifth wheels so I know something about how trailers handle. The smaller fifth wheel was pulled with a 1/2 ton and it scared me a few times when the trailer seemed to be controlling the truck. I have never felt that I wasn't in control of my load with this setup. That being said I am a very defensive driver and travel under the speed limit and allow lots of room in front of me to stop. I'm in no rush to go up or down a hill and let the Allison do the work. I come from Sask. Canada and it has to be one of the windiest places on earth. The wind cuts my mileage but doesn't push me around to bad.I have not had to make an emergency stop so I can't speak to how that would work.
Brian

[larry_barnhart]

this is getting to be a pain to watch but I still enjoy rv.net. A wide rear end will always be better than a narrow rear for a tow truck.
chevman

[Cummins12V98]

gpshemi wrote:
06 3500 SRW Megacab w/ 285's / 3.73, towing Cyclone 3612 Toyhualer
Hitch: 3200lbs
Dry: 13,800lbs
CAT Scaled: ~28,000lbs with gear.

Runs good. Tows good. Been through two (unfortunately) emergency maneuver with it. Personally, still wouldn't want a DRW. Just my $0.02.

YMMV for sure and that's what really matters.

What does your TV rear axle weigh?

I just hope for your and others sake you don't blow a TV tire.

[Buckeye_Chuck]

Since you asked for real life experiences I'll tell you mine. I have a Sabre 33ckts with a pin weight of around 2500 pounds. I haven't towed it that far to date, around 300 miles, but no problems. tows and tracks like a 5er should straight and true with no sway. In July we will do a 500 mile two state trip. I'll know more after that, but so far so good. I drive a Ford F250 Crew Cab 6.2L with 3:73 gears and love it. We are weekend warriors with maybe a week or two during vacation time so the 250 SRW is all I'm going to own until it gets to be time to start to travel more. Then maybe a F350 DWD but I hear tire and truck companies are working a something called super singles for commercial trucks. If that is true non commercial will not far behind. Time will tell.

-BC-

[norm]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Gemstone wrote:
"Thanks for your honest story!

I think too many people know they really should be towing with a Dually but make every excuse in the book to justify what they have"....

I hope that is not a slam against the rest of us who did not reply with a similar story....which are no doubt just as honest as the one referenced. Is it because the story fit your own preference for a DRW truck ? Did it help justify your personal decision ? I'm just curious as to why you seemed to weight this story more than the others ?

Understandably, there are people who should not be towing a particular rig with a particular truck, like new RV'ers who don't know any different, or as you allude to, hard headed RV'ers who won't accept the fact that they made a mistake. Not that I am looking for one, but I believe everyone who replied honestly about their real world experiences should be thanked for their input to the OP's question....
Threads like this will help new RV'ers make the right decision, and we know it won't do a thing for the hard headed population.

Regards
Gemstone

I appreciate people that realize what they have is not adequate for the job at hand and do something about it!

I could have beefed up my 98 2500 4X4 12V Ram with air bags and 19.5 tires and wheels and been like so many other people that put bandaids on their rigs and pretended it was fine. My Mobile Suites is very heavy so I stepped up and bought a 1 ton Dually to safely handle my new RV.

No slam as you put it but you are right the hard heads won't get it!

I must respectfully challenge your conclusions. To label those that disagree with your opinion as "hard heads" denotes a posture of superiority. Perhaps that is not your intention? Perhaps you can provide factual evidence to support your position? I must also respectfully point out that there is a significant performance difference between your 98 Ram and todays Rams. For that matter, there is a significant difference between a 98 Ram and my HO 04 Cummins. The intent of my post was not to provide a platform for arguing the personal opinions of the merits of DRW versus SRW. Just as I do not engage in posts that promote brand wars. I happen to like DRW's as much as SRW's. If you prefer one over the other because of personal like or dislike, fine, let your personal preference be known. But please do not marginalize another persons choice of equipment based upon unsupported claims of inferiority. Hopefully we are all beyond the "my toy is better than your's" phase of our childhoods by a comfortable and ego secure margin....:B

[norm]

gpshemi wrote:
06 3500 SRW Megacab w/ 285's / 3.73, towing Cyclone 3612 Toyhualer
Hitch: 3200lbs
Dry: 13,800lbs
CAT Scaled: ~28,000lbs with gear.

Runs good. Tows good. Been through two (unfortunately) emergency maneuver with it. Personally, still wouldn't want a DRW. Just my $0.02.

YMMV for sure and that's what really matters.

You have sparked my curiosity?....A couple of questions for you? Do you know what your 5er wet weight is? Do you have an auto? E brake?...You can PM me if you would prefer. I REALLY appreciate your post!

[gpshemi]

06 3500 SRW Megacab w/ 285's / 3.73, towing Cyclone 3612 Toyhualer
Hitch: 3200lbs
Dry: 13,800lbs
CAT Scaled: ~28,000lbs with gear.

Runs good. Tows good. Been through two (unfortunately) emergency maneuver with it. Personally, still wouldn't want a DRW. Just my $0.02.

YMMV for sure and that's what really matters.

[Cummins12V98]

Gemstone wrote:
"Thanks for your honest story!

I think too many people know they really should be towing with a Dually but make every excuse in the book to justify what they have"....

I hope that is not a slam against the rest of us who did not reply with a similar story....which are no doubt just as honest as the one referenced. Is it because the story fit your own preference for a DRW truck ? Did it help justify your personal decision ? I'm just curious as to why you seemed to weight this story more than the others ?

Understandably, there are people who should not be towing a particular rig with a particular truck, like new RV'ers who don't know any different, or as you allude to, hard headed RV'ers who won't accept the fact that they made a mistake. Not that I am looking for one, but I believe everyone who replied honestly about their real world experiences should be thanked for their input to the OP's question....
Threads like this will help new RV'ers make the right decision, and we know it won't do a thing for the hard headed population.

Regards
Gemstone

I appreciate people that realize what they have is not adequate for the job at hand and do something about it!

I could have beefed up my 98 2500 4X4 12V Ram with air bags and 19.5 tires and wheels and been like so many other people that put bandaids on their rigs and pretended it was fine. My Mobile Suites is very heavy so I stepped up and bought a 1 ton Dually to safely handle my new RV.

No slam as you put it but you are right the hard heads won't get it!

[FlatBroke]

Sinterior wrote:
I went from an '06 GM dually C/C long box Dmax, to an '11 3500HD Chevy SRW C/C Dmax standard box (6-6) and it tows my 15000lb fiver better.
I can only say from a GM owners point of view, but in '11 GM made big changes in the frame, brakes and suspension. (same body style)
The GVWR for the 3500 SRW went from 9900lbs, to 11500lbs, which is 100lbs more than my '06 dually.
The changes, including factory exhaust brake, trailer brake controller and trailer sway control made this truck more stable all around than the dually.
And yes, I'm within all weight specs with a 2850lb pin weight and loaded truck.

The question of which truck (2500-3500-3500 dually) is better really blurs with new technology being introduced.

BINGO! Quite a while back I mentioned the 3/4 ton, 1 ton jargon should be thrown out as the new trucks have greatly exceeded the old standards. Still the old comparison is still in use today.

[Gemstone]

"Thanks for your honest story!

I think too many people know they really should be towing with a Dually but make every excuse in the book to justify what they have"....

I hope that is not a slam against the rest of us who did not reply with a similar story....which are no doubt just as honest as the one referenced. Is it because the story fit your own preference for a DRW truck ? Did it help justify your personal decision ? I'm just curious as to why you seemed to weight this story more than the others ?

Understandably, there are people who should not be towing a particular rig with a particular truck, like new RV'ers who don't know any different, or as you allude to, hard headed RV'ers who won't accept the fact that they made a mistake. Not that I am looking for one, but I believe everyone who replied honestly about their real world experiences should be thanked for their input to the OP's question....
Threads like this will help new RV'ers make the right decision, and we know it won't do a thing for the hard headed population.

Regards
Gemstone

[Alley_Fox]

A bigger truck is on my "want" list but for now, I have been towing fine with my DA 2500HD with Ride Rites, 17X8 H2 wheels/Toyo OC tires, Idaho Rob's tow tunes with turbo brake and Bilstein 5100s.

[JIMNLIN]

I've never owned a SRW but I have owned four different 3/4 tons and eight one ton DRW trucks mostly pulling commercially above 25k GCW.

Lots of hype and cheer leading going on by the DRW crowd ..... which is typical

I currently have the '03 2500 Dodge/Cummins 305/555 HO 2wd Jacobs exhaust brake 3.73 NV5600. I also have a 3500 DRW 454 4x4 gazz guzzler beater. I have the DRW strictly for its superior payload from the 4 tires and heavier rear springs for my 16k GN stock trailer moving around locally muddy pastures and stock yards or a muddy work site. I do use the '03 2500 when hauling longer distances as it can muster 12 mpg vs 7 for the 454. The '03 was rated to pull 13350 lbs.

However I use the 2500 all the time pulling my 11200 lb 5er. Zero handling issues in any wind conditions. As you may no the 3rd gen 2500 Dodge 2wd doesn't come with a aux overload spring pack. Huge blunder so I added a set of Supersprings. My previous '01 2500 had the factory aux overloads and had no sag issues carrying the same 5er.

I use the trucks rear axle rating to figure how much load the trucks rear axle can carry which means working with the 6000 RAWR number.

The exhaust brake was mentioned. With a 10k-12k-14k trailer pushing you down the hill you will have a need for a exhaust brake especially if you have the manual tranny. With the exhaust brake I ran 147000 miles on the OEM brakes before adding new pads. Rotors didn't need turning. The truck has close to 220k miles now.

Will you need a DRW or a 3500 SRW or a 2500 truck ?? Depends on how large of a 5th wheel trailer you get and how heavy the pin weight will be.

[Sinterior]

I went from an '06 GM dually C/C long box Dmax, to an '11 3500HD Chevy SRW C/C Dmax standard box (6-6) and it tows my 15000lb fiver better.
I can only say from a GM owners point of view, but in '11 GM made big changes in the frame, brakes and suspension. (same body style)
The GVWR for the 3500 SRW went from 9900lbs, to 11500lbs, which is 100lbs more than my '06 dually.
The changes, including factory exhaust brake, trailer brake controller and trailer sway control made this truck more stable all around than the dually.
And yes, I'm within all weight specs with a 2850lb pin weight and loaded truck.

The question of which truck (2500-3500-3500 dually) is better really blurs with new technology being introduced.

[LostinAZ]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

me1magoo wrote:
My 35' fifth wheel weighs about 12,000 lbs with a little over 2,000 lbs on the hitch depending on stuff loaded in the trailer. My truck was built as a SRW 3500 quad cab, long bed. I towed my previous 5'er which was a 28 footer and weighed about 8,000 lbs and never had any concerns. After several longer trips around the state and into Oklahoma I had a few times that I felt the truck pushed side to side by the trailer either b/c of wind or a rough patch in the road. I decided to get a dually---- so I made my truck a dually. The right way- I swapped in a dually axle and put on stock dually truck tires and wheels and front spacers and put on the fenders on the bed. Now my truck is a dually just like it was built a dually from Dodge. I have towed the trailer a few times since and can honestly say it is more stable side to side, sways less, pulls less in side winds or when passing trucks and is more comfortable steering down the road with less corrections needed to maintain a straight smooth line. NOW- it did get rougher when empty even if I air down the back tires to 45 and it does seem to wander into the tracks in the road a little more when empty since the tires are slightly narrower than the tires that come on the SRW trucks.
I have towed the same trailer with the same truck with two rear tires and with four rear tires and will never take them back off. That's my two cents.

Thanks for your honest story!

I think too many people know they really should be towing with a Dually but make every excuse in the book to justify what they have.

I think you are making light of the negatives of a dually that are probably more important to some of us. I' ve pulled a 38' 5th wheel for 7 years with a SRW truck and have never felt or experienced the need for a dually. And don't have to deal with the extra tires, extra width and extra weight when driving empty!