She didn't like the DRW.

[wgm2011]

After years of research and planning, 2014 is (was?) the year we get a nice 5th wheel and do some traveling.

The good news is the wife and I both really like the Heartland Big Horn and Big Country 5th wheels. We're looking at their smallest unit but even those at around 35' length loaded will come in at 14,000#.

I'm in this to travel for relaxation. I've no interest in any white knuckle driving. We will mostly travel the nice and flat Mid-Western USA but don't want to rule out a trip or three into the Rockies at some point. Just trying to be realistic, we need to buy a 1 ton DRW pickup at a minimum.

The bad news, we test drove a nice Chevy 3500HD crewcab 4X4 this past weekend. We barely made it around the block and my wife, the driver, pulled the truck over and said "NO, I'm not driving this thing."

She has no problem with a surburban, but those two extra wheels just don't sit well with her.

I still want the Heartland but now she wants me to find an RV that is 2500HD acceptable. I've not worked up the numbers recently, but last spring we were trying to find a fiver that would work with a 3/4 ton pickup. I don't know what others consider an acceptable pin and loaded trailer weight, but I don't think there is much out there that's really rated for a 3/4 ton truck.

So I've got three options. 1)Find a 5th wheel small enough to work well with the smaller truck (might be able to talk her into a 1 ton SRW, but that don't increase the ratings by much) or 2)keep trying to convince her the 1 ton DRW will grow on her in time (married 35 years and really don't see this happening) or 3) just blow it off and make some hotel reservations.

Any recommendations? Anyone out there that really hated those dual rear wheels but after a while just got used to them? Or am I being too critical on how much a 3/4 ton can carry? Those of you with 3/4 ton trucks, what do you consider acceptable?

I guess I'm just sort of burned out. Had it all figured out and that goes out the door with one little test drive. (Oh, and to all those truck salesmen that have a funny line to use in this situation, trust me. They will not think its nearly as funny as you do.)

Thanks.

Bill

[Michelle_S]

I got our fist Dually in '05, took a little getting used to those hips, but after a while everything settles in and it drives just like anything else. Now our '11 is our only vehicle and we drive it everywhere.

[butchfuzion]

If she is freaked out with the dual wheels what will she do with the 35 foot trailer dragging behind?

[rtazz17]

john&bet wrote:
Food for thought. Four years ago I saw a Ford 3/4T with what looked like a 32'+ TT in south bound lanes of I-65 south of US-50 that had jack-knifed with its rear up on a guard rail and trailer partly over same and still hitched. road was dry and it was daylight. I don't know what happened. So was it to much tail for dog, careless driver, someone got in his way and drove on, I have no idea. Bad stuff happens to nice people.

Honestly I dont think this has anything to do with anything.Yes bad things happen to nice people but what does that have to do with subject at hand.The truck you saw in ditch may have been totally within weight limits and safe.Accidents still happen no matter what.Like you said too many variables of what may have happened and no facts of what did happen.Are you trying to say a dually could have prevented this? If so that is a far stretch of the imagination without any facts.

[NC_Hauler]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

NC Hauler wrote:

ramgunner wrote:

NC Hauler wrote:
As an "aside", I don't know about a 29,000# towing capability....maybe for the 3500 Dually short bed regular cab with Aisin and 4:10....BUT, you have the same truck I do...mine weighs 9400# ready to tow, full tank of fuel, full tank of DEF, toolbox in the back as well as my Reese 20K Signature hitch, two boxers and the wife and myself...GCWR of the truck with 4:10 is 37,600#....That being said, If I were to hook up to a 29,000# 5er, I'd be at 38,400#, which would put me over my trucks GCWR by 800#...so, sometimes one has to look at the configuration of the truck and weigh it to see just how much they actually could tow....

I never said that I'd tow that much, but that's what the rated capability is per Ram specs (curb weight figured). The idea was having more than you think you need to provide a safety margin. You won't find many 5th wheels that will put you at that weight to begin with. The ones I'm leaning to have a max weight of around 19,000.

MIsunderstood...sorry, I know that is the spec for a Ram 3500 DRW regular cab, short bed with 4:10 2wheel drive....Still yet, I figure, if I don't go over my payload rating, we "should" be able to tow a 5er in the 26,000# range and still have some to spare:)

Thinking of stepping up a bit Jim?

No, I've stepped up about as far and high as I can right now, no good, I mean old good buddy:B

[Cummins12V98]

NC Hauler wrote:

ramgunner wrote:

NC Hauler wrote:
As an "aside", I don't know about a 29,000# towing capability....maybe for the 3500 Dually short bed regular cab with Aisin and 4:10....BUT, you have the same truck I do...mine weighs 9400# ready to tow, full tank of fuel, full tank of DEF, toolbox in the back as well as my Reese 20K Signature hitch, two boxers and the wife and myself...GCWR of the truck with 4:10 is 37,600#....That being said, If I were to hook up to a 29,000# 5er, I'd be at 38,400#, which would put me over my trucks GCWR by 800#...so, sometimes one has to look at the configuration of the truck and weigh it to see just how much they actually could tow....

I never said that I'd tow that much, but that's what the rated capability is per Ram specs (curb weight figured). The idea was having more than you think you need to provide a safety margin. You won't find many 5th wheels that will put you at that weight to begin with. The ones I'm leaning to have a max weight of around 19,000.

MIsunderstood...sorry, I know that is the spec for a Ram 3500 DRW regular cab, short bed with 4:10 2wheel drive....Still yet, I figure, if I don't go over my payload rating, we "should" be able to tow a 5er in the 26,000# range and still have some to spare:)

Thinking of stepping up a bit Jim?

[NC_Hauler]

ramgunner wrote:

NC Hauler wrote:
As an "aside", I don't know about a 29,000# towing capability....maybe for the 3500 Dually short bed regular cab with Aisin and 4:10....BUT, you have the same truck I do...mine weighs 9400# ready to tow, full tank of fuel, full tank of DEF, toolbox in the back as well as my Reese 20K Signature hitch, two boxers and the wife and myself...GCWR of the truck with 4:10 is 37,600#....That being said, If I were to hook up to a 29,000# 5er, I'd be at 38,400#, which would put me over my trucks GCWR by 800#...so, sometimes one has to look at the configuration of the truck and weigh it to see just how much they actually could tow....

I never said that I'd tow that much, but that's what the rated capability is per Ram specs (curb weight figured). The idea was having more than you think you need to provide a safety margin. You won't find many 5th wheels that will put you at that weight to begin with. The ones I'm leaning to have a max weight of around 19,000.

MIsunderstood...sorry, I know that is the spec for a Ram 3500 DRW regular cab, short bed with 4:10 2wheel drive....Still yet, I figure, if I don't go over my payload rating, we "should" be able to tow a 5er in the 26,000# range and still have some to spare:)

[ramgunner]

NC Hauler wrote:
As an "aside", I don't know about a 29,000# towing capability....maybe for the 3500 Dually short bed regular cab with Aisin and 4:10....BUT, you have the same truck I do...mine weighs 9400# ready to tow, full tank of fuel, full tank of DEF, toolbox in the back as well as my Reese 20K Signature hitch, two boxers and the wife and myself...GCWR of the truck with 4:10 is 37,600#....That being said, If I were to hook up to a 29,000# 5er, I'd be at 38,400#, which would put me over my trucks GCWR by 800#...so, sometimes one has to look at the configuration of the truck and weigh it to see just how much they actually could tow....

I never said that I'd tow that much, but that's what the rated capability is per Ram specs (curb weight figured). The idea was having more than you think you need to provide a safety margin. You won't find many 5th wheels that will put you at that weight to begin with. The ones I'm leaning to have a max weight of around 19,000.

[NC_Hauler]

ramgunner wrote:
We went with a 2014 Ram 3500 CTD/4.10/AISIN transmission/DRW/CC/LB which gives us 29,000 lbs towing capability. Live in town in Las Vegas. It is a long and wide rig.

That said, the DRW and length are things that you grow accustomed to quickly. You realize that you won't want to park with up front most places, so you plan to park out a distance where you can take a couple of spots. It doesn't turn on a dime like my old Wrangler TJ, but my Wrangler TJ could not even tow 2000 lbs safely.

I have seen a lot of folks tow dangerous setups. I've seen them tow over their weight capacity. I've seen them tow tandems with a 2500 SRW. They can get the load moving fine, but often find they have a hard time managing the load once in motion. Often they manage just fine. But you have to deal with your worst day. Can you safely maneuver and stop the load in an adverse situation?

For me, a trip back up to Salt Lake from St. George convinced me to go with a rig that can safely manage whatever I reasonably put behind it. I saw an SRW rig on the other side of I-15 that had just wrecked coming down a small hill. Looked like a RW blow-out but I couldn't be sure - no other vehicles were involved. The 5th wheel was destroyed, as was the truck. I know that the persons in the cab were injured, but there was no safe place for me to pull over as I was on the other side of the freeway. Others on that side did pull over.

About a mile down the road there was a UHP vehicle going their direction, but didn't have it's light on so he wasn't aware of it. It looked like a case of the load getting out of control.

We went with a rig that gives us the best safety margin possible when towing - a safety margin for the worst day. As for around town, you learn the differences and adapt to deal with the width and length. It's not that bad, and even driving around the Las Vegas strip is manageable with it. The capability and safety margin it gives us for that worst day is worth the few parking and tight-area maneuvering issues we run into.

As an "aside", I don't know about a 29,000# towing capability....maybe for the 3500 Dually short bed regular cab with Aisin and 4:10....BUT, you have the same truck I do...mine weighs 9400# ready to tow, full tank of fuel, full tank of DEF, toolbox in the back as well as my Reese 20K Signature hitch, two boxers and the wife and myself...GCWR of the truck with 4:10 is 37,600#....That being said, If I were to hook up to a 29,000# 5er, I'd be at 38,400#, which would put me over my trucks GCWR by 800#...so, sometimes one has to look at the configuration of the truck and weigh it to see just how much they actually could tow....

[john_bet]

Food for thought. Four years ago I saw a Ford 3/4T with what looked like a 32'+ TT in south bound lanes of I-65 south of US-50 that had jack-knifed with its rear up on a guard rail and trailer partly over same and still hitched. road was dry and it was daylight. I don't know what happened. So was it to much tail for dog, careless driver, someone got in his way and drove on, I have no idea. Bad stuff happens to nice people.

[ramgunner]

We went with a 2014 Ram 3500 CTD/4.10/AISIN transmission/DRW/CC/LB which gives us 29,000 lbs towing capability. Live in town in Las Vegas. It is a long and wide rig.

That said, the DRW and length are things that you grow accustomed to quickly. You realize that you won't want to park with up front most places, so you plan to park out a distance where you can take a couple of spots. It doesn't turn on a dime like my old Wrangler TJ, but my Wrangler TJ could not even tow 2000 lbs safely.

I have seen a lot of folks tow dangerous setups. I've seen them tow over their weight capacity. I've seen them tow tandems with a 2500 SRW. They can get the load moving fine, but often find they have a hard time managing the load once in motion. Often they manage just fine. But you have to deal with your worst day. Can you safely maneuver and stop the load in an adverse situation?

For me, a trip back up to Salt Lake from St. George convinced me to go with a rig that can safely manage whatever I reasonably put behind it. I saw an SRW rig on the other side of I-15 that had just wrecked coming down a small hill. Looked like a RW blow-out but I couldn't be sure - no other vehicles were involved. The 5th wheel was destroyed, as was the truck. I know that the persons in the cab were injured, but there was no safe place for me to pull over as I was on the other side of the freeway. Others on that side did pull over.

About a mile down the road there was a UHP vehicle going their direction, but didn't have it's light on so he wasn't aware of it. It looked like a case of the load getting out of control.

We went with a rig that gives us the best safety margin possible when towing - a safety margin for the worst day. As for around town, you learn the differences and adapt to deal with the width and length. It's not that bad, and even driving around the Las Vegas strip is manageable with it. The capability and safety margin it gives us for that worst day is worth the few parking and tight-area maneuvering issues we run into.

[NC_Hauler]

padredw wrote:
I have enjoyed reading this thread and long ago decided to stay out of it, but Wolf Creek Pass encouraged me to share my experience.

Admission: I have never towed with a dual wheel pickup, so no comparison is intended.

But I have towed four different fifth-wheel trailers, each a different brand. That started 17 years ago. The last two trailers were towed over 50,000 miles each (still going on the last). I have been over Wolf Creek several times and Monarch many more times. I won't name all the passes I've been over but most of them in Colorado, including Douglas Pass.

I tow with a Duramax/Allison 2500 single rear wheel pickup 2007 model. With the tow/haul package I rarely have to apply the brakes on the descent. Once (do not do this at home) the trailer brakes failed and we had to come down Monarch with only tow/haul and pickup brakes. No trouble until a lady pulled out in front of us in Canyon City then slammed on her brakes on a yellow light. We did stop in time, but I will admit that was close. Remember--no trailer brakes at the time.

I'm not trying to prove anything to anybody. We are "recreational" RVers in retirement, not full timers, and make no effort to be expert in such matters. This is only to say that we have never experienced any lack of stability or control in a wide variety of circumstances over almost every contiguous state and even into Canada.

Good luck to my neighbor in Houston, even though I would not presume to give him advice.

Weight and where you tow have a lot to do it....I do all my towing in the mountains in WV, TN, NC, SC and VA, spend some time on some steep, curvy mountainous roads and am towing a 16,000# 5er with a 3300# pin weight....I love the stabilitly the dually offers on some of the curvy mountainous secondary roads, and of course the payload easily handles my 5er...

Only time I ran into issue was when cable from 5er came unplugged and I had 16,000# of 5er behind my dually going down a very steep mountain and brakes on 5er were inoperative...truck was capable of handling the load and slowing it down safely, as well as the maneuverability that I needed at that time.

but again, for no more than the OP is towing, I'd go 3500 SRW for no more than they cost over the 2500. you also get more payload with the 3500

[NC_Hauler]

Op should be able to tow that amount of weight with a 3500 SRW, heck, might even be able to do it with one of the brand new 2013-2014 3/4 ton trucks....

We love our dually, it's my daily driver....wife is 5' 2" and be driving one, on and off since 05', she loves it...get's a kick out of all the guys in their big trucks seeing this lady driving this long bed, crew cab diesel dually just as well as most of them...it is funny at times::


If it were me, I'd opt for a little more payload and go with the 350/3500 SRW truck, but again, some of the brand new 3/4 ton trucks might also work for you.

[padredw]

I have enjoyed reading this thread and long ago decided to stay out of it, but Wolf Creek Pass encouraged me to share my experience.

Admission: I have never towed with a dual wheel pickup, so no comparison is intended.

But I have towed four different fifth-wheel trailers, each a different brand. That started 17 years ago. The last two trailers were towed over 50,000 miles each (still going on the last). I have been over Wolf Creek several times and Monarch many more times. I won't name all the passes I've been over but most of them in Colorado, including Douglas Pass.

I tow with a Duramax/Allison 2500 single rear wheel pickup 2007 model. With the tow/haul package I rarely have to apply the brakes on the descent. Once (do not do this at home) the trailer brakes failed and we had to come down Monarch with only tow/haul and pickup brakes. No trouble until a lady pulled out in front of us in Canyon City then slammed on her brakes on a yellow light. We did stop in time, but I will admit that was close. Remember--no trailer brakes at the time.

I'm not trying to prove anything to anybody. We are "recreational" RVers in retirement, not full timers, and make no effort to be expert in such matters. This is only to say that we have never experienced any lack of stability or control in a wide variety of circumstances over almost every contiguous state and even into Canada.

Good luck to my neighbor in Houston, even though I would not presume to give him advice.

[transamz9]

jmtandem wrote:

As far as the 90 percent comment , it makes a lot more sense than buying a rig based on the fact that you may or may not go to the Rockies some day . Trust me I have been through Wolf Creek pass several times , and it is no joke , but anything that can run up and down some of these other hills will work equally as well there . Have a great evening

I used to live in Denver and understand the Rockies. I now live next to the Sierras and understand the Sierra passes as well. Maybe if everybody that commented that SRW trucks 'can do the job' actually owned a dually and towed the same routes and same size fifth wheels or trailers the OP would have some real world comparison experiences. But, I suspect many that think the SRW gets the job done as well as a dually never towed with a dually. I realize many are trying to help the OP and I am sure he appreciates that; but I hate see somebody not get what they want over a little insignificant issue like getting used to driving a dually. It just does not compute. And the problem I have with the 90 percent rule, is that ten percent of the time the truck is not really up to the job and that usually will be in the wind or mountains, both no places to be messing around with too little truck for the job. All because somebody does not want to park a dually at a restaurant? Are you kidding me!!!

Some of us have pulled our loads with both srw and drw through the same routes. I still prefer my srw that I have set up for my needs.;)

[ol_Bombero-JC]

shooterdad wrote:
Bill there is no problem towing with a short bed , although you will almost certainly need a slider hitch .

Just my opinion , I have had both short and long bed trucks , and for towing the 5th wheel I would not have another short bed . The long bed has room to have a tool box , room for generators ,coolers , fire wood ect. The hitch no matter what kind you get eats up the room in a short bed pretty quick . Both would work but like I said the long bed gives you more flexibility . Scott

Had both long bed and short bed also.
Long bed first - 1T, crew cab - SRW.

Didn't need (or want) another long bed, so now a Quad Cab - 1T short bed SRW.

Has room for everything I need/want - and a pleasure to drive whether towing or not.
Lots more non-towing than towing miles.

Try before you buy!
My BIL has an extended cab 1T Chev 454 dually.
His newer (2003) truck is a 1T crew cab Chev DA dually.
I had driven both for extensive test drives. No thanks.
He tows an enclosed 'bumper pull' race car hauler - *infrequently*.
And - thats it. That's why he (still) has two duallys among his "rolling stock".

BIL now admits he wishes he had a SRW.
Moral of the story - make the right decision for *you* the first time.

(BTW - he's not 'partial' to Chevy's, he gets a GM employee discount)
When he looked under the hood of my Dodge at the 5.9 Cummins - his comment was...."Hey, you can actually *SEE* the motor!"

Different strokes for different folks -and-
whatever rings your chimes!..:W

~