Towing Heavy 5er with SRW Truck

[travisgsf]

I personally don't as my unit is 11k dry. I see a lot of SRW diesel trucks (newer models which I know handle more than older ones) towing huge 5th wheels or toy haulers.

Any of you have a setup like this? I'm talking 14,000+lbs of dry weight. From what I see the newer 250/2500 trucks pull around 16,000-17,000 at their max.

I was curious to know how these things actually tow with that much weight. Do you feel in control? Tow weight and truck is always a huge topic on every forum. I know almost everyone says go dually but not many people do.

[JEBar]

our last former truck was a Chevy 3500 Dually, our current truck is Freightliner Sportchassis .... prior to them we towed with a variety of single rear wheel driver trucks .... at one time I bought into all of the stereotypical reasons why a dually was the only way to go when towing heavy campers, boats and trailers .... hundreds of thousands of miles through all of the lower 48, over the Rockies and prairies have convinced me that should I ever buy another truck for towing it will not be a dually .... it will be a late model, one ton, single rear wheel truck .... with the capabilities of the new generation of trucks, I'm convinced that the days of having to have a dually for the vast majority of campers on the market is history .... folks most certainly should go with whatever style truck best meets their needs

Jim

[transamz9]

NC Hauler wrote:

ependydad wrote:

ependydad wrote:

travisgsf wrote:
Do you feel in control?

I'll be shocked if anyone who is currently towing over their ratings admits to not feeling in control (regardless of what they actually feel). You'll get a lot of folks saying, "tows just fine" and "barely know it's back there".

You'll get a handful of responses saying they used to pull with a 2500 or SWR or whatever and upgraded to a dually and claim a "night and day difference".

And you'll get a few of us who have only pulled with a dually telling you we can't imagine towing with less.

(shrugs)

5 pages and so far I've been right. 😄

I didn't call out the bickering between the groups. These threads always bring that out in folks!

Guess I fall into the group that HAS towed the same 5er with both SRW and then Dually, BUT, never stated, difference was "night and day", but have stated, based on towing on mountainous, curvy roads, I could tell a difference in stability of the towing experience. Towing same 5er seemed to be a more stable tow...but I rarely tow on "Level" ground, so I'm basing again, on mountainous, curvy roads.

I too have towed with both srw and drw. I'm sure we have different driving styles but I like the way my srw handles better than my drw. I also tow in mountainous terrain in Tenn and Eastern Ky.

I use my trailer brake controller with my hand so that eliminates any trailer push in turns. Also, did your srw have the same sway bars as the drw trucks that you have had? That has more of an effect on control than drw's.

How much of a difference in year was the swr than the dwr that you changed to?

[raroberts]

Johnny_H wrote:
These discussions always seem to point to only one consideration.....weight, well I really hate to bust any balloons here, but the biggest stability difference between the SRW's and the DRW's and even the class 7 & 8's is the height of most of the 5'ers on the road, come on folks, most of them are 13'6" tall. The same as the semis running down the road. That is the #1 stability factor between SRW and DRW.

I don't understand this one. My hitch swivels back and forth and side to side, so how does the height of the trailer significantly affect the stability of the tow vehicle? I agree the height of the trailer (mine is 13'4") does affect how the trailer "handles", and I worry about that, especially when cornering at highway speed. In fact, I keep my water tanks and fuel station full in part to lower the center of gravity. Are we saying the same thing?
And BTW, I really don't like the bickering and aloofness that some people inject in these discussions. We're all here to learn and share.

[rhagfo]

CumminsDriver wrote:

rtazz17 wrote:

bad99ram wrote:

fairhaven wrote:

ol Bombero-JC wrote:

donn0128 wrote:

The majority of those towing heavy with a SRW truck simply do not understand towing at all. They have listened to a salesman telling them anything to make a sale and go blissfully into the sunset ignorant of the real world around them.

How can you speak for "the majority" - the minority, or *ANY* group of tow vehicle owners?.:h

Did you interview them?.:h

Take a poll - or what?.:h

For your stats:
Never discussed (or even asked) what my 1T SRW was capable of towing.
I *knew* what those figures were - and planned accordingly.
I also knew - due to my previous SRW LB 1T pickup - the next one would *not* be a long bed.
There was never any towing discussion with that one either.

Dually was never in the consideration - if one *ever* is, it will be a singled HDT.

BTW - calling buyers "ignorant" - is a blissful case of being hoisted by your own petard..:S

.

X2 what ol Bombero-JC said.

X3

X4

X5
Plus I'd like to add, it never gets mentioned here about driver ability and experience. I know some people who would get themselves into trouble with a Dually towing a lawn mower on a small utility trailer, then there are the ones who have ability/experience and can handle larger trailers without the truck being a Dually. It's not all about the tow vehicle, it also matters who is behind the wheel!

Rich

X2 to what CumminsDriver wrote
X6

[Rich1961]

rtazz17 wrote:

bad99ram wrote:

fairhaven wrote:
X2 what ol Bombero-JC said.

X3

X4

X5
Plus I'd like to add, it never gets mentioned here about driver ability and experience. I know some people who would get themselves into trouble with a Dually towing a lawn mower on a small utility trailer, then there are the ones who have ability/experience and can handle larger trailers without the truck being a Dually. It's not all about the tow vehicle, it also matters who is behind the wheel!

Rich

[NC_Hauler]

Johnny_H wrote:
These discussions always seem to point to only one consideration.....weight, well I really hate to bust any balloons here, but the biggest stability difference between the SRW's and the DRW's and even the class 7 & 8's is the height of most of the 5'ers on the road, come on folks, most of them are 13'6" tall. The same as the semis running down the road. That is the #1 stability factor between SRW and DRW.

All I can base my experience on is towing the same HIGH PROFILE 5er over the exact same terrain, loaded to the same weight by a SRW truck and a dually.....Will agree height can have something to do with it, but having driven on curvy, mountainous secondary highway with the same 5er on a SRW truck and a dually....the Dually seemed to not "roll" for want of a better word as much as the SRW truck....the load seem to be a little more stable. (5er weighing 16,000#)....pin weight of 3300#


no ballons busted here, I'm going by my own personal experience and have no reason to embellish or lie about my experience.

[Johnny_H]

These discussions always seem to point to only one consideration.....weight, well I really hate to bust any balloons here, but the biggest stability difference between the SRW's and the DRW's and even the class 7 & 8's is the height of most of the 5'ers on the road, come on folks, most of them are 13'6" tall. The same as the semis running down the road. That is the #1 stability factor between SRW and DRW.

[NC_Hauler]

ependydad wrote:

ependydad wrote:

travisgsf wrote:
Do you feel in control?

I'll be shocked if anyone who is currently towing over their ratings admits to not feeling in control (regardless of what they actually feel). You'll get a lot of folks saying, "tows just fine" and "barely know it's back there".

You'll get a handful of responses saying they used to pull with a 2500 or SWR or whatever and upgraded to a dually and claim a "night and day difference".

And you'll get a few of us who have only pulled with a dually telling you we can't imagine towing with less.

(shrugs)

5 pages and so far I've been right. 😄

I didn't call out the bickering between the groups. These threads always bring that out in folks!

Guess I fall into the group that HAS towed the same 5er with both SRW and then Dually, BUT, never stated, difference was "night and day", but have stated, based on towing on mountainous, curvy roads, I could tell a difference in stability of the towing experience. Towing same 5er seemed to be a more stable tow...but I rarely tow on "Level" ground, so I'm basing again, on mountainous, curvy roads.

[pcm1959]

Last month, I traded a perfectly GREAT 2011 Silverado Duramax, crew cab, 4x4, standard length bed pick-up for a 2013 Silverado Duramax, extended cab, 4x4, DRW pick-up.
The SRW has a post door placarded payload of 3900lbs. Its rear axle capacity was 7050 pounds which is directly related to the factory 18" tires capacity - each one rated at 3525 pounds each.
With a new fiver ordered that has an unloaded hitch weight of 3000lbs. I was concerned for mine and others safely. With 2 of us in the truck, the weight of the Pullrite Superglide hitch, and the contents of the fifth wheel....my tire capacity would be right at the limit.
For that reason, I traded the truck for safety reasons. The new truck has a payload of 5100 lbs.
I could have kept the 2011 and changed the tires to 19.5 with a much higher capacity but felt it was better to go to a dually.
I love the dually and the only difference is parking it is some spots. I love the peace of mind knowing that I have the extra capacity of the drw. Phillip

[ependydad]

ependydad wrote:

travisgsf wrote:
Do you feel in control?

I'll be shocked if anyone who is currently towing over their ratings admits to not feeling in control (regardless of what they actually feel). You'll get a lot of folks saying, "tows just fine" and "barely know it's back there".

You'll get a handful of responses saying they used to pull with a 2500 or SWR or whatever and upgraded to a dually and claim a "night and day difference".

And you'll get a few of us who have only pulled with a dually telling you we can't imagine towing with less.

(shrugs)

5 pages and so far I've been right. 😄

I didn't call out the bickering between the groups. These threads always bring that out in folks!

[Rmcgrath53]

I have towed with both DRW and SRW. without a doubt the dually is the way to go with the most stability and safety.

[rtazz17]

bad99ram wrote:

fairhaven wrote:
X2 what ol Bombero-JC said.

X3

X4

[NC_Hauler]

SKGCRD wrote:
If duel tires are needed for towing large fifth wheel campers then the trailer would have duel wheels? oh wait they don't... I guess every 5ver is unsafe as well? Get a real trailer I say!! LOL

Sometimes I wonder about the thought processes.......There are actually very heavy 5er's out there that DO use dually tires on their axles.... BU why would you think that a long, possibly heavy 5er with TWO axles possibly 1/2 way back on it, ie , normally TWO AXLES with a total of 4 tires), would be unstable...SURELY you're not comparing a pickup truck to a 5th wheel...I mean that's ok...but....ah, never mind.....Sidney, I agree...it's a gem.

[sidney]

SKGCRD wrote:
If duel tires are needed for towing large fifth wheel campers then the trailer would have duel wheels? oh wait they don't... I guess every 5ver is unsafe as well? Get a real trailer I say!! LOL

^^^
this is a gem

I love these threads.

:B

[NC_Hauler]

wandering1 wrote:
I have towed with both and noticed no difference in stability. Both had 1 ton suspensions. DRW does allow you to haul more weight over the rear axle, thats the reason for getting DRW.

I towed the same 16,000# 5er through the mountains of NC, TN and WV, some on secondary mountainous curvy roads, and I COULD tell a difference in stability, when cornering on some of the curves that you can go , "up and down and all around" on some of the secondary roads in NC, TN, VA and WV....Seems those 4 tires and wide stance provides for a more stable load shift especially when cornering at speed, like transversing "the gorge" on I 40 from Asheville to TN border....., but maybe I'm just dreaming:)