Towing with a dually or single?need help please

[loverving45]

Hello,
I have a 39’ fifth wheel 4 slides, , 14000 pound, and am about to buy a pick up to tow it. Everyone tells me to buy regular pickup , not a dually. They say the regular single rear wheel is enough for towing this fifth wheel and no need for dually. I’ve heard that dually is a must have for such big trailers due to the steadiness it provides. My question is for those of you who own similar size of rig, do you suggest me buying a dually or a single rear wheel? Also, which if the companies is the best for this purpose, ram, gmc or Ford? Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated and helpful. Thank you

[Fstmvrerik]

I have pulled heavy fifth wheel campers and trailers for pleasure and work. The percentage of having a trailer hooked up to the truck has gone down to towing a trailer 3 or 4 times a month. I switched from DRW to a SRW one ton truck, the only time I miss the DRW is in high wind towing. I did worry about the safety factor of drive tire loss while towing, but got over that over the years.
IMO the convenience and cost reduction of the SRW (when not full time towing) make it the best choice for me.

[ReneeG]

Our current FW was originally towed with an F250 V10 short box, SRW. We traded in for a diesel dually long bed F350 and so glad we did. More stable, more power for towing up AND down grades. Our FW is 13k fully loaded too.

[rhagfo]

Well there is a lot to be said about towing with a DRW, personally with our 32’ 5er running close to 13,000# and. 2,800# pin with the 1,400# of hitch, in bed tool box and DW and I we would have been within a couple hundred pounds of GVWR.
So much of it has to do with pin weight and what you carry in your truck.
To the many that I tow 16,000# with a SB SRW don’t know what they don’t know. They are likely well over weight, and as I have stated before The best feature of a 5er is it’s worst, that is their natural stability.

[azdryheat]

39 feet and it's only 14000 pounds, really? Mine is 40 feet and 19,000 pounds. 16,500 empty.

[MitchF150]

Hope you get the answer you are looking for.. 🙂

Mitch

[Grit_dog]

What was said above.
Although I’ll add, the way you asked the question leads one to believe that you don’t have a lot of towing experience. And with that a dually will be better.....if it’s not a city daily driver the rest of the time.

[Lwiddis]

Driving a SRW without the 5er is much more pleasurable.

[Walaby]

My 5er is 13880 lbs and nearly 41ft length. Have no problems towing it with a 1 ton SRW. That said, I know many people who have towed large 5ers with both would tell you hands down the best towing experience will be with the DRW, and they are likely correct. But, Im happy with my setup, have never had any issues. Have experienced one panic stop in wet weather and never felt out of control in the slightest.

As others have said, brand is what you like best, but for a 5er in the 14K territory, IMHO, diesel is the only way to go.

Mike

[BB_TX]

The tow and payload ratings of the trucks keep going up almost yearly. New trucks, SRW and DRW, are far more capable than just a few years ago. A newer single rear wheel (SRW) will be fine for that trailer. But check the ratings for the truck you are looking at. Depending on configuration the ratings can vary a lot for the same year, same model truck depending on cab, bed, engine, drive train, etc.

As far as brand, what YOU like best. All three are great, dependable, and capable trucks.

[Second_Chance]

Is 14,000 lbs. the empty weight or GVWR?

Rob

[2oldman]

drw v srw 2019
Advantage/disadvantage dually
dually or no 2011
More dually w/5er 2011
Dually vs single 2014 in fivers
Dually vs single 2019 in fivers

[Jack_Diane_Free]

I recently towed a 40ft, 14000lb Mobile Suites for thousands of miles with a F350 short box singe rear wheel. Did not ever experience a problem with stability, sway or anything else. Truck was V-10 gasser and more than up to the task. Just let it rev, that is where it works best.

[BobsYourUncle]

My TT is only 32' and half the weight of your rig, but I love the extra stability the dually offers. Even in southern Alberta winds, which can be brutal at times, I find it very stable. 14,000 pounds is a lot of weight and my opinion is for the dually.

Brand? Doesn't matter, all the big 3 are up to the task. Pick the one that you like best. But I would definitely go diesel, not gas.