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DRW vs SRW Trucks

snowcrustracer
Explorer
Explorer
Hi folks,

My DH and I are thinking about buying a new truck and are having some trouble deciding between a dual rear wheel truck and a single wheel truck.
Right now we have limited time off from the rat race and usually just stay in campgrounds so I'm not sure those habits will change when we retire.

The campers we seem to have chosen are the bigger models such as the Host triple slide and the Northern Lite 10.2EXRR. These campers probably would be more comfortable driving with a DRW.

Can we never travel fire roads and trails out in Utah or Colorado with the DRW? Will we be stuck only in campgrounds.

Any thoughts folks could add to the plus or minus list would be very helpful.

Thanks,

Snow
2000 Toyota Tundra & 2007 FWC Eagle (SOLD)
2016 GMC Sierra 3500 DRW & 2017 Northern Lite 10-2 EXRR
38 REPLIES 38

deltabravo
Nomad
Nomad
Dually.
2009 Silverado 3500HD Dually, D/A, CCLB 4x4 (bought new 8/30/09)
2018 Arctic Fox 992 with an Onan 2500i "quiet" model generator

BradW
Explorer II
Explorer II
SoCalDesertRider wrote:
Get the DUALLY if you want to haul a BIG camper! :B


What he said. Night and day difference between an SRW and a DRW hauling a heavy high CG load like a truck camper.

We hauled our 9' 10" Lance 10 years on an srw and then another 10 years on a drw. No comparison between the two.

Brad
Wake Up America
2019 Lance 1062 and 2018 F-350 CC PSD 4X4 DRW
Tembrens, Rear Roadmaster Sway Bar, Torklift 48" Extention and 30K Superhitch
Our New Lance 1062 Truck Camper Unloading at Dealer Photos

SoCalDesertRid1
Explorer
Explorer
It depends on where you want to go with your camper. Some places, a tent topper on a Jeep might be what's needed to get there, or maybe a backpackers tent and an ATV is required...

For me, a 4wd pickup with a not too wide, fairly low roof height truck camper, that doesn't stick out much beyond the rear of the truck, is fine for everywhere I've gone. Most of that was done with my old 8.5' Six Pac on the F350. The Six Pac was a little wider, longer, taller and heavier than the camper I have now, but not by very much.

I really like that I can close the tailgate with the new, shorter length camper on the truck. I get to have a porch/tailgate and still tow a trailer, without extending the hitch. The Six Pac was just long enough that the tailgate couldn't be closed.

The 8.5' Six Pac was a vast improvement over my previous 10.5' Vacationeer, which was also wider and taller. I never liked all that extra camper length sticking out the back, especially since it didn't really equate to much more usable interior space, compared to the 2 foot shorter Six Pac.
01 International 4800 4x4 CrewCab DT466E Allison MD3060
69Bronco 86Samurai 85ATC250R 89CR500
98Ranger 96Tacoma
20' BigTex flatbed
8' truck camper, 14' Aristocrat TT
73 Kona 17' ski boat & Mercury 1150TB
92F350 CrewCab 4x4 351/C6 285 BFG AT 4.56 & LockRite rear

jimh406
Explorer III
Explorer III
Smaller doesn't mean more capable. It might, but that is only one measure. If you want to go that route though, go with an expedition tent on top of a Jeep, or you are just compromising. 😉

'10 Ford F-450, 6.4, 4.30, 4x4, 14,500 GVWR, '06 Host Rainer 950 DS, Torklift Talon tiedowns, Glow Steps, and Fastguns. Bilstein 4600s, Firestone Bags, Toyo M655 Gs, Curt front hitch, Energy Suspension bump stops.

NRA Life Member, CCA Life Member

SoCalDesertRid1
Explorer
Explorer
Steve_in_29 wrote:
SoCalDesertRider wrote:
Many Forest Service trucks are duallys, and almost all Forest Service fire trucks are duallys.

Guess what they drive on??... Forest Service roads! 😉

Here is my ex-US Forest Service brush fire truck, wearing all 6 of it's agency-issued super knobby off road tires. It was operated in eastern central California and western Nevada, in the Humboldt-Toiyabe national forest.
Yes but judging by that radiator guard it appears even the USFS knew the truck wasn't always going to fit.
Yep, if it didn't fit, they just ran over whatever was in the way!

Their grille gaurd setup is kinda neat, it stays in place while the hood is opened/tilted forward. Usually the grille tilts with the hood on most trucks with tilt frontends.
01 International 4800 4x4 CrewCab DT466E Allison MD3060
69Bronco 86Samurai 85ATC250R 89CR500
98Ranger 96Tacoma
20' BigTex flatbed
8' truck camper, 14' Aristocrat TT
73 Kona 17' ski boat & Mercury 1150TB
92F350 CrewCab 4x4 351/C6 285 BFG AT 4.56 & LockRite rear

SoCalDesertRid1
Explorer
Explorer
Vinsil wrote:
This is true, have the "Oregon pin stripes" on my TC and truck to prove it.
Most my vehicles are adorned with "desert pinstriping" too 🙂
01 International 4800 4x4 CrewCab DT466E Allison MD3060
69Bronco 86Samurai 85ATC250R 89CR500
98Ranger 96Tacoma
20' BigTex flatbed
8' truck camper, 14' Aristocrat TT
73 Kona 17' ski boat & Mercury 1150TB
92F350 CrewCab 4x4 351/C6 285 BFG AT 4.56 & LockRite rear

Steve_in_29
Explorer
Explorer
SoCalDesertRider wrote:
Many Forest Service trucks are duallys, and almost all Forest Service fire trucks are duallys.

Guess what they drive on??... Forest Service roads! 😉

Here is my ex-US Forest Service brush fire truck, wearing all 6 of it's agency-issued super knobby off road tires. It was operated in eastern central California and western Nevada, in the Humboldt-Toiyabe national forest.
Yes but judging by that radiator guard it appears even the USFS knew the truck wasn't always going to fit.
2007 F350,SC,LB,4x4,6.0/Auto,35" tires,16.5 Warn,Buckstop bumpers
2007 Outfitter Apex9.5,270W solar,SolarBoost2000e,2 H2K's,2KW inverter,2 20lb LP on slide out tray,4 Lifeline AGM bats,Tundra fridge
95 Bounder 28' ClassA sold
91 Jamboree 21' ClassC sold

SoCalDesertRid1
Explorer
Explorer
adambeck7 wrote:
yea, you can make it down many (most?) FS roads with a dually, but like i said there's also a lot of FS roads that a dually pickup truck with a triple slide 4000lb camper will not make it down that a SRW with a 3000lb non-slide camper will make it.

i've noticed that many FS roads here in CO (where there are good non-crowded dispersed camping spots) are more like very rocky trails than they are logging roads or bumpy FS roads.
That likely has more to do with the overall size of the behemoth triple slide camper, versus the smaller camper, rather than how many tires are on the rear of the truck.

Those giant, multi slide campers are built to maximum width, maximum length, maximum height and maximum weight and are not well suited to real off roading, regardless if the truck has duals or super singles.

I'm in with the 'smaller is better' school of thought, where truck-mounted campers and off roading are concerned.

I need to build a 2x4 frame under the new camper to set it higher, for more roof/overcab clearance. Also, if I were doing more serious off roading, I would be wanting to put it on a regular 2 door cab truck, instead of my crew cab, with it's wide turning radius and low breakover angle.
01 International 4800 4x4 CrewCab DT466E Allison MD3060
69Bronco 86Samurai 85ATC250R 89CR500
98Ranger 96Tacoma
20' BigTex flatbed
8' truck camper, 14' Aristocrat TT
73 Kona 17' ski boat & Mercury 1150TB
92F350 CrewCab 4x4 351/C6 285 BFG AT 4.56 & LockRite rear

Kayteg1
Explorer II
Explorer II
Even my single slide camper is way too heavy for SRW.
Don't hesitate to buy dually. Common myth is that it sucks more fuel, but my 6l Powerstroke dually makes honest 16 mpg empty when I have CC at 70 mph.
With camper in mountain driving that drops to 10 mpg.

Vinsil
Explorer
Explorer
adambeck7 wrote:
yea, you can make it down many (most?) FS roads with a dually, but like i said there's also a lot of FS roads that a dually pickup truck with a triple slide 4000lb camper will not make it down that a SRW with a 3000lb non-slide camper will make it.

i've noticed that many FS roads here in CO (where there are good non-crowded dispersed camping spots) are more like very rocky trails than they are logging roads or bumpy FS roads.


This is true, have the "Oregon pin stripes" on my TC and truck to prove it.
2017 Ford F-350, crewcab, 4x4, 6.7 diesel.
2016 Thunderjet Luxor 21' limited edition, Yamaha powered.
2016 Wolf Creek 840-SOLD, Arctic Fox 990 ordered.

COboondocker
Explorer
Explorer
yea, you can make it down many (most?) FS roads with a dually, but like i said there's also a lot of FS roads that a dually pickup truck with a triple slide 4000lb camper will not make it down that a SRW with a 3000lb non-slide camper will make it.

i've noticed that many FS roads here in CO (where there are good non-crowded dispersed camping spots) are more like very rocky trails than they are logging roads or bumpy FS roads.

SoCalDesertRid1
Explorer
Explorer
Many Forest Service trucks are duallys, and almost all Forest Service fire trucks are duallys.

Guess what they drive on??... Forest Service roads! 😉

Here is my ex-US Forest Service brush fire truck, wearing all 6 of it's agency-issued super knobby off road tires. It was operated in eastern central California and western Nevada, in the Humboldt-Toiyabe national forest.
01 International 4800 4x4 CrewCab DT466E Allison MD3060
69Bronco 86Samurai 85ATC250R 89CR500
98Ranger 96Tacoma
20' BigTex flatbed
8' truck camper, 14' Aristocrat TT
73 Kona 17' ski boat & Mercury 1150TB
92F350 CrewCab 4x4 351/C6 285 BFG AT 4.56 & LockRite rear

COboondocker
Explorer
Explorer
those are two VERY different campers. if you're wanting to get off road i'd stay away from the triple slide. too many moving parts, too heavy. newer 1 tons have payloads over 4300 lbs depending on your configuration so that would give you 1500lbs of cushion on that northern lite.

i've been on plenty of roads here in colorado where i took a big camper on singles that i wouldn't take a dually. rocky and/or rutted single tracks that a dually just can't line up with. also, CO is exceptionally rocky. can you make it down lots of FS roads here in CO with a dually? sure, but you will find some you can't make it down for sure. it's a real bummer to travel to some place only to be turned back and have to find another.

SoCalDesertRid1
Explorer
Explorer
That is one of the primary reasons to camp with a truck camper- the ability to tow, with trailer or tow bar, a variety of different toys, or tools, to fit the occasion! 😛
01 International 4800 4x4 CrewCab DT466E Allison MD3060
69Bronco 86Samurai 85ATC250R 89CR500
98Ranger 96Tacoma
20' BigTex flatbed
8' truck camper, 14' Aristocrat TT
73 Kona 17' ski boat & Mercury 1150TB
92F350 CrewCab 4x4 351/C6 285 BFG AT 4.56 & LockRite rear