SRW or DRW?

Go with a dually. My Truck Camper a 2003 Lance 1161 dry weight 3919 lbs. E rated and/or higher rated tires, Torklift frame mounted tie downs. Possibly air bag suspension, definitely make sure of OEM truck camper package installed. If purchasing a truck obtain a build sheet from the truck manufacturer. Also weigh truck before installing the camper. Take a look at Truck Camper Magazine helpful advice.
Ben

It doesn't matter how good of a driver you are, a DRW is not a kei car - Some of these cars are as short as a DRW is wide and would fit in the bed between the wheel wells.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kei_car

It's also not a trail crawler or parking garage sized. There are appropriate vehicles for different conditions and just because a vehicle can go somewhere, does not mean it belongs there.

mkirsch wrote:
Also keep in mind that the "limits" of the DRW truck are largely in the driver's head.

Maybe you could share the drw owners secret handshake that makes drws not as wide as they are when you want them to be smaller. ;) Somehow, my drw didn't come with those instructions. Instead, it appears to be a fixed width all of the time. Sometimes it works for me, other times, not!

Any way you look at it, my CrewCab DRW is a lot bigger than my previous SuperCab SRW.

Also keep in mind that the "limits" of the DRW truck are largely in the driver's head.


I totally agree! I've owned my dually for 11 years now and still love driving it and it still looks tough too. Also no banged up rear fenders here.
Ordering 19.5's for it also in a week or so....done with the 16's and a heavy camper.

As you have not purchased the camper or the truck yet you may want to consider a lighter camper. I knew I did not want a DRW truck for many reasons - width or truck, turning radius, length of truck, no double cab unless a long bed.

I decided that the maximum loaded weight was 4500 lbs. with SRW and that meant a 3500 lb. dry weight for the camper. Every pound lighter the camper the more of a safety margin and the more potential for carrying gear or a generator and fuel. There is also the need to consider the tongue weight of a trailer should you later want to tow one behind the truck.

I found that the Lance factory weight as shown on the camper was 300 lbs. more than indicated in the brochure and the actual weight at a CAT scale was 300 lbs. more. That was before putting fresh water in the tank at 8 lb a gallon.

There are many excellent campers for short bed and long bed trucks, even with a slide-out, that weigh under 3400 lbs. dry weight and can be hauled around in a SRW truck. If I was going for one of the very large dry bath campers that required a DRW truck I would go with a Class C motorhome instead and have a better integrated RV and a much less expensive one.

With the MH you only need to fuel up and load up. With the slide-in camper and pickup truck you become the system integrator and deal with load data and what to do to modify your truck (tie-downs, electrical harness, fuse and isolator, bed liner, shocks, anti-sway bar, tires). For a smaller and more nimble RV I went with a SRW shortbed 4WD truck and with a smaller and lighter camper. But I travel 100% in the west and on forest service roads and not on the interstates going from one RV park to the next so it all depends on the individuals and their spouses.

mkirsch wrote:

Also keep in mind that the "limits" of the DRW truck are largely in the driver's head.

Many of time that is the case, as the hips are narrower than the mirrors.

There are plenty of back roads, around here at least, that are limited to SRW only. Tight and rocky corners where the SRW's barely fit come to mind.

DRW's are also a PITA to grab anything out of the bed from the side relative to a SRW, and I am 6'4" with a good reach.

In our area "standard" parking spots are 20x8 and "compact" are 16x7. You will see more of these compact spaces as business meet the zoning guidelines with less parking surface area.

jimh425 wrote:
As is always pointed out, it's easier to buy a newer DRW as long as a DRW isn't too limiting in other ways.

Also keep in mind that the "limits" of the DRW truck are largely in the driver's head.

To date, I have found only one limit: The parking spaces at my new job. They are not wide enough for an SRW pickup truck, let alone a dually. Literally. I don't know what idiot painted the lines on this parking lot, but there's only about 4" of clearance on each side with my SRW daily driver. Even the compact cars are squeezed for space.

ah64id wrote:

.....
The SRW 19.5's are great, I haven't regretted them once yet. Stable, smooth, and just feel like a better tire. I am glass smooth up to 73, and start to get a slight (really slight) vib at 74-75 that is about the same thru 80 (as fast as I have had them since they have a 75 mph rating). I am not sure if it's tires, driveline, or both.. but the road condition makes it worse. A smooth new road is smooth as glass at 75.

A DRW would help with weight, but I do too much driving on roads where a DRW would be a poor choice.

+1 :)

okan-star wrote:

What gets me is the front dana 60 on 94-02 trucks. The diffrence between the dually and the single rear is only the unit bearing hubs and the dually spacers . The highest rating I can find for it is 5200 lbs , the front of my truck empty is 4780 lbs , not much to spare, Dana even refered me to that #, it must be more.
http://dodgeram.org/tech/specs/axle/axlespecs.html

The 3rd gen's are even worse. The front axle for a 2500 Hemi is the same as a DRW CTD, 5200lbs from 03-09.

The lightest I have ever seen my front axle is 4750, which ironically was the heaviest the GVW has been at 12090. I had enough weight behind the rear axle the front got a bit lighter.

With 6 people in the cab and a trailer hooked up I was at 5340 last month, it would have been around 5500 without a trailer.

Empty (normal gear in the tool box, about 400lbs), without a driver and full fuel I came in at 4950 last week.

It's one of the reasons I went to a spin free with bigger bearings, and better ball joints.

In 2010 it did increase to a 5500lbs axle, and as of 2013 the 3500's have a 6000lb front axle.

okan-star wrote:
Just mulling it over before I spend on SRW vision 19.5 `s
I love my SRW and have way to much on it to start over again , but also looking for used 2001.5-2002 HO Duallys

Your rear axle is way beefy :)

The SRW 19.5's are great, I haven't regretted them once yet. Stable, smooth, and just feel like a better tire. I am glass smooth up to 73, and start to get a slight (really slight) vib at 74-75 that is about the same thru 80 (as fast as I have had them since they have a 75 mph rating). I am not sure if it's tires, driveline, or both.. but the road condition makes it worse. A smooth new road is smooth as glass at 75.

A DRW would help with weight, but I do too much driving on roads where a DRW would be a poor choice.