Towing > 40ft - drw vs srw?

[NCRugRat]

I have a triple axle toy hauler with a top weight of 18k pounds. Four years ago I research the heck out of the type of tow vehicle to get and decided on a drw. I ended up with a 2009 F-450, but unfortunately someone decided to pull out in front of me last week and it totaled my truck. Now I’m in the market again and it’s just hard to find a good drw for a good price. I am still leaning towards a drw, but maybe it’s overkill. I notice a lot of people towing similar or larger campers with srw 350 or 3500s. My question is for those people - do you feel safe or wish you had gone with a drw? How about any sway? I do mostly flat towing with very little mountains. I appreciate any comments and it sucks to have to look for a new truck. My F-450 was solid.

[Bedlam]

I've been arguing that point for a long time. When I upgraded my SRW springs and wheels, I had the stability of a DRW, but I did not have the redundancy or width of the duals.

[transamz9]

burningman wrote:

transamz9 wrote:
If you want to feel real stability in a 3500 go get you a cab chassis and tow with it. Same tires as your truck but twice the spring.

You can easily put any springs in any truck.
Cab & chassis trucks have narrower rear axles.

Exactly! More spring = more stability even with a narrowed track. Thank you

[burningman]

transamz9 wrote:
If you want to feel real stability in a 3500 go get you a cab chassis and tow with it. Same tires as your truck but twice the spring.

You can easily put any springs in any truck.
Cab & chassis trucks have narrower rear axles.

[JAC1982]

I can't compare with our current hauler as we've only ever towed it with a DRW. But with our old bumper pull, which was 32' long and about 12' high, we could tell a difference between towing it with a 2014 F250 and a 2015 F350 DRW. We never felt unsafe or "unstable" with the 250, but the 350 felt more comfortable with heavy crosswinds etc.

[transamz9]

transamz9 wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
I think people in the market trying to decide between a SRW and DRW really should listen a bit more to those who actually own a DRW.

I have towed in some bad AZZ winds hitting on the side and at an angle even towing 75 mph, I never felt unstable or unsafe. My combined is 33K.

Also my DRV is 13' 5" high and almost 102" wide.

Some of us srw truck owners have and do own both. There are plusses and minutes to both. If a trailer is within a srw rating then the srw handles it just fine. I have never felt unstable in any of my srw trucks either. If you want to feel real stability in a 3500 go get you a cab chassis and tow with it. Same tires as your truck but twice the spring.

[transamz9]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
I think people in the market trying to decide between a SRW and DRW really should listen a bit more to those who actually own a DRW.

I have towed in some bad AZZ winds hitting on the side and at an angle even towing 75 mph, I never felt unstable or unsafe. My combined is 33K.

Also my DRV is 13' 5" high and almost 102" wide.

Some of us are truck owners have and do own both. There are plusses and minutes to both. If a trailer is within a srw rating then the srw handles it just fine. I have never felt unstable in any of my srw trucks either. If you want to feel real stability in a 3500 go get you a cab chassis and tow with it. Same tires as your truck but twice the spring.

[Huntindog]

Bedlam wrote:
19.5’s typically fit in the same space as the OEM spare. 225 width usually has a 4000 lb LRG PR14 rating at 32” tall and 245’s are rated at 4500-5000 lbs each at 33” tall. My 245/70R19.5 tires were the same height as my 275/70R18 tires.

Space is one of the potential problems I was thinking of.
The other is will the stock cable lift mechanism work with the larger rims? Obviously, this can vary by the truck, and tire but it is something to look at.

[Bedlam]

19.5’s typically fit in the same space as the OEM spare. 225 width usually has a 4000 lb LRG PR14 rating at 32” tall and 245’s are rated at 4500-5000 lbs each at 33” tall. My 245/70R19.5 tires were the same height as my 275/70R18 tires.

[memtb]

Huntindog... I believe that you were referring to my post.... They’re 19.5” tires. Through Simple Tire they are $20.00/tire cheaper than the factory Michelin’s. And are far superior ( load rating), and will likely give greater mileage. They are within an inch or so, same circumference and not as wide. Will fit nicely in spare tire well! The rims were quite expensive.... but they will last far longer than the truck. When that day comes....they’ll go on the new truck! 😉

[Huntindog]

My Trucks in order.
1996 1 ton SRW
2001 DRW
2011 DRW

Each truck has been a vast improvement over it's predecessor.

So there is SOME validity to a late model SRW being as capable as a early model DRW,,, at least as far as ratings go.

BUT 4 rear wheels will be more stable than two, regardless of the year. Assuming stock LT LRE tires.

And just as the late model SRWs are vastly improved... So are the DRWs.

Now some here have mentioned upgrading the tires and wheels to 22.5s.
This will in theory make a SRW just as capable as a DRW.
But the cost will be higher than just getting the DRW. As for the argument that the SRW makes for a better daily driver... That is a personal observation. For some maybe. For others like myself, it is no big deal.
What is TRUE is that using a SRW with 22.5s as a daily driver will be expensive. Those tires are NOT cheap, and using them for commuting or grocery getting will make for an expensive daily driver.

Another potential issue with this approach is the spare. Will an 22.5 spare be able to be stowed in the factory location?
I can think of two potential issues right off the bat. If it cannot be carried there.. It will need to be carried somewhere.

[4x4ord]

TakingThe5th wrote:

4x4ord wrote:

TakingThe5th wrote:

4x4ord wrote:

TakingThe5th wrote:
Two days ago I was driving the interstate solo in my DRV. It seemed like it might be windy because cars were being blown around and grass and trash and SRVs were also blowing in the crosswinds. I've had the same experience lashed to the 5er. Really a nice ride! So if a new SRV can perform the same as my 'ol DRV - just think how well a new DRV must handle.

Why would the wind blow a SRW truck around more than a DRW truck? I would expect it to be the other way around.

Confused! Why would you expect a truck with a wider stance and more rubber on the ground to blow around more then a lighter truck with roughly the same profile? In any event, I've owned and driven both and I enjoy the DRV for it's better stability.

In actual fact I don't really expect there to be a lot of difference between how the wind affects a dually vs a srw but I try to imagine what is happening when a cross wind hits a truck. If the tires slip a little on the pavement, I would expect the srw to resist slippage better.....such as srw vs drw on an icy surface. If the wondering effect is due to sidewall flex or soft suspension than maybe a dually would do better.

4x4-If I’ve read your post correctly (my apologies if not) you claim that your expectations and imaginations are actual facts. “In actual fact I don't really expect there to be a lot of difference between how the wind affects a dually vs a srw but I try to imagine ...”. Just to be clear, I’m not imagining or postulating anything when saying that my DRW outperforms my SRW. These are real driving experiences with real trucks which sometimes tow real things behind them.

If you went from an old DRW to a new SRW and claimed the dually was much more stable it would mean something. Going from a 2003 SRW to a 2017 Dual rear wheel and claiming the dually is night and day different is kind of like ......:S ya think. I have a couple of very stable dual rear wheel trucks. The 2012 is almost as nice to drive as my 2016 SRW.

[Bedlam]

My SRW must have been really dialed in well - My DRW handled like my old SRW with the same truck camper while towing an enclosed trailer. The main difference was the SRW had been upgraded and the DRW was stock. The SRW did sway more when going over driveway approaches, but actually had a more comfortable ride loaded or empty when the roads were poor.

Now that my DRW is carrying an extra ton (carries a 3-ton camper), the ride quality is better than my SRW carrying my former 2-ton camper. And no, I would would not have considered carrying that weight on a SRW with the enclosed trailer in tow.

No postulating or imagining on my part...

[TakingThe5th]

4x4ord wrote:

TakingThe5th wrote:

4x4ord wrote:

TakingThe5th wrote:
Two days ago I was driving the interstate solo in my DRV. It seemed like it might be windy because cars were being blown around and grass and trash and SRVs were also blowing in the crosswinds. I've had the same experience lashed to the 5er. Really a nice ride! So if a new SRV can perform the same as my 'ol DRV - just think how well a new DRV must handle.

Why would the wind blow a SRW truck around more than a DRW truck? I would expect it to be the other way around.

Confused! Why would you expect a truck with a wider stance and more rubber on the ground to blow around more then a lighter truck with roughly the same profile? In any event, I've owned and driven both and I enjoy the DRV for it's better stability.

In actual fact I don't really expect there to be a lot of difference between how the wind affects a dually vs a srw but I try to imagine what is happening when a cross wind hits a truck. If the tires slip a little on the pavement, I would expect the srw to resist slippage better.....such as srw vs drw on an icy surface. If the wondering effect is due to sidewall flex or soft suspension than maybe a dually would do better.

4x4-If I’ve read your post correctly (my apologies if not) you claim that your expectations and imaginations are actual facts. “In actual fact I don't really expect there to be a lot of difference between how the wind affects a dually vs a srw but I try to imagine ...”. Just to be clear, I’m not imagining or postulating anything when saying that my DRW outperforms my SRW. These are real driving experiences with real trucks which sometimes tow real things behind them.

[1jeep]

I went from a SRW to DRW towing the same 5th wheel and will not go back unless my trailer suddenly shrinks!

[Cummins12V98]

I think people in the market trying to decide between a SRW and DRW really should listen a bit more to those who actually own a DRW.

I have towed in some bad AZZ winds hitting on the side and at an angle even towing 75 mph, I never felt unstable or unsafe. My combined is 33K.

Also my DRV is 13' 5" high and almost 102" wide.