Is a dually needed?

[terryknight]

the ford trans 5R110 and 6r140 are pretty stout in stock form. the dodge 68rfe is pretty good and while i have no experience with the Aisin i have heard good thing about it as well. I have also heard (I have no experience with any of the GM) about the Allison in the GMs being more hype than delivered. and I personally like the manuals

here are pics. none of these truck see more than 5000miles a year. and they all see non paved or gravel roads. none are particularly loud, all are 2wd trucks and the fronts on all are less aggressive highway tread. if they were 4wd they fronts would match the rear

stock size on the back of the rollback



stock size on the back of the dump truck, this one came with highway tread and sucked driving even on lawns to get firewood



stock size on the tow truck

 

[Diamondpilot]

If you are used to the sound of a gas engine, a high performance gas engine even more so, a diesel will take a little getting used to. The truth is, I like the sound of just about any engine running. I love the sound of a Cummins in a Dodge truck with a low restriction exhaust installed. They have quieted them down quite a bit since the original 12 valves.

For me it's a 7.3 Power Stroke with no Cat or Muffler. My buddy has a F250 with the exhaust coming out right at the cab/bed body line. It sounds like a tractor.

Chris

 

[Diamondpilot]

let's see, thinking of the really important stuff now...I need to get two bumper stickers.
My other diesel gets 45mpg
for the truck...
My other diesel has 800# torque
for the VW...

Is the Allison the strongest of the big three transmissions, so therefore it could handle the most boost/torque?
that's another issue. That one trans has such a good rep it does sway me a bit to the DMax. Now I would be pulling well within the
capacity of both truck and trailer, but what if a little boost is added? Just curious. Seems like a lot of chipped/boosted engines out there and no one
seems to be complaining of failure.

I think of the Cat 3208 that started at 210hp and went over time all the way up to 450hp. The DD engine like mine did the same thing. First came the turbos, then the intercoolers, then bigger injectors, all the normal stuff, then electronic ignition tied into thermocouples so that higher boost would hopefully not toast your engine. Of course the new ones are so complicated that few of us non techies can work on them. Other than change the oil and easy stuff.

The fact of the matter is that with the hp race, most of the oem engines are pretty boosted as is. I mean, do I really need more than 750-800 foot pounds?
When you guys tow, do you always wish you had a little more oomph, and not the fantasy stuff...but like slowing down too much on long hills with heavy but reasonable loads? where it wouldn't hold the gear you wanted? And I'm not talking Pikes Peak either.

lot of questions, sorry for jumping around.

The Asin tranny in the Dodges are the best. The Torque Shift has been a good unit and so has the Allison. The Allison will not take additional power as well as the Torque Shift without a failure.

I have 130,000 miles on my Torque Shift running a extra 160HP and 200 FT TQ and not a single issue. I due turn it down to 80 HP and 100 FT TQ when towing an thing more than a empty trailer.

Chris

 

[RedNeckRacin]

My International runs a MD3060 allison trans but I'm only pushing around 900ftlbs of torque I believe? I know I could use a few more ponies on the steeper hills but I'm in no hurry so why bother. I'm not entirely sure which spec motor I have but its a DT530E so 530 in^3 and electronic controlled. The 3000 series allison trannies are rated for 80klbs IIRC.

I have also heard that stock 1000 series trannies will handle stock power all day long, but more than 50 hp or so and they start dieing. I had a g-56 in my one ton and one I put a south bend 3600 dual disk in it, I could run my level 6 extreme tune (I didn't have enough fuel to get the max) and it handled it fine. The problem with tuners in diesels is that you get the HP but getting rid of the Heat becomes a serious issue. MElting a turbo becomes a real possibility on a long hard grade.

 

[newbury]

For me it's a 7.3 Power Stroke with no Cat or Muffler. My buddy has a F250 with the exhaust coming out right at the cab/bed body line. It sounds like a tractor.

Chris

Try driving a 7.3 van with the doghouse removed Loud.

 

[aczlan]

Try driving a 7.3 van with the doghouse removed Loud.

Even a loose doghouse is loud on those...

Aaron Z

 

[Turbys_1700]

My dually has aluminum rims on the front and outside back...
When rotating tires the shop will typically just switch the front tires with the back outside tires...
If you rotate the insides out to the front the tire will need to be dismounted and re-balanced...
My inside wheels are steel...
Using that rotation schedule I was able to get right at 50K on the outside tires and a tick over 60K on the insides...
Some folks may have the same rims all around but my truck did not come that way...
I typically rotate my fronts to the back at every oil change which is 5K miles...

 

[timswi]

My dually has aluminum rims on the front and outside back...
When rotating tires the shop will typically just switch the front tires with the back outside tires...
If you rotate the insides out to the front the tire will need to be dismounted and re-balanced...
My inside wheels are steel...
Using that rotation schedule I was able to get right at 50K on the outside tires and a tick over 60K on the insides...
Some folks may have the same rims all around but my truck did not come that way...
I typically rotate my fronts to the back at every oil change which is 5K miles...

I'd pay for the mount/dismount for the aluminum appearance...That really makes a dually..Simulators are nice, but nothing beats the real thing.

 

[JHLambert28619]

Bought a '78 Dually new to tow a 40' tri-axle Bravo 5th Wheel. Loved it too. It had a 454 V8 which was hard on fuel but in 1978 who cared? I bought the dually for stability. I had a 3500 series single axle crew cab that the wind from a 53' Semi would push me around towing the Bravo. This stopped with the dually. Also, the dually had a 460 geared rear-end that was better suited for towing long heavy tall loads in mountainous terrain. A 5th wheel camper is a long, tall and heavy load. I live in a rural area in western NC, so driving the dually on a daily basis wasn't an issue - but if I was inner city I'd probably feel different. All in all it was well worth the investment which the wife and I enjoyed. As far as today's flavors of trucks, I've grown partial to Dodge due to a wreck I was in (Massillon, OH 1993). The Dodge D150 I was driving took a head-on licking and brought us back home w/o any problems. That's just my preference, but there's good reasons for them all. A friend of mine uses his Ford 350 dually for towing too. His is a diesel and he loves it - and it's his daily driver, next to his Harley

 

[ljohnson778]

Heck, I'll throw my $.02 in...

First, it's nice to see, that after all of the flaming brand wars I've seen on TBN in the past, cooler heads are prevailing. Kudos to everyone for keeping it civil, I mean that.

Now, as far as dually vs. SRW, great question. I've always owned SRW, because my truck spends as much time off road as on. I have owned a sampling of all of the big three diesels, in about every flavor offered. Each one had its good and bad points.

Ford experience: 7.3 Powerstroke, multiple oil pans, HPOP issues. 6.0 Powerstroke, EGR and oil cooler, head studs. 6.4 Powerstroke, EGR cooler, $hitty fuel economy. 6.7 Powerstroke (2011), whacko tranny, engine ran like a bull.


Chevy experience: 6.6 D-Max(2007) Fast! But, tranny cooler lines, IFS = Suck! Did drive very well empty!


Dodge experience: 5.9 12v, killer dowel pin. 5.9 24v, lift pump failure(had 5 sp manual behind it, so rest was bullet proof). 6.7 common rail, pre-DEF, $hitty fuel economy. 2013 6.7, DEF, good fuel economy, AISIN tranny rocks, new front end tight. Will report back as I add miles.

I do think, for your needs, you might want to go dually...

Pic of my latest rig ;-)