Is a dually needed?

[Soundguy]

I have welded up a step plate on a rcvr tounge that helps me get to my bed. it is flat plate on the 2: tubing, pins in, and has expanded metal welded to it for grip. I'm working on a setup that uses a ubolt to clamp on to an existing tounge so I can hav ehte step and Ball at the same time.

 

[daugen]

i notice no difference cornering in my 250, 350, or 450.. except that i allow a lil more room in the 350/450 so i don't curb check..

that's significant because at least one of them is a dually, maybe two right? no diff in srw vs drw? You are in a warm area that's flat. Wonder if that is a true test, though I know your experience is huge. Boy I've driven some seriously winding mountain roads in the rain and fog and I sure did not want to worry about hydroplaning or skidding with the motorhome. Never had the slightest problem, obviously drw. Goodyear Unisteel G670 RV 245/70/19.5, four channels, five ribs, not much siping, but got the job done.

in my experience, high quality tires can make a big difference in performance, have to be sure one doesn't have tires issues vs. truck issues. I usually stick with Michelin for the truck but interestingly the fifth wheel I'm interested in offers a 17.5 HD trailer tire option, the 15 to 18 ply jobs. Probably worth the money. Don't find those at Tire Rack. Apparently used for lowboy trailers and other heavy hauling.

 

[daugen]

just thought I'd throw in the "expert" opinion at the rv place. Go with dodge or ford, but not an older ford, because we know many/most of them were bad(huh? bit of an overstatement...) and while GM makes the best motor and transmission, the rest of the truck is too light.

ok, I suppose I could interchange the big three in similar sentences and someone would like one combo, one another....folks have one bad experience, or hear one bad story, and all of a sudden the baby and the bassinet go out with the bathwater.

 

[Soundguy]

the 350 and 450 are drw. 16" tires on the 150, and 19.5's onthe 450, 16: tires on the srw 250.

Yep.. mostly always warm.. and mostly flat. we do have SOME topography.. but not straight up and down like some states.

We do get wet, vry very wet and windy.

here are my experiences on those vehicles int he following conditions I have used them in:

Rain / water.. without a doubt.. more ruber onthe ground makes me feel better. I have hydroplaned slightly in srw vehicles and , at least for me, experience it less with drw vehicles.

Plain out heavy load / long / big trailer.. Again.. I'll take DRW any day. feels safer, feels like more control. Stopping... I can stop both my drw trucks faster than my srw at speed with load. the 450 actually does the best ironically

traction: I can usually go in 2wd on the drw vehicles where i have to use 4wd in a srw. in fact.. my 450 is ONLY 2wd.. the 350 and 250 are 4wd. In soft sand more rubber floats better.. less fishtailing.

snow / ice: Not much exp there. i have driven in N. georgia / tennessee and texas during snow and on black ice a FEW rare times.. and honestly.. I tried to drive so ultra safe it was hard to tell much of a difference except on initial acceleration and fast braking. again. more rubber helped not break traction.. again.. i have only a few trips experience driving on icy roads. most of mine ae either hot and dry.. or warm and wet and windy.


turning radius. : got me... the bigger vehicles take more space.

Parking: Got me... slightly more choosey on parking the drw models.. mostly because i don't want smashed fender wells due to other peoples's bad parking habits.

Tires... cheap tires seem to wear out faster and have more road noise.. though past that.. havn't noticed too many other negatives.. not that those aren't enough. Multi purpose tires like traction grip off roads make plenty of noise and 'feel' different n the road.. more positive or tight.. and maybee even rougher ride at low speeds.

that's significant because at least one of them is a dually, maybe two right? no diff in srw vs drw? You are in a warm area that's flat. Wonder if that is a true test, though I know your experience is huge. Boy I've driven some seriously winding mountain roads in the rain and fog and I sure did not want to worry about hydroplaning or skidding with the motorhome. Never had the slightest problem, obviously drw. Goodyear Unisteel G670 RV 245/70/19.5, four channels, five ribs, not much siping, but got the job done.

in my experience, high quality tires can make a big difference in performance, have to be sure one doesn't have tires issues vs. truck issues. I usually stick with Michelin for the truck but interestingly the fifth wheel I'm interested in offers a 17.5 HD trailer tire option, the 15 to 18 ply jobs. Probably worth the money. Don't find those at Tire Rack. Apparently used for lowboy trailers and other heavy hauling.

 

[Soundguy]

. Go with dodge or ford, but not an older ford, because we know many/most of them were bad(huh? bit of an overstatement...) .

you may want to define that some? i'd take a ford diesel 97-2003 over anything offered from ford 2004+

no def on a 7.3, .. etc. not a power monger like some of the new machines.. but it was pretty bulletproof. Carry a spare CPS and a 10mm wrench inthe tool boax and keep driving.

 

[Diamondpilot]

didn't know if you could get Ramboxes in a dually configuration but thought that would be a real positive, as you say.
I'll ask about the aftermarket option when I go see the Ford guy later this week. Just got done taking the rv back to the dealer. Now I can change my focus.
and clean up at least a ton of crap taken out of the rv which all now has to be put away, ready for the next adventure. No truck shopping until then...

now here's a strange question...some of these trucks have bed steps built in. Any better than others? I'm not that agile any more and need something real to climb on.
Always wondered about all those pickup toolboxes in years past and how folks actually climbed up there. GM I think has notches in their bumper, Ford has something that swings out/down, not sure what Ram has. Are any of them useful if the trailer is attached and obviously in the way from the rear?

I would watch the ram boxes with.a 5th wheel. It will be ver easy to do damage to the bed sides when making tight turns due to the reduced bed width. Not a issue with a GN due to the hitch apparatus being vertical vs angled on a 5th wheel.

Chris

 

[newbury]

didn't know if you could get Ramboxes in a dually configuration but thought that would be a real positive, as you say.
I'll ask about the aftermarket option when I go see the Ford guy later this week. Just got done taking the rv back to the dealer. Now I can change my focus.
and clean up at least a ton of crap taken out of the rv which all now has to be put away, ready for the next adventure. No truck shopping until then...

now here's a strange question...some of these trucks have bed steps built in. Any better than others? I'm not that agile any more and need something real to climb on.
Always wondered about all those pickup toolboxes in years past and how folks actually climbed up there. GM I think has notches in their bumper, Ford has something that swings out/down, not sure what Ram has. Are any of them useful if the trailer is attached and obviously in the way from the rear?

I too have aged, my solution is a $40 little aluminum step ladder. Folds up, stores easily, useful for other things.

 

[chvfrk98]

I could have got away with a SRW and loved the one I had, but with a full profile fifth wheel, I have caught a couple side winds that pushed the whole trailer and truck over a lane. Like pulling the rear of the truck over. I had to steer with to keep straight. A little scary as I was running out of road on the left. That was the moment I decided stability was paramount. I can afford the fuel for the piece of mind. I do not drive the truck daily but I did for the first 6 months and it was tolerable.

 

[LA Confederate]

you may want to define that some? i'd take a ford diesel 97-2003 over anything offered from ford 2004+

no def on a 7.3, .. etc. not a power monger like some of the new machines.. but it was pretty bulletproof. Carry a spare CPS and a 10mm wrench inthe tool boax and keep driving.

This is so true. I'll take the Pepsi challenge with my 11 year old 7.3 F250 with 210k miles over a General Mechanical Catastrophe any ol day. The ONLY issues with Ford have been well addressed in the aftermarket, just like the issues with the Dodge and GM. In the case of the Ford, the 7.3 CPS issue, death wobble, and unit bearings; the 6.0 is a great motor once you invest in deleting the emissions garbage off of it and bulletproof it. The 6.4, same thing; delete the emissions crap and it's a heck of a motor. GM has it's share of problems from injectors and filtration issues in the LB7, overheating issues when hauling with the '03-'05 motors, scorching pistons in the '06-'07 trucks, unit bearings, weak tie rod ends, emissions problems, etc. Dodge, steering suspension issues, weakish automatic transmissions, fuel supply to the VP44, KDP, death wobble, fuel rail issues in the common rails, and like the rest emissions issues.

I've been around diesels for about 15 years now, from repairing them, tuning them, racing them (amateur), etc. I had, in this order, a '01 Silverado 2500HD Duramax/Allison 4x4, '00 Ram 3500 quad cab 4x4 5-speed Cummins, '01 F250 supercab 2wd 7.3 6-speed, '93 Ram D350 club cab 2wd 5-speed 12v Cummins, and my current '03 F250 crew cab FX4 7.3 Auto. All of them have been modified and I drive hard and tow heavy. They ALL have their pluses and minuses. But if you're buying based solely on a comfortable ride, you're searching for the wrong thing. If you're looking for a good ride buy a dad gum car, not a 1 ton truck. If you're looking for something to tow with, find out which truck tows best for your driving style because they all tow differently.

 

[terryknight]

Take a look at the higher capacity trucks f450s dodge 4500. Bigger brakes, bigger rears, bigger rims/tires, beefier springs frame, and in the dodge case the aisin trans in the dodge (you can get it in the 3500 as well I believe)