How important is 4WD on a duallie?

[grsthegreat]

There is no comparison between a SRW and a Dually. For a number of reason. Stability, in one the other is you have two extra spare tires on the road.

I bought a 04 diesel 3500 SRW and then bought a 05 DRW diesel 3500. Same manufacture same equipment one year apart one dually one single and the difference was amazing on the dually.

Also I was on a long trip with a load and I pulled in for fuel did a tire check and had an inner tire flat. Wasn't a problem I drove to the tire store and was on my way. With a SRW I would be on the side of the road. YES, Yes, I know if it was the front tire I would be down also. But the fact is it was rear and never cause me to pull over on the freeway.

The best part of the stability was cornering on freeway ramps. The dually cornered beautifully. The SRW seemed tippy.

Well i too have had SRW & DRW, and i felt the DRW handled like a tank . Mind you it was a ford and not a dodge, but i did not like towing with it.

Parking was a major nightmare...and if you think you can parallel park one on a buzy street, i hope you'll be prepaired to replace one of the fiberglass wheel wells (dont ask me how i know this). On snow the DRW slid all over the place. I had such a hard time keeping it tracking straight. I had mud&snow tires (Cooper) also. didnt help. Prob is the rear end was too light when not towing.

Best thing i ever did was to lose that thing.

 

[Soundguy]

I for one NEVER worry about my fuel economy in a 1 ton 4x4 truck. My old 1975 f350 got 8 MPG . My 2005 F350 gets an average of 14-15. Big improvement.

Yet, when im towing a 30 foot horse trailer or a flatbed trailer, i really dont care about MPG. I worry more about wheter i can get where i have to go.

For MPG worry thats for driving into town to catch a movie or go to work.

yep.. can i get there.. and can i get their safely.

FWIW.. my 4wd f350 drw gets 'about' the same fuel milage unloaded as my old dodge half ton with a 360.. perhaps a lil less.. but close.

now.. throw 7000# on both of them... and the dually milage doesn't suffer NEAR as much as the dodge did.. dodge would drop to 7-8 mpg at most.

My 450 drw with 4.88 rear end can get 9mpg pulling 14K as long as I keep it under 72mph... the half ton had 3.73 rear I thik, and my 350 has 4.10..

not impressed with gassers.. and not too worried about the fractional parasitic load of the freewheeling front end components.

soundguy

 

[Soundguy]

Well i too have had SRW & DRW, and i felt the DRW handled like a tank . Mind you it was a ford and not a dodge, but i did not like towing with it.

Parking was a major nightmare....

I've had the opposite experience.. I feel MUCH safer towing with drw.. as for the tank issue? what's wrong with a tank?

parking? takes a lil more finesse.. that's about it.. drive thru's the same deal..

real small learning curve.. that's about it.

I don't forsee going back to a SRW if I can help it. I liked my DRW 450 that I pull with often so well.. that when my dodge half ton started having front end issues.. I got rid of it as my daily driver and got a 350 drw as a daily driver. havn't regretted it yet.

oil change costs me a lil more when I do it.. but them.. I'm using valvolene ultra premium full syn in my diesels, and the old gasser got walmart oil.. so no comparison.. not to mention old gasser got 3000m oil changes w/ 5qts oil... no need to do that on the syn oil and the diesel holding 3 gallons..

soundguy

 

[foreman Etexas]

Gotta Go With The 4x4:thumbsup:

 

[grsthegreat]

I've had the opposite experience.. I feel MUCH safer towing with drw.. as for the tank issue? what's wrong with a tank?

parking? takes a lil more finesse.. that's about it.. drive thru's the same deal..

real small learning curve.. that's about it.

I don't forsee going back to a SRW if I can help it. I liked my DRW 450 that I pull with often so well.. that when my dodge half ton started having front end issues.. I got rid of it as my daily driver and got a 350 drw as a daily driver. havn't regretted it yet.

oil change costs me a lil more when I do it.. but them.. I'm using valvolene ultra premium full syn in my diesels, and the old gasser got walmart oil.. so no comparison.. not to mention old gasser got 3000m oil changes w/ 5qts oil... no need to do that on the syn oil and the diesel holding 3 gallons..

soundguy

Then again... In Florida you need the dually to run over all the rif-raf and hanging chads :laughing:

no snow either.. If it ever did snow there, everyone would be gitting out their straws for a snort LOOLO

sorry..had to be said:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

 

[toppop52]

NOPE... you didn't guess the grand prize answer..sorry. we send you home with loaf of bread.

Actually there Norwegian Fjords

Is that like English Fords, but with more hair?

 

[Rancher Ed]

foreman Etexas - NICE truck!!! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Unless you have a paved driveway and never leave pavement, I say get the 4WD, be the truck DRW or SRW. It is way too easy to have both rear tires spin on wet grass or a little bit of mud when you are in the pasture and be stuck if you can't have the front tires pulling as well.

Ed

 

[tlbuser]

i could.... when i travel with them i am also carrying all their harness and log skidding tack

Beautiful team. My girls are spoiled siissies, tennessee walkers that love the trail. No harness for them. We take our girls camping and some of the places the truck and trailer go are dry going in, wet and sloppy going out. More than once after getting my truck out, unhooked the trailer to go help the 2 wd guys get theirs.

Mileage may be a little bit less than what I want, but my 4wd truck will do everything I bought it for plus a little more. It would be great if you could get a 4wd, one ton c&c with hyperwarp drive that went 1000 miles without recharging and could recharge in 2 hours or less on 110VAC/50, 60Hz with tires that cost $1.00 each, brakes that slow 25999 from 110mph to 0 in 60 feet and cost $1.00 and 10 minutes to replace with a 25 yr. bumper to bumper warranty and was insureable for $20.00 a year. Until then, I like what I got.

 

[foreman Etexas]

foreman Etexas - NICE truck!!! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Unless you have a paved driveway and never leave pavement, I say get the 4WD, be the truck DRW or SRW. It is way too easy to have both rear tires spin on wet grass or a little bit of mud when you are in the pasture and be stuck if you can't have the front tires pulling as well.

Ed

Hey,thanks friend!! I agree with you 100%.Doing regular around the farm dutys,I use 4x4 atleast once or twice a month(And its not even wet around here).....

 

[grsthegreat]

Is that like English Fords, but with more hair?

Sure thing. have YOU driven a Fjord lately?