I am looking to get an F-350 to pull a camper that we have. The camper is 39.5 ft long and it is a bumper pull. The dry TW is 1353lb and the GVWR of the camper is 11512 lbs. I am aware of all of the weight restrictions and things to think about. I am worried about the sway of the camper. I have never pulled anything this long before. Would a dual rear wheel truck vs a single rear wheel truck make any difference in the amount of sway?? Any thoughts or suggestions would be great before I have to make a purchase. Thanks

Stu

 

Don't think it is necessary to get the added two wheels and the expense either. Duals help mostly for goosenecks and 5ers, extra capacity in the bed of the truck, not the tongue.

Just get a hitch that incorporates load distribution and sway control and you will be fine.

I had a Hensley on my TT when I had it. Great system:Hooking Up With Hensley | Hensley Hitch Towable Products

There are others out there as well that can be pretty good as well.

You might talk to the place you are buying the TT from and see what they sell for ideas as well. Just be sure it has load distr and sway control.

 

I think there will be widely varying opinions here. Having had both and towed with both, I find my dually to be much more stable. Every dealer I know tows with a dually. There are clear downsides to duallies, but I do like the stablility. With my dually, I can just throw it on the rear end and go.

With SRW, to control sway in the absolute, I don't think you can beat Hensley or Pull Rite bumper pull models for tag alongs. Having also used them with some bad new tows, they simply transform a bad day to "what sway?" They make a tag-along tow like a fiver. I have one set aside in my garage in the event I go back to a SRW truck.

My opinion,

Steve

 

I did tow 39' park model trailer with my dually and no bars at all. Had minimal fishtailing at side winds, but putting few hundreds lb of stuff in the nose solved it.
Now go to your SRW truck, put your foot on the top of the rear tire and try to rock it sideways. Even with my 205 lb I am not able to move my F450 noticeably, while usually I can rock SRW trucks pretty bad.
This is the difference between solid ride with trailer, of having your life hanging on rocking boat.
I've seen just too many trailer laying on their sides on perfectly straight freeway dividers to not being concern.

 

Unless you are putting the weight on the axel the drw is just a waste of money and will only add tire expense for marginal braking improvement as Rv tech said pull rite or henslely as sway control is going to be your challenge with that length trailer, don't get me wrong As to the stability issue as I do believe there is some merit there but I have not noticed enough difference between the two trucks with a properly set up trailer! 34' weekend warrior @13k wet bumper pull with pull rite.

 

I have to agree with Kajtek1, My old 30ft TT would make my srw F250 wiggle quite a bit when big trucks would pass me. It barely moves my dually. (no WD hitch on either)
Some will argue the point about not needing a dually, but common sence will tell you that 4 tires are more stable than 2 simple as that.
Not trying to stir the pot, just relaying what I have learned by towing with both.
I was dead against a dually when I found mine, but the price was right, and now that I have felt the difference myself, I will never go back to srw as long as I have a trailer to pull.
The peace of mind (and lower blood pressure) I get from the dually far outweighs the cost of two tires.
However, bank/food drive thrus are a thing of the past.....just sayin!

 

For the 5th wheel the dual is heads and shoulders above the srw but then again were talking a 13' 5" trailer vs a 9' 4" ht trailer that's a lot of surface (sail) area so things are not equal.

 

Well I have a 40' 5th with a SRW and it does just fine. So it can just be a preference.

 

"Doing just fine" doesn't count in my books. Those guys ending sideways on the freeway were doing just fine till than as well.
It is not just dually IMHO that makes difference. SRW vehicles usually have tires made for comfort. They are soft wall and recommended pressure is usually lower.
DRW are usually heavier tires with stiff walls.
Lately I was towing a heavy boat that had truck tires on the trailer in the 16" size. Comparing to traditional trailer tires, those were really soft and I could shake whole 7000 lb boat on the trailer just by pushing it with my foot per sample I posted above.
Either way, double tires will always provide much less side movement than single SRW.
BUT choose your tires carefully no mater what configuration.

 

I wouldn't trade my LB CC dually for anything except another dually. Its far more stable than SRW even with just my 30ft camper its more stable than the SRW I had. I also carry two ATV's across the bed which adds extra weight but I still wouldn't go back. I put 19.5's on it also which many are going think is way over kill, but with 50K on them now I still at least 50K left in them.

 

No one's mentioned gearing yet? For 2011, the DRW will come with 3.73s (4.30s for the450) versus 3.55s or 3.31s for the SRW (older SDs were generally are 4.10/4.30 DRWs and 3.73 for SRWs). I don't know what kind of hills you have in Indiana, but gears will have the biggest impact on how it pulls the weight, at least on your seat-of-the-pants-o-meter.


Sorry man, but this is pure BS. Unless you want to talk about 19.5" wheels and g-rated tires, there's absolutely no difference in the tires on 1 ton trucks, single or dually, at least when non-ignorant drivers dont buy underrated tires, which can happen on any truck no matter how many wheels it has.


I have to agree with Senix, the stabilizing effect of the dually doesn't matter on a bumper pull, that really only comes into play on in-bed hitches. Sway control on the toungue and weight distribution is the name of the game on bumper pulls.

You carry a lot of weight above the rails, so in your particular case you'll benefit from the wider footprint, because the load in about 3 feet north of the axle, so it obviously will sway more. A bumper pull by itself naturally sits in a low, very rearward spot that will drag the tail of the truck around no matter how many tires there are. It's less about the suspension managing a shifting load over the axle and more about the weight of the truck controling the weight of the tongue (oddly enough, the dually has about 200 pounds of extra weight across slung low on the rear axle, but you aren't arguing that the truck is heavier and that makes it better, but that more tires make it better, so I digress). But you prove the point on why duallys are more stable with in-bed hitches.

 

This topic always gets folks fired up.

Steve

 

Yes it does.
Its pointless to argue, Ford vs Chevy/ diesel vs gas etc...
Drive what makes you happy, and lets all be friends ...

 

So now I've got this 6.0, and it'd out pull any............

 

Exactly...
I seen a 6.0 on the side of the interstate today with a huge puddle of something all over the ground. A good old 7.3 was hooking up to his trailer.
back to your regular scheduled program...