This is not really a question thread but more like a personal rant.

I have a 04.5 Dodge Cummins 1 ton that I used to pull a 33' travel trailer. I have used this combo to take the family (from Oklahoma) to Disney world twice and to Colorado as well as several other trips in between. Bought a pontoon last year and needed another truck to haul it around when we were camping. FInally found an Excursion and bough it this past summer. The Ex huals the 20' pontoon with ease and makes a great kid hauler for sporting events (i.e. soccer dad short bus).

This spring I am loading the family up and going to San Antonio with the camper. I wanted to use the Ex for the room (wife and 4 kids). We all fit in Dodge alright but the extra room of the Ex is appealing for a long trip. I knew from reading here that it would need some upgrades for hauling the extra weight so I went ahead and installed the Roadmaster RAS and new shocks and hooked up for a test run.

First run on the highway was damn scary, sway and the push pull of semis was dangerous, back to the drawing board.

I swapped the d tires for E rated and made adjustments to the Reese Dual cam hitch that I had been using. Run #2 was much much better. The trailer tracked fine, plenty of power but the steering was still loose.

I called the fine people at Redhead and I have a new steering box on the way. I tried to make adjustments to the old box but still cannot get it dialed in.

What I am learning is that the Dodge suspension and dual wheel set up made it easier for me to have mistakes with the Reese set up and not notice them. I was also spoiled with the 1 ton and I probably should not expect the Ex to haul the camper as well at it did.

You guys please keep posting all the good how to stuff here, you have saved me alot of time in my Ex work sofar.

 

Between some Super Duty springs and the Roadmaster Active Suspension, you shouldn't have much to worry about.

 

Yep, V and B code springs will make it handle almost exactly like that one ton Dodge. You have rear sway bar yet? That is GIANT step in the right direction.

 

Putting an order in on the springs today!

The dually is just more forgiving, going to take time to relearn how to tow with the Ex.

Also i did install the helwig and you are correct it made noticable difference.

 

All things being equal, a dually will always be more stable when towing compared to a single rear wheel setup.

Stewart

 

No doubt about that. The trade off for the room will be worth it, just need to do some wrench turning.

 

I honestly have my doubts that stiffer springs will make a noticeable difference with trailer sway. You will have a better time with the load carrying ability of the truck, and it would certainly handle tongue weight better. But I would be really surprised if it made a meaningful difference.

I know Stewart, you disagree.

I do agree with Stewart about the stability of a dually, there's no way you're going to get a SRW truck like an Excursion to be as stable with a trailer as your Dodge.

 

Way, way too much evidence to the contrary my friend.

Maybe not a huge difference for some rigs, but definitely a difference for all OEM sprung rigs.

If you had tugged a trailer around with my Ex before I did the swap, you would't have an ounce of skepticism in your bones, Tom!

Besides, OEM 4x4 Excursion springs are evil!

Stewart

 

Perhaps. Why don't you drive on out here, we can load my Excursion in the trailer and tow it around with yours? Then you can enlighten me!

 

But there's no way to compare it to the way it was before, so there's no point of reference for you bud.

Seriously though, towing our two-horse bumper pull was a white knuckle experience. So I HAD to pull the trigger (kept putting of the spring swap) when we decided to go to a 4-horse bumper pull.

Stewart

 

Having a DRW as your point of reference can taint the results of a SRW. My goal is to get as close as possible so that I can take advantage of the extra cab space while still maintaining comfortable towing. I am close and I do feel like the stiffer springs helps. The biggest improvement came with the proper adjustment of the hitch which is a common theme in most all of the towing related threads. I am almost embarassed to admit the hitch was not correct but thankfully the was enough wiggle room in the DRW to keep things safe. I am comfortable with how the EX handles the weight and sway of the trailer. I am now on to the handling. I think that if I had started with the EX (and the correct hitch set up) I would have no complaints. Like the rest of you I have pulled a trailer of some sort since I was 16 and if things are not right it makes for some long stressful miles.