I have a friend that is going to buy a new ford thuck,he is having a problem decideing on wheather to get a Dulley or not he will be towing 13,0000# 5th wheel and is concerned about pitch and yall,it seems he has had a dodge single wheel and experenced these problems any input will be GREATLY APPRICATED

 

First to acknowledge some of the disadvantages of a dually. Extra cost to buy and maintain (tires, slightly less MPG) and inconvenience in tight places.
All that said I would strongly consider a dually for the ability to handle heavy loads and the stability of it.
I tow a 36' 5th wheel that weighs 17,000 lbs.
The truck is also used for a full size camper.
I have 4X4, thats an entirely diff. subject.
Another consideration is how often you will pull the trailer. Make sure to check the trailer weight on a scale, manufacturers are notorius for understating the dry weight. Then you add to that with your own goodies that you load.
I have a 92 F-250, 460, and aftermarket duallys.
Yes, the truck is overloaded.

 

i'm getting ready to buy a f350 7.3 with dually --my calc is that I won't be able to tow the 17k either----wht is the impact and down side? any legal implecations? i have heard many guys towin ggreat loads and no one ever says it is a problem?

 

Impact has been a rebuilt tranny at less than 50k miles, "not entirely my fault it's an E4OD". Legally; I suppose if you wrecked and if they prove you knowingly overloaded then? My trailer happens to have triple axles and brakes on all wheels, (some dont). I added an aftermarket overload spring pack (3-leaves), a big improvement over the factory overload. This addressed my two main concerns the ability to stop and a level truck.

 

Hi there
In regard to your question about towing - we have found over the years you will get much better information about towing going to a place that sells trailers. Whatever the type of trailer you are hauling they are much more help because they deal with the hitches etc and we have most definitely found their information to be very accurate as opposed to the dealers selling you a truck. NO offense to anyone intended it is just that the dealers don't nessesarily see the towing end and the trailer dealers most definiately do!

 

>First to acknowledge some of the disadvantages
>of a dually. Extra cost to
>buy and maintain (tires, slightly less
>MPG) and inconvenience in tight places.
>All that said I would strongly
>consider a dually for the ability
>to handle heavy loads and the
>stability of it. I tow a
>36' 5th wheel that weighs 17,000
>lbs. The truck is also used
>for a full size camper. I
>have 4X4, thats an entirely diff.
>subject. Another consideration is how often
>you will pull the trailer. Make
>sure to check the trailer weight
>on a scale, manufacturers are notorius
>for understating the dry weight. Then
>you add to that with your
>own goodies that you load. I
>have a 92 F-250, 460, and
>aftermarket duallys. Yes, the truck is
>overloaded.

 

sorry about that frank, i inadverdently reposted your msg. the following is mine. the f350 dually has a rated towing capacity of 13.5k lbs as opposed to 13.8k lbs for the non dually f350 & f250 sd psd. my 5th whl dry is 11.8k lbs and my '99' f250 handles it with no problem,even tho my trk grosses at 7550 lbs (98 gal aux fuel tnk in bed),and total wt (trk & trlr)20.5k lbs. i advise the addition of an exhaust brake,even tho the trlr whls (6) all have brakes. i travel out west every year and negotiating 6-7% down grades are no fun without it.

 

I agree with Patti, you should really talk to a trailer dealer before making your hard-and-fast decision. Otherwise.....

I, myself have a 1980 Chevrolet (I know, I know; cussword. Please don't send me any hate mail! ) K30 Silverado Crew Cab, 4x4, dually. I have used it often to tow 8-9K 5th-wheels. The main disadvantage of dual rear wheels (DRW) is that the outside tires "drag" around the corner (they need to travel faster than the inside tires, but since they're bolted together, they can't), increasing tire wear. I have found that airing up the outside tires about 5 to 10 psi can slightly decrease this rate of wear. Also, you will get a little less fuel mileage than a single rear wheel (SRW) truck.

To me, however, the benefits far outweigh the costs: an increase in weight-carrying capacity, increased traction (a minimal benifit, but it IS there), and most of all, the ability to stabilize loads. DRW'd vehicles tend to roll less than than SRW'd vehicles due to either trailer or load rate, or due to crosswinds.

One final note: on Ford's F-350's in 1999, rear lift blocks were used to give the truck a "raked" stance, i.e. the tail sits higher than the nose. This caused problems with 5th-wheel trailers as the clearance from the bed rail to the trailer's "goosneck" was often too small, causing the 'neck to bottom-out onto the truck. In mid-'99, Ford offered a free kit to remove these blocks for anyone who asked for it. I do not know if these rear-lifting blocks are still being used in the 2000s. Maybe someone elses can help there?

Hope this helped, and have fun!!

Avatar

 

I've owned and operated a lot of trucks over the past 20 years and in general it is possible to tow weights in excess of the manufacturers rating. However!!...All it takes is a moment of in-attention for things to go seriously wrong if your way overloaded. I would not hesitate in a pinch to tow 15K or more with my 99F350SD SRW but if your planning on regularly to pull over the max combined weight rating why not go with and F450 and be safe? You get a larger set of brakes and a few other odds and ends as compared with the F350 and additionally piece of mind knowing that you've got more than enough capacity to tow your rig.

 

I have a 97 F350 dually crew cab and I wouldn't give it up for nothing. I pull a 32' dual axle basement modle fith wheel with washer, dryer everything and I know I'm maxed out on weight cause my wife packs like she's never coming back. And I have Firestone tires! Only bummer is buying two more tire and the rotation. I had an 86 F250 with a Lance camper and if and when you do have a flat tire the extra wheel in the back is nice. I don't have four wheel drive and haven't really needed it. Some thought I would tho. If ya have the $ go for it all. Get an exhaust brake to save on the brakes tho. Plus there are lots of goodies out there you can buy. Mine has been stock since day one. Definitly thinking about the exhaust brake tho.

 

My mother has a 12,000lb fifth wheel. She has pulled it with 2 3/4 ton 4x4 trucks with the tow package with absolutely no problem related to the axles or trannys. The only problem was the old 351 was a little too weak to run up the hills. It was replaced with a 488 V-10 and the Dodge has no problem with the trailer. She tows about once every 2 months, and they are long trips not just to the local campground. So my recommendation is if you want the SRW, get it, it'll handle your trailer fine.

Daywalker
92' F-250 351 4x4 xlt 4.10 5spd sprcab lngbed
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1426655&a=10683799&p=36629681&Sequence=0&re s=high

 

I have a F250 SD V10 Shortbed Single rear wheel towing a 30' fith wheel. I have had no stability problems at any legal towing speed (up to 75). When I shopped for this truck, the Ford tow rating was higher than an F350 V10 longbed duelly by 1500 lbs.