All the dually stuff is overrated nonsence.If it has enough power to pull it,its all good,I did have to add air shocks to get it to ride level when pulling the boat,It looked funny to me towing with the nose down some.

I love these photos!

I bet that short wheelbase is great for maneuvering around the ramps! :evilb:

It's all in the tongue weight.

how much more speed with shorties? lol

Truck looks too small. Not long enough whellbase.

Can it,,,,yes,,,,,should you,,,,HELL NO !!!

But when it is,,,,its sure nice to have it !!!!,,,,,and it can be the difference between just an underware chance,,,,or calling a wrecker and your ins comapny

Here ya go. 34' Phantom...tow vehicle is a Lexus GX470 (4x4) which is a rebadged, luxury Toyota Four Runner, but I do have a ride leveling air system for the tongue weight (standard in the Lexus). Tows great, disc brakes on trailer, but...I have towed it from Florida with a Dodge Hemi pick-up truck which was a nice truck to tow with for me. I must admit, I would like more truck (a 2500 would do).

Your picture reminded me of my situation.

Is this Russ or Faith?

Man up - I daily drive mine all day every day.

I dont think anyone mentioned using something larger than a 3500 to tow a 28 footer.

The brakes on a F350 ( dualley ) are impressive. I had no issues stopping a 42 I had, on the trailer when the trailer brakes went out. No problems all all stopping. F250 I doubt the outcome would have been the same.

Braking power and truck weight vs boat weight make a big difference in the ability to control things in a bad situation. I have towed with less than a 3500 series, pulling a heavy load, and the boat will control and push the truck around.

Bigger is better, IMHO.

When is a dually needed :coolcowboy:
Had my first one at 16 and never been without one since:drink:
Bought a 2 wheel drive one once :angry-smiley-038:
Happy New Year
Jim

It's one thing to tow it. It's another to tow it safely. Just remember it's your azz when things go wrong. so what ever makes you feel warm n fuzzy.

Jesus, listening to a lot of you guys would lead a casual reader to think anything less than a Mack, Kenworth, Peterbilt, etc, to pull this 31' boat would be absolutely foolish. :rolleyes:

There's no reason in the world a 3/4 or 1 ton SRW PU can't tow most of the typical 36-39' performance boats out there, and as mentioned many of the newer 1/2 tons can tow the 31 in question w/o issue. Will a DRW do it with a little more of a safety margin? Sure, but then again a Peterbilt will do so with even more safety margin, but where do you stop and what is truly needed? What other criteria, uses, duties, etc are there for what this truck will be used for???

So the simple answer to the OP's question is a SRW would be more than plenty for a 31 and most likely fine for his next future boat upgrade as well, as long as his next jump isn't to a 42+. Anything more is just adding a little extra safety and in the case of many of the previous posters, just adding another inch or two downstairs. :grinser010:

Pick the best tool for the job. "bigger is not always better"

2003+ SRW 2500 is the correct tool for your job

2010+1500 will pull your boat

Yes a DRW will pull it, but there is not enough tongue weight to actually help stop, actually less contact pressure per square inch resulting in less road grip.

DRW is worse in the snow

A DRW main purpose in life is to increase PAYLOAD capacity, for example a slide in truck camper.

DON'T skimp on the trailer! A DRW should not be a "baid aid" for a poorly set up trailer.

Please fill us in on what else the truck will be used for.

I completely agree. You don't NEED a dually to tow on the bumper, ever. You only NEED a dually when your bed payload or 5th wheel tongue load causes the load on the rear axle to exceed the tire ratings for a SRW. Any other argument is based on preference and perceived safety.

I own both a medium duty dually and a SRW 2500 HD. If you live an an area with snow and heavy rain, a dually is just not a realistic daily driver. With all the dually's I see with cracked-up fenders, that just emphasizes the impracticality for anything other than heavy hauling or towing. In fact, not long ago, I saw a brand new fully decked-out Dodge 3500 Laramie Dually in blue, -smashed fender. Still had the dealer paper tag on it.

Bottom line, if you have room in your fleet for a dually, like the look, feel real good driving a dually, and have something else to drive on a daily basis, by all means buy one. If you use it to pull a trailer above 12k frequently at freeway speeds, get one. Otherwise, a SRW 350/3500 will serve most peoples' purposes towing boats up to probably 16,000 lb just fine. Some of the MFG's are coming out with 24,000 lb tow ratings on their 3500's, but read the fine print, that's not on the bumper, or with quad cab, 4wd, etc. Also, in my state, you can't run with GCVW over 26,000 without a CDL anyway.

I just like em and been driving one daily for 30 years with no fender damage :eek: it'll happen now :lolhit:
So set it up correctly and tow with the proper rig a little big is better in my book. (IE: read the fine print )

Any tongue weight is to the c/g and position of the boat to axle on any size boat / trailer.
Happy New Year :coolcowboy:

Best reply yet IMHO.

I own 3 Peterbilts ,1 Kodiak 4500 , 1 3500 dually
Use the petes to haul Jet Fuel The Kodiak to haul my 35 Fountain. and the duallyto haul the 21 ft mastercraft.
Dont know if its right or wrong just makes me feel warm n fuzzy.Cheers n happy new year

+1
The SRW 2500/3500 is plenty for a 311 and a realistic daily driver. Also the new eco-boost f-150 will comfortably tow that boat I know because my good friend routinely tows a 32ft ultimate warlock. The difference is his trailer is set up and maintained very well. Keep all your gear in great shape and a SRW is the truck for you.

Stopping is a helluva lot more important then pulling. I'd rather have my dually pulling a 311 than some of the mentioned 1/2 tons.

MY 2¢

Just curious what you guys used to pull 30-40 ft boats in the late 80's and early 90's when there wasn't any fancy high output drw diesel's?

I pull my 43 blackthunder with a 3/4 srw gas motor pulls and stops just fine since truck and trailer are maintained to do so.

Are there vehicles out there that can do a better job, yes. Not all of us can afford a $150,000 dollar Peterbuilt toy hauler. If we could the medium and heavy duty truck makers would be doing very well!

DRW was out in the 70's.....but gas.

WRONG.....twice the square inch surface contact area.

If you regularly pull heavy loads you will never regret having a dually. I can't stand to drive a single axle now!!!!! The stability of a dual rear wheel is so much nicer even pulling light loads.

I think the question should be do you really want to tow a 10k plus boat with a 1/2 ton or a 3/4.. Tow it yes stop it no way..One panic stop and you will watch all your worldly possessions disappear... All it take is one good lawyer. get the one ton drw you will be glad you did. I have one and i drive it everyday the only thing I cant do is go through car washes...

Talking about contact pressure. Ask any semi driver how much they hate to bobtail!

First one 1977 Chevy 1 ton 4x4 DRW 5.7 gas manual trans 4:88 gears lots o gas.
Finally got a 454 lots more gas 1987 auto trans DRW
Had gas duallys until first diesel in 2003

+100 !! Ohhhh.... the 'ole Cabover days with spring ride...and no Jake !!! LOL :lolhit:

+ 1000 :drink::drink:









ROCK ON !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:coolcowboy:
ITS A SKATER NATION !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:drink:
HAPPY HOLIDAYZ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! :ernaehrung004::cheer::party-smiley-048::bong::cheer::party-smiley-020::bong::ernaehrung004:

Glade you asked don't mind it at all to tell you the truth.
I've got over 10 years of hauling oversized pre-cast most always meant droping load and bobtailing home. staging all peices on site then decking trailers to bring back.Driving anyone of my petes bobtailing is like driving your pickup the days of ill handeling big trucks is long gone.:eek:

Y'all are leaving out the MOST important part of this debate, whether intentional or unintentional...

...BRAKING SYSTEM.

Do your 30mph panic stop in a parking lot with the steering wheel tilted at a 5 degree angle from center with SURGE brakes on the trailer.

Then do your 30mph panic stop in a parking lot with the steering wheel tilted at a 5 degree angle from center with ELECTRIC OVER HYDRAULIC brakes on the trailer.

One of them is going to put you in the shop for repairs to your truck. One of them is not... I don't care how many wheels you have across the back of the truck.

Some of you guys are talking about a 311 formula as if its some tiny single engine boat. 1/2 ton? That 311 full of fuel on a triple axle steel trailer is gonna be 10k lbs all day. Last I checked, 10k lbs is a substantially heavy load for any pickup. Add weight of the truck itself, and the trailer, your talking 15-17k lbs. Half tons have small brakes, suspensions designed to haul a few sheets of drywall and give the wife a comfy un-truck like ride.

Hell, I could sell my dually and hook up my girls hemi grand Cherokee to the boat. It is rated for 8800 lbs I think the manual says. Plus it has a hemi, and its srw. Should get great traction with those skinny 225 tires, lots of psi per square inch. I should be good as long as the jeep is maintained and tire psi set to 44psi. Then I could hit the bank drive thru, car wash, mcdonald's for a quick mcflurry on the way to the launch ramp.

Great point.

This whole psi per square inch thing really has me thinking of going back to a srw. Stock size tires on my srw were 275/65-18. I'm gonna see if I can find some 185/85-18 tires. Not sure if I can find them, but just think of how glued to the road I would be. Heck, prob be able to pull the boat up the ramp in 2wd in the snow. :lolhit:

If you like more rubber on the ground.....
SRW tires are wider FRONT and rear.
You can also increase tire size and upgrade to a heavy duty tire.
Total tire contact is almost as much as a DRW but with more tire on the front where you need it for steering and since front does 70% braking!

[QUOTE=Sydwayz;3579813]Y'all are leaving out the MOST important part of this debate, whether intentional or unintentional...

...BRAKING SYSTEM.


+100 Saftey is the key!

What works for one might not for another. dont matter how you do it just be safe:drink:

Is this red-neck logic or physics? LOL

So....the smaller the foot print the greater the contact pressure.....which must be better. There is a bell curve on this equation, and SRW is on the the low part of the equation. Are you running with slicks?

Sure you can, they do it in Mississippi in Honda's !!!
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/a...2d1324849030t-

When did grocery getters become tow rigs???

I'd HATE to be the driver pulling that boiat and trailer out of the drink without owning a 20' chain.

See ya,
Kelly

I've had dually's for 15 years now. they tow amazing even when towing a single engine boat.

there is NO driving thru a carwash! was never a problem until we moved to the really country and have well water i don't like to wash my dozer with!

we've had suv's and little go fast cars for everyday and just had the dually for me and or towing....my wife has taken it over the manual trans dually now as a daily driver.

you just get used to driving whatever you got.

This was my point with the bigger truck. All this crap about properly maintained and setup trailer is all good in the " perfect world " . But in the event something happens to the trailer brakes, that 10,000lb plus load is going to push that 6000 lb truck all over the place because the smaller truck doesnt have the braking power of the larger truck.

LMAO :lolhit: