When is it time(weight) to go with a dually?
 

At what weight, towing off the hitch, is it recommended to go to a dually?

I'm comfortable with 7k boat plus fuel plus trailer towing with a single rear wheel diesel.

Normal towing being in the NorthEast, hilly areas and 200 mile destinations.

A lot depends on what you are towing
I towed my Cig on a Myco trailer (#10k) behind my lifted F350 and had zero issues
If the boat and trailer are setup right then you don't need a dually until you exceed the weight rating of your truck ( duallys can tow more)

Tough question. I too agree that it all depends on setup.
1) Surge brakes are garbage... compared to Electric over Hydraulic. Try it once, and you will know exactly what I am talking about. I cannot and will not say that EoH brakes will make up for lack-o-truck. However, if you are marginal; and/or have the option to go with EoH brakes, DO IT. It's worth every fricking penny. The added control and ability to adjust your braking power is phenomenal.

2) Depends on what you plan on hauling with you & the boat. Remember that ALL tow ratings are calculated with an empty truck bed and a single person in the truck (driver). If you plan on hauling a family of four, luggage, coolers, golf cart, and the family lab with you, you now have a totally new set of calculations that you need to work with in addition to the boat.

With all that's said, I towed 12,000 lbs. with a 3/4 ton, and now tow a bit more than that with a 1-ton dually. Looking back to towing with the old setup (which was within spec and legal) to towing with my current setup; I know I am a LOT more comfortable driving with the new setup.

IMHO, 10K lbs. + ---> go with a DRW truck.

I totally agree with the EoH brakes, that's the way I've been doing it.

I've got a 1 ton Ford 7.3 xcab single wheel and was curious if the dual wheel gives you that extra stable feeling when you've got the big weight on the back.

I've never towed with a single wheel because I see no disadvantage in having the dual wheel other than if the emergency brake goes bad it is in the rear hub and is a pain.

I tow about 12K with srw. Does not feel stable to me without rear air bags. I think that a dually would be much better at this weight but it does the job legally and is a much easier daily driver. BTW EOH brakes are fantastic.

It does for a fact. I've towed with both, last truck was a dually, and like Sydwayz says, anything over 10-12k on the receiver you're better off with the dually.

I've had a 3500 dually and it did tow very nice. It was more stable at highway speeds, especially if its windy. It sucked everywhere else though. Too big to go through drive thru's, into car washes, parking garages, bank atms, etc. I had it when I had my 28 Pantera which was about 7k total.
I traded to 2500HD and couldn't be happier. I'm at about 10.5 k with my 32 AT loaded and its plenty stable. It does sway a little on a windy day, but all I need to do is slow down some and its fine.

Time to go dually when the weight towed exceeds the rating of a SRW chassis or if stability/sway can not be controlled with SRW.

Even with a 5K lbs travel trailer wind could be a stability problem and although the weight does not exceed a 3/4 ton truck the dual tires tracking straight and controlling sway is the best fix.


I went dually because of stability. When the size of what I was pulling kept moving the truck in the lane it was time for a less challenging drive.

Yes, you absolutely feel the difference. Especially so when you pass or are passed by a big blunt 18-wheeler. It's at this point when the side of our boats become big sails and get pushed by this oncoming side-gust of wind. The dually absolutely keeps the mid-ship of the entire truck/boat in check and more stable vs. SRW.

it's allways better to over build than under build

Good point... We're still trying to figure out if we need a dually...

http://www.limestonedev.com/mti/2009..._4Internet.JPG

I have surge brakes on my 29' powerquest. what is this eoh??

electric over hydraulic

I don't think you need a dually but 4wd wouldn't hurt...

It would hurt my azz.... These truck in 4x4 ride a lot rougher.

I own both and feel the single rear wheel tows as good as a dually. If you have a lot of weight over the rear axle (5000lbs+) you might like the dually better. That would require a load in the bed or a gooseneck/fifth wheel hitch. A tag/bumper pull style hitch does not have enough tongue weight (even a 46 black thunder does not have enough) to require a dually or even notice a difference in my opinion. I also hate dually's in the snow! Air bags will help sway along with properly inflated HD tires. I think the person behind the wheel makes all the difference! Does not matter how "overbuilt" your truck is, if you can't drive or don't have enough expierence!

Have you driven a 4x4 with the Kelderman air ride?

Whether you like a dually or not, the most important, and most overlooked, aspect of towing is staying within the rated limits of your truck for insurance purposes. Sydwayz has emphasized this point over and over again and it cannot be stressed enough. There can be serious consequences for overloading your tow vehicle.

i like my 4 wheel drive

yup

Well how did it ride??

duallys are cooler it is all about the show. buy a 650 or freightliner/sport chassis and be done,go in style. after all you can tow 7000 with a toyota but you wont draw a crowd