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Dually?


curlydoc

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I towed our 5ers with my Dodge 3/4T CTD pickup, but our last 5er was 40' long, GVW 15,500#. My beloved Dodge was severely under-powered and overweight. I bought an 02 Chevrolet K3500 dually and towing was once again enjoyable. Sure sightseeing and city driving is more difficult in a CC,LB, dually, but it handled that 5er effortlessly. We went to AK with that rig, and had a wonderful time, well except for the broken spring on the 5er.

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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I like the braking for sure, the truck not even knowing the trailer is there going down the highway, better mileage then my pickup. I have an older Dodge so of course would LOVE a new Dodge but I just could not justify 60-70k for a pickup when you can get an HDT for 1/3 of that. Leaves a lot left over for whatever else you need whether it be a toad or toys.

There is no way a your HDT gets better millage than a decent running pickup dually if they are both diesel. My 06 dually duramax gets 11-1/2 mpg pulling our fifth wheel which total rig grosses out at 24k. My sons 06 Freightliner gets 8 mpg bobtail or with a loaded flatbed. He even installed a 10 speed manual from the auto shift trans which only got 7 mpg. You just can't compare a new pickup at 60-70k (must be loaded) to a used HDT for a third cost. Like I said before my sons maintenance cost scare the heck out of me compared to my pickup cost. Sure the HDT has more power and braking, but I'm retired and it's slow and easy for me and the pickup is the best bang for the dollar spent.

 

Greg

 

Glen - I get 20-22 with empty truck running 60 mph. The only time I got 7 mpg was when my turbo went out. I have the 3.73 rear end. I just helped my son replace his radiator in his 06 Freightliner which cost $950 for the radiator and took a cherry picker to lift it out it was so heavy. The dealer wanted $180/hr is the reason we did it our selves. My chevy radiator only cost $300 and took me alone 2 hours to change.

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Everyone has different opinions and trucks your results may vary....My HDT gets 1 mpg more pulling my trailer than my pickup does and it has comparable unloaded mileage as yours (all hand calculated not overhead lie-o-meter)

BTW weight has less to do with it than wind resistance. My trailer catches a lot, my HDT does not see a big difference bob tail or pulling.

truckntrailer1.jpg

 

2006 Peterbilt 387 -2013 Dutchmen Voltage 3950

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"There is no way a your HDT gets better millage than a decent running pickup dually if they are both diesel. My 06 dually duramax gets 11-1/2 mpg pulling our fifth wheel which total rig grosses out at 24k"

 

Not sayin your wrong, but I get 10.5 to 11 with the Volvo towing at whatever speed and terrain it encounters. With the Dodge Dually with EFI tuning, and all the fun parts, it never got over 11mpg. Hit a head wind and it went down, run up a hill and it dropped, cruise up a mountain and it went to 4 and blew a gray haze behind it. Plus I was over my rear axle weight with a 5k pin weight.

The braking ability of the HDT is superior to any of the big 3 pickups as well. IF everything works right, a properly matched dually and 5th wheel works together nicely. Loose braking ability on either one and your in trouble. Lose brakes on a trailer being pulled by a HDT and you'll notice it, but it's no big deal.

Our HDT cost 19k ready to roll... Find a dually for that.

Alie & Jim + 8 paws

2017 DRV Memphis 

BART- 1998 Volvo 610

Lil'ole 6cyl Cummins

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

 

I towed my 5er, 16,300#, CAT scale weight with my 13' 3500 dually all through the mountains of NC, SC, TN, VA and WV, including 7% grades on I26, I77 and I64 and NEVER had an issue, nor even hardly, had an issue with braking, truck being pushed around by 5er, or lack of power. I've gotten as low as 9.5 mpg to 11 mpg when towing...when empty, I've even gotten 17mpg, normally, 16.5.../ALL hand calc...not using the lie o meter. I've never had a problem taking my dually anywhere...A dually has been my daily driver for 10 yrs now. Wife, dogs, grandchildren all can easily enter and exit the truck.....Again, with 385HP, 850TQ, 14,000 GVW, 9750# RAWR, medium duty diesel AND tranny with 4.10, I have 37,500# GCWR...and in Longhorn trim, cost was $53,000 and paid for, With crew cab, long bed 4 wheel drive I can use it for many other task....Now I'm moving to a Jayco 44' 5er with a GWR of 20,000#, which, if I loaded to max GWR,(which I won'T), I'd still be under trucks GCWR by approx. 8,000#...I could go up in pin weight from last 5er's of 3460 to 4,000# and not only STILL be under RAWR, but will still be under trucks GVWR.. Duallys manufactured since 2013 aren't the same truck that they were before that..I'll stick with something I can use 7 days a week, 12 months out of the year.

2016 DRV MS36RSSB3
2016 Ram 3500 DRW/CC/LB/4X4/Aisin/4.10 Longhorn, rear air assist suspension
B&W OEM RVK3600 Companion hitch

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

 

16,300 you don't need an HDT. You would be safer with one but I will not argue that with you. Add thousands to that tow and things change quickly.

 

Well, GVW on new one is 20,000#...No issues....Not weighed new combo yet...and again...plenty of room to park my 1 ton crew cab, long bed 4x4 dually. Can use it anytime I want, and again, entering and exiting truck is a breeze...even for smaller grandkids, wife and pets. You also don't need a HDT for 22,000# GVW.....but people who haven't driven one of the 2013+ 3500/350 dually's and towed GVW 5ers of 20-22K, don't really know and can only speculate from info about pre 13' year models.

2016 DRV MS36RSSB3
2016 Ram 3500 DRW/CC/LB/4X4/Aisin/4.10 Longhorn, rear air assist suspension
B&W OEM RVK3600 Companion hitch

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My 2011 GMC dually pulls and stops my coach fine. The exhaust brake and cruise control are superb. My next truck will likely be an HDT, probably a Volvo. I want to get a RZR. Not loading anything in the bed of a pickup when pulling a 5er. Fitting a RZR on the back of an HDT is pretty routine these days. Well, fitting a Smart is routine. Pretty much the same dimensions as a 2-person RZR.

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We have used our dually for 12 years now as a puller and daily driver. Piece of cake. We did rent a 2015 Chevy Impala in Twin Falls, ID. when I had the clutch replaced in the Dually after 189,000 miles. If I had to "crawl" in and out of that Impala daily, it and I would part company immediately!

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Well, GVW on new one is 20,000#...No issues....Not weighed new combo yet...and again...plenty of room to park my 1 ton crew cab, long bed 4x4 dually. Can use it anytime I want, and again, entering and exiting truck is a breeze...even for smaller grandkids, wife and pets. You also don't need a HDT for 22,000# GVW.....but people who haven't driven one of the 2013+ 3500/350 dually's and towed GVW 5ers of 20-22K, don't really know and can only speculate from info about pre 13' year models.

I may not need one but it is no fun towing my camper with my dually. It is too light. I would also state that a dually for a daily commute sucks. Very expensive to drive also. Newer trucks don't get 20mpg. I get 13/14mpg commuting to work and back. That is all my truck does other than towing. Towing is 7 so yes an hdt with a Smart for commute is less money.

2003 Teton Grand Freedom towed with 2006 Freightliner Century 120 across the beautiful USA welding pipe.https://photos.app.goo.gl/O32ZjgzSzgK7LAyt1

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We have a newmar Kountry Aire 5er Dry weight 20,000# length 40' pin weight 4200# full timer so 5er is 23k/24k after wife moved in; try towing that with pickup or stopping in emergency. We went to Alaska last summer fuel mileage between 8&10 mpg. we now have smart car, but used Volvo as daily drive for over a year, you just have to plan ahead....

the sailor & his Lady

1998 Volvo 610 "Big Red"

2006 Newmar Kountry Aire "Mother Goose"

2013 Smart Car "Lil' Red"

 

" If you aren't living on the edge, you are just taking up space "

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I may not need one but it is no fun towing my camper with my dually. It is too light. I would also state that a dually for a daily commute sucks. Very expensive to drive also. Newer trucks don't get 20mpg. I get 13/14mpg commuting to work and back. That is all my truck does other than towing. Towing is 7 so yes an hdt with a Smart for commute is less money.

 

So extra money for a little smart car plus insurance.....How is that cheaper?? I'm wrapped in luxury in my 2013 Longhorn dually...loaded to the gills... I get, on average 15 mpg to and from work....My wife has driven it and helped with towing...She drives our second car, a 2015 Jeep Cherokee Limited...2 vehicles, no more, to do EVERYTHING we need, and my dually offers as safe a tow as your semi tractor truck. ..I get as low as 9.5 to as high as 11mpg towing..,,,,My dually with me in it, full tank of fuel, full tank of DEF, hitch, front grill guard weighed 9240#...I could easily tow 22,000# GVW 5er, but will concede to your vast knowledge of NEW duallys and their capabilities and towing knowledge....I tow in the mountains in WV, TN, NC and VA...several 7% grades, never pushed around, never an issue of any kind, but 45 yrs of towing does't seem to pull much weight around here

 

You win..Nothing in the world like a HDT, guess I'll just have to rough iit with my old under powered pick up...though I've yet to have been passed by a semi towing a heavy 5er up a 7% grade..

 

I LOVE towing my 5er with my little ole pick up....It IS fun, enjoyable and most of all....just as safe as you are...but I'm a great driver:)

2016 DRV MS36RSSB3
2016 Ram 3500 DRW/CC/LB/4X4/Aisin/4.10 Longhorn, rear air assist suspension
B&W OEM RVK3600 Companion hitch

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Always wonder why no one can seem to gracefully accept other people's decisions. There is no "perfect" solution, there is no "one size fits all." We are all RV'ers - Class A, Class C, Class B, Truck Camper, Travel Trailer, small fiver, big fiver. How many variations of tow vehicles are there?

 

Some of us are just concerned about seeing big fivers behind trucks that really cannot handle them safely. If you are happy and safe with what you have good on ya.

Dennis & Nancy
Tucson, AZ in winter, on the road in summer.

1999 Volvo 610 "Bud" 425 HP Volvo, Super 10 spd.
2005 Mountain Aire 35 BLKS
2013 smart fortwo CityFlame riding on Bud
(Replaced '05 smart first loaded in '06

and '11 smart that gave it's life to save me!)
Our Travel Blog

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Let your brakes fail one time and you likely sing another tune. I did. But continue enjoying life. Not worth arguing over. And I pray you never needed an hdt.

Thank you for your prayers. I had a stroke August 19th and am trying to recover from that at this time, camping is on a back burner for the DW and I right now.

 

As far as brake failure, or fade..Thank the Lord, never an issue, (towing regularly in the mountains since 1975) none on I64, 7% grade in new River Gorge in WV, I77, Fancy Gap grade in Va, I26, from NC border to Erwin TN, none on I26 on Saluda grade in NC, nor the 50 miles of mountainous, curvy secondary road I travel in WV to get to my camp....no brake fade on truck or 5er...of course transmission is in T/H, EB is on and brakes are solid..and a little common sense adjusting speed of truck BEFORE starting down these mountains.

 

I KNOW that there are 5th wheels out there that NEED a HDT, ...but in the 18-22K weight range, new generation 1 ton dually's are FAR more capable than they were pre-MY2013.

That is all....Common sense should dictate a lot of the towing formula, and one's towing experiences, especially in the mountains, where I do 99% of my towing,,,,,rarely flatland.

 

I've driven a Smart car...almost bought one, but DIDN'T feel very safe in the tiny thing... Just Enough room for wife and I, none for our two boxers...

 

Happy camping

Jim

2016 DRV MS36RSSB3
2016 Ram 3500 DRW/CC/LB/4X4/Aisin/4.10 Longhorn, rear air assist suspension
B&W OEM RVK3600 Companion hitch

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And Glenn, brakes fail on HDTs as well.

 

 

Ken

See them and smell them fading and failing at times on the very grades I spoke of, as well as lesser, yet longer, downhill grades. I've never had an issue....not saying it can't happen...nut some common sense can go a long way in the towng formula.

 

thanks Ken

2016 DRV MS36RSSB3
2016 Ram 3500 DRW/CC/LB/4X4/Aisin/4.10 Longhorn, rear air assist suspension
B&W OEM RVK3600 Companion hitch

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Hi NC Hauler - hope recovery goes well and you and the DW are soon "hauling" those grand kids again.

 

TXiceman - Hot faded brakes on heavy duty trucks don't usually occur running empty (around 34,000lbs gcw) - it's usually when loaded near max capacity & with drum brakes - (like my toyhauler )....

 

NC Hauler gives good advice - watch your downhill speed... anyone can buy and build HP for flying up grades - I've only scared myself driving class 8 trucks and heavy pickup/trailer combos in braking situations... never going up hill...

"Are we there yet?" asked no motorcycle rider, ever. 

 

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Hi NC Hauler - hope recovery goes well and you and the DW are soon "hauling" those grand kids again.

 

TXiceman - Hot faded brakes on heavy duty trucks don't usually occur running empty (around 34,000lbs gcw) - it's usually when loaded near max capacity & with drum brakes - (like my toyhauler )....

 

NC Hauler gives good advice - watch your downhill speed... anyone can buy and build HP for flying up grades - I've only scared myself driving class 8 trucks and heavy pickup/trailer combos in braking situations... never going up hill...

 

Thanks buddy....left leg coming along, got movement in my left arm and hand, just not much I can do with it right now, but considering I had the stroke on Aug. 19th.... I've come a long way in a short time....Lord willing, I'll get mobility back in my arm and hand...We've got a brand new Jayco 4112 that has been sitting at the dealership since this happened. Every weekend that we can, we go to our TH and spend several hrs. or more in it... We've had an EXTENDED PDI on this unit :) . Miles RV in Fletcher NC have gone "above and beyond" to accommodate my wife and my needs since my stroke....They're a class act Jayco dealership...

 

Jim

2016 DRV MS36RSSB3
2016 Ram 3500 DRW/CC/LB/4X4/Aisin/4.10 Longhorn, rear air assist suspension
B&W OEM RVK3600 Companion hitch

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I've been looking at these steerable axle dollies with an open mind. Maybe a guy doesn't need to change vehicles at all:

 

Automated Safety Hitch - http://www.automatedsafetyhitch.com/ - info and videos -

 

Tow All aka Add An Axle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLE1KnuE8Sw - the last 5 mins of video is best part and more RV specific.

 

I am not endorsing anything in fact my default is normally to trucks with retarders and air brakes rather than depending on electric wires to hold my downgrade speed :o

 

But the ability to keep the truck and parking arrangements I have, but add 4 feet of tow vehicle wheelbase, 2 more tires, 2 more brakes, move the hitch swivel point back, use the bed of the tow vehicle - is interesting....

"Are we there yet?" asked no motorcycle rider, ever. 

 

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