dually pros and cons

[Winston Wolf]

I seem to be running into a lot of people warning me against buying a dually.



"It's so big you can't park it. "



"The fenders will get beat up by doors and shopping carts"



"You'll rip the fenders off on some imovable object"



All this, of course, from people who have never actually owned a dually.



I have given this some forethought. I'm fairly confident that my parking and driving technique will adapt as necessary.



Dually owners past and present -- what say you?



Any "ripping the fenders off" horror stories?

 

[gsdog1]

I owned a 98. 5 QC dually right up until I started working in Indy. It was a nightmare to park downtown, if not down right impossible. I ended up selling it for a 2500 for that reason alone.



Mileage was also about 1. 5 mpg less on the 3500 as compared to my similarly equipped 2nd gen 2500 under predominantly similar driving conditions.



Matt

 

[JL penner]

If most of your miles are on the highway, then dually is the way to go. Much more stable ride while pulling. If you want one just to have one then be prepared to pay for two more tires and possibly a fender if you get a wild blowout. Parking can be a pain but it's not much worse than driving a 2500. I park in the back of the lot anyway.

 

[GerryDrake]

Dually for me

We have had ours a year now, and for towing a trailer of any size, the dually can't be beat. Yes, the mileage likely suffers, and the tires probably wear just as fast, and when it comes time to replace them, there are more of them, but towing the 35' er with the dually is so much more solid than our prior ride. Granted it was a 95 3/4T PS 4x4, but it was pretty solid on the road by itself. Driving the dually hasn't been much of a challenge as to the added width. Yes, you have to be careful, and will occasionally drop off a curb at a corner, but we haven't had any mishaps with the fenders, either while driving or while parked. We are a bit more cautious when parking, like not backing in between two cars that have pulled in forward, as the added width is right at their doors. On occasion we park a bit further out in the lot, but how much influence the dually aspect has on that. Maneuvering... minimally different than a single rear wheel version. We DID have to get a step ladder to put alongside the fenders when we retrieve anything from the bed, but the overall stability when towing more than overrides any inconvenience. Oh yeah, in dodging potholes, if you dodge them with one of the rear wheels, the other one doesn't drop into it...



We'd buy a dually again in a heartbeat.



Just an opinion, of course

 

[sbentz]

Love mine. Would not ever go back, even for a daily driver. More stable, tires wear better, (tought to rotate though) and they intimidate the others on the road. Especially in the republics of California and Colorado... .

 

[Radshooter]

What are you going to use it for? Heavy hauling, or just daily driving? If you pull or haul anything even slightly heavy on a regular basis, get the dually and you won't be sorry. If all you do is drive to and from work in a crowded urban environment, maybe think twice. I traded a 2500 SRW V-10 for my 3500 DRW Cummins. The 2500 was also a pain to park because it was a long bed quad-cab. We used it to pull our 17,000 lb fiver. When we got to where we were on the road with the trailer more and more often, we traded it for the dually. Made a wonderful world of difference in handling the trailer. Much more stable. I had no trouble adapting to the width of the dually, and I usually park at the back of the parking lot anyway. So far we have lived in rural towns like Blackfoot ID, and now are in Phoenix with the same truck. No problems, just have to learn what drive-through restaurants you can and cannot clear!! Just remember... ... If the mirrors clear the post, the fenders will too unless you turn the steering wheel.



Decide what you will use it for and go for it. Don't let your friends influence you too much. You are driving it, not them.

 

[InThinAir]

Once you go duals you never go back...



I will say if you are worried about parking it at the mall, you shouldn't have a duallie. Duallies are for haulin' heavy. Mine sits until I need something big moved for one place to another...



But it does help that I have 2, a small and a xl cummins.



As far as rippin off parts of it I have seen my share of roughed up duallie, especially when I was in the market. People do have trouble with them. But around here seems like duallies are for housewifes to feel safe drivin to the soccer fields.



---Doug

 

[DPelletier]

My advice;

- If you need a dually (i. e. your loaded GVWR will be over 9,900 lbs), then buy it. The right tool for the job. The dually is definitely a little more difficult to park and to go through the McDonalds drive-through. I consider this a minor annoyance compared to the comfort and stability when I'm rolling at 11,500 lbs plus GVW.

I traded a perfectly nice 2001. 5 for two main reasons; I wanted an NV-5600 and I needed a dually to avoid being 1500 - 2000 lbs over GVWR.

The added cost of two tires every couple years is so insignificant to me it doesn't even register.



Cheers,

Dave

 

[daytripper63]

I never thought I would by a truck with TRAINING WHEELS

But after spending some time in a friend of mines and now buying my own, I will probably never go back! Stability is awsome



Yes it is not the greatest vehicle to go to the store in due to having to park in two spots out in the south forty but everytime I come out of store their is usually 2 or 3 more duallies right near me for same reason. Yes there are pros and cons to both SRW and DRW my last truck was a 98. 5 ram 2500 4x4 loved the truck but love my dually more!

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

People's Republik of Kalifornia :-laf nice touch BBenson.



I have seen a few bashed in dually fenders. Personally, I have never even come close - because I put a flatbed on it.



Yes it is a little harder to park. But then I almost always park at the far end of anywhere, just so I'm out of incoming range, looking for a shady spot, and so no one is bugging my dogs. Best CTD I've had and I would get a dually again. In fact if I would have done it two rigs ago I'd still have the first one.

 

[JHardwick]

Get the dually if you tow at all. Way more stable under any load.



I use mine as a daily driver and I'm loaded at least once a week, either in the bed, out of the bed(GN) or on the hitch.



I'm kind of a recluse when it come to stores and stuff like that but, here are a few easy tips ... ... ... ...



Parking downtown, pull the mirror in before you get out.



Malls or shopping centers, take 4 way out back, they are small and the walk won't hurt you any. (Besides, puts the truck in the spotlight like it deserves)



Fast food drive thrus, I don't eat that junk if I don't have to, and again the walk won't hurt you if you have to park with the rigs and buses.



One last tip ... ... ... ... . if the mirrors clear, so will the rear fenders

 

[bmoeller]

The main reason I have dually, is that is what I found at the time. I was really only looking for a diesel 3/4ton truck, but found a dually instead. I don't tow that much, it is mostly a daily driver.



Since having one, and the towing that I do, do, it has a nice surprise on how it handles the same trailers that I pulled with the Ford. Much more stable and much less sway.



Even though, at this point, I don't really need a dually, but don't wanna go back to a SRW. This truck has been great.



The width doesn't bother me, I drive 18 wheelers anyways. Unless you need to park in a parking garage, it really hasn't been a problem. With the turning radius that my Ford has, I'd have to find the same sized hole. I did park in a parking garage ONCE. Had no choice. I got around in there, but it was b****.



Mileage, probably not as good as a SRW Ram, but I'm getting 2mpg better than the 6. 9L and double what I got with my last gasser F-250. Either way, I'm still happy.

 

[Winston Wolf]

Top ten reasons

and thanks for all the great comments guys. Dealer says my dually has been built and we're waiting for a train ride.



Okay, here are my Top Ten reasons for sticking with the dually.



1) I gotsta tow. I want to drive around with a backhoe on a gooseneck. Don't know if I'll dig any dirt. Maybe I'll drive around like that just for grins.



2) People who are scared by duallys probably deserve to be a little scared.



3) Duallys will soon be illegal in The Peoples' Republik. Today BMG rifles, tomorrow duallys. It's a slippery slope.



4) When duallys are outlawed, only outlaws will have duallys.



5) Driving a dually will restore confidence in my manhood after those unfortunate occasions where I have to drive my wife's lime green New Beetle. (Yes, it's a 'happy' little car. )



6) Cummins, Cummins, Cummins.



7) Mel Gibson (as Detective Riggs) tore a house off a cliff with one.



8) Diesel is still cheaper than bottled water.



9) I just like it.



and number 10...



10) The wife likes it. (And I always make up my mind as soon as she tells me what it is. :-laf )

 

[Wiredawg]

Parking, Fenders and Manuevering OK

I drove my dually in DC, parked it there, parallel parked it and parked in airport garage no problem. Don't worry about shooping carts: Park in the south 40 of grocery stores.



I pull heavy 17K 5th wheel and drive empty 99% time. I love it and wouldn't trade for anything.



Go for the dually!



Wiredawg

 

[AKsmoker]

Good Choice! Id never go back. After three 3/4 tons its the only way to tow. Had the truck in for service and got a loaner from the dealer, a Neon. Do you know how small those cars are! Felt like driving a sardine can down the highway! I looked up to everybody! People cut me off like I wasnt even there. Never happen when your driving the Dually. Only people that come in close is the eighteen wheelers, and they only want to get a better look Enjoy the new truck and good luck!

 

[JZellers]

I wouldn't go back to SRWs either, except on my daily driver ('92 W250 )



The duals provide extra traction at the boat ramps too! If you're going to drive it in snow, make sure there's some weight over the axle or you'll be like I was the first time I drove my empty 2000 quad cab on a snow covered road a week after I got it - the back end was really squirrelly because the rear tires were floating on top of the snow. The only thing 4WD did was keep it on the road instead of the ditch. 500lbs of sand bags sure tamed that problem. My third gen is better, probably due to more of the extra cab weight going toward the rear axle, but I still add the sand bags...



You do have to pick your parking spots too, but I find backing into spots whenever possible helps, especially with a quad cab.

 

[Bertram65]

I have found my SRW to be very stable while towing, either bumper pull or 5th wheel, I am only towing 9K but I have not had any sway or stablity issues. The SRW short bed is also very easy to park anywhere, and it can go in a parking garage. I would think the boat ramp traction would only be increased on a dually on a dry ramp, a wet or slippery ramp you should have less traction with a dually as there is a much larger contact patch for roughly the same wieght.

 

[mberry]

I seem to be running into a lot of people warning me against buying a dually.





"You'll rip the fenders off on some imovable object"



Any "ripping the fenders off" horror stories?

I don't own a dually, but I had my truck for exactly 1 week and turned too sharp coming out of the car wash and hit a concrete filled steel pole. You know, those 3 foot tall one's that you can only see if you turn your mirrors just the right way? Scraped the side just forward of the rear wheel. I was so mad at myself for doing that but I can't change it, I can only get it fixed and pay more attention to what I'm doing. This happened this past Monday 9-13.



My point is, if you pay attention to what you are doing, unlike myself at the time, you won't rip any fenders off.

 

[CTLindsey]

I love my Duelly.

Great for my 5ver

No problems parking at work or at the store. (I go tshopping 3-4 times a week)

Fast food drive throughs, I have more problems with engine noise than I do with DRW

I Love the stable ride and milage loss is minimal compared to SRW



If you need it get it, you will get used to it being a few inches wider on each side

 

[Babyfat]

i've had a 92, 98, and now 2000 drw,s will never buy anything but, only had one fender problem (could have been the beer ) on my 92.