The Mad Norsky
Yankton, South Dakota
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Joined: 04/14/2003
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I've always towed with a dually, but to say yes to this question would be just guessing on my part.
I've never towed my fifth wheel with a properly matched single rear wheel vehicle, so I have absolutely nothing to compare to.
One should be at least honest in their opinions in this respect.
In my mind, I do think a dually would be more stable just because of its increased load carrying ability and the two extra tires on the ground.
Again though, I have no comparison experience to relate to this.
The OP here has furnished bare minimum, if even that much, data to base any judgements on. There may be more here than just SRW versus a dually.
Just a couple of thoughts that come to mind are:
Tires ; Inflated properly? sidewall squirm? We all know that tires can make a huge difference, and also that various brands have more sidewall stiffness and work better for towing. Is this the actual problem the OP is having, and not a dually versus SRW issue?
Fifth wheel: again, tires on the fiver could also be the cause. Same reasons as for the truck.
Fifth wheel: hitched level, or does this need adjustment???????
Fifth wheel: is the hitch adjusted correctly, (back to level again) or is there some slop in the hitch causing chucking problems which could add to the OP's original statements?????
Shocks worn on tow vehicle is another possible culprit which added with other possible causes could be the problem here.
One has to look at the details, of which we have sparingly few at the moment, to make an educated deduction here.
My first guess is tow vehicle tires, but gosh, I have almost nothing here to base this on.
The Mad Norsky, Doll, Logan, Korey & Rocky
2011 Ford F350 Power Stroke dually
RV'ing since 1991
We never know where we're going till we get there!
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RVUSA
Orlando, FL, USA
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Joined: 01/04/2005
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steelpony5555 wrote:I just put 500 miles on the rig in the last 2 weeks and even in heavy Dallas and Houston traffic, even in the major storm Houston had 2 weeks ago complete with tornado and a foot of water on the Interstate, the new truck handled it superb.
You towed a 5ver through a foot of water on the interstate? Juat hammered right on thru doing 60? 
Quote:I love my dually even if she does have a big butt....
LOL good one. 
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steelpony5555
Copperas Cove Texas
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No, didn't do 60 but we did a fast 20 mph lol. There were places I was worried it would come up to the underside of the trailer or doors on the truck. There were several exit ramps where people were sitting on the roofs of their cars as it was up to the windows. Never seen an Interstate so flooded. But either way I have towed the same trailer with a single and my dually and yes I would take the dually everytime. I was that guy that had a single and it was good and what the heck do I need a dually for? If you just go camping at the lake down the road a single would be your best choice. But if you put a lot of long distant miles on every year then you'll love the dually. But there is a difference.
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blt2ski
Kirkland, Wa
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I've personally noticed, with an older truck where I replaced the stock 6400 lb springs with 8500 lbs springs, same as my current dually, the two with 8500 lb springs handle a 12K trailer I tow the same, the 6400 lbs springs not as good.
Reality at the end of the day, will depend upon the actual spring/tire capacity of the setup. If setup the same, they "should handle" and "operate" the same. If the single has heavier components than the dually, the single will handle a given load better. at the end of th eday, choose your poison, but make sure both are the same, otherwise, yes, the stronger one will do better!
Marty
05 Chev CC D/A LS Dooley
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john b
anywhere USA!
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Wills250psd wrote:yep, about twice as stable.
If they are twice as stable I had better not start up my rig so it will comform. I have an old f350 single wheel and I have used it to tow 2 fifth wheels 33 ft and a Travel trailer for a spell.
It goes down the road so effortlessly and stable I can't fathom a need for a dually.Both of the fivers were at about 2000 lbs pinweight 13000 gross. I have shamefacedly told my wife on more than one ocassion that I forget the trailer is back there. So I do not know the what stability issue is in a normal vein for sure.
Now if you had something with 3000 lbs of pin you will need something much larger like a MDT. Yes some say the safety of a dually is a big item like having two wheels instead of one if one blows,but often in a blowout scene it takes both of them but maybe not in normal a deflation.JMHO after years of doing it this way.
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kofire
t-town
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Joined: 02/05/2008
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The stability of a dually only comes into play when the suspension that connects the truck too its axles is completely maxed out. Other than that there should be no noticable difference between the two all else being equal. In my experience both the srw and the dually I have had handled my camper and trailer the same exact way. They were both f350s and both had the same exact leaf springs and sway bars. I currently tow with a srw because of the off road and snow capabilitys. The outside duals will only come into play when the leaf springs are completely maxed out. The sway bars are what keeps trucks from rolling side to side. It has nothing to do with an extra set of tires. Duallys are designed to handle more weight becauseof the tire capacity...thats it....nothing more nothing less.
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kofire
t-town
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To the ts. Try upgrading your sway bars. Cheaper then a different truck.
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mkirsch
Rochester, NY
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Joined: 04/09/2004
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.
2002 Chevy 3500 DRW 8.1L/Allison
2000 Palomino B1500
...and the reason why I need a DRW to haul a Palomino:
2004 United 7x14 tandem axle enclosed toy trailer
2011 PJ 8x20 7-ton deckover equipment trailer
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Old-Biscuit
Across the USA
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Joined: 06/20/2009
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I tow 34' 14k 5'vr with a 3500 SRW.......very stable platform. No swaying, easy tow (been in all kinds of weather and road conditions. No white knuckle rides)....I like the combo. Very good match.
That said......if I were to go to a larger (heavier) 5'vr I would contemplate a dually only for the increased pin weight a heavier 5'vr would have.
And the argument about dually and tire blow-outs doesn't cut the mustard.
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Gypsy Soul
CT
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Ok after some detective work I found out that my tires(BFG AT load E) are at 60 psi. I thought I had put them to 80. Also leaf springs are 6830 lbs and going to install heavier ones(truck squats with camper on it). Also as someone mentioned about shocks which I don't know how old they are(bought truck used) and will replace with new ones. 5'ver sits level when I tow and not a whole bunch of chucking when I go over bumps. As far a weight of camper I'll have to wait til we get ready to go camping and weigh it when it's fully loaded. I like the truck despite all the bad wrap the 6.0 diesel gets and just want to get this issue squared away before a trip to Tennessee. Thanks for all your help/suggestions as always the folks on here have helped me look at things I missed.
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