My long and enjoyable relationship with my Tundra is about over. I've owned it since nearly new. It is 20 years old and recently has had some equipment failures that I can't justify repairing. These are minor things, broken trim pieces, seat tears, airbag light on and now the cruise control is intermittent. These are annoying but the real reason I need to part ways with it is my needs have changed. Now I need a 1 ton truck.

This brings me to my question. Should I want a dually and how do they ride unloaded? I'm going to need to tow some fairly heavy equipment and loads over unimproved roads for the next several years as we build our ranch. I'd like to not be limited in towing capacity so I'm seriously looking at a DRW (dual rear wheel) Ram 3500. However, I know little about the practicality other than what I've seen on youtube and the like. I also would not want to discover I made a shortsighted choice because of my biases.

So if you have experience with DRW vehicles, would you help me out? TIA!

I have a thread about the F series. I am thinking about a F350 dually 4wd with a flatbed and the gas 7.3 motor. Price is around $50kish. Honestly I would prefer a Diesel. But not the diesels of today.
Are you thinking 4wd I would assume so. Gas or diesel.
In snow with out 4wd I would say no. If in 4wd many will remove the outside set of tires.

Tell us a bit more and we can get into it more.

Yes 4wd and given the difficulties of late model diesels, my research shows that the cummins is the least troublesome especially with some modifications legal in the county it will be registered. So Cummins with the Aisin trans is what I'm considering.

I had been considering the F350 with the 6.7 diesel but there are just too many scary stories with them. Problems that cost 10,000 to fix are not on my radar......

I tow a lot and big loads sometimes. But to even start to respond to your question we need to know somewhat the load and how you plan to tow it.

I suggestion from experience driving my dad's Dodge in years past...stay out of parking lots as much as possible. Duallies are a bear to manage in tight quarters.

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Originally posted by hrcjon:
I tow a lot and big loads sometimes. But to even start to respond to your question we need to know somewhat the load and how you plan to tow it.

First thing I have to do is amend the soil. There are three-ish acres which are depleted so I'll be hauling a goose neck dump trailer with bio-mass in the spring. Then I have to get a backhoe out there and eventually I'll need to haul logs for the house. Not to mention some Steel tube for fence work. It can get fairly muddy in the field too. At some point I'll be moving livestock.

The 7.3 Ford Gas I think is more than capable motor in this type of truck. The diesel realistically will cost you $15kish more to buy. Be roughly 4 times the cost for maintenance. Cost you about the same for fuel.

How many miles will you drive a year.

Rough numbers. Lets say the price is $65k. Drive it $12k miles a year. Figure in fuel cost, maintenance costs.

It is going to be a tough nut to crack on an accounting basis vs the 7.3 Gas.

I understand the diesel with pull more weight. And supposedly go longer. Some of that is subjective with the diesels of today.

But for what you want to do the Ford 7.3 would do it just fine with in parameters of the truck specs.

I towed a 4-horse trailer throughout my career in the Forest Service. I had one dually and I didn’t like it because I felt like it was a distinct disadvantage in the winter. Three season heavy hauling, the dually is the way to go, but without a trailer on snow and ice, I felt like the rear end was loose all the time. If you’ve got something else to drive when the winter winds blow, then by all means, go dually.

Probably not more than 8000 per year

Years ago my brother had a mid-90s gas DRW for both his business, and 'personal use'.

When towing or full of a load, it was a nice beastie. Empty trying to be some sort of personal commuter rig, it sucked. Bad ride, bad handling, bad fuel costs. Hook on the load, it really shined.

Are you looking at new or used? If new what kind of price is the 2020 Dodge 3500 dually 4wd?

What type of cab. Manual or auto.

This is what I would like

https://www.truckpaper.com/lis...21163/2020-ford-f350

We tried a Dodge 1 ton, and it was a disaster. Their half tons have been great.

We use a diesel 1 ton dual, but it doesn’t move, unless loaded.

Pay for all the sensors and cameras you can. (They are separate options on Ford. I think they cost us $2500.)

My brother drives a 1 ton diesel crew cab, and he thinks he will switch to gas, after decades of driving that style of truck.

Darth I used to own a construction company and have owned many one ton pick ups over the years including duallies. Here is my take from personal experiences in 37 years of construction.

If you are going to get a truck strictly for work then a one ton (or more) flatbed duality will do just about anything you ask. It will be a bitch as far as ride comfort when unloaded.

The last several trucks for us have been F-350 4x4 with the single rear wheels. They can do 90% of a dually, ride better, are easier to drive and maneuver and cheaper to maintain.

I currently drive one and have installed a flush mount goose neck hitch in the bed and haul my 14 ft, 7 ton dump trailer around with it without issues. I also still have a goose neck flatbed trailer to haul my skid steer around our properties. That CAT skid steer is about 10,000 pounds.

You mentioned hauling a backhoe around out to your property. If you are referring to a full size Case or CAT backhoe I’m not sure I would feel comfortable hauling one even with a dually one ton. We hauled our backhoe and excavators with a Mack tandem dump truck. Unless you are planning on buying one (in which case the dealer will deliver it) it might be better in the long run to lease it for the time you need it. They can also deliver it for you.

Now as far as which brand and gas v. diesel we know that everyone has their opinions so here’s mine. ;-)
I think that Ram has the best interiors of the big three but Ford has the best frame and suspension. Now as for gas v. diesel the question you have to ask yourself is how much heavy hauling you will actually be doing and how many miles you anticipate driving annually. If you only drive 10-12k annually around town etc. then gas is definitely the way to go. If you drive heavy a lot and like me put about 40K a year on our vehicles then diesel is a strong contender. In days past (pre 2007 or so) the Cummins had the better diesel but with all the advances in diesel technology I think Ford is also a strong contender. They will ALL have potential issues with the DPF filter and associated exhaust components. I think the Ford transmission is the best.

Good luck with your project. Be sure to keep us updated with pictures and if you have any construction questions feel free to reach out to me.

I have an F350 regular cab 2WD dually. It gives me much more stability when I am hauling horses and cattle on the highway in a livestock trailer. They can and will move around back there, and the dually really helps.

Most of my neighbors have SRW one tons. I am sure that the dually is worse in deep snow.

I don't find the ride too bad without a load, but I seldom drive it unless I have something heavy to move.

I grew up on a horse farm, showed horses up until my 30's, worked on a cutting horse ranch. We always had single rear wheels with 4 wheel drive (usually Dodges). We had a Ford dually, 4 wheel drive, quad cab at the cutting horse ranch.

The rig I drove the most was an extended cab, single rear wheel 4 wheel drive, short bed Dodge. I was usually pulling a 3 horse gooseneck with full dressing room. Fully loaded. It handled & drove very well.

We rarely used the dually. My brother started getting into horses more & decided to get a dually & after owning it for a while said it was just not worth the extra expense for the amount of hauling he did. Tires are more too cos you have 6 instead of 4.

My other brother has his own sand blasting shop, does some huge, heavy duty stuff from factories & he does a lot of short trip hauling, he's never seen the need for a dually but said if he had to do lots of heavy, long trips, he'd definitely get one.

That's all the experience I have. Personally I think you'd be better off without the dually & do like the other post mentioed of having the equipment hauled out for you for the time you do actually need it. Less headache.

Thank you so much gents. I think I'll go with the single wheel. Still weighing gas v diesel. Good to know about duallies in the snow. I would have thought otherwise.

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Cummins with the Aisin trans

This is what I drive as my primary work truck in a 4500 (which has several advantages over a 3500 if you're going to use it heavily).

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Good to know about duallies in the snow. I would have thought otherwise.

And mud, with mud being worse. You're doubling your surface area for the same weight which reduces friction. When you're in mud it will get between the duals making it that much worse.

We have run single and dual wheels and would much rather have single wheeled trucks in muddy conditions. If you're out there without any assistance nearby, a winch and other recovery gear is also a good investment.

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Originally posted by darthfuster:
My long and enjoyable relationship with my Tundra Should I want a dually and how do they ride unloaded?

I have a 2006 Ram 3500 SRW, short bed, quad cab - unloaded it's a rough ride. 500 pounds of sand in the back it starts to get better.

Dad has a 2007 Ram 3500 DRW quad cab - unloaded that rides a lot nicer than mine. Now that could be because his has a full size bed, but it's a world of difference.

I think the newer Rams have a better ride.

Sometimes I wish I had a dually - but that's only when I start jonesing for one of those heavy Lance campers with the fancy slide outs.

I would go with an F350 with the 7.3 Godzilla gasser.

I've talked to a couple of folks who have them and they are impressive.

The advice I have been given on diesel is, if you are towing heavy every day, go for it, if not, it's not worth the cost and maintenance.

I have never had one, but my two friends who own a diesel repair shop use nothing else. They currently have two Ram 3500 diesel dual trucks which they use year round for breakdown calls on farms and the highways, up to and including hauling semis into their shop on tow bars.