Any dually owners regret buying one..

i guess im with everyone else...

i love my dually. i never liked towing with a srw truck but as soon as i got a drw truck i was up for dragin anything. i think the only down fall of my truck is that its a big block but in time that will change(ctd)


i also like having a flat bed but im unshure if it will stay that way waytogo

 

Three more things about Duallies.
1. They suck driving in heavy snow. Because the rear tires don't follow in the front tracks.

2. If you get into mud it packs in between the rear tires and you'll be tracking it all over, The cops will get on you for this. BTDT and been hasseled for it.

3. If you have C&R's or a HOA SRW PU's look like any other one. But a Dually or a flat bed draws their attention. Also the GVWR over 10K can be a problem, or not allowed, on some roads. IE, on parts of I-5 in the PNW over 10k GVWR isn't allowed in the far left lane.

 

As much as I LOVE my SRW 3/4 ton CTD, in retrospect, knowing what I know now, I would have gotten a dually. I recently aquired a slide in camper for free, and will be towing my rig on a trailer.. camper weighs in at about 3k lbs loaded, and the trailer with jeep on it weighs about 6000 lbs. Im thinking some rear air bags will definetly help.. I know it will not be as stable as a dually, but it should work, right? Or am I missing something?
Scott

 

Thanks for the insight.. When I do start using this camper, the truck will have air bags, and a hellwig rear sway bar put on it.. and parobably some rancho adjustable 9k's..
Scott

 

1) Forget fitting in just about any drive through at the bank or fast food joints.

This is not a problem with practice. Matter of fact today on the way home from digging a grave with about 3 ton of dirt in the 10.5' bed (F350 dually) I went through the bank to make a deposit then hit burger king drivethrough for lunch. Granted height was an issue as I'm about 3" from max height bit the width wasn't a problem. Also have a F350 dually with a crane and liftgate for setting stones and I never had a problem hitting McD's for lunch in it.

2) Parking spaces arent nearly as big as they used to be (or my driving is getting worse).

Again practice. I often get groceries or (god forbid) hit the wal-mart with the wife for something she needs. It's fun to watch the compacts scatter from me like roaches when the lights come on. It also helps my duallies are utility vehicles so if someone gets pissed I squeezed into a spot close to them they can slam their door in anger into my bedside all they want

3) If you tow something small-ish like an empty open car trailer you cant see the trailer past the rear fenders when backing up. With a car on the trailer or an enclosed trailer this isnt an issue though.

Look out the back window waytogo Actually this is a major issue for me. Our trailer isn't bad since it has a wider wheelbase than either dually we have. But when I do cemetery letterings (sandblast the death date on a headstone ordered pre-need) backing up the towable air compressor is an act in futility because the solid liftgate blocks any view behind me. Gonna fix this by cutting out the diamond plate on the liftgate and replacing it with stretched steel.

 

I don't regret mine at all, well other than the god awful wheel choices out there for duallys...

As far as drivethroughs I have yet to go to one I can't fit through. Yes I run over almost every curb in a drive through with the outer tires but theres nothing wrong with that. Once you drive it for a while you get really used to it, like driving a truck with really wide hips. You begin to know exactly where your rear fenders are even when looking forward, you know exactly how far to be away from a wall/car/etc. Plus the dually crusing down the road with the tow mirrors folded out just look cool waytogo

 

AMEN to that Brother!

 

You guys must have some awfully nice drive throughs then. The first week I had my dually I went through my local banks drive through and forgot about the extra rear tires/fenders and got stuck. I had to get out and make the ppl sitting in line behind me back up get out of the way so I could back up and unclog the drive through. From then on I plan ahead before getting stuck in a situation like that again. Yes, the bank drive through does have one lane that my truck will fit through but its always closed .

Id have to say that 2/3 of the drive throughs around here are too narrow or laid out with turns too sharp to fit anything more than a SRW extended cab short bed but there is maybe a hand full that are negotiable by a dually.

As for running up and over the curbs I dont see that happening with my truck. My beater 4x4 deffinately but the dually isnt curb friendly due to height.

 

Maybe I'll make a "How-To Drive a Dually through Taco Bell" video and put it on ebay and make millions! Maybe I won't... Anyway, the drivethroughs here have been like any other drivethrough I've been through in any other state I've been through. You just have to pick your line. One of my banks drivethroughs I have to run the duals on top of the curbs, the center tires just float in the air. At one taco bell I get all flexed out running the right front on one curb and the left rear on the other imp:

 

I started out with a Dodge 3500 with SRW, after a 250 mile trip you felt like you had driven 500 miles. The trailer shoved the truck back and forth, it was a full time job just keeping it on the road. The way it handled it felt like there was too much weight on the rear axle. Pulled onto a set of scales and found out that the rear tires were overloaded by 600 pounds each. Never listen to a car salesman as he assured me that it would handle my trailer. He had no truck with dual wheels in stock. At my age should have known better.

After the trailer pushing me for over 20K miles I traded the SRW for an identical truck with dual rear wheeles. I was very apprehensive about getting a dually but now that I have it I wouldn't trade it for anything.

 

Those training wheels pay off don't they waytogo .