So I walked into work tonight, and was asked a hypothetical question by one of the guys who owns a '05 chevy gasser. His questions was, "what is the difference in a dooley and a single wheel truck?". My answer was "simple, the dooley has a higher gross vehicle weight rating. So if your towing with a 5th wheel, you can have a higher tongue weight because of the dual rear wheels." (bumper towing I rulled out because you can only tow as much as the hitch can handle.) He then pulled out a piece of paper that compared 2500/3500 single wheel and dooley's gvw's and the amount they can tow. and the numbers were the same for dooleys and single wheel axles. What are your thoughts? he said theres no difference in towing between dooleys and single wheel.? i need something so when he walks into work i can prove him wrong.

I dont know where he got his paper but look here... http://www.gmc.com/sierra/3500/specsCapabilities.jsp

There's 1400 lbs difference between the SRW and the DRW

Duallies are much more stable to tow with. You won't appreciate it until you tow with one.

thanks...thats like 3/4 of a ton difference!

Dullies are much more stable to tow with. You won't appreciate it until you tow with one.
This is my THIRD dually, and I am not even 40 yet. I fell in love with the long, low, wide look of the DUALLY years ago. Funny thing about the name: GM always called it the "Big Dooley" option. But, it's actually DUALLY as in DUAL REAR WHEELS.

Benefits are stability, weight carrying capacity (load divided amongst 4 instead of 2), and convenience. By convenience, I mean when a blow-out, flat, or other tire dilemma occurs. If you didn't have a spare for some reason, you can always single out a rear to put one on the front. Or, you can at least keep driving on the other dual until a safe exit or other spot works out to change the other dual.

As long as they make them, I will have one.

STABILITY when towing.....NO COMPARRISON!!!!!

Carry a large camper on a SRW and then on a DRW and you will know the reason. Much more stable due to less sidewall flex. Also as mentioned before the safety aspect if you have a rear blowout. I did once on the highway at about 65 mph with the camper, outside of wiping out the fender the only real damage was to my shorts as the "bang" was huge :eek:, but the truck never missed a beat. I just pulled over, removed the blown wheel and drove the 60 miles on home on the single, granted at a bit lower speed.

Carry a large camper on a SRW and then on a DRW and you will know the reason. Much more stable due to less sidewall flex. Also as mentioned before the safety aspect if you have a rear blowout. I did once on the highway at about 65 mph with the camper, outside of wiping out the fender the only real damage was to my shorts as the "bang" was huge :eek:, but the truck never missed a beat. I just pulled over, removed the blown wheel and drove the 60 miles on home on the single, granted at a bit lower speed.

I just got home from about a 1500 mile trip carrying a 4000 lb. plus Lance 1181 camper and a two jet ski trailer. The camper alone with tanks filled and all the gear probably goes more than 4500 lbs. The Lance website states the 1181 qnd 1191 campers are only to beloaded onto DRW one ton chassis trucks or larger. That alone should tell any reasonable person that that load distributed over four tires instead of two tires is not only more stable but a hell of a lot safer.

My brother in law sold a single rear wheel Ford F250 with a very large camper back in the day. The new owners experienced a blow out, lost control of the rig and flipped it off the side of the road resulting in the death of a child. A catastrophic tragedy. With a dually, that might have been avoided.

Cargo capacity is the biggest difference. My dually has a capacity of 4,257, off the sticker. A 3/4 ton D/A CC 4 x 4 will have about a ton (2,000#) less.

Duallies are much more stable to tow with. You won't appreciate it until you tow with one.

If you tow or carry heavy. Dual rear wheels are the only way to go. I started my towing life with a 1969 chev 3/4 ton SW. went to a 79 C/C Dually, Best move I ever made. I will never tow with any thing less!! Now I have a C4500 and it's even better. Still have the 1 ton for a spare. Towing saftly is the name of the game for me.

This is my second dually, first was an 05' LLY. You have to wonder where people get their info. 2500HD GVWR is 9200#, 3500SRW is, I believe 9900#, the 3500 DRW is 11,400#...(all the same GVWR???). As stated several times on here, towing a 5er with the dually gives you a much more stable ride as opposed to SRW. Sig. truck is also my daily driver, I love it. I've also owned an 03' 2500HD D/A, and this LMM, even with the DPF, is the strongest one I've owned to date. It's a towing machine. Dually is the only way to go with heavier 5er's.

My first dually and never going back to an SRW after my towing experiences with my truck last weekend. 31ft travel trailer never moved unless I wanted it to move.

You all got it wrong....the purpose of a DOOLEY is.....well.....do Fords have a purpose??? DUALLY'S on the other hand are the cat's ass for towing and hauling the big loads imo.

Hey, that's what I said, more or less, in the last sentence of my post. They're the best for towing the heavier 5er's. They do offer a much more stable ride, especially in the mountains.

I don't believe your co worker had the right info. however, even if the trucks are rated the same, the tires are not. Four tires can carry more than two (check tire ratings). Not to mention, if you have 4 and one goes flat you still have good control to drive to a safe changing area.

I work with a jerk like that too, the best thing I can say is they make duallys for a reason, to cover the bases not covered by a single rear wheel truck. I have had several 3/4 ton trucks and I can say I will not ever have anything but a chevy dually in my garage. the only way for your stupid co worker to "get it" is to have been in the situation when you feel you dont have enough truck and then changing to a truck that just plain feels right, tows right and takes the worries off your mind while towing, lets face it, 3/4 tons and duallys are all meant to tow, the difference is what your towing, if you tow a big ski boat a 3/4 ton will do the job , now go tow a tri axle toy hauler with that truck then hook it to a dually and the white knuckle sydrome goes away. I hear all the time how these half ton hemis and tahoes pull so so good, the fact is that they suck on mileage, your overloaded before you leave your driveway, and the list can go on and on. let me guess, your buddy is a hp kinda guy who dont understand torque vs hp. and I bet he thinks hauling is some lawn furniture from lowes or wood pellets.

towing is it hands down, and the safety factor for me with the wife and kids along with the 11K 5er..... When the wife and kids are not in the truck I love the look on peoples faces when I leave 4 black marks behind the wide girl.....:D

towing is it hands down, and the safety factor for me with the wife and kids along with the 11K 5er..... When the wife and kids are not in the truck I love the look on peoples faces when I leave 4 black marks behind the wide girl.....:D
:exactly:

Like many have already said........stability!!!! Our 2500HD has plenty of power to tow our 33' toyhauler just fine, but just one time through some serious crosswinds and you'll never go back to a single rear wheel. And oh yea...........the four black stripes thing is cool too! ):h

As 1 said above the REAL reason is tires. Look on the tire for WEIGHT capacity . You can carry more on 4 than on 2. Many people overlook this fact. It is the same reason a dual tandem trailer is better than a 3 axle. The 3 axle may have more capacity axle and spring, but the single tire does not.:)

Like many have already said........stability!!!! Our 2500HD has plenty of power to tow our 33' toyhauler just fine, but just one time through some serious crosswinds and you'll never go back to a single rear wheel. And oh yea...........the four black stripes thing is cool too! ):h :rolleyes:

:D Not that I would know anything about 4 black stripes.........

Dually good for on road towing only.
Singles good for everything including off road.

Duallys are more stable and can haul heavier loads. With that said a dually on dirt or in the sand or on a trail or in the snow or any were but on pavement is terrible.

I know I own a dually and got stuck in sand. Tires just spin on top, had to get a tow truck to pull me out.

Additionally there too wide for most trail riding and the rear tires dont track in the trails.

I bought mine for one reason and that was to tow a camper. I would never buy one again. A srw works fine and is more versatile.

Its true the drw are stable and resistance sway against the wind etc. but the downsize is the truck now becomes a 1 use truck. I like to go hunting and you are very limited with a dually. Also the cost of tires is 50% more.

I would not recommend a dually for the average user. Only for those 5th wheel haulers who go cross country.