I have a 2003 F-350 7.3 Dully looking to upgrade to a new truck. I am looking at a new 2019 F-250 4x4 SWD. The question is I have a 28ft race car trailer and a 30ft boat.Do you think I will be able to tow both of them with a single rear drive with no problem?

I had a '96 GMC and a 2007 GMC and both were SRW 4x4's. Both 2500 HD's extended cab, with 8' beds

'96 was a 454 and the '07 is a Duramax

Both carried a Lance Camper that weighed probably around 2000lbs and towed a 26' trailer with various cars in it. Dragsters and door cars.

Air bags in the rear of both trucks and a good hitch with sway control....

Had no problem with either...The Duramax by far more towing power than the 454 and I still drive it everyday....

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SCDIV1,

I have towed with both. My current right is a open trailer behind a 1500 gmc ext cab. I towed same trailer with a dually and liked the dually much better. So much so that I am looking for an older dually to have just for towing.

Going from a 1 ton dually to a 3/4 ton SRW you are going to notice a big difference, and I must add not for the better either.

Can you tow what you have with a 3/4 ton SRW...for sure....as far as the NO Problems...well that's another story all together.

I have towed with both a lot. I drug a 30 foot travel trailer all over the Northwest with a 77 F150...it was a handful at times, even with a equalizing hitch and sway bars.

If you are going to tow something a couple times a year, the SRW will do just fine. If you are going to be doing a lot of long distance or frequent towing then the Dually is your best choice.

racerbug,I have a 2004 Dodge 3500 SRW pulled a 30ft. tag all over for 15 yrs.,no problems.

I couldn’t tell a difference in stability between my 2001 Extend Cab Duramax 8’ DRW and my 2002 Extended Cab 3/4 ton SRW towing my 15k lb 43’ RV. Of course I preferred the DRW from a safety standpoint but the 3/4 ton sure rode better.

I do think you will notice it with a bumper pull setup though. But you should be more than happy with the SRW depending on the weight of the trailers.

I tow a 20' enclosed that is pushing to limits of my axles. I had used a 2001 Dodge DRW gas and now have a 2011 Ford 3/4 ton gas SRW 4wd. The only time I miss the DRW is when a big truck passes me or I pass them. I can feel it suck the trailer into it then push it away. I never felt it with the DRW. I don't have a weight hitch or sway control so that would probably change things.

I believe you can tow what you questioned about with the SRW but there is no way anyone can reasonably argue that it can be done as well without the DRW. The 1 ton springs and extra tires just make it better period.

What does a 30' boat weigh?

Curtis

You never have to much truck. One unforeseen emergency and you will understand.

Yes, the SRW will likely tow it without issue but you'll definitely notice a difference. There is nothing like a dually for towing... in addition to the beefier suspension & brakes you literally have twice as much tire sidewall & contact patch in the back. Around here, a used diesel 2500 usually fetches more than a comparable dually anyway which I assume is because the dually is less practical for daily use.

Well I've done both , like many on here. I had a 2001 F350 SWR pulled a 36ft bumper pull no anti sway. Really had no issues I thought. I would experience the suction when passing or passed by a large tractor trailer. Never really thought much of it till I upgraded to a 2012 GMC dually. Pulls same trailer much much better. No getting sucked around by tractors and trailer just seems to be pull better. I must say that Duramax LML I have is the bomb. Way out pulled my 7.3 power stroke. By now all the engine builders are about the same as far as pulling. I will add I liked parking the SWR much more than the dually and you can use all drive thru car washes. If I had it to do over it would be a hard choice but I'd probably go with the SWR for cost of running it. Two less tires to buy, easier parking, and a few others I am forgetting.

I've seen people towing race trailers with door cars and travel trailers with tow vehicles I'd never even attempt to tow with....way undersized tow vehicles for what they were pulling.

There is no question a dually is a far better tow vehicle....but a HD 2500 SRW pickup or a 1 ton SRW pickup works well if setup right.

1/2 ton anything is not a suitable tow vehicle...

Stopping power is a big issue and a 1 ton vehicle generally has better brakes.

My GMC's both had less than great brakes. The right pads makes a huge difference. Your average NAPA or auto parts store stuff s-u-c-k-s....

I found a pad for my old truck that was great.....unfortunately they are no longer made.....

My current GMC suffers from the same issue....poor braking.

Some of it is rust and corrosion from harsh NJ winters.....The brakes never wear out they just seize up rotors get destroyed from road salt....

I've towed with some really crappy tow vehicles and neither of my SRW pickups were in that category.....

I now use a 25' long Class C E450 Motrohome and it stops far better than either of my pickups did....

Everyone will tell you a Class C is a poor tow vehicle.....and its only poor if it's windy like a lot of MH's including Class A's....

Again the right hitch, air bags etc and its good.

I can highly recommend the Equalizer brand of hitches....I bought one earlier this year to replace my ancient Reese.....The Equalizer is better....No sway whatsoever.....

After a short 60 mile tow of new 32' trailer empty with dodge 1500 4wd.I know I am going to
be fixing the 2000 dully up for short tows and the motor home for any overnight deals.

Have been told I am crazy few hundred times in life in regards to some of my driving stunts,but I had cpl times around 70 to 75 mph that I sucked the seat cover up a little.

Can not say what difference is in DRW or SRW,I will say its just plain hard to have good argument against a dully for towing.

I forgot to add as has been posted here, I have air bags on my 3/4 ton. A must in my opinion on a 3/4 ton.

Curtis

I have to add,I have airbags and a Gen-y hitch,made a HUGE difference.

Anyone saying they cant tell a difference between a single wheel rear to a dually pulling a long trailer is just not telling the truth PERIOD! HUGE Difference in stability and especially potential death wobble. Can you pull with a single axle absolutely! Tons of people do it everyday its just no where near as stable as a dually period!!!

I used a 1993 Chevy 3500 2WD DRW to tow a 24 ft tag with a 3000 lb door car in it for 16 years. 2 years ago, I replaced it with a 2008 2500HD 4WD Duramax. The 2500 has a 6.5 ft bed, but both have a crew cab and I use/used a WD hitch with sway control on both. There's no question that the Duramax has way more power. What surprized me was how much better the 2500HD stops with the trailer (that's related to 1993 vs 2008 brake technology, not DRW vs SRW). It was a night and day difference. Regarding stability, the old dually was a little bit better. The 2500HD still handles it great, but the 3500 was enough better to notice when going over bumps and taking turns at 55 mph on 2 lane highways. The difference isn't as noticeable (to me), on the interstate.

I wouldn't think twice about towing a 10K tag trailer with a modern 3/4 ton truck.

quote:

Originally posted by Show2Me:
Anyone saying they cant tell a difference between a single wheel rear to a dually pulling a long trailer is just not telling the truth PERIOD! HUGE Difference in stability and especially potential death wobble. Can you pull with a single axle absolutely! Tons of people do it everyday its just no where near as stable as a dually period!!!

I think you are absolutely right with the longer tag along trailers. I don't think it is as cut and dry with fifth wheel or goose neck trailers.

I don't think anyone said there was no difference....

Bigger is always better and a dually vs a SRW, there is no doubt it's better....

quote:

Originally posted by racerbug:
I have a 2003 F-350 7.3 Dully looking to upgrade to a new truck. I am looking at a new 2019 F-250 4x4 SWD. The question is I have a 28ft race car trailer and a 30ft boat.Do you think I will be able to tow both of them with a single rear drive with no problem?

the new f250 is plenty of truck to tow what your looking to tow. Is a one ton or a dually better, sure. But the 250 will more than handle what you have.

I made the exact same swap RACERBUG is proposing 3 months ago. I went from a 2017 3500 dual rear wheel 4x4, 4 door, with 8' bed to 2018 4 door, 2500, 6.5' bed, both with cummins diesels. I'm pulling a 28' enclosed trailer with a single dragster and a golf cart, initially golf cart was in the left front (no floor cabinets at all so it was all the way in the front) and dragster was in the back angled to the right front. Towing with the dually was excellent and the ride was plush with ZERO worries. The 2500 with the same car/golfcart arrangement inside the trailer is not fun. Death wobble starts anywhere north of 60 MPH, comes and goes all the way up to 80 MPH, then returns on the decel until you get below 60 MPH. The trailer is steel frame cargomate dual 5200 lb axles, 5' tongue, load leveler bars and sway bar in use on both trucks.

The dually didn't need the sway bar, the 3/4 ton needs it but it's not enough to stop the death wobble. Stopping with the dually was a non issue, stopping with the 3/4 ton is manageable, but not as good as with the dually.

I've been able to improve ride quality with the 3/4 ton truck by turning the dragster around backwards and parking it all the way to the front on the left side, the golf cart is now on the right side as far forward as i can possibly get it (front tires just ahead of the c/l of front axles on the trailer). In my case with the 2500 truck it appears i didn't have enough tongue weight to make the trailer ride and not wobble the truck at speeds greater than 60 mph. With the new configuration and more tongue weight (its alot, when i put it on a 2015 half ton chevy it bottomed the suspension out all the way to the rear end stops hit the frame) it seems to pull fine up to 80 mph. Stopping now seems to be more of an issue as i no longer have as much weight on the front tires.

For reference, my coleman 5500 watt generator, 12 volt trailer battery, and trailer air compressor are all located on the tongue of the trailer in a compartment i built.

If towing is your main reason for having the truck i'd stick with a dually. If its dual purpose, you don't mind a little more hassle when towing, and the majority of the truck use is without a trailer then the 3/4 ton is the best choice. Dually's ride like crap and they are hard to park.