For those of you with daulley's...

[machinest660]

For all you guys that tow with daulley's how are they on icy highways compared to a single axle 3/4 ton? Do they seem to hold the road better or are they completely useless? how bout in deeper snow? I have heard mixed stories and wanna here what you all think. Thanks

 

[togwotee9]

My Ford F-550 is not the greatest truck to drive in the winter, tends to get squirrelly on the ice and snow.

 

[robertyoke]

My Ford F-550 is not the greatest truck to drive in the winter, tends to get squirrelly on the ice and snow.

thats cuz 19.5's blow in the snow! too hard not enough flex.


as far as dually's vs singles I perfer the srw but the drw does just fine. I would say 90% is with the tires you choose.

 

[MT rydn]

duelly

For all you guys that tow with daulley's how are they on icy highways compared to a single axle 3/4 ton? Do they seem to hold the road better or are they completely useless? how bout in deeper snow? I have heard mixed stories and wanna here what you all think. Thanks

Went through same process of decision making. Talked with many people who own both DRW and SRW trucks. No exceptions - all say SRW better in ice and snow. Now I'm sure a semi pulling an 80,000lb trailer is another story!
But for one ton trucks pulling trailers on icy / snowy roads you should avoid DRW trucks. Go with SRW. Also do not go wider on the tires if your goal is stability / safety / traction on icy / snowy roads. Tire width needs are determined by type of driving (racing cars on tracks vs towing on icy / snowy roads) and for ice / snow wider is not better.

So recommend you should go SRW and do not go wider on tires. Also carry chains/ draw bars without the ball / shackles / kinetic recovery ropes (go with amsteelblu.com) if you are going to be anywhere thay you might end up stuck or having to pull someone else out.

 

[robertyoke]

Went through same process of decision making. Talked with many people who own both DRW and SRW trucks. No exceptions - all say SRW better in ice and snow. Now I'm sure a semi pulling an 80,000lb trailer is another story!
But for one ton trucks pulling trailers on icy / snowy roads you should avoid DRW trucks. Go with SRW. Also do not go wider on the tires if your goal is stability / safety / traction on icy / snowy roads. Tire width needs are determined by type of driving (racing cars on tracks vs towing on icy / snowy roads) and for ice / snow wider is not better.

So recommend you should go SRW and do not go wider on tires. Also carry chains/ draw bars without the ball / shackles / kinetic recovery ropes (go with amsteelblu.com) if you are going to be anywhere thay you might end up stuck or having to pull someone else out.

Actually more rubber on ice is better, unfortunately more rubber on snow equals less per square inch of pressure to compact the snow, which makes you not go.
I have pulled my 29 foot wellscargo with both my 04 drw dodge and my 03 srw dodge, the srw with michelin xde m/s 245/70 19.5's and the drw with michelin ltx m/s 235/70 17 the DRW was much better for getting out of the parking lot.
I now have a '10 dodge srw and still run 19.5's in the summer but full studded snows general 285/70 17's altimax arctic's in the winter, now it will go places in 2 wd that it wouldn't go in 4 wd before.
Toss a set of snows on a drw and leave a all season srw equipped truck in your snow dust.

 

[MT rydn]

Actually more rubber on ice is better, unfortunately more rubber on snow equals less per square inch of pressure to compact the snow, which makes you not go.
I have pulled my 29 foot wellscargo with both my 04 drw dodge and my 03 srw dodge, the srw with michelin xde m/s 245/70 19.5's and the drw with michelin ltx m/s 235/70 17 the DRW was much better for getting out of the parking lot.
I now have a '10 dodge srw and still run 19.5's in the summer but full studded snows general 285/70 17's altimax arctic's in the winter, now it will go places in 2 wd that it wouldn't go in 4 wd before.
Toss a set of snows on a drw and leave a all season srw equipped truck in your snow dust.

Good luck machinest660 in your decision. Two very different opinions. Keep doing your research. Lots of posts about this in other forums / trucks forums about SRW and DRW's, and tire width, on ice and snow.

 

[machinest660]

Thanks for all the info guys, always good to hear what truck owners have to say and not friends of friends ha ah.

 

[Ultra]

i prefer drw with 2 sleds on the truck (CC+LB) and what ever in the trlr and a good set of skinny snows (238/85/16 BFG commercial TA's). best setup I have had to date, super stable on ice and goes very good in the snow...and i have had a lot of truck / trlr combo's over the years.

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

what we used to do with our dualies was lay a 4x8 sheet of 1/2 steel in the bed, custom studs in good winter tires and good to go..have also seen peeps pull the duals off the rear in winter and run single rims with good studs(looks a little goofy..but works good...

 

[polarisfornow]

This is how I decided to sell my dually. I tried to drive it in 2wd and then had the exact same truck except an srw do the same drive. The dually wouldn't hardly even move. The srw made it out of the lot fairly easily. I agree though that the drw is much more stable when towing or hauling but I just don't think they get around as good in the snow.

 

[Hrt Offroad]

I've got a DRW and a SRW...The DRW is for sale...because they suck in the winter!! And, too many tires to buy if you want to have a good set of winter only tires (because that's what they need)

 

[slash]

i just air down so i have good contact patch about 35lbs drw a topper a 1" thick rubber mat the extra weight of multiple hitches a set of dbl rail chains and a set of singles oh ya 300lbs in the tool box makes it just start to ride decent 3500 dodge ..

 

[machinest660]

Great info thanks guys.

 

[F-Bomb]

10 years of sledding and 200,000 miles in a dual rear wheeled Ford F350 short bed. Many many of those pulling a gooseneck car trailer on snow and ice. The only time it didn't make me happy was in deep rutted up ice. On snow floor or just solid icy conditions it was flat fantastic. 6 studded Coopers was money....but I also had many winters over the years with no studs and never once had an incident. I guess drive at a safe and reasonable pace in accordance to the conditions? hmmmm

 

[MT rydn]

Sounds like a fun "Test" report for Snowest - side by side test of one ton SRW and DRW crew cab long bed trucks for winter driving pulling trailers and hauling sled decks.
I'll put my money on SRW anyday over the DRW. The DRW owners may be loving their trucks but I'll bet in comparable test conditions (snow / ice roads) and same tires the SRW performs better.
Lots of 4x4 / truck forums outside snowest about this.

 

[shell_guy]

In deep snow the DRW will not go where a SRW will go (I own a 2008 F350 DRW and a 2006 F350 SRW). My DRW will not go up the drive way at my camp after a snow storm, my SRW would always make it up. I run the same tires on both trucks too. To drive down the highway in slush and crap I will take the DRW any day of the week. I feel that the DRW is a nicer truck to tow with on any condition except fresh untracked snow.