I've done a search on past posts and wonder if we can summarize the advantages and disadvantages of duallys. I'm debating on moving up to a dually and want to try to learn everything I can before taking the leap.

My new trailer is a 28' 4H, MT with 6' LQ, mangers. Haven't pulled it to the CO-Op to weight it yet. I generally haul one horse within 300 miles of home but plan a few 1k trips. (Not sure how we ended up with a 4 Horse, but I do haul lots of extra stuff to the shows). Tag on trailer says 6700lbs but not sure if this is before or after LQ.

Wondering if a 1 Ton SRW would be safe or should I just go with a 1 ton DRW. More than likely it will be another diesel.

Currently have a 2004 F250 Ext 4x4 Long Box Auto 3:73

Advantages: Stability, no trailer sway.

                  Security if (we hope not) theres a blowout

Disadvantages: Extra Tire cost

                    Difficult to manuver around

What am I missing? Just trying to prevent buying errors.

Check the real weight at COOP. Almost no one puts curb weight on the trailer ID tag. At least none of the major aluminum mfg. do. What you are seeing is probably the GVWR in Kg.

RTSmith

SelectTrailer

I've been told  that a dually isn't that great on ice and snow. I use my truck for a daily driver, and living in South Dakota we get plenty of both.

Think I'm getting paranoid in my old age - worried most about a blow out. I've never even driven a dually before.

I'd read on here about using the 250 lbs per foot calculation and then adding LQ length times 250 to get approximate weight. That would put this trailer at 9500 without my junk.

I've read so much on this site about people being undertrucked that I really want to be overtrucked!

I'll read the label again. There wasn't a weight posted on the title either. You'd think it would be in pounds and not kilograms.

My main problem with a dually is that it won't fit in my garage.  If I'm gonna  pay 40 $zillion for a truck I would like to protect it.

A friend of mine has different sized tires on his rear tires.  The inside tires are slightly smaller than the outside ones.  He said he does it because if he's not carrying a heavy load there is no need for the 2 xtra tires and when he is he just lets a bit of air out of the 2 larger ones and he has 4 tires again.  It may not be right (or legal) but it works for him and he doesn't wear out the inner tires as quick.

My old trailer was 22' - guess I wasn't to worried about the extra 6' length, or should I be!?!

We do have 7 horses but when I show I only haul take one, or maybe a futurity baby. To hard to get more than one ready for the ring. I'm the only one crazy enough in my family to show.

Never do the drive thru thing with a diesel - I don't like turning them off and on.

Our vehicle licensing fees are a combined weight and year of the vehicle - less than $100 a year. No toll roads with hundreds of miles.

I'm not worried about parking - always park a ways out anyway to avoid door dings.

I'm doing my paper research now but will head out to drive a few - I've driven trucks exclusively for the last 15 years. Still am not firm with what I want!

There is something a bit odd about paying $40 or 50K for a truck and then putting it in it's own special house (or devoting a part of the house you live in) just to protect it from the weather.

I used to live in the desert and the cars we had there were 'sandblasted' by blowing dust.  I got used to keeping our new car/truck in the garage and would like to continue to do so.  And some friends of ours about had to replace everything on both of their vehicles after the last hail storm.  The car was partly protected since it was under the carport, but the truck lost all the windows, the dash, door pannels, and all the body pannels had to be repaired.  I don't know what the ins. company paid to repair it, but it couldn't have been cheap.  We also have farmers on 2 sides and I hate washing my truck or seeing it covered in dust.  It's just annoying.  I haven't measured the GM or chevy's yet.  I've only checked the dodge place so far.  The general manager lives down the road from us and is friends with my husband. 

I asked my friend about his tires and he said it is a GM (about a 99 I think) and it has a flatbed.  The rims are the same size, but the inner tire is a bit 'shorter'.  Not by much, the tire touches the ground, but doesn't have any/much weight on it.  He also said he only lets out about 5lbs psi (just his guess) on the outer tire when he is hauling so they are both carrying weight.  He didn't remember the size off hand but said he could look when he goes out to the ranch next time.  He said he dad has been doing this for years and that's why he started.

Never do the drive thru thing with a diesel - I don't like turning them off and on.

Why would you have to turn it off and on?  I kinda thought that was the whole point of using the drive thru.  Don't have to get out or turn the car off.

I much prefer a dually over a SRW for pulling a large trailer. My dad decided to do a "good thing" a few years ago and traded our '99 dodge cummings dually for a '03 (or 04, can't remember) dodge cummings (the new one) 3500 with SRW. I pulled with it once and went back to the dealership to BEG for my dually back. The dually just felt much more stable...or it could just be me. I really don't like this new truck at all compared to the '99. Of course, I prefer my '79 dodge lil' red express over them all...bet that would look cute hooked to my 27' w/ 8' lq :-)