Everyone's got an opinion, and I'd like to hear yours! SRW vs DRW?

[FeralK]

With the idea towards drastic lifestyle changes (like, we're selling the house and moving on in for the foreseeable future), we've bought a used Bigfoot 10'11 and are presently shopping around for the truck to match. We've mostly decided on a pre-2007 F350 diesel 4WD with an extended or crew cab to haul our probably 3400# "wet" weight home down endless fire roads (and possibly more) in search of adventure. After lots of search and reading and discussion, we've decided that this kind of set-up is the best for our needs. What we have NOT been able to decide, yet, is . . . is this truck a dually or a SRW?

I've heard arguments for and against each option, and can't figure out how to decide without actually trying both things. I like the SRW because it's simple, and simple's often better, 4 tires are easier/cheaper than 6, and a number of people have told me it'll work fine. But, this camper is heavy, and -- as it's going to be our permanent home -- it'll probably be even HEAVIER. Thus, the DRW seems the way to go, for stability, comfort and general sturdiness. But, we're going to be doing a LOT of traveling down fire roads, and thus the ability for rocks to get wedged between the wheels becomes a real concern. And, we'll be traveling slowly and not doing anything TOO extreme, so how much do we need the stability offered? Forgive my ignorance, but can a strong rear axel and airbags compensate enough to make the SRW workable?

I've asked a slew of people their opinion on one vs. the other, and it seems to come down 50/50. I'm sure after a year or so of driving our rig around, I'll ALSO have an opinion, and lots of anecdotal evidence to back it up. Right now, though, I've got an opinion but NO evidence behind it. So, what's your experience? Is a SRW adequate, or are we being silly for even thinking of skipping the DRW?

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[Dawgboy]

I've driven both, with a lance 12' box, and I by far, preferred the dually for on road stability. That being said, these days you cand do a lot more to the suspension than I could with my ' 86 f250 diesel.


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[cwsqbm]

I'd go for the DRW. I'd rather worry about a rock causing a problem in my dual rear tires while crawling down a fire road at low speeds than instability while going down the interstate. If you stay in the USA and Canada, you will spend a lot of time at highway speeds getting to anywhere even if you're just on 2 lane roads. Also, that 3400 lbs wet estimate doesn't begin to count all the other stuff you'll load into that big camper. Add all your other gear plus passengers and fuel for the truck and you might be closer to 4500 lbs. A dually truck is wide, but no wider than the camper as both will be about 96".

 

[Ozrockrat]

DRW setup with singles but make sure they are 19.5 or above. My rig was DRW and I converted it to SRW 285/70/19.5 to get the capacity. Rims are 5000 lb rated and the tires closer to 6000 lb.

My main concern was not rocks but the way duals climb the walls where you have wheel ruts. It tends to oscillate the vehicle sideways. Also the G rated tires last a lot longer and are not as prone to sidewall damage. You do lose some of the ability to lower the pressure and balloon the tires out. Sidewall is too stiff for that. Also be careful of the tread pattern. My do whine at highway speed and it takes a long time to wear them out if you get it wrong.

 

[Overland Hadley]

DRW setup with singles .....

That is what I was going to recommend.

You could also start with DRW and then at a latter point change to super singles.

 

[FeralK]

Thanks so much for all of your advice -- It's great to see it all written down in one place, and such a wide variety of what might (and might not!) work! I hadn't thought of the DRW w/ single set up, nor switching to SRW later on down the road. The ultimate weight (still an unknown, but we CAN assume it'll be heavy!) is still a pretty major concern. We are kinda leaning towards SRW with a beefed up suspension and other upgrades to make it work . . .

 

[Darwin]

If it's a SRW, make sure its a one ton, that is a pretty heavy camper. The only drawback I see is that as far one ton SRW options you are left with getting a Ford with a 6.0. One of the worst motor choices for an overland vehicle, plus you would also have to remove the camper in order to remove the cab to do major repair.

 

[CycleWillie]

...are we being silly for even thinking of skipping the DRW?

^ This. And take it from someone who's experienced a blowout at highway speeds while carrying a fully loaded TC (S&S 9.5). Slowly drove the F350 to the nearest discount tire and enjoyed my breakfast while they worked.

Changing a tire on a fire road is much more palatable than changing one on the side of an interstate.

And like cwsqbm said, best add another 1000#'s (at least) to that 3400# "wet" weight...especially if you'll be "full-timing" in it. My TC is posted at 3500# but it measured closer to 4500# at the local scales...and it was only loaded for a weekend get-a-way.

 

[oughtsix]

I was close to buying a 2007 CC long bed DRW Duramax. I discovered I am too wimpy to drive a Dually though. That extra several inches of width makes many back streets very narrow and no longer 2 way streets with a full size rig coming at you and cars parked on both sides of the road. I ended up buying a 2006 CC Long bed SRW Duramax and I am very happy with it! Parking spaces are bad enough with such a long SRW, I am glad I don't have a DRW. It was actually pretty hard to find a used CC long box dually with out any rear fender damage... it didn't take much to figure out why!

My Duramax is a weekend rig that does some towing. a fair amount of hauling and a lot of adventure seeking. I am looking for a camper presently. The Bigfoot campers definitely look like the best available from what I have seen! DRW is very tempting when you start to talk about big campers, especially if it is a full time home.

 

[pugslyyy]

Your truck is going to be very heavy. Have you considered the Hackney solution? i.e. putting the truck camper on the back of a Fuso FG?





Even if you get a pickup truck I would recommend a custom service body for it so that you'll have additional storage.

 

[FeralK]

Yes, we HAVE considered The Hackney Solution (sounds like a spy novel), but are kind of underimpressed by the Fuso itself, plus -- without doing a lot of research, mind you, but looking at pictures) wonder where the center of gravity ends up? Everything looks loaded to the rear . . . This late in the game, we still don't know the "perfect" solution, and I've decided we're probably just going to have to figure it out for ourselves, ie. buy a truck and work with whatever is on it. We were reading about EarthRoamers the other day (not like THAT'S the answer!) and got to wondering how they can have, say, granite countertops (really? I'm contemplating how much CLOTHING I can have, and should I saw off the handle of my toothbrush? and they've got rocks on board) and everything else heavy and still get away with a SRW. This was interesting http://earthroamer.com/xv-lt/driving/off-road/. Furthers the idea that perhaps problems can be sorted out with a suspension upgrade, etc. . . .

Yes, we have been TOTALLY impressed with Bigfoot's offering. Most other TCs on the market seemed quite flimsy and insubstantial for full-timing. We also liked the Northern Lites; they seem quite similar. We've had the Bigfoot now for a couple of months, but due to the lack of truck haven't had it "out and about" yet. Still, it feels very solid, well-insulated, and seems to be a great platform for what we need, especially considering it's well over 10 years old!

 

[pugslyyy]

The reasons to go with the Fuso are mainly ex-US serviceability / parts availability. The rear overhang has not been a problem it high centers first, and CG is between the axles though of course weighted to the rear - but that's how medium duty truck are intended to be. It's not a fast truck but it cruises on the highway at 62mph with relative ease.

Bigfoots are great - there's a reason that 10 year old Bigfoot truck campers still sell for more than a lot of new truck campers from other brands.

 

[jkosten]

Are you willing to trust a Ford diesel to pull that much weight, off highway into desolate areas? I would be more concerned with the powertrain and suspension, then srw vs drw. You can get hd tires and rims (stronger sideway=stiffer ride), but swapping engine parts, and or engines / transmissions is not cheap. You can also run a wider single wheel and sway bar to help stabilize it if not running drw.

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[locrwln]

With a camper of that size, I would do the dually.

I put about 50k miles on this combo:


That was with a "camper packaged" F350, with airbags, RS9000 and a 10' camper. We drove all over from Prudoe Bay, Ak to the southern tip of Baja, Mexico and all over the west/midwest. Only ever had one flat tire and it was on a dirt road in Idaho. Had to unload the camper to change the tire, load everything back up, drive to town, unload it all again to put everything back together. As long as the road was fairly smooth, no problems, but if the road was rough, it was very unnerving to feel the sway of a SRW and camper combo, not to mention exhausting on a long drive. Had to really take it slow on rough/moguled dirt roads because the sway would start like a pendulum and keep going. Would have to stop and let the sway settle before continuing.

Jack

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

This thread may be long gone, but my recommendation is: neither. What then? Super singles. Duplex. Really wide singles. I"ve had very good luck with them. I have had two sets on the rear with a 3750 and 3995 pound load limit on 12" wide wheels and a 4.5" back spacing. Basically the best of both worlds. Here's a pic of a couple weeks ago near the Bristlcone pine forest. Mine is on the right. The tires stick out farther than the Lance Lite but are about 8 inches narrower of track than a set of dualies.

Here are two unmounted 33" tires I've used on the truck: BFG 285/75/R16 on the front load range E, and the MT 375/65/R16, load range E.


Now I use 305-65-R16's on the front. Just a little wider.

jefe