Which Dually?

[Qweaver]

Most people in Texas either own a truck or wish they did.  Most don't actually need a truck, they just WANT one.
I've never really needed a truck, nor particularly wanted one. Trailers towed behind a van always made more sense to me.  But now that I have the TLB and a dozer, a heavy duty diesel truck pulling a gooseneck trailer seems like the only way to go. 
Since this truck will be an occasional use vehicle, spending 10s of thousands of dollars for a truck makes no sense at all.  So now comes the part that I hate most, trying to find a used dually that is cheap enough to justify the limited use that it will get and yet is reliable enough to make the occasional trip between Texas and WV. 

Then there's the Ford vs Chevy vs Dodge conundrum. I've been taking a survey of duallies that I see on the road and Ford F350s seem to far out-number the other brands.  I must have a crew cab and, again, Ford seems to have the edge.
Buying a vehicle should be fun...but this is not.  I'll bet there are some good opinions on the FF  ???
Quinton

[Raider Bill]

What you need is a dodge body with a ford motor and chevy transmission.

[slowzuki]

Owning a dually and trailer means your friends are going to know they can borrow your equipment.  Think of who your friends are for a bit.

Renting a vehicle or hiring this out is expensive, but check how often you want to do it, I've had some stuff floated for about 60$/hr.

As for an actual truck, there is a mix of all three brands around here.  The older Dodge 3500's seem to be the cheapest, especially gasers which are fine for low mileage use.  The Fords are popular as well.  
I don't like the GM's with their IFS 4wd and sealed unit parts that mean you need a new knuckle when the bearing goes.  Also most the affordable late 80's early 90's ones have those electronic heating controls that don't work now.

Bet on the tranny needing replacement if it is an auto (unless you know a lot about the truck).  Brakes are expensive on this size truck too, a set of rotors and drums is over 1000$ up here anyways.  Rear drum is like 100 lbs each.

If you are just towing get the 2wd model, the 4wd's are extra $ at every turn.

[BigTrev]

When in doubt, hail the blue oval.

Built Ford tough.

[Ga_Boy]

You will not regret getting a GMC/Chevy with the Duramax and Allision combo.  So far in the one ton class it is the best package out there.

[Burlkraft]

What you need is a dodge body with a ford motor and Chevy transmission.

Raider Bill is right...I can attest ta that Allison trans that Chevy uses. I've made several trips in da mountains with that thing and the retarder in there it acts like a Jake Brake....I just put brakes on my truck for the first time and it has 180,000 miles on it... ;D ;D ;D

[tcsmpsi]

I have personally never had a 'dually', as mentioned.  

There is an Escapee (full-time travelers) encampment (big enough they have their own post office/zipcode) down the road and I have had many of them as customers/trainees over the years.  Some of them pull some mighty fancy rigs.  From what I have gathered from them, overall, it has been predominant that most of them who have used different trucks, most have been more favorably impressed with the change to the newer Dodges (last 4 or 5 yrs, if memory serves proper).

[Dale Hatfield]

Qweaver.
I guess the first question is gas or diesel.
We have 2 dodge diesels that we both love.
Faults of the 2
The auto was  junk  4,500 to repair. 1995  club cab dually my every day driver.
( which now has  more power than it  cummins ever thought of making)
Front end needing rebuilt at this point 183,000 miles.
Next one will only have  4 tires 6 is a bit expensive  on the daily work truck.
Wifes truck 98 24 valve 5 speed.
Faults lift pumps on the 24 vales are all junk. new fuel system  1,000
Injection pumps are prone to failure because of junk lift pumps and weak  electronics inside.
5th gear  nut  might come lose.
Makes 4 trips a year to Texas at least.
Fuel milage dodge is hard to beat.
Dogde  dont have a  real 4 door well they do now. but it dont come in an 8 foot bed, Dummys.
I traded a  450 ford for  my dodge. too many clutch problems.
Wife had a ton dodge dually gas that we traded for hers.
Outside of the few know problems with the cummins if they could stuff it ito a Yugo id drive it,
Fact is most diesel power plants have more power than the trannys behind them.
Dale

[JimBuis]

...I can attest ta that Allison trans that Chevy uses. I've made several trips in da mountains with that thing and the retarder in there it acts like a Jake Brake....I just put brakes on my truck for the first time and it has 180,000 miles on it... ;D ;D ;D

I don't personally own a truck at the moment, or a car for that matter, but my brother owns a one ton GMC with the Duramax diesel and the Allison transmission and he assures me there's nothing better.  He often pulls an RV trailer from the St. Louis area east through the Smokies. He says that when it comes to pulling the trailer through the mountains he cannot tell the difference between that and no trailer.  He also often has conversations with other drivers at rest areas in the mountains who are openly disgusted with their rigs and who admire his.

I'd suggest you talk to a number of drivers pulling big trailers at mountain rest areas.  That is when the pros and cons are fresh in the minds of the drivers and I'd bet you'd get some candid feedback.

Jim

[DWM II]

Check out this site, www.thedieselstop.com. They are ford biased but they have forums for all makes, also you can get a good feel for whats breaking on what and when. Good Luck.

[Larry]

Since this truck will be an occasional use vehicle, spending 10s of thousands of dollars for a truck makes no sense at all.  So now comes the part that I hate most, trying to find a used dually that is cheap enough to justify the limited use that it will get and yet is reliable enough to make the occasional trip between Texas and WV. 
Quinton

Think we can rule out Chevys, as the Duramax is relativity new and going to be way up there in price.  My choice would be either a Ford with the 7.3 PSD or a Dodge with the Cummins.  Something with less than 150,000 and driven by the proverbial old spinster school teach.

[CLL]

The biggest thing to look at is not the initial cost, their all very close in price. Mileage(diesels) goes
to the Dodges. Chevy's retain more value, Fords cheaper used. Having had all three over the years pulling big horse trailers, I have found this to be mostly true. Dodges are good truck with good motors,(automatic transmissions junk). Fords, without chips lack power and repair costs are about twice what the other two are. Chevy's have high resale value and dependability, mileage not as good as dodges. If I was buting tomorrow, it would be Chevy, Dodge, Ford.

[Greg Cook]

Got an F-350 with the 7.3 Powerstroke, and love it. However, it's not a dually. And don't need a dually for what I'm doing. Assess what you will be doing most, see if you do. The towing capacity of single-wheel 350's is higher than with duals. Also, that's an extra set of 10 ply tires you'll have to buy. I have the Crew cab and long bed, so truck is over 24 feet long. I didn't want to add unnecessary width, too. Except in the coldest part of winter, I get 19 mpg consistently, and always have at least 900 pounds of tools in the bed.
On the truck forums, I have heard lots of negatives about the 6.0 litre Powerstrokes when they came out. May be better now...

Good Luck !
Greg

[onionman]

Ive had both the f350 and Dodge 3500 if you could put the 2 together
it would be a great truck...Most of the  miles I drive there is a trailer of some type behind me..Had to put a tranny in the Ford 1000 miles out of warranty..Front end a frame bolts kept breaking
Just had the Dodge  tranny fluid changed at 53000 and was told it looked ok.
Have been hauling the logs for my house from Atlanta to Geenville Tn.,The Dodge drops out of overdrive 1-2 times during the 300 mle trip. Using the calculator in the tool box for lumber I am hauling 13,800 to 14,200 including the trailer..
The dodge pulls it great better than my power stroke would have.
Have not owned A chevy so can't say any thing about them.
Onion

[sawdust]

Fords have style, Dodge has a Cummins and Allison tranny is the way to"go" I love my Dodge He is ugly but never quits. The cars have girl names.

sawdust

[Quartlow]

They all have good points and bad ones.
Nephew has a 1986 Chevy that they put a 89 6.5 liter diesel in. It's biggest drawback is gearing, it has the old style 4 speed in it. On the plus side. It starts easy. and with the low gearing it it pulls like a tank. He gets around 15 or 16 MPG just running around town.

The Dodge tranny problem. It's an easy fix, in fact its easy to prevent. Swap out the oil pan on the tranny for an after market aluminum pan, one of the finned ones. Friend of mine had one. tore up the tranny twice first time at 30,000 miles covered under warrenty second time at 75000 he did it himself. He added the new pan at that time. It also holds 6 more quarts of tranny fluid. Last time I saw it it had over 200,000 on it and was still going.


The fords, all I can say there is at  least they circle the problem  :D The E4od tranny is junk.
The 5 speed zepher is geared too high in reverse. On the plus side the zepher is eassy to work on and parts for them can be bought at most BIG truck parts houses. Ford parts are expensive to.

My sister just bought a new Dodge 3500 crew cab, They have had it about 2 months now and are extremely pleased with it. They just picked up their 5th wheel camper, a 34 footer. She said it drug it right down the road like it wasn't even back there. They had it down to a decision between the Chevy Dura max and the Dodge. The deciding factor was her husband got a deal through work where they got the dodge at 1% under invoice.

She said the only thing she didn't like about the Chevy was the visibility.   

[Fla._Deadheader]

Had a 97 Dodge Dually with Cummins-Allison. It pulled like you wouldn't believe, only, spun tires if you wasn't REAL: careful, on dirt or Mud. Never had the overdrive kick out, pulling 14,000# of logs or lumber. Crawled up hills in overdrive, IF ya call Florida bumps, hills.  : : :  Sold it to my Daughter and Husband. Wish it was paid off, I never wooda sold it. Got 20 MPG with a decent load, and less with a REAL load.

  Manual says to adjust the bands on every oil change, IF NEEDED.  : : 

[Corley5]

We like our Dodge Cummins.  Front wheel bearings with the four wheel drive are an expected replacement around 80-100,000 miles depending on usage. 

[scsmith42]

Quinton, I would stay away from the non-Duramax/Allison GM's - they are not in the same league as the Dodge/Cummins and Fords.

The Duramax - Allison is hard to beat - I would rank it as the number 2 motor (by a very slim margin to the Cummins) with the number one transmission.  The downside to the Cummins is that it's loud.  The Ford 7.3 and 6.0 would be closely following the Duramax.  However, I think that they are all solid engines.

The Ford chassis is tough, the interior is comfortable, and they last well.  I personally think that the transmission is the weak point though.

One benefit of a dually - when pulling a gooseneck trailer - is that you can put about 4000 lbs more tongue weight on it than a single wheel pickup.

[sawguy21]

A friend bought a used IH town tractor to pull his 5th wheel,. 466 with a 6+1 works very well for him and  no CDL needed. You can get a used 6 pack from the utility companies a lot cheaper than buying a late model dually pick um up truck.

[Robert R]

I have to go by my experience which in a dually is very limited.  I have borrowed a friends F350 dually diesel since I sold my truck.  I affectionally call it the "Big Red Pig" because it feels just like riding a fat sow (don't ask why but yes, I know what that feels like).  His is geared down (or is it up) specifically for hauling large horse trailers.  He takes 8 horses from Kansas City to Tennessee most weekends in the show season.  I much prefered by Dodge but it was 3/4 ton and not a dually.  It could pull circles around the Ford but my friend said that was because of the gearing for more low end torque.  I'll have to take his word for it cause I don't know squat it except that even with a full trailer, when I pushed the gas, the dodge accellerated.  I do know I much preferred my Dodge.  It was my second one.  The first was the big block V8 and it just didn't have what it took for a 27 foot horse trailer with 4 belgians on board and several hundred pounds of harness and equipment.

[LedlieLogs]

I agree with sawguy21. I own an older GMC 3500, 7.4, gas so I can't say as to the diesels. I do have 350,000 on the truck though. She ain't going to pasture anytime soon. Take a look at the day cab trucks. I have been looking and there pretty cheap.
Good luck either way, it can be taxing.
Ledlie

[ksu_chainsaw]

If you are mechanically inclined, there is an easy engine swap to improve the power of a chevy 1 ton.  Find a mid 80's frito lay truck- some of the gm trucks have a 3.9L 4cyl Cummings diesel bolted up to a gm auto tranny-700r4 I think.  This will easily drop into a chevy dually, and get better mileage than any of the other engines, and out torque the 6.2 or the 6.5 any day. 
Or another option is to find an older single axle day cab semi- think mid 80s international dump truck.  They have a good diesel engine, some of them have the allison auto tranny behind it, and with the cost of steel right now, you can sell the dump bed and buy a small sleeper to drop behind the cab if you need the extra room in the cab.

just my 2 cents

Charles

[red]

dollar for dollar I think you want a school bus
find a short one with the 6 cyl cummins

the dually pickups are big bucks and they definately need
an aux trans  like gear venders 

[Corley5]

I like my Cummins loud  ;D ;D