I am about to purchase a large camper for my F350 one ton. It is advisable to have a dually but not required. I sure can't afford to buy another truck just for the camper nor do I want to trade my 99 in, bought it new and know what I got.

I just don't understand why a dually would help much, it is a one ton too and the springs are bolted to the frame just like mine so I can't see how having wheels sticking way out there would help with swaying.

Can someone help me out here?

I know or have heard that having a wide butt truck can cause problems pulling into bank drive in's and fast food and when new tires are needed, two more are required at $150 a pop or so.

I can buy a used 2002 F350 dually for about $11k and it's in great shape but I'd have to trade mine in to be able to afford it.

Thanks in advance.

Joe

Just to be clear.Is this camper an in bed or a tow behind?

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Dum vivo cano

Check the towing capacity of your current truck vs. the new camper. (you should be able to find out how much it weighs somewhere) If your current truck will safely tow the new camper I wouldn't worry about a new truck. If it won't safely tow it then I would worry about a new truck. From what I can make of what you said I suspect your current truck will do OK. I assume it is a F350 with a two wheel rear axle instead of four. If you can't find the towing capacity info on a tag inside the driver side door I'm sure someone who sells Fords can help you out.

It's a cab over camper, sorry I did not make that clear. My truck can pack the load so that is not a problem. I'm told that a dually will handle the 3800 lbs better because of center of gravity. The camper will overhang the rear bumper by 3 feet or so. Is the axle of the dually mounted further back on the bed? If so then I can see how it would be better.

Your gonna need an alignment and rated tires for the weight.I think you'll be fine.I see your in Wa. so I can't say to much more.

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Dum vivo cano

I am on my third dually. Lots of advantages to owning a dually.

They do not slide or sway on the pavement as does a single rear wheel truck.

They hold traction better on slippery hills.

In the event of a flat on the rear, you can still keep moving until a safer place to change the tire is reached.

Any trailer being towed will not be as prone to sway.

Insurance is generally cheaper on a dually.

They tend to get more miles than a regular truck. Maybe due to not being dogged like a SRW truck.

My current one got 417,000 miles before needing drive train replair.

The one before that got 390,000 miles when I traded it off on the last truck.

The first got right at 440,000 miles when I traded it.

I use mine to pull heavy horse trailers, a 38 foot travel trailer and utility trailers loaded with investigative equipment.

What is the GVW of your truck (not the GCVW; that's for pulling trailers)? It should be on a data plate somewhere.

Once you know that, subtract the weight of the camper (3800 lb?) from the GVW and that will tell you what your truck has to weigh less than, empty, for you to be OK.

Lots of times, tires are the limiting factor. The dually solves that.

The Arabs love them. I have yet to see one that could pass a gas station.

I don't think 3800 pounds will matter in a one ton single rear wheel. I pull a trailer for my landscaping buisiness 9 months out of the year. My usual trailer is a 16 footer with a ztr and all the lawn equipment it weighs about 4400 lbs. I have no swaying issues with a single rear wheel truck. I occasionally pull a skidsteer trailer or a dump trailer. Above 10,000 lbs my single rear truck will sway pretty bad. I prefer a srw because I don't have to buy the two extra tires that would only benefit me occasionally. A dual rear wheel truck will also get stuck easier because all those tires back there cause too much flotation. Now let me change sides and defend dual rear trucks. At my other job as a paramedic all our ambulances are dual rear wheel trucks. If we had a high speed rear wheel blowout in an ambulance we would still have another tire on that side to get stopped. A few years ago in S.C. (Greenville I think) a single rear wheel ambulance had a blowout and some folks died. If I rear correctly the camper your buying sits in the bed of the truck. Dual rears would be safer, but if you alraedy have a truck your happy with keep good tires on it and enjoy your camper.

The dually will offer more stability. When you add the camper, you will have an extremely high-profile vehicle. In windy conditions and in corners, that extra set of tires may just keep you upright instead of upside down in the ditch. A dually is not necessary, but certainly preferred by most people.

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Insert short witty words here

Amen....I've seen some truck/camper combos that were downright deadly because they were so unstable. The weight rating tags don't always guarantee a good result. For a camper that heavy, the smaller trucks will drag it around to anyplace you want to go but not as safely as the dually and it's well worth the difference to keep your family safe.

i agree. there are 2 advantages to the dually. it is wider, and much more stable with a heavy/tall load. each tire has a load capacity, and you get to double that! plus the added stability in case of a flat tire at an inopportune time. maybe not absolutely necessary in your case, but well worth consideration!

I carry a Lance pickup camper in my F350 dually. I picked out the camper I wanted first and then bought a new truck that would handle it. I don't regret getting the dually. My truck is rated for 11,200 GVW and with the camper, camping equipment and a passenger, it weighs 11,400 lbs. You have to figure in the extra equipment - my camper is rated at 3200 lbs dry, but you don't go camping dry.

You probably can't find a truck built for hauling a camper on a used truck lot. Mine has the 11,200 lb GVW pkg, camper package, stability package and I still had to add air bags to the rear axle to get the headlights back where they belong. The truck squats about 2 inches when the camper is put on, and it takes 100 lbs of air in each bag to get the truck back to level.

I will tell you that the truck is a comfortable highway machine with 4000 lbs in the bed! It was made for that load and handles it well. Empty is another story - you can run over a dime and tell if it was heads or tails.

The dual rear wheels do contribute to stability and I recommend them.

(By the way, you don't want a diesel engine for a pickup camper carrying truck - the engine weighs too much.)

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VIVERE MILITARE EST