Coochas

OK people, I know this question has been posed a thousand times but since I'm special, I'm going to post it again.

We are finalizing specs on a 44 foot gooseneck ATC. The payload will typically be two 1300 pound cars plus spare/tools/bikes/etc. Occasionally one of the cars will be a sports car.

I currently tow with a 2010 Ram 2500 SRW Diesel short bed. I think I can 'get by' towing this trailer especially with a taper neck. I've had some people tell me there is no problem with this and others tell me that the truck is not HD enough.

So, I've decided to upgrade to a new Ram 3500 Diesel long bed. The question is whether or not I need a dually to safely pull?. The width of a dually is a bit intimidating but I'm guessing I'd get used to it. I would imagine parking the dually has its own set of issues.

I currently use my 2500 for towing a 22 foot trailer, commuting on occasion (big parking lots), buying big stuff, carrying 600 pounds of salt, and snow plowing.

Hoyt

If it was me I'd be getting a dually to pull your new trailer. I've always been told from my buddies, who tow way more than I do, that a dually pulls a gooseneck trailer the best...both from safety and performance point of views.

My next truck will be a dually just for this reason.

sanyata

You adapt to the dually real quick. The stability and safety factor they provide are well worth having. Just imagine having a rear tire blow out at highway speed on a SRW when you're towing. That alone should steer right.

jrbkarter

I'll offer another solution- Stick with the RAM 3500 Dually (making sure to get the rear air suspension-its incredible) and instead of doing a long bed, switch to the Mega Cab which gives you the 6.4' bed. The overall length of the truck makes it only slightly longer than a RAM crew cab 2500 and almost identical in length to a Ford F250 crew cab while being significantly shorter than any 8' bed option. That makes the truck easier to park/whip around when not towing but gives you the much better rear axle capacity for GN/5th wheel towing.

Width wise- I significantly prefer the Dually when towing an enclosed trailer because you never have any question of the width of the trailer in relation to the truck. Where the outside of the dually fenders are is exactly the width of the trailer and the extra stability of the DRW is significant with larger trailers and cross winds. After several thousand miles of towing (28' TAG InTech, soon to be 40' GN InTech) with our new '17 RAM Mega Cab dually, my only complaint with the truck is the seats aren't quite as comfortable as I'd like for our 6 hour stints. We upgraded to a 55 gallon tank immediately and even averaging 8-10mpg at ~75mph (3.73 gears) we are averaging 5.5-6 hours between fuel stops and you start to get a bit of numb butt going. However, that's more our fault than Dodge's since we wanted the extra range of the larger fuel tank. Stock tank would be roughly 3-4 hours so switching out driver's that often would probably resolve the issue. Other than that though the truck has been fantastic, quiet, immense power (AISIN trans of course) and the extra room in back means you can create a huge sleeping area for your co-driver to stretch out and relax in.

Coochas

Thanks everyone for the responses so far. Sounds like DRW is way to go.

Interesting comments about the mega cab. Can I assume you have a tapered neck on the goose?

jrbkarter

Yes, we did spec the taper nose. InTech (and presumably ATC) had us send in a specific set of measurements from the truck so they can properly setup the GN hitch/receiver thingie majig for maximum clearance. Since the bed is the same as a 2500 with the 6'4" bed, it's not anything special but they do confirm everything beforehand just in case.

Coochas

Yes, ATC does the same thing wanting to know truck specifics.
I think i'm going to go with the Crew cab/8 foot box. It's 11 inches longer than the Mega/6 foot box. I figure either way the thing isn't maneuverable!

Do you mind if I ask what level discount you paid for your Ram and if it was off the lot or custom? PM is fine. Thanks.

jrbkarter

No problem getting them some more business. It was $61k +TTL after even trade value for the previous '16 2500. Truck was listed on their site at the time at $66,449 and included some additional rebates/discountes, etc.

Specs- 2017 3500 Mega Cab DRW Laramie, major options included, AISIN transmission, 3.73 gears, rear air suspension, GN/5th wheel prep package, Sunroof (which we could have done without), Convenience package, keyless go

The dealer tends to order all of their trucks with this spec and the bottom two Mega cabs (white and black) in the following link are identical builds to our new truck:

http://www.bluebonnetchryslerdodge.n...elections=true

White truck window sticker from their site:

http://www.chrysler.com/hostd/window...3RRMLXHG528333

If you'd like to do the crew cab with the 8' box, it'll be roughly $1k cheaper as the Mega cab bases at ~$1500 more.

It'll be a hike to get the truck from TX coming from MA but they're a high volume dealer with low overhead (think dirt lot, 50+ year old building, etc) with no frills and no BS so if you're looking for a screaming deal, it's worth getting in touch with them. Sales manager's name is Gregg.

Coochas

Thanks!
I'm gonna talk to a fairly local dealer tomorrow that has a separate commercial Ram division. They seem to have a lot of commercial level vehicles. I need to bring my 2500 in as well to see what they might give me. I'm wondering if I should keep the 2500 for plow work. I'm not sure how the extra two feet and the dually will do with the plowing.

RickBetterley

Dave, that rig is a lot bigger than I am used to, but looking around the paddocks I would say most are using duallies, including Dave and Kristin.
The dually is pretty big for around town, but even the single wheel will be a monster.
If you need to and can, keep the single wheel and devote the dually to towing.
Do you think we are over-committed?

Matt Romanowski

With a DRW, you need a 9' plow. The truck is 8.5' wide, so with a 8' plow, the outside wheels will always be on an uplowed surface. Plowing with a dually can be done, but it's a bit tougher. The best plow trucks are SRW, regular cab, 6' bed trucks.

Coochas

Yeah, I was worried about plowing with the dually. I would like to 'cash in' the 2500 but then again it is paid for and the insurance isn't that much. As a plow vehicle it has been great so far. Very pleasantly surprised.

And Rick, most of us that post here are indeed over committed! But it's a good thing.

But when I get tired of the track scene I'll get a really good return on the investment I've made in all of this stuff,....right?

RickBetterley

The emotional ROI is terrific, that's for sure.
Meet some cool people, too.

Coochas

It's not the cars, it's the people. Well, some people I guess.

I'll partially blame you Rick as I went and looked at a Ram 3500 Dually Longhorn edition today. It was fortunately already sold. But I'm gonna spec one out just like it!

RickBetterley

I'm here for you, Dave