Is Dually a must for Solitude 5th wheel

[droundtree]

My Solitude is 16k max gvw and I tow it with a short box SRD Dodge 3500. It works very well. I installed Firestone adjustable air springs and Pull Rite automatic slider. If you are going short box I strongly recommend the automatic slider even though it’s expensive and raises the hitch height, the convenience is worth it and you can lower the pin box on the trailer to compensate. However assuming yours will have the 7000 lb axles with 10x2 brakes like mine had, that is your limiting factor and stopping will not be great and brakes will wear out prematurely. I upgraded mine to 8k axles with 10x3 brakes and it’s the best money I have spent. I have driven this rig 48,000 miles including a lot of mountain driving (we live in Colorado) and have never been short of power or worried about stability. We had a trip through New Mexico two years ago where we were hit with 50-60 mph cross winds and we got through it without mishap. You do have to be on your toes and think ahead because it will never brake or corner like DRW but I have found it adequate. It is our second car and we have limited garage space so we felt that it was the best option for us.


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[catattack57]

We pull a Solitude S Class (3350RL) just fine with our F350, but I believe our rig's weight is quite a bit less that the unit you will be pulling. My wife uses the truck for her daily driver, and she has a problem around fuel islands, so we went with the SRW. If I had to do it over again, would probably go with a DRW for an even greater comfort zone.

[SolarPoweredRV]

I pull my Solitude 380FL with a F350 diesel dually long-bed and would not have it any other way (except a F450!).

I agree, towing a 5th wheel is a lot of responsibility and the F-350 Dually is a very stable platform for towing the Solitude.

I also would not want to tow a 5th wheel as wide as the Solitude with a short bed pickup (the Solitude is 101 inches wide, the widest allowed on the streets).

Driving the Dually around the city is not too hard to get used to and you simply learn to park at the far end of the lot where there is more space.

[geotex1]

We pull a Solitude S Class (3350RL) just fine with our F350, but I believe our rig's weight is quite a bit less that the unit you will be pulling. My wife uses the truck for her daily driver, and she has a problem around fuel islands, so we went with the SRW. If I had to do it over again, would probably go with a DRW for an even greater comfort zone.

Watch your pin weight. With the CCC of the 3350RL, you can easily surpass the payload of your SRW. Another member here had an eye opening experience when scaled at a rally along with ours. They had a generator option along with the additional weight of the secone battery and inverter for the residential fridge, washer and dryer, 40# LP bottles, and packed as full-timers. Still had a bit of CCC but were way over their F350's payload before even considering the supplemental diesel tank they had... Saw them this year with a new-to-them F450 Platinum dually.

[CX500T]

397TH with 3500 on the pin in a SRW Ford.

Short bed super cab. Short is really nice for maneuvering but I had a very close to crunch today when the trailer leaned while I was one to the turn limit (close as in scuffed paint but no crack of the gel coat close) and I was in a place where I couldn't unlock the slider.

Pros to the SRW short bed: I have had two places that would have been much harder or impossible to get in to with the DRW crew cab long box 350. 450 might have done it with its tighter radius.

Cons to short bed SRW: it gets beat around more when a semi passes you doing 80 when you are doing 60 up a grade. Also rides a bit rougher.

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[Steven@147]

Watch your pin weight. With the CCC of the 3350RL, you can easily surpass the payload of your SRW. Another member here had an eye opening experience when scaled at a rally along with ours. They had a generator option along with the additional weight of the secone battery and inverter for the residential fridge, washer and dryer, 40# LP bottles, and packed as full-timers. Still had a bit of CCC but were way over their F350's payload before even considering the supplemental diesel tank they had... Saw them this year with a new-to-them F450 Platinum dually.

Hey, some more 3350RL owners, outstanding! We love ours! Our weights are in our signature line but we don't have the W/D, second battery, generator, res fridge or 40# tanks. Our dually does a fine job towing the rig.

[CWSWine]

We had a 2017 GMC 1 Ton diesel with CC of 37XX pounds and 2017 Solitude 310GK. We headed from Kansas to Tucson AZ and had appointments to install a generator and washer and dryer when we arrived in Tucson. We did all the pencil weights and never thought we would exceed our trucks specs, not even close. Will we were wrong, loaded up for 3 month trip we weight in at 14,600 pounds but the kicker was we were over our GVWR and within 200 pounds of our axle ratings without the planed upgrades.

We went looking for a DRW and drove several but we wasn't impressed with the ability to parking and getting around in tight spaces. Yes we can park out the south forty and walk but I also have hard time walking long distance. We drove our new truck and new 310GK onto La Masa RV dealer in Tucson and drove off with a 40 foot Class A diesel pusher with a payload capacity of 7XXX pounds. We bought a Jeep Wrangler and got in to four wheeling on Colorado back country and AZ deserts. We have never regretted out switch and love the benefits and live with the negatives. When I tell this story RVers are quick to say look at how much it cost to service a Class A and it does close use 800.00 once a year for compete service. We went from pay 13XX for tags for our truck and the Class A only cost 3XX bucks so more than enough to pay for services and a couple of steak dinners. So far the only repairs we made to our Class A was done with a screw driver.

[JMCFAN]

I have never actually weighed my set up loaded. Can you use the weigh stations and how do you do that...???

[Hoopy Frood]

Easiest way is to find the CAT scales and weigh there. That will give you drive and steer axle weight, and trailer weight. Many of them will offer a discount if you weigh twice within a short period of time. That way you can weigh just the truck and then weigh the combination to get the information you need. Not expensive, around $12.

[Original AJ]

I like the short box SRW 1 ton diesel trucks myself. I’ve never felt like I needed a dually and I would hate to drive one in the winter in Canada. Also, my truck gets a nice cozy heated garage spot that it wouldn’t get if I owned a dually. Just another man’s perspective