SRW versus DRW advice

[gmguy]

I am about to sell my 2003 1500HD Crew Cab SLT Quadrasteer because I need a bigger box and don't need a Crew Cab. It's been an awesome truck and has been a little difficult to convince my wife to sell it, but our needs are changing.

 

I am considering a 3500 extended cab diesel SLT. I think all I need is the Single Rear Wheels, but I don't want to make a mistake. I do not plan on towing much, I just want cargo capacity, and some relative ease of parking and driving.

 

My questions are the following if anyone can help:

- Fuel mileage should be worse on a DRW because of more rolling resistance and more frontal area. Does anyone have any semi-scientific numbers to validate the difference?

- A DRW should be more stable, but does it handle better than a SRW [without a trailer]?

- A DRW should be worse on snow and slippery surfaces. Does anyone know how to deal with that other than slowing down?

- Off road, which is better?

- The DRW should be worth more used when I may sell it 3-5 years down the road, but the SRW costs less. Is there any potential mistake here in buying a SRW? Or is it the opposite?

 

Thanks all in advance!

[496 CUBIC INCHES]

I am about to sell my 2003 1500HD Crew Cab SLT Quadrasteer because I need a bigger box and don't need a Crew Cab.  It's been an awesome truck and has been a little difficult to convince my wife to sell it, but our needs are changing.

 

I am considering a 3500 extended cab diesel SLT.  I think all I need is the Single Rear Wheels, but I don't want to make a mistake.  I do not plan on towing much, I just want cargo capacity, and some relative ease of parking and driving.

 

My questions are the following if anyone can help:

- Fuel mileage should be worse on a DRW because of more rolling resistance and more frontal area.  Does anyone have any semi-scientific numbers to validate the difference?

- A DRW should be more stable, but does it handle better than a SRW [without a trailer]?

- A DRW should be worse on snow and slippery surfaces.  Does anyone know how to deal with that other than slowing down?

- Off road, which is better?

- The DRW should be worth more used when I may sell it 3-5 years down the road, but the SRW costs less.  Is there any potential mistake here in buying a SRW?  Or is it the opposite?

 

Thanks all in advance!

 

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How much capacity do you need? A SRW 3500 with the diesel and 8' bed will weigh in the neighborhood of 7K lbs. IIRC the SRW 3500 has a GVWR of 9900lbs. That will leave you with about 2900lbs of load capacity.

 

I don't remember the exact GVWR of the DRW,but I think its about 11,500lbs. What does an extra set of tires and fenders weigh? 500lbs? Lets say the DRW weighs 7500lbs,you should have close to 4000lbs of capacity with the DRW.

 

My dads dually is a tank in the snow,it will go just about anywhere. There may be less PSI on each tire with a dually,but IMO its offset by the extra traction of the additional tires.

 

Off-road is a no brainer,the SRW will be far better off road.

 

Unless you plan on towing a BIG fifth wheel or gooseneck,or have to have the maximum payload,I think a SRW is the way to go.

[XTOAK]

You might drive both and decide from there. For me, the extra capacity of the dually was what I needed for towing. Yes, it's a tank in the snow as I rarely need 4wd but it's there should I need it. I love the truck and it flat hauls...

[Bgdsub72]

also consider parking and getting around town. The dually is a PITA to find parking for, and manuvering around on narrow roads is a task. If you are not going to be using it for its full capacity most of the time then it may be smarter to get the SRW.

[Roofer]

You are probably used to the quadrasteer. This will make the DRW seem like a tractor trailer when parking. The SRW 3500 will pull just about anything you can hitch to it. DRW would be nice for real heavy loads or loads with alot of wind resistance, but not neccessarily needed. I would go with the SRW 3500 or 2500HD.

The Duramax is awesome!

[MillerClemsonHD]

I just wanted to throw out there if you are worried about resale value of one in 5yrs that if you are going to spend the money for the bigger truck possibly even a dually you are probably going to want to have a crew cab. Most of the time when people are buying one that is used that big they want a crew cab. That is an awful lot of truck to not have the crew cab with. If you were going with few options or work truck level then it wouldnt matter really. I know this is something I personally considered when looking at used trucks. I dont really need the crew cab, but if I was going to buy that much truck I was going to get the crew cab. I ended up with a gas, 2500ext cab bc it was a deal I couldnt pass up, but I know this will hurt my resale if I decide to sell later on. I hope to upgrade to a diesel crew cab in 5yrs or so. Im not saying that you are making a wrong decision if you do not get a crew cab and some around here may disagree with me, but from what I have seen in prices through my research the crew cab will hold value better than the ext cab especially in a diesel. Hope this helps some. Good luck with your decision. No matter what your not gonna lose.

[R Dogg 56]

Just about everyone here that has seen my posts and knows anything about me knows what I would choose if I were you.

 

if you are going to spend the money for the bigger truck possibly even a dually you are probably going to want to have a crew cab.

Yep

 

This will make the DRW seem like a tractor trailer when parking.

Ah, you can adjust. It's not that hard to park a CC LB DRW, just keep your eyes open for larger spots.

 

I love the truck and it flat hauls...

That's what I'll be saying at the end of the year when I get one. Most likely a 96-00 K3500 OBS CC LB DRW 7.4/4L80E...and so on.

 

In any event, listen to your gut instinct, and consider the opnions or your fellow members. These guys know what they talk about, and it seems like the 3500 SRW is the way to go. Good Luck!!!

 

edit: corrected spelling errors.

[XTOAK]

I agree...parking my dually is nothing...taught by 5' wife how to park it and she can handle it like nothing. You'll read alot of BS about parking a dually, how they're hard to keep on a road, etc. Try one for yourself...don't lock yourself out of a class of truck just because someone can't drive one.

[Scyry]

I think parking and driving feels is all in what you were brought up with or are used to. My family has always had nothing but fullsize trucks/SUVs, so it has always been no biggie to me to drive them. The two work trucks we had were a OBS EC longbed dually and a RC longbed fleetside. Yes the RC was easier to get in and out of tight spots on jobsites, but you could get the EC in there too. If you get a dually, go out and play with it in a big parking lot with some rubber trash cans. Use them like big traffic cones and get used to when you have to turn and how sharp of a tirn you can actually make. If you are parking a dually, just don't try to go right into a spot. Shoot for like the middle of the next spot then back up and then go into the spot you wanted. It just takes a little more planning when driving a dually, like it takes more thinking when hauling a trailer instead of not.

[gmguy]

 

Thanks all! To answer the question of what I haul...The heaviest stuff is general masonry supplies. I am a hobbiest mason with and engineering background, and I like overkill.

 

Thank you for the reminder that the Diesel is significantly heavier than the gas. Da! My current truck has a GVWR of 8600 lbs and a payload capacity of 2766 lbs.. That, and the Quadrasteer, was the reason I bought it.

 

I need to go test drive a new and used dually for a while to get the feel for it. I think with a little practice, I would likely begin to like it. As for my wife, she usually picks up where I leave off, and would likely find that a dually is good thing to drive. She's wierd that way, and that's okay.

 

The dually has the cargo capacity I'm looking for. As for the Crew, I have it and don't really utilize it, but will take it under consideration when I do the test drives. I already know there is very few extended cabs even out there.

 

Thanks all again!

[99-2door]

I would only consider the DRW only if I was towing very frequently.

 

I have to disagree about the SRW being better offroad though. Those 4 tires in the back with a G80 have a lot of traction. Sure the SRW is more manuverable.

And a diesel isn't that great offroad, the front of the truck is so heavy that you have to use 4x4 a lot more.

[496 CUBIC INCHES]

I would only consider the DRW only if I was towing very frequently.

 

I have to disagree about the SRW being better offroad though.  Those 4 tires in the back with a G80 have a lot of traction.  Sure the SRW is more manuverable.

And a diesel isn't that great offroad, the front of the truck is so heavy that you have to use 4x4 a lot more.

 

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I suppose it depends on your definition of off-road. Driving down a gravel road on the way to the lake isn't off-roading. A CC dually will NEVER be as good off road as a SRW truck. A DRW truck is too long,too wide and too heavy.

 

For that matter,a 2500HD or 3500 SRW isn't made for serious off-roading either.

[Roofer]

I would only consider the DRW only if I was towing very frequently.

 

I have to disagree about the SRW being better offroad though.  Those 4 tires in the back with a G80 have a lot of traction.  Sure the SRW is more manuverable.

And a diesel isn't that great offroad, the front of the truck is so heavy that you have to use 4x4 a lot more.

 

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I suppose it depends on your definition of off-road. Driving down a gravel road on the way to the lake isn't off-roading. A CC dually will NEVER be as good off road as a SRW truck. A DRW truck is too long,too wide and too heavy.

 

For that matter,a 2500HD or 3500 SRW isn't made for serious off-roading either.

 

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Can't agree more. I have pulled out our F550 more times than I can count. It has some pretty aggressive tires too.

[99-2door]

Well I was talking about muddy tops on the pastures. Dual wheels doesn't make a truck any longer, and they sure make it crawl through the mud better.

[silverado3500]

IMO, the dually handles much better than a srw, especially when towing. And offroading depends on what kind of offroading you are doing. If you're going in the woods (narrow trails, I'd go with a SRW, but otherwise, Definately the dually does better than a srw in mud/snow, etc.

 

As for the F550, while it is a dually, it is a much heavier truck than an f350 or c/k 3500.

 

Parking will probably take a little getting used to more for length of a long box than the width. Is really not that big of a deal to park, because if you think about it, if you can open your door enough to get out of the truck, you have enough room for the fenders. (not sure if that illustration makes any sense or not, but worth a shot)