I have a modified F250 SRW (see sig line) and want to upgrade to a F350. The wife and I are arguing about SRW vrs DRW. I pull a 10K 5er in the summer. I usually put on about 8-10K miles a year.
The problem, we live in Alaska and I want people's actual experience of driving dual rear wheel vehicles in ice and snow. Looking for the good, the bad and the ugly. Any recommendations??? BTW, I have ruled out a 450/550 class truck at this time. Thanks for the input
I know this isnt first hand, but figured i would chime in. My friend has a dually and says that even when it sprinkles rain he has to put it in four wheel, not to mention when it snows its a must. I have a dually but its a work truck with a dump box on the back and is usually full of salt in the winter, so it has a little bit of weight in the back to say the least. I have no problems, but thats cuz i got so much extra weight
__________________ 2002 f-250 7.3 180,000, K&N Intake, Dual Magnaflow exhaust, 4" exhaust turbo back, 5" stainless steel tips, muffler delete, Pyrometer and boost and Trans Temp gauges, bts chip high idle, 40 tow, 80 econo, 120 aggressive, 120 smoke, wicked wheel, AIH mod, leveling kit, BF Goodrich 315, LED Lights all around
2000 f-350 7.3 55,000 dump truck, super chips tuner 2005 f-350 6.0 50,000, SOLD!!! 2008 f-550 6.4 45 miles also stock for now, still have to assemble 1972 Mustang runs like a champ, but needs a lil body work
I don't drive my dually in the winter (trying to keep the rust from starting). I have a few friends that drive theirs in the winter. They all have winter tires/rims, but they only use four. They don't use outers in the rear as it causes too much floatation...pretty much the same as you don't jacked up 4x4's with huge tires driving around in winter. Also, having winters on the rear inside keeps the rear tires in the same track as the fronts, which helps when going through the slop. I know it doesn't look as pretty, but it's definately more functionable. The northern BC winters here (must be close to same as Alaska) can be brutal and change so fast, that you have to be ready for anything...stay safe.
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05 F-350 Crewcab 4x4, 6.0, Auto, Dually, My new Tow Rig
95 F-350 Crewcab 4x4, 7.3, Auto, Awesome Tow Rig...Sold on May 17/09 (went to a good home)
80 F-250 4X4, 429, 4 Speed, Lifted, Solid Axles, Boggers, 450,000km and going strong...Gonna Go
90 Bronco, Work in Progress
I have an F350 Dually and have not had any problems on snow and ice. Problem isn't the dually, problems are usually the driver and the torque of the diesel. Been in snow 1ft. deep and walked right through it.
I very rarely drive my dually in the snow. It's main use is pulling a horse trailer around from April to Nov. But, what I have learned is that tires can make a world of difference when driving in snow. My old 99.5 had Kumho road venture's more of a highway tire and would slip and slide all over even in 4 wheel drive and easy on the accelerator. I live on a farm and a few occasions had it buried to the point I had to wait till spring to get it out. While my little Mazda b2600 4X4 farm truck would drive circles around it while it was stuck. Now I have an 06 with BFGoodrich with mildly aggressive trend and is much better. Also, running with a gooseneck trailer and 8,000 # bobcat help keep the rear tires from spinning ;-)
I have driven trucks with dual wheels for 30+ years at work and have found out one thing about driving on snow packed roads. You need to put some weight in the bed of the truck. We usually put a couple of cement slabs or about 1000 lbs into the bed at the start of winter and will drive anywhere we want to.
i have run mine in the snow with no problems. I only had to buy chains to go over the pass as it was chains required with check point. it was like a tank never got stuck. the only issue i have had in teh snow is the ruts the duals just dont fit. lol
I have a modified F250 SRW (see sig line) and want to upgrade to a F350. The wife and I are arguing about SRW vrs DRW. I pull a 10K 5er in the summer. I usually put on about 8-10K miles a year.
The problem, we live in Alaska and I want people's actual experience of driving dual rear wheel vehicles in ice and snow. Looking for the good, the bad and the ugly. Any recommendations??? BTW, I have ruled out a 450/550 class truck at this time. Thanks for the input
I had a '99 F350 CC 4x4 V10 SRW and had no problem in snow. I live at 6200' in the mountains and Winter snows can be brutal. I now have a '08 F350 CC 4x4 6.4L DRW and I can say that when empty the DRW suck. The solution is to put 1K-2K lbs in the bed. I've been driving empty and I drive like I'm on eggs when in Ice and Snow to avoid breaking loose. As long as you know of the potential problem you should be OK with the DRW.
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'08 F350 Lariat CC 6.4 DRW 4.10 4x4 manual hubs and 62 gal fuel tank.
it sucks like you wouldnt believe unless youre fully loaded
but you can put some nice tires and rims with the right offset on there in winter to look really cool and nobody will ask why youre running srw lol
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88 F-250 body,550 rear frame setup, 7.3 idi, back up camera, class 5 bumper hitch welded to frame and gusseted, front mount hitch and off road lights,93 front clip, headache rack, 37" humvee tires, ac power converter,factory buckets from quadcab, power windows and locks,cobra 29 cb w/ 102" whip, high lift jack behind seat, toolbox for the junk, visor, running lights, huge front bumper, oba,
in progress western style mirrors, holset turbo, airhorns, and some other goodies
Only problem I had was with the tires being pretty low in any weather and mud. I was in the mud today with my new Grabber AT2s and didn't even think about switching to four wheel. It's mostly your driving habits, and a little weight helps. I fuel up at 1/2 instead of a 1/4 left in the tank for weight, but mainly just in case I get stuck and have to idle.
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Evan-
2003 Ford F-350 Crew Cab L/B/Dually XLT FX4 7.3L/Auto- Gooseneck Hitch Fifth Wheel Rails, Firestone Air Bags/ Toolbox
With the right combination of weight in the box and proper tire selection, they are just fine in snow. Wrong tires and no weight >>> not the same story!!!
__________________ 2008 F-250 Lariat SRW 4x4 CC SWB... ··· 6.4L & Torqshift w/3.73 ··· Dark Stone Metallic / Pueblo gold ··· Readylift 3.5" levelling kit ... Toyo MT 315/70/18(bigger than 35-12.50-18)
The problem, we live in Alaska and I want people's actual experience of driving dual rear wheel vehicles in ice and snow. Looking for the good, the bad and the ugly. Any recommendations??? BTW, I have ruled out a 450/550 class truck at this time. Thanks for the input
I have run my duallys all over the state year around with no problems. Thats why it has 4X4. The only gripe I have, is having to fight it when running down an unplowed road in 1 foot or more of snow that has been tracked by an SRW. Which is usually not a problem with all the truckers running the roads.
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2004 F-350 Lariat, Supercab 4X4 FX4, DRW
Dark Toreador Red/Silver, 6.0L, Torqueshift Auto, ESOF, 4.10 LS, Camper Package, Dual Alternators. Build Date 6-8-04, Eng 5-28-04, Lance 9.5 Ft Camper.
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Dually in winter???
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