Duals Tires On A One Ton Pickup? Not Mine!!
Posted by BobWms on April 7th, 2007
I’ve heard a lot of discussion about the subject of dual tires on a 1 ton pickup truck. People (especially pickup salesmen ) say “You have to have them” while others say “You ought to have them”. It’s my belief that they are completely unnecessary and here is why.
A pickup is not a truck. If you’ll look at the wheel stance (width) a class 7 or 8 truck, you’ll see that the front axle tires are aligned with the outer tires on the rear axle. On a pickup, they will be in line with the inner tires in a dual tire installation. In a pickup’s single rear wheel installation, they will align with the only tire on that end of the back axle. Pickup manufacturers design them this way for cost saving. The same frame serves both dual and single rear wheel installations. Class 8 trucks may be termed “heavy” trucks, class 6 trucks may be termed “medium,” and Class 2b trucks may be termed “light.” Most Class 2b vehicles have a pickup box on them, but some may have flatbeds or work boxes.
Strike #1 This “Added as an afterthought” design leads to width hazards. How many dually pickups have you seen with the outer fender crushed by a gate that wasn’t quite as wide as the driver thought it was?
Strike #2 Dual tires increase tire cost by 50% and increase fuel consumption by 10 to 15%. This is a big disadvantage when you calculate your 200,000 mile ownership costs.
Strike #3 The weight capacity on a pickup’s rear axle is light enough to be carried by two (one on each end of the axle) Class E tires.
If a dually installation isn’t justified by weight, why are they available? Well, in my humble opinion, the main reason is that they are an additional source of income for the manufacturer. Some have said to me “They (duallies) provide more lateral stability when I’m towing my RV trailer”. My thought on that is that if that rv hitch weren’t built up so high from the centerline of thrust then you wouldn’t have that lateral stability problem in the first place. When looking a Class 7 or 8 truck hitch, you’ll see that most of them are only about 14″ to 16″ above the drive line. On a lot of dually pickups that distance will be upwards of 24″ or more. That increased arm provides a lot of force for that rv to push your pickup around.
Some others have expressed their opinion that the dual tire installation provides a built-in spare tire. In case one goes flat, they think they’ll have another already on the ground to carry them to the repair shop. I asked everyone who expressed that idea if they had tried it. None of them had. Won’t work at speeds above a slow walk. The flat tire will start flopping and eventually disintegrate, probably taking out that spare fender with it.
Bottom Line:
Dual tires on a 1 ton pickup is like a piece of expensive chrome. Just an accessory that costs money and doesn’t add to either performance or value.
This is my opinion, let me know what you think.
April 9th, 2007 at 10:40:23
I appreciate your points. I’m still researching this, but I’m thinking there is not much gain when compared to the expense. Thanks.
April 9th, 2007 at 17:45:45
THE INCREASED FOOTPRINT OF DUALLYS AGAINST DRY ROAD HAS A MIXED BENEFIT. TRACTION AND WEIGHT BEARING ARE OBVIOUSLY INCREASED, HOWEVER ON WET GRASS, PAVEMENT, OR SNOW TRACTION IS ALMOST NONEXISTANT. I AM LERNING THIS THE HARD WAY.
April 9th, 2007 at 17:52:34
SORRY ABOUT THE TYPOS IN MY LAST REPLY. I HAVE NOT BLOWN A TIRE ON A DUALLY, BUT I HAVE BLOWN 3 ON A 5000# DUAL AXLE TRAILER AT 70+ MPH AND DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT IT UNTIL A PASSING MOTORIST TOLD ME. THE TIRES WERE USUALLY NONEXISTANT BY THE TIME I GOT STOPPED BUT THERE WAS NO HANDLING PROBLEM.
April 10th, 2007 at 05:56:58
It is because of that reduced surface force, normally expressed in pounds per inch squared, that dual tires are so helpless on slick surfaces.
Edited to add:
That same reduced pressure is a great argument for having duals on trailers, especially if the axle weight capacity justifies them.
June 18th, 2008 at 03:05:55
I very much agree with your breakup of : Heavy ; Medium and Light Trucks. Pickups are NOT trucks. In Australia where I live ,we have Car/trucks (Utes)that can carry a cargo of 2,800lb and tow 5000lb. They are still very much cars here, although other variants of Utes are “Sports Sedans with Utility”. The car/ truck Utes do not use duallies.
July 8th, 2008 at 00:26:50
With the welding rigs (i have one with duals and one with singles) , if you add the weight of the welder, fully loaded cabinets and the weight of the deck itself, even a single heavy-duty tire is just not enough to handle the weight. Also on the note of surface pressure, with all that weight, a single wheel has a usual occurance to fall into the mud quicker than the dual truck.
July 8th, 2008 at 08:17:11
YoungWelder,
I’d like to see your math on those setups. I suspect that (technically) the axle is overloaded in the first place in which case the question of dual or single tires is moot. About mud operations: have you ever seen a mudder rigged with dual tires?
http://www.pps.net.au/4wdencounter/images/julimar_mud_dp_hilux.jpg
December 24th, 2008 at 13:44:52
I haven’t done my math on any of the trucks or the pickups that some say aren’t truck, but am here to give what little information I have acquired over the years.
All so called “real” trucks do not have a front axle that places the front tires directly in front of the outer rear tires. I have a Motor Home that was the first year that this happened, or at least on RV’s.
One point in mind that has been mentioned is the rear axles of one ton dually and smaller PU’s. Each PU has different axles. The half ton, 3/4 ton and 1 ton have different weight rated axles.
It is true that the dually extra tires do not add any weight carrying capacity, but as mentioned in some comments, the tires make for better handling in different environments and worse in others. It is up the buyer to know what he is using the extra tire for and if it is cost worthy.
I have pulled many heavy and very heavy fifth wheel RV’s. If a person has the ability to pull an RV, then he should have the knowledge to know what he is pulling, break and tire wise. A truck does have a better weight carrying ratio than one with single rear tires. When it comes to trailering and breaking, the dually also has better stopping because of the more square inches to weight on the ground than a single set of tires. This dual set up doesn’t give a truck any more pulling power. The duals also give a driver more control on side motion especially when he finds himself in a bind, which normally if is is qualified to drive, most of the time he shouldn’t. If you have the correct breaking system on the trailer and the truck there shouldn’t be much if any pushing of the truck especially if the driver is experienced enough to be on the road with this type of rig. Yes, I know, some of us are misinformed and think that because we have a valid drivers licenes that we can handle anything we can put a key to and start. This is a myth and is far from the truth.
Now, for mudders, they aren’t built nor are they intended to be used as a hauling machine. The reason behind mudders not having duals is so that the four tires can get down below the water and mud, take hold of hard surfaces and move on. A dual tire effect would only keep them on top of the mud and you would get nothing but a spin out, or find yourself going down a grade with the brakes having no effect what so ever.
May I add, that the PU Truck is rated by axle, not how many tires. The tires just add traction, and affect the handling in different circumstances.
January 10th, 2009 at 07:34:59
A duallie pickup will handle more weight safer than what a single rear wheel pickup will! Look at the weight rating of tires and you will see that they are around 3100 LB single and 2900 when used in dual applications. Simple math will tell you how much more duals will handle than will singles.
As for weight ratings from the manufacture, this also involves licensing requirements set forth by the government. Because of this, a one ton duallie is rated at a whopping 10,500 gvwr and a single at either 9,200 or 9,900. Again, simple math will tell you that the capacity of the tires on a dual are not being utilized over what is being applied to a single. Because it costs more for registration to go higher with weight capacity; manufactures have de-rated dual applications.
This does NOT mean it is a waste to get a duallie!
I have a simple test for you: go get your favorite one ton pickup. I don’t care which one, you pick. Get a single rear wheel one. Load it up to it’s maximum weight rating with cargo and trailer. For the trailer, get as big of 5th wheel as you can (Weight wise!). Take this rig out and enjoy it for a few thousand miles. Make sure you get into some scarry situations (might I suggest, high cross winds, poor road surfaces and windy canyon roads). Then go get the exact same pickup except with dual rear wheels. Now go do the exact same course you just ran. You will thank me! You will come home more rested because the duallie will not fight you like the single did.
Some times you can’t compare just on paper. You have to go get some real world experience as well. One thing you can do is to notice what others are doing. Ever notice all the people hauling trailers around for other people? They are commonly referred to as ‘hot shots’. What about all the larger horse trailers out there. Start keeping a tally of how many you see that are single and how many are duals. You will find the vast majority are using duals. Guys that do this for a living will not be wasting money on needless dual setups. No, they buy and use them because they are better. Try one and you will agree!
January 10th, 2009 at 21:19:56
BobNib and Dan,
I have to disagree with you guys. Here’s what I do with my pickup:
If you figure those bales weigh 1500 pounds each and the trailer and equipment alone is 6500 pounds, then that trailer will weigh about 18,000 to 20,000 pounds as it sits. Do they even make an rv trailer that weighs that much?
I did this for 200 bales last summer and the summer before. I might do that again this summer. You just don’t have to waste your money on trinkets, chrome or duals on a 1 ton pickup.
January 11th, 2009 at 08:44:56
Editor’s Note: I don’t know why this comment did not get properly posted. Just one more computer problem to be chased. BW.
BobNib said:
I’ll admit, I haven’t been through the Rockies. I have moved hay and farm equipment from Wingate, TX 79567 to Camdenton, MO 65020. I’ve driven this pickup 98K miles in 3 years. Load range D or E tires and I’m good to go. I agree that duals have a place on the road. Just not on my pickup. Not worth the extra cost vs benefit.
February 21st, 2009 at 06:35:35
When I got back into RVing (after a 30 year hiatus) I was driving a Saturn coupe. Obviously a tow vehicle purchase was in order. Manufacturers specs at that time indicated that the extra weight of the dually package came OFF the payload. Since almost all Airstreams are tag along, I didn’t worry about fifth wheel ratings or any of that stuff, just CGWR (which did not change single/dual) and GVWR. Conclusion: Dually = added weight, no benefit for my use.
I too have seen few off the show room floor with pristine extension fenders. They must be considered something of a hazard, or why would the manufacturers (known for leaving off $.23 pieces that would keep cars from exploding) put extra clearance lights on them?
Besides, they (IMNTBHO) look funny.
Matt