Which is more important?

If I find a truck in my price range that I like but it doesn't have duallies but has an 8' bed or one that has duallies with a shorter bed which would be the better choice?
I'm currently going to be looking at a 2011 Dodge 3500 with Cummins and duallies with a short bed.

Another question. I was told to stay away from the Fords in mid 2000s. Are the 2011s a better choice?

I would choose the one with the most pulling power, the highest GVWR to help future proof the truck. I would ignore people who make stupid sweeping claims about avoiding certain years and makes. Clearly a personal opinion and not worth the paper it is printed on.

+1. You can add a slider hitch to overcome the short bed (at least for radius maneuvering purposes), but if you need the extra payload capacity, you can't easily/inexpensively compensate for not having the dually.

Cheers,
--
  Vall.

Dually or not is driven by the weight carrying capacity of the truck, and how much of that you need. As Seilerbird says, more is better form the view point of a possible future trailer purchase. But until then, more is just more.

Your signature shows you have a Montana High Country 375, which probably has a gross weight around 15,500 lb. That means a pin weight of 3100-3900 lns, which is almost surely dually territory. Look at the Cargo Carrying Capacity (Payload or CCC) of the trucks and make sure any you consider can carry the hefty weight your Montana will place on the truck cargo bed.

Early 2000'ws trucks with the Ford 0.0L diesel are suspect because of problems with that engine. If "the fix" has been applied, they should be fine, but if not you may need to spend several thousand dollars on it. Subsequent Ford diesels, e.g. the 6.7L and probably the 6.4L as well, are as good as any.

Dually will always have a bigger payload for a given year/make/model/power train.  Clearly more important.  You can always add a slider hitch if needed.  You can not add more payload to a SRW 8ft bed.

In 2011, Ford came out with their new 6.7L diesel, which has proven quite reliable.  The older 7.3L was also reliable.  The 6.0L  from the '0x model years definitely had issues.

I'm from NY. Most people run with singles their because you get tagged with commercial plates if you have a dully . ...
Personally I don't like them.  More maintenance  . Dully do tow and carry more thow. But you didn't say what you're towing  I do agree. Stay away from the power stroke 6.0.  Its a ticking time bomb

We get tagged with commercial plate for all trucks in RI. My 5th wheel is in my signature. It's a pretty large one at 41' 10" 15000lbs 2280lb hitch weight.

I'm going to do my best to wait for a dually, long bed with 6.7 diesel but if something comes up with short bed but has the other 2 qualities, I may purchase it.

Looking at the pic you attached, your minimum pin weight if fully loaded will be over 3000# and at 25% will be over 3800#.

How do you figure? The hitch weight is on 2280. The cargo weight is spread out over the trailer.

Add shipping weight and carrying capacity, equals 15,400#. That should be the fiver's GVWR. Multiply 15,400 by .20, result is 3080#, 15,400 x .25, result is 3850#.

I just don't get it. Where do these formulas come from and why do we ignore the mfg hitch weight to come up with a different number? I sure wish I had a truck to take it to a scale and see the actual numbers before buying a truck.

The formulas come from adding in a safety factor. The numbers they give are for flat land towing only. Once you get into the mountains those figures are no longer safe.

The listed hitch weight is for an empty fiver as it is shipped, with no options. No one pulls an empty trailer for very long.

Got it. Thank you.
Buying a used truck is difficult. Would be so much easier if I could afford a new one and get it built as needed. Oh well. Who knows what the future holds, I may end up getting something 2011 to 14. I've seen some decent, not great deals on these.

Kdbgoat is right about pin wt.  They publish those dry wt pin wts to confuse / mislead people.  It is correct for an EMPTY camper. The real pin wt is about 20% of the FW CURRENT WEIGHT, be that empty or loaded or something in between.  Your load is distributed over the length of the FW, too.

If you are looking for a Ford F350 dually, '11 or newer, I believe they come with an 8 foot bed only.  The choice is cab and trim level, 2WD or 4WD, gas or diesel, and other desirable options like factory installed gooseneck.  This also includes an electrical connection for the FW in the bed.

I just went through this precise search myself - 11 or newer F350.  If you have questions, feel free to PM me.

Ford 6.0 fix or no fix- stay away!! Don't ask me how I know,

Hey, any one want a 2005 F-250???

DickHutchings said:

I just don't get it. Where do these formulas come from and why do we ignore the mfg hitch weight to come up with a different number? I sure wish I had a truck to take it to a scale and see the actual numbers before buying a truck.

Click to expand...

I know it not the 5er you are looking at but this is what information you can get off a CAT Scale weighting.

--------

Specs of a 310GK-R weighted at a CAT scale on 30 Oct 2016

Status from Grand Design Website.
UVW 12,100
Dry Pin Weight 2635

From Grand Design Weight Sheet that came with my 5er and has my VIN listed on the top of the sheet. 
GVWR 15,000
GAWR (Per Axle) 7,000
UVW 12226 (Matches Sticker on 5er)
Hitch Weight 2392
Left (Street Side) 5326
Right (Curb Side) 4508
Cargo Carrying Capacity 2714


Truck Specs
Ford F350 Diesel SuperCab 143? Wheel Base 6.5 foot bed.
B&W Campion Hitch non slider
Web Spec 4050 Payload
Yellow Door Sticker 3744
GVWR 11,500
Rear Axle Ratings 7,000
Front Axle Ratings 5,200
GCWR 22,500
Tow Rating 15,900

Truck ONLY Weight Cat Scales
Front Axle Weight - 4740
Rear Axle Weight - 3480
Total Weight  8220

Cat Scale With 5er Hooked up
Steering Axle - 5000lbs
Drive Axle 6320
Trailer Axle 10,520
Gross Combine Weight 21,840

Bottom Line
Truck Weight (Truck Only) 8220
Truck Weight (Hitched) 11,320
Camper Weight 13,620
Pin Weight 3,100
Pin Weight Percentage 22.8%
2392 Factory Pin Weight 3100 scale weight increase of 708 pounds
12,226 Factory UVW 13,600 Cat Scale Weight increase of 1374 lbs
Over 50% of the 1374 pounds loaded went to pin weight
Just goes to show how much weight is loaded forward of the axle
Factory Scale weighs of 2392 pin and 12,226 UVW = 19.6 percent pin weight
Cat Scale Weights 13600 GVW and 3100 pin = 22.8 percent pin percentage or increase of 3.2 Percent over Dry percentage

I?m within 180 pounds of my GVWR of my trucks 11,500 GVWR. We were loaded for a week long trip and we are not full timers.

Dennis,

Great real world example of what we were trying to say.  Thanks!

That explains it very well. Thank you.