RenoAl
Reno, NV
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Joined: 11/12/2006
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This is pretty typical of the type of road I go on. It gets tighter and little rougher as it winds up into the hills. This is the Queen Mine road off of US 6 just over the NV state line. Winds up to over 9000 feet on the west side Boundary Peak. Great Hiking and vistas.
The biggest problem I have is the height of the unit. Here is a close call in Grays Canyon UT
I am more adventurous with the camper off the truck.
2005 Dodge 3500 DRW:Firestone air bags w/ in dual cab control, Rancho 9000, Helwig sway bar, 55 gal fuel tank, cold air box
2005 Lance 1191: generator, TV, A/C, solar
Bayliner 19.5 Capri & 12 ft. Gregor
1965 TBird
Rosie the dog
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Rawhyde
Ohio
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Joined: 01/08/2007
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I think you would be throwin money away and messing up a good truck by lifting and trying to mod your dually. I love my dually for towing, hauling, and trucking the TC around, but when it gets off road, it's a good thing I have a good winch. And it's just not manuverable enough for trails, the truck just dont turn!
I had a 2001 3/4 ton Dodge with a Cummins and that truck would go most anywhere.
Notice that Earth Roamers are SRW.
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btggraphix
Golden, CO
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Joined: 03/08/2005
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RichieC wrote:Tiger4x4RV wrote:Speaking from my pre-Tiger experience, sometimes rocks get stuck between the tires on DRW. Not good.
Agreed. Baseball to Grapefruit sized boulders can get wedged, then hammered between the tires.
The outside tire has to be removed to get them out.
I have read about and seen first-hand removing stuck rocks without removing the outer tire. It can happen, but I don't see it as that big an issue.
I think BigJim and RenoAl are on track. If you have it, and want to try it, I say go for it. One of the 4x4 magazines had an online article on a giant red dually Ford that had an Outfitter or a Hallmark on it and they had that thing WAAAAAAY back in the desert on 4x4 roads and really wrote a nice review. I can't seem to find the article though....
2006 LanceMax 1191 - loaded and well-used
2005 C4500/Kodiak 4x4, GVWR 17,500
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Flashman
Tucson, Aizona, USA
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Joined: 01/02/2005
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btggraphix wrote:RichieC wrote:Tiger4x4RV wrote:Speaking from my pre-Tiger experience, sometimes rocks get stuck between the tires on DRW. Not good.
Agreed. Baseball to Grapefruit sized boulders can get wedged, then hammered between the tires.
The outside tire has to be removed to get them out.
I have read about and seen first-hand removing stuck rocks without removing the outer tire. It can happen, but I don't see it as that big an issue.
I think BigJim and RenoAl are on track. If you have it, and want to try it, I say go for it. One of the 4x4 magazines had an online article on a giant red dually Ford that had an Outfitter or a Hallmark on it and they had that thing WAAAAAAY back in the desert on 4x4 roads and really wrote a nice review. I can't seem to find the article though....
Where I live - Southern Az many ranchers will not own a dually for just this reason.
Rocks gets stuck and will either flatten the tire with wear or come out at higher speeds and take out the fender.
A dually should not be on extreme off road.
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~DJ~
Boise, Idaho
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Joined: 05/10/2005
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I have experienced a rock jammed in between the duals first hand on my Magruder Corridor trip. I was able to dig it out with the tire iron. However, I do check my rig over at every stop. Even more carefully when on bad roads. I guess I could go with super singles on the rear. But I'd rather have a spare.
And with a standard cab/long box I should be about the same wheel base as a quad cab short box? 
05 Dodge Ram 3500 SLT SC DRW 4X4 CTD G56 373's CAI,Edge Juice/Attitude,Jake,Rancho9000x,Torklift tie downs,Superhitch,Stable Loads
04 S&S Avalanche 9' with slide
26th Marines RVN 69-70 Semper Fi
M-14 was the only Woodstock I saw in 1969.
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Camp, Forrest, Camp!
Boise, ID
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Joined: 10/28/2002
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My favorite truck for pulling a rock out was by looping your tow strap around the rock and then sticking the other end under your front wheel. When you back up, the rock will just pop out.
-2000 Chevy K3500 CC DRW. 7.4L, Auto, 1985 Lance 900, 1999 Bayliner Capri 1800LS Outboard
-Air Lift bags, Torklift tie-downs, Superhitch w/48", Rancho RS9000X, K&N FIPK, MagnaFlow exhaust, Hypertech.
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lamadera
Northern New Mexico
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Joined: 05/16/2003
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In my mind the bigger issue would be a muddy two track road after heavy rain. If you have experienced it you know what I mean.
2004.5 Dodge 2500 CTD 4X4 Quad Cab SB, 2004 Lite-Craft Timberline
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jefe 4x4
Nevada City, CA
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Joined: 01/21/2004
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DJ,
You can make all this work.
First, you can just get a lightweight, low silhouette, pop up and run what ya brung. This would allow you to change stuff as the need arrises. Duals kind of 'get in the way' , off road. I only find that an annoyance, not debilitating. I'd run 'em and see how they go. If you are worried about duals on the trail, consider going to a super single like I did. No woes off road at all. What size tires/wheels do you currently have? You already have the wider fenders. I had to fab up some for my 3/4T SRW.
I stayed with 33" tall tires because of my tall 3.54:1 gearing. If I had 3.73 or 4.10 I would have jumped at the chance to run taller tires. Concerning the spare: I use my original spare. Any larger will not fit in spare tire space between the frame rails anyway. If you went super singles (12" wide wheels) and had a flat, you could simply use your orig. duallie spare turned outward on the rear axle to get you back to town. Kind of like front spacing instead of back spacing.
No problem with going with a mild (4-5") lift. This will give you more clearance for bigger tires and better ground clearance, especially if you are going with a pop up. There will be some nay sayers on this, considering the aftermarket lifts are not geared to haul lots of weight, just get you up, so to speak.
It looks like you have a short bed anyway, so that's a plus.
You can get a big winch, but it will eat up your front hitch. Mine's laying on the ground behind the garage. You can get the Warn winch bumper with the optional square receiver hole, which could mitigate your front haul situation.
If you have the Dana 80 rr axle, you can install a Power Lok. I can't remember if your '05 has the AAM or Dana. If AAM, you can get a factory locker for your AAM rear axle. They are available. A Detroit, Auburn, Lock Rite will NOT hold up under the weight of a camper load.
The Nitto Mud Grappler's are really wide. They are the ones I use.
In addition, they have very high max load ratings:
35x15.50R18: 37.7" dia., maxload: 3960 lb.
37x13.50R17: 37.05" dia., maxload 4300 lb.
The only negative is the noise. Almost as loud as my engine!
My Mickey Thompson 12" wide wheels have a 3600 lb. load rating.
I am right at the extreme with my small/light hard side. It is actually lighter than many of the pop ups I've checked out, mostly due to smaller tanks and no metal pop up hardware. We've already gotten our money's worth out of it, so if I beat it up a bit, off road, so be it. No harm, no foul, no loss. It has gotten me everywhere I wanted to go. But, as I've said, I would go to the dark side and get a pop up next time.
DJ, this is all doable.
regards, as always, jefe
'01.5 Dodge 3/4T, CTD, HO, Qcab, SB, 4x4, 6spd, D60, D80+Pwr Loc,
camper&tow pkg,Titan V, 285/75R-16 frnt, 33/14.5 Nitto super singles rr,
Rancho 9K's, Warn M15K winch. tows Jeep CJ8 rock crawler on 14' trailer
'98 Lance Squire Lite 165s, 8' 6" X Cab
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Camp, Forrest, Camp!
Boise, ID
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Joined: 10/28/2002
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~DJ~ wrote:I have experienced a rock jammed in between the duals first hand on my Magruder Corridor trip. I forgot you did the Magruder Corridor. I haven't done that route, but that looks to be about as rough as anything I've done in mine. Your Dodge is higher and shorter than my Chevy so you should have a better time of clearing obstacles than I do.
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btggraphix
Golden, CO
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Joined: 03/08/2005
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Flashman wrote:
A dually should not be on extreme off road.
Perhaps so, but it all depends on what is considered extreme. A big camper is more of a limiter than the dually in many cases. In the OP's case however, that might reverse since he IS talking about a pop-up on a dually.
People do lots of things they 'should' not do, but at least this isn't something like overloading a lightweight truck and causing safety concerns for others.....let him give it a shot and see for himself how it works.
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