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Assuming properly inflated tires, which isn’t the case more often than you think, the suspension does provide most the control and stability, followed by the frame, and lastly the wheel stance. So wider isn’t really coming into play under normal driving as the truck/load pivots around the frame/suspension and not the tires. The additional sidewalls will help some, but only when sidewall flex is an issue. Personally the only time I ever noticed sidewall flex to the point of it effecting my handling was when I overloaded the stock tires on my ‘05 3500 SRW by 700lbs/ea…whoops, learned a bit about loading that day.
While probably not always the case, I have seen many DRW owners run their rears at 80 psi when loaded, which is overinflated. That will make for stiffer tires and you’ll feel it in the drivers seat, but that doesn’t make it more stable as much as makes it gives a false sense of stability from the tires. To reach RAWR on a DRW, with stock sized tires, only 65 psi is needed. DRW tires are also rated lower and have taller sidewalls than SRW tires, meaning lb for lb the DRW tire size will flex more… not twice as much but you don’t get twice the improvement over SRW tire sizes either.
Often DRW’s have either a heavier spring pack, bigger overloads, or both. The only exception I can think of is the auto-level Ram 3500’s since SRW and DRW are identical.
The GVWR of the CCLB 13+ 3500 6.7 SRW is higher than the GVWR of the 03-9 3500 DRW, and the same as a 10-12 3500 DRW. While a lot of that is paper/marketing stuff it still does go show you that there is a lot more at play than just the number of tires on the rear axle.
On my 05 3500 SRW I had 14 ply 19.5’s giving me a rear tire limit of 9K. I did that once and it handles the weight the same as the 07 DRW that normally hauled the camper. He had the OEM suspension which used the same overloads with a bigger main spring pack, and I had the OEM suspension plus airbags that didn’t engage my upper overloads. Not a lot of miles, but the camper owner was nervous and then surprised. He thought it was more in the tires than it really was.
Aside from the training tire/wheel setup my truck is identical to a DRW and if I were to compare the handling of them at a 7K RAW, with properly inflated tires, I don’t expect to feel much difference, if any, under normal driving circumstances.
Bottom line is a lot goes into play on stability and perceived stability. I wouldn’t hesitate to run a SRW truck, and do, at either the RAWR or the tire rating (slightly higher). They are already overbuilt for a SRW application, and really even the DRW application which has a paper limit of 14K on the GVWR when the truck is really capable of 15,750.
There are plenty of applications where a DRW is advantageous, and plenty where they are not. I’ve also seen plenty of people do stupid things because it’s a DRW, and the same is true for SRW. So tow safe, tow within your ratings, and enjoy…
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