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Dan M
Dodge Dakota
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12/13/2006
13:07:12
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 Subject: 3.9 vs 4.7L towing
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I towed a 6x12 open (ramp) uhaul trailer with my 02 QC 4.7L 4x4 auto with towing package and heavy duty group for a couple of days this past weekend. I have previously towed a 6x12 closed uhaul trailer in my old 95 CC 3.9L 4x4 auto.
There was a huge differnece, very noticable.
6x12 closed trailer is 1800 lbs empty while the 6x12 open trailer is 1760 lbs.
I had no problems at all starting from a dead stop, even on a hill. I think I hit 4k on the tach a couple of times. You read alot of posts on here where people are asking about the towing capacity of the V6. having driven both, The V6 is no slouch but the V8 is definately the way to go.
I still had good acceleration from a dead stop and braking was better than expected. there were a few times people would dart out from behind me hoping ot pass on the right only to have to get back behind me.
I just moved and threw away a bunch of crap i had accumulated at the land fill. Old furniture that was broken, old appliances that were broken, miscellaneious other crap that I could not recycle or the garbage collection company would not pick up. It was a rough ride taking the trailer back to the emptying spot. Truck and trailer both bottomed out a few times. She took all the jolts, never got stuck and laughed the whole way.
Man what great trucks these dakotas are. They take the abuse and ask for more. i've got 100k miles to go on this one before i catch up to what was on my old 95 (168k) when i traded her in on my current one.
- Dan M
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.boB
Dodge Dakota
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12/13/2006
13:25:00
| RE: 3.9 vs 4.7L towing
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I used to have a late 80's club cab with a V6 and five speed stick. I towed my '69 mustang from VA to upstate NY. Didn't have any problem at all. It slowed down a bit on some of the up hills, but still faster than most RV's. For occasional and light to medium towing I think the V6 is just fine.
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JTeg360
Dodge Dakota
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12/14/2006
14:47:20
| RE: 3.9 vs 4.7L towing
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Those 3.9's are great engines, when I had my 93 dakota w/ the 3.9 it would take anything I threw at it and begged for more
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deerridge
GenIII
12/14/2006
15:26:21
| RE: 3.9 vs 4.7L towing
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The extra torque in the 4.7 makes a huge diffrence. Couple it with a 3.92 rear end it pulls with any of the 1500 trucks. Been there done that.
Real Horsepower
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rdbones
Dodge Dakota
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1/14/2007
18:59:10
| RE: 3.9 vs 4.7L towing
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I have an 02 CC Sport 3.9 w/o a tow package, and I am looking for a trailer to be used in conjunction with my hobby. I am looking at something between a 6x12 and a 7x14.
I have already thought about adding a tranny cooler and electronic trailer breaks. Is there anything else I should consider or a size restriction I should consider?
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Kowalski
GenIII
1/15/2007
09:13:43
| RE: 3.9 vs 4.7L towing
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Those are well within the size you should be able to tow. How much weight are you looking at towing that you are thinking about trailer brakes ? Knowing what type trailer you mean could be helpful.
Lead, follow, or get out of the way
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Blakdak
Dodge Dakota
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1/15/2007
09:35:22
| RE: 3.9 vs 4.7L towing
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Tough to beat an 8 cylinder for towing (unless you have 10). I've got the 4.7 w/ 3.92 gears and our QC pulls our 4700 lb camper pretty well.
Had I known we were going to get that I would have opted for the 5.9, but it seems to do well the few times I've had it out.
I would imagine the 3.9 would be able to pull < 2500 lbs quite easily.
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RDBones
Dodge Dakota
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1/15/2007
15:11:20
| RE: 3.9 vs 4.7L towing
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The majority of the weight that I will be pulling is the trailer itself. I estimate a total weight of 3000 - 4000 pounds. My hobby is mostly large bulky items not necessarily heavy items.
One of the things that my wife is concerned about is towing in cross winds. She tends to think that there would be a significent difference between a 12' and a 14' enclosed - I tend to think that there will not be that much difference.
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seriously
Dodge Dakota
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1/15/2007
22:50:17
| RE: 3.9 vs 4.7L towing
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sorry guys no flame intended here
comparing the towing with a V6 to a V8
thats like cmparing rocks and water
5.2 vs. 4.7 would atleast be fair
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Kowalski
GenIII
1/16/2007
08:56:21
| RE: 3.9 vs 4.7L towing
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RDBones - I agree with you. For crosswinds, the motor difference in our trucks won't make as much difference as the style. In that situation, your CC should be more stable than my RC. My fifth wheel hitch is an advantage, but I can tow a 24.5' fifth wheel camper (a good 5000 lbs) with out trouble. Sounds like you are looking at a similar density of weight with much less area for the wind to hit. Trailer brakes are a good idea; and if you're new to towing, you should know trailers need a bit of tongue weight (about 10 % of total trailer weight) to handle well. Otherwise, the tail wants to wag the dog.
Lead, follow, or get out of the way
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Blakdak
Dodge Dakota
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1/16/2007
11:40:38
| RE: 3.9 vs 4.7L towing
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If it's 3-4k lbs, then a tranny cooler and trailer brakes are probably essential. The Dakota brakes seem undersized as it is and I wouldn't want to tow that much w/o them.
Kowalski has a good point about tongue weight. You might consider an equalizer hitch if your near 4k lbs and the tongue weight is high . I had our camper dropped on a standard hitch (530 lbs t.w.) at the RV dealer. The rear sagged significantly and handling would have sucked. Made up my mind right there that I needed an equalizer and it tows pretty well.
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1 ton
Dodge Dakota
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1/16/2007
18:44:19
| RE: 3.9 vs 4.7L towing
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Message:
a weight dist. hitch will work good and a 185deg tsat will bring your fans on faster
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