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Don
Dodge Dakota
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4/28/2002
13:54:29
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 Subject: Towing Capacity
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I have a 97 Dakota Sport, 3.9 V6 with a 3.9:1 axle ratio. The truck has a hitch on it. We were considering getting a popup camper, the weight would probably be in the range of 1500-2500 lbs. Am I asking for trouble or should the truck handle this load okay?
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Dave_K
Dodge Dakota
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4/28/2002
18:56:33
| RE: Towing Capacity
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my dak (2001 v6 CC ) was rated at 4900lbs...
2400 isnt that much, i would THINK youd be ok. best to get a webist number, did you check yer manual?
other than that do you know what size hitch is on it? (which class?)
a class 3 hitch i thin can tow up to 5000lbs...
so if you have a 1 or a 2, figure out what their max is and maybee use that...
GL
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AL
Dodge Dakota
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5/23/2002
17:48:03
| RE: Towing Capacity
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I have the same engine and gears and I've been towing a ski boat that weighs 3500lbs just fine.
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jonscat
Dodge Dakota
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5/23/2002
18:43:24
| RE: Towing Capacity
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I have the air assist shocks in the back to keep from sagging, and a class 3 or 4 (Don't remember, rated for 5500 lbs.)hitch on my 3.9. I pull a 22 foot WAC. With trailer It's 5200 pounds. Helps that I have trailer brakes. Never had a problem. The air shocks really helped after I put them on. Keeps everything level. Only bogs a little, feels like I'm driving a four cylinder with the a/c on full. Make sure the ball you buy is rated for the right weight you're pulling. Got my last two hitches at U-haul.
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billybob
Dodge Dakota
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5/24/2002
12:26:15
| RE: Towing Capacity
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hey son your bumper with a hitch ball mounted to it is rated to pull more then that, says so right on the bumper.
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don94
Dodge Dakota
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5/24/2002
18:13:42
| RE: Towing Capacity
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i have 94 dakII v6 and it pulls my 16 1/2' fishing boat fully loaded with equip w/o a problem, u should be just fine and i also got no less than 18 mi per gal while towing. good luck and good towing :)
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JLH
Dodge Dakota
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5/24/2002
19:22:33
|  RE: Towing Capacity
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I've pulled a tandom trailer loaded with gravel. total truck and trailer were over 12000 when I left the pits, could pull it faster but the gravel wanted to slide around.
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kryp2nite
Dodge Dakota
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5/24/2002
19:38:44
| RE: Towing Capacity
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i towed a trailer full of funature and wood
from moving just a few weeks ago
on a trailer ball in the bumper
just fine
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don94
Dodge Dakota
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5/24/2002
20:37:21
| RE: Towing Capacity
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i may be wrong but i think the weight limit on the bumper is 200 lbs tongue weight and trailer weight is 2000 lbs. i put class three trailer hitch on my truck, gives shorter turning radius without denting bumper a big +!!. so i would suggest putting on trailer hitch to avoid damage to bumper, but that is ur choice.
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Patrick
Dodge Dakota
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1/09/2003
22:10:58
| RE: Towing Capacity
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I have a 02 Coachmen Travel Trailer 24 Ft that I tow with the wifes 02 Jeep Liberty. The Liberty does a decent job. I wouldnt want to use it in the mountians or on a windy day! But for around the areas we go/camp it serves us very well. I use the Equalizer Hitch and in my opinion, that is why I am able to tow so safely and effectively. My question is: can my 97 Dakota, V-6, 3:55, Regular Cab, Auto pull the trailer any better/worse/or about the same as the Jeep?
Thanks
Patrick
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Tryton
Dodge Dakota
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1/10/2003
08:42:47
| RE: Towing Capacity
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I have a 99 2WD 3.9 5 spd Dakota Sport. I also have a 1982 Rockwood 1076 popup camper. I'm not sure what year camper you're thinking of getting but I know mine is quite a bit heavier than the newer ones because the newer ones are built out of lighter materials. I have pulled mine twice with just the bumper. I would estimate it was right at or maybe a little over 2000 lbs and I didn't have a problem but I didn't want to pull it that way all the time because it was right at the limit and the front of the camper was too high. I bought a hitch for mine just last night in fact. If you're buying a newer small camper (10 ft. box or less) than you'd be fine with just the bumper, but a hitch is always better. As far as towing capacity, any V-6 Dakota is more than capable of pulling almost any popup camper. I just looked up Coleman's biggest new camper on their website and the unloaded weight is 2840 pounds. Always keep in mind though that it's dry weight. That means you have to add in everything you put in the camper, water if the water tank is full, anything in the bed of the truck, etc. But you should be fine. If you're thinking about buying a popup camper, I can recommend a forum for you.
http://www.popupportal.com/
There's another one that I can't find right now and there's also www.popuptimes.com but they started charging for their forums as of the 1st which is why popupportal was created. A lot of former Popup Times people are at the board and there's a lot of knowledge to be had. If I can find the other board, I'll post it too.
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M_Levinson
Dodge Dakota
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1/10/2003
20:25:33
| RE: Towing Capacity
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I have a 00 3.9L auto with3.55 gear. My coleman popup weighs 2800lb. I don't have any trouble at all. Ususally leave it in O.D. nearly all the time on the highway. In the city its in drive. I read in my owners manual that if you start to get alot of gear changes, take it out of O.D. or you'll overheat your tranny. In O.D. around 35 to 50 with some hills it starts to change gears a lot. My tongue weight is about 200lbs. If i get up to 70 it starts to sway a bit. Much more tongue weight than that you might wanna beef it up a tad. I think you could still pull it. You would have keep the speed down though. Hah my camper rated for only 55mph. See Ya.
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Tryton
Dodge Dakota
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1/10/2003
22:03:58
| RE: Towing Capacity
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Patrick,
Did a little research because I've been curious myself. I keep looking at this small travel trailer that's for sale every time I drive by it and I've always been sure I can pull it if I buy it, but it's only like an 18 footer. Your question about the 24 footer got me thinking I may be able to tow more. I'm not sure If you have 4x4 or automatic, but I looked up Dodge's towing specs on my 1999 2WD sport with V-6 magnum and 3.55 ratio. My max is 4200 lbs. The MOST I could find on their towing guide with the 3.9 V-6 was 4950 and that was a 4x4. The guide only went back to 2002 models, but I'm sure the numbers are similar. Although you didn't say if yours was the Magnum or not and if it's not, that's gonna lower that number. I'm not really sure how you're pulling that 24 ft trailer with the Liberty anyway. The 3.7 in that puts out 210 HP according to Chrysler where the 3.9 Magnum in the Dakota puts out 175. That may be the difference, but you HAVE to be pushing the limit. Max towing capacity includes passengers, loads in the bed, weight of the hitch, and weight of the trailer (including all the stuff you put inside it). I looked up Coachmen's new trailers and the least dry weight I could find was just over 3000 lbs. And that was a 21 footer. It does seem that Coachmen and Starcraft are the two manufacturers that have the lightest travel trailers. But keep in mind that the dry weight of a trailer as put out by the manufacturer usually doesn't include any optional equipment either. It's based on the barebones model. My honest opinion is that the Dakota would probably pull it, but you'd be over the limit and you'd struggle up hills for sure. Towing capacities are conservative I'm sure as are hitch ratings (I'm sure a hitch rated at 5000 lbs would probably pull 8000 or more, but the safety factor is there) but you're gonna have some trouble I think. I'm still shocked that the Liberty can pull it.
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Patrick
Dodge Dakota
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1/11/2003
12:32:23
| RE: Towing Capacity
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Tryton:
I was shocked too that the Jeep was up to the task but both the Jeep dealer, owners manual, and the coachmen dealer said it could. The Jeeps max weight for towing is 5000 pounds. My trailer weighs 4300 dry. Assuming 400#s of camping gear Im still at only 4700#. Like I say I wouldnt want to pull it up or down mountians but for the areas around Michigan where we go it performs excellent. TBW the exact unit I am pulling is Coachmen Catalina Lite Travel Trailer Model 24TB
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Mudslinger
Dodge Dakota
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1/11/2003
14:46:05
| RE: Towing Capacity
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My 94 cc 3.9 4x4 is rated at 5000 (with proper equip.) which I have. I am always pulling trailers. usually a 5 x 10 utility with my 2000 honda rancher atvo n it ;). I have pulled our pontoon boat weighting in at about 35 - 4 k trailer and all and it did just fine, I justh ad a little push when it came to stopping but besides that it was fine...I don't think a popup will be the least bit challenging
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Mary
Dodge Dakota
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3/16/2003
18:00:42
|  RE: comparison
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of pop-up campers. Where can we go to find comparison reports for pop up campers I went to consumer report but found no place to compare pop up camers. How do you look for different campers???? Maybe I am putting the wrong words down.Please Help!
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00dak
Dodge Dakota
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3/16/2003
18:11:30
| RE: Towing Capacity
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Has anyone ever pulled their bumper off when towing?
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bowhunter
Dodge Dakota
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3/17/2003
12:01:22
| RE: Towing Capacity
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i have a V6 5 speed 4X4 dak with 3.55 gears, and
mudders, and i pull a tent trailer that weighs @ 2000 lbs
loaded up, plus 2 big dogs and a canopy. have pulled
this set up for 3 years now, and have had no problems.
been thruogh some SERIOUS mud with it too, and up
some big hills. pretty sure mine is only rated for 3900
lbs!!
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slopehead
Dodge Dakota
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3/23/2003
13:26:47
| RE: Towing Capacity
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tryton you have mixed up gross vehicle weight with max towing weight. gross vehicle wight is the trailer with passengers and whatever is in the cab and bed with you. max towing weight is the gross weight of the traler only. they are differnt and BOTH must be accounted for when hauling a trailer around. usually the max towing weight is way below the gross vehicle weight.
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BarFly
Dodge Dakota
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5/09/2003
01:53:35
| RE: Towing Capacity
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I have a '99 Dakota Sport V-6, would like to tow a boat weighing in around 3,500 pounds....Any problems i should look for here in the flat lands of the Gulf Coast of Florida?
The dog
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EasyPull
Dodge Dakota
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5/10/2003
02:12:46
| RE: Towing Capacity
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Pull a 24' Travel Trailer rated at 3450lbs with no problem. 2002 3.9L 4x4 CC Auto with 3.92s.
Mods....exhaust, intake
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Renee
Dodge Dakota
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8/08/2003
17:29:10
| RE: Towing Capacity
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I have a 1993 dodge dakota with a 3.9 6V and was wondering how much wt i could pull.
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reneesfreind
Dodge Dakota
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8/09/2003
09:13:01
| RE: Towing Capacity
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look in your owners manual, it will tell you there!
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