Durango: How heavy a trailer can I tow?

I have an 01 Durango and am not sure which engine it has in it. The
owner's manual is confusing to me. At one place it says it can pull 7500#
and another place says 1680#. I want to get a pop-up camper but not sure
how big it can be. Any ideas? Also, what hitch would you recommend,
class II or III? Thanks folks.

On Fri, 31 Mar 2006 14:43:24 -0500, "ankhe105" >
wrote:

>I have an 01 Durango and am not sure which engine it has in it. The
>owner's manual is confusing to me. At one place it says it can pull 7500#
>and another place says 1680#. I want to get a pop-up camper but not sure
>how big it can be. Any ideas? Also, what hitch would you recommend,
>class II or III? Thanks folks.

First, you need to know what engine you have. Find out (go to a
dealer, they'll tell you, but it should be obvious (like marked on teh
engine?)

Second once you have that:

3.9 V-6 4,700
5.2 V-8 4,600 3.90 axel
5.2 V-8 5,900 4.10 axel
5.9 V-8 5,900 3.90 axel
5.9 V-8 7,400 4.10 axel

However, these are 'general' values, axel ratio, and whether it is a
4x4 or a 2x4 also figure into the mix.

Get a class III hitch.

Thanks Peter. I found the sticker in the glovebox that came with the truck
when it was new but the numbers don't seem to jibe with what you posted.
It is a 4.7L engine and has a 3.52 axel ratio. It is a 4x4. Is that any
help? Thanks

On Fri, 31 Mar 2006 18:34:27 -0500, PeterD > wrote:

>On Fri, 31 Mar 2006 14:43:24 -0500, "ankhe105" >
>wrote:
>
>>I have an 01 Durango and am not sure which engine it has in it. The
>>owner's manual is confusing to me. At one place it says it can pull 7500#
>>and another place says 1680#. I want to get a pop-up camper but not sure
>>how big it can be. Any ideas? Also, what hitch would you recommend,
>>class II or III? Thanks folks.
>
>First, you need to know what engine you have. Find out (go to a
>dealer, they'll tell you, but it should be obvious (like marked on teh
>engine?)
>
>Second once you have that:
>
>3.9 V-6 4,700
>5.2 V-8 4,600 3.90 axel
>5.2 V-8 5,900 4.10 axel
>5.9 V-8 5,900 3.90 axel
>5.9 V-8 7,400 4.10 axel

There is a big problem with these numbers because some of them are
wrong because a 5% change in overall effective drive ratio doe not
equal a 25 to 30% increase in towing capacity!


Also I would not waste time with a class three hitch when a class 4 is
just as easy to install and about the same price too.

>
>However, these are 'general' values, axel ratio, and whether it is a
>4x4 or a 2x4 also figure into the mix.
>
>Get a class III hitch.
-----------------
The SnoMan
www.thesnoman.com

Don't get the class 2 because the hole is smaller and this limits what
attachments you can put in there, things like bike carriers and the like.
Tomes

"ankhe105" > wrote in message
lkaboutautos.com...
> Thanks Peter. I found the sticker in the glovebox that came with the
> truck
> when it was new but the numbers don't seem to jibe with what you posted.
> It is a 4.7L engine and has a 3.52 axel ratio. It is a 4x4. Is that any
> help? Thanks
>

ankhe105 proclaimed:

> Thanks Peter. I found the sticker in the glovebox that came with the truck
> when it was new but the numbers don't seem to jibe with what you posted.
> It is a 4.7L engine and has a 3.52 axel ratio. It is a 4x4. Is that any
> help? Thanks
>
Any dealer can tell you exactly what your Durango had on it at the
factory.... You should be able to do this yourself at the dodge web
site, but the links on owner services appear to have been made rather
obscure lately.

On Sat, 01 Apr 2006 02:59:28 GMT, SnoMan > wrote:

>On Fri, 31 Mar 2006 18:34:27 -0500, PeterD > wrote:
>
>>3.9 V-6 4,700
>>5.2 V-8 4,600 3.90 axel
>>5.2 V-8 5,900 4.10 axel
>>5.9 V-8 5,900 3.90 axel
>>5.9 V-8 7,400 4.10 axel
>
>There is a big problem with these numbers because some of them are
>wrong because a 5% change in overall effective drive ratio doe not
>equal a 25 to 30% increase in towing capacity!
>
>

I think what they were trying to say was with a 3.9 and below you get
teh lower number, with a 4.10 and above the higher number...

WEre I to guess (ah, why not?) I'd say he was safe to about 4,000 lb,
which should cover most pop-ups.