Might not be able to get the Cummins since Ferd bought into the company to piss
off Chrysler. Understanding is that Diamler Chrysler is going to make use of
the Mercedes heritage and develop a Mercedes diesel for the american truck
market. There was supposed to be a rightup in some Dodge trailering trade mag
but I didn't see it. Read about my info on a automotive site I belong to. This
may be a bunch of crap but it does make since. Nothing against Cummins, great
diesel, but Mercedes hads a rep for building very good , long-lasting diesel
engines. On another note, Ford is definately going to dump the powerstroke
program sometime in the future and have a diesel developed by Volvo. There
citing is that there are too many problems with the powerstroke. This was in
trailer life recently (not mine a friends).
Jeff Durling
JC Dill wrote:
> Hi everyone!
>
> I purchased my new 2000 Durango (Aquamarine/Mist Grey, 5.8 L engine, 3.95
> rear end, full loaded) on 12/30/99, and have over 2500 miles on it so
> far. I love it!
>
> One of the many reasons for buying this vehicle is to pull a horse
> trailer. If the rumors of a ~2003 full size Dodge SUV are true, I'll
> probably sell it and buy the full size when it becomes available,
> especially if I can get the Cummins engine. I like the Durango body style,
> but hate the mileage. I've been getting 13.5 tops (with mostly highway
> driving) to ~10 when towing. Ugh. :-( Also I'd ultimately like to be
> able to tow a larger trailer (3 or 4 horse slant load) and this vehicle
> will probably max out at 2 horses (comfortably).
>
> I have 2 horses right now, may get more (I had 17 at my peak some years
> back). Currently I'm towing only one horse, and I just bought a used
> Keifer Built 2 horse slant trailer on Saturday. It tows nice, but ideally
> I need to add a weight distributing hitch. Can anyone tell me where I can
> find one used, or at a discount price? The local hitch seller wants
> $335! The used trailer has mounting holes from when it had a weight
> distributing hitch 2 owners previously, so I don't need to pay a hitch
> installer to "install" it. I'm also looking for a good source for low cost
> grill guards (front and rear) that will protect the body both from parking
> lot idiots and shrubs in horse trailer parking areas.
>
> There are some posts on various newsgroups that imply that the stock hitch
> isn't a really good hitch. Should I be concerned? I'm hearing a lot of
> squeaking when towing, is this just the shocks and springs? Will the
> weight distributing hitch resolve some of this?
>
> Finally, this is my first 4x4, I've had many trucks in the past (including
> a 93 Dodge 1-ton Dually with the Cummins engine) but never needed (and thus
> never bothered to get) 4WD. The most "off roading" I will be doing is
> parking the horse trailer in sometimes muddy parking areas at horse shows
> and regional park trailer parking areas (when I go trail riding). But I'd
> like to learn more about when and how to shift into and out of 4WD. Is
> there a FAQ that addresses newbie 4WD questions?
>
> OK, I'll shut up now, and lurk and learn!
>
> jc (in the SF bay area, California)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 11:47:57 EDT