Now this IS a good question... Well, a couple of things
first: I am not sure of your trucks towing capacity by the
book, but I'll be that the GVWR isn't more than 10500 lbs.
(combined weight of truck, fuel, persons, cargo and
trailer). Given that, and the fact the RC weighs in around
3800 lbs...That leaves you with only 6700 lbs. for people,
cargo and trailer. Also, one thing to consider in this, if
you are towing a 4500# jetboat (low profile) vs. a 4500#
travel trailer (high profile), you're going to see an
extreme difference in performance, capability driving down
the road (especially climbing a grade). The other factor
that comes into play, is the RC short wheelbase. Towing a
heavy, long trailer can spell disaster with short wheelbase
tow vehicles.
As far as as lowering a truck, and still keeping the towing
capacity-- that's gonna be tough. The act of lowering goes
against the purpose of towing...you are losing suspension
travel, load capacity, and running stiffer shocks. Going
with a Hotchkis setup to lower your Dakota is probably the
best solution (to lower), and gives you an aggressive
handling package that is unmatched by other methods
(Control arms, spindles, etc.) The disadvantage is you'll
lose a lot of your towing capacity, as that's not what the
handling package was designed for. You can talk with Gary
at Hotchkis, and maybe they can leave in a rear leaf, or
have a different setup that will accomodate the best of
both worlds. If you are looking to simply get a better
handling struck, keep your springs, and get their sway bars
(which could actually improve towing handling too,
eliminating unwanted body roll/sway). Otherwise, the
solution that might help, would be airbag assist on the
rear along with the hothckis setup. Many lowered vehicles
still tow, amd a majority of those use airbags to help
carry the load.
Hope this helps some,
Sam '00 RT RC
--- The Coughlin Family <Coughlin@centuryinter.net> wrote:
> I have a 2000 reg cab 4.7L/5-spd/3.92sg 2wd dakota and
> was considering
> lowering it.I really only want to lower the back, but
> might do both.I was
> going to get some 2" blocks, but everybody that I have
> talked to said that I
> shouldn't put blocks in if I wanted to tow and that they
> can throw the
> pinion angle off and all kinds of bad stuff.Anyway,I was
> wondering if
> anybody has installed the hotchkis rear springs or whole
> system on their
> regular cab and how it went? Do you think I will be able
> to pull my trailers
> with it after I put the springs on? are the springs rated
> for the factory
> towing capacity(7000lbs)? Should I do the front and the
> back? Sorry for the
> long post, But I've got some money to burn, and I want to
> burn it wisely, if
> possible.Gary pinkley-are you out there
>
>
=====
Sam '00 RT
(14.667@93 mph)
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 11:51:11 EDT