Dester,
The real question should maybe be, not will it pull
it, but will it stop it? I pulled over 5500lbs with my
'95 V6 Dakota CC 5sp (w/ 3:55's) with no real problems
through somewhat hilly Georgia countryside at speeds
ranging from 35 - 60 mph, based on how the road went
(up, down, around, etc...). Hills were not a big
problem, but I did have the option to downshift when
and how I wanted to.
I'm not sure how the automatic will react, but I've
heard they are a bit more sluggish (certainly not
anemic though) than the 5spds.
I never had any problems with power, whether it be
acceleration or getting the load started, but again, I
did have the option of selecting my own gear.
The biggest problem is stopping a load of that size.
If you've never towed trailors that large before,
practice stopping the load before you really head out
on the trip... it'll save ya from overheating your
brakes and from nearly staining your britches if you
were to misjudge and go through an intersection or
rear end someone.
I've towed trailors up to 17000lbs with a Cummins
Dodge 3500 and am used to getting alot of weight
stopped. Having the ability to downshift greatly helps
in getting heavy loads stopped.
It is a neccesity that you know how big of a space you
need to get your truck stopped with that load. Don't
get over 60mph or you'll run down anything in your
path. If driving in traffic, stay back and keep your
speed way down. There is no such thing as hitting your
brakes and just stopping with a load like 5000lbs. You
hit your brakes and it stops when it gets ready. You
need to know how long "ready" takes.
I think you should be okay, however I am not informed
on how the lowering would affect your trucks ability
to hold the tongue weight. I'd definetely try and keep
500lbs or less on the tongue though.
BTW, I'm only 20 yrs old... So I know how it feels to
think you're in control of something and then find out
you have no control... kinda like dumping 2 large
bales of hay out in the middle of a road.. hehe.
Thankfully, nothing was hurt but my pride. :) So, not
trying to preach to ya, but be careful! ...and try not
to let the wheels of that trailor slip off the edge of
the highway.. that can be kinda scary too if it won't
come back up onto the road. hehe :)
Lucky for me I've learned from my mistakes.
Be sure and give the DML a report on your trucks
performance if you go through with it.
Hope I was able to help,
Chad Clifton
'95 Dak Sport CC 5pd V6
Dynomax Race Magnum Muffler, FABM,
Champion Truck Plugs (soon to be Autolite 3923's),
Fully Synthetic oil w/ K&N oil filter, 180 degree
thermostat.
-------------------------------------------------
Okay, I have a REAL truck duty for the dakota this
weekend. I will
need to
haul about 5,000 pounds of stuff about 900 miles. My
question is...
"Will a lowered 97 dakota v6 automatic be able to do
this feat?"
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 11:56:01 EDT