bgbeaird@neosoft.com wrote:
: We just paid off the loan on our 98 CC R/T (yeah!). We plan on saving up
: a couple of months and then looking at something new. We need something
: to potentially tow our SCCA G Stock autocrosser 86 SVO, which is 3011#.
: That, and a trailer would run about 4500#.
: Among the vehicles we are considering would be a 4-door Dak. I am
: wondering who on this list;
: 1. Tow with such a beast?
: 2. How much do you tow (weight)?
: 3. What special provisions have you made to tow with the truck?
: 4. How many miles have you racked up towing?
: 5. Anything special you wish to add?
: Thanks for any info. We were thinking of a Cherokee Sport (we have an 89
: that has performed well), but since they are not making them anymore, and
: the new V-6 is unproven, to us, in the Liberty, I think a Dak is a good
: possible contender.
A buddy of mine has a '00 quad cab (its the August truck in the DML
calendar, actually). Its got the 4.7 with a 5 speed, and he tows a
30-35' travel trailer. It weighs about 4500lbs empty, I think, when its
got the water tanks full its another 1,000lbs on top of that.
The truck pulls it, no problems. He uses a weight distributing hitch,
and the rear end doesn't really even sink down very much (have seen quite a
few full size trucks pulling similar trailers without a weight distributing
hitch and their rear ends sit pretty low) The only "mod" he had to make was
to get an add-on towing mirror so he could see around the trailer. If
a semi goes by the trailer can start to wobble a bit, but letting off the gas
corrects it. If you are using an open trailer, it probably wouldn't even do
that.
However.... If I were you, I'd seriously consider towing with the R/T.
If I just came off one car loan, the last thing I'd want to do is pile
into another one! :-) The drivetrain of the R/T is no different than
any other Dak, its certainly stout enough to take it. The 5.9 will
be more capable than the 4.7 would be as far as towing goes (more
low end torque; though I guess you could get the 5.9 in the QC too.)
The "problem" with towing and the R/T appears to be the lowered suspension;
a couple of air bags should be able to correct the deficiencies in the R/T
suspension. (There are a lot of R/T owners out there who have done exactly
that.)
Your call of course, but looking at $25,000 for a new truck or $500-1000
for an airbag setup seems like a pretty easy decision to me. :-) Unless
of course you are just trying to rationalize a new toy, in which case ignore
the above and proceed as planned. ;-)
---Jon-
.---- Jon Steiger ------ jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com -----. | I'm the: AOPA, DoD, EAA, NMA, NRA, SPA, USUA. Rec & UL Pilot - SEL | | '70 Barracuda, '92 Ram 4x4, '96 Dakota, '96 Intruder 1400, '96 FireFly | `----------------------------------------- http://www.jonsteiger.com ----'
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