Ok, I gotta weigh in on this one.. literally :-) The Dakota is far superior in it's payload capacity compared to any compact out there. I regulary get a cubic yard of mulch in my truck, which can weigh between 500lbs and 1000lbs (note: driving a '97 CC SLT 5.2L which I'm pretty sure is rated at 2,100).. Now, I see Ranger, S-10's and toys with the same weight as I do (all carrying mulch), and they're all down on their axles... My Dakota.. well, if it dropped any, it wasn't noticable.. maybe 1/2".. Now, also looking at that rating of 2,100lbs (if you have that option), it meets or surpasses most FULL SIZE trucks in terms of payload.. Due to the Dakotas lower GVWC?, we cannot tow as much as a full-size.. Think mine is rated right under 6000lbs, plus 2000lb in bed, so I can essentially tow 8000lbs (6000lb towing, 2000 in bed).. but, I think towing up to 10,000 on the hitch is out of the question.. most full-size pickups cannot do that, not rated for it anyway.. Probably Ram3500 and such is, but Ram
1500 is probably not rated any higher than 8000lb I would think, if that... Also, the Dakota is a lighter truck, which means your total load including truck is already lighter than, say, a Ram 1500, yet running the same engine.. The Dakota is a true "mid-size" truck.. it's got the style of a compact truck, yet the capabilities of a full-size.. granted, sometimes the load is heavy enough in the trailer that it drops my hitch close to the ground, but that's because the Dakota is a low-sitting truck (2wd). Also, where else can you find a truck that can tow a 2,000lb trailer and still smoke the rest of the traffic :-)
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sun, 28 Jul 2002 23:46:39 -0400
> From: andy levy <andylevy@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: Dakota a half ton (was: DML: Gooseneck Hitch)
>
> Vic wrote:
>
> > Seem's like with a gooseneck you are going to be putting a lot of tongue
> > weight on the truck. One time I hauled a load of sand in the back of my
> > truck about half full. It's a Quad, so I've got the shorter bed. The truck
> > sagged like crazy and handled very poorly due to the load. I'll never do
> > something like that again.
>
> That's nothing. You haven't lived till you've seen a '95 move a couple
> hundred gallons of water (in the bed!) and then nearly jump off the
> ground as the suspension decompressed. You wanna talk fun!
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:05:07 EDT