In message Fri, 23 Feb 1996 11:22:26 -0700,
Paul Caskey <pcaskey@swcp.com> writes:
> My wife and I don't own a Dakota, yet. We have a '92 Ford Ranger which
> we are thinking of upgrading to either a Dakota V8, or a Ram 1500. We
> need something to tow horses. However, we don't need to tow that often;
> the truck would be used for standard transportation 98% of the time.
My situation is not identical, but is similar. I wanted to tow motorcycles
in an enclosed trailer from Wisconsin to Tucson and back every winter. I
looked at the options and picked the V8 Dakota, for much the reasons you
listed. I have since used my '95 to two a Wells Cargo trailer (1,000 lb.)
and large BMW touring bike (650 lbs.) and other gear to Tucson twice and to
Salida, CO, once.
The V8 is none too large for this task. Pulling into a strong headwind or
uphill I have to drop out of overdrive. On the level or with no wind or a
tailwind, overdrive is fine at 70 mph. But my trailer is about 2,000 lbs.
max. However, I believe that WIND is more important to loading the engine
than trailer WEIGHT. I plan to tow two bikes to Tucson in December, which
will push the trailer to about 2,600 lb. I will be interested to see how
performance changes.
You, however, are talking much greater trailer weights. Over twice my
measly 2,000 lbs. I would be concerned that the 5.2 liter V8 would be up to
the task. The 5.9 liter V8 in Ram doesn't offer much more oomph. You might
be talking the Ram 2500 or 3500 with a V10 engine.
My Dakota V8 does what I want well and I am pleased with it. It I could get
the 5.9 liter V8 in the Dakota, I would take it. I share your concern about
the rather large size of the Ram and of other full-size pickups. Pesonally,
I don't want the excess size. So, for me, the Dakota is perfect. In fact,
it is the only truck on the market that does what I want!
Jeff Dean
1995 Dakota 4x4 V8 Club Cab __ _ __ __ __ . . . .
Obsessive BMW motorcycle rider |__) | | \ |_ |__) |\ /| | /\ |
jmdean@facstaff.wisc.edu_______________| \ | |__/ |__ |__) | \/ | |/ \|
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