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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / RVs / August 2006towing with dakota
looking to switch tow vehicle, popup about 3500lbs. looking for any feedback from anyone who tows with a dakota. don't go on long drives thru the mountains. thanks for any info > looking to switch tow vehicle, popup about 3500lbs. looking for any feedback > from anyone who tows with a dakota. > don't go on long drives thru the mountains. > thanks for any info Need more information. What year? What engine? Do you know the tow rating? A 4.7L can be rated for over 5000 pounds and should not have any trouble. A 3.9L might have a rating as low as 3800 but could be as high as 5000. 3800 is questionable. It would probably wreck your transmission. 2.5L: Forget it. Hello, I used a 2001 Dakaota Sport 2WD, to tow a 2500 lb (approximately) pop up from Ohio to Florida. It has the 3.9 V6, and auto. I did put on a transmission cooler (heat is what will destroy a transmission), and turned overdrive off. I had no problems during the trip. However, after the trip, sludge build up in the engine caused me to replace the oil pump. Might have been totally unrelated, but I had changed the oil every 3000 to 5000 miles with Castrol Syntec. I've read that that motor has a sludge buildup problem. Hope this helps, Larry > looking to switch tow vehicle, popup about 3500lbs. looking for any > feedback from anyone who tows with a dakota. > don't go on long drives thru the mountains. > thanks for any info > Hello, > I used a 2001 Dakaota Sport 2WD, to tow a 2500 lb (approximately) pop up [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Hope this helps, > Larry Really surprised at sludge with the syntec. I have used Mobil-1 in my gasoline engines (including all air cooled engines including my generator) since it was first offered and am very impressed with it. A pure synthetic base should not produce any sludge. And don't use anything heavier than 5W30. > looking to switch tow vehicle, popup about 3500lbs. looking for any feedback > from anyone who tows with a dakota. > don't go on long drives thru the mountains. > thanks for any info I used to own a 2004 Club Cab 4x4 with the 3.7L V6 and 3.92 gears, and I currently own a 2005 Quad Cab 4x4 with the 4.7L V8 and 3.55 gears. Both towed my 2800 lb popup very well. The long wheelbase made for a stable ride, and the brake controller took care of stopping just fine. As to pulling power, I'd say the two trucks were quite comparable on flat land. The taller gears on the V6 I had pretty much made up for the lower torque of the engine. That 3.7L felt much stronger than the 3.9L V6 2WD I had before it, but I never towed a camper with the 3.9L. I took the V8 into Colorado and it pulled the mountain passes pretty well, though many people out there were using 3/4 ton trucks to pull pop-ups. I got the towing package (transmission cooler, etc.) for good measure. If I were to do that again, I'd get a tranny temp gauge. A lot of minivans pulling popups were sitting beside the road. A friend of mine pulled a 24ft travel trailer with his Dakota (4.7L with 3.92 gears) out there, but I wouldn't recommend that! For what it's worth, my mileage on my V8 dropped about 1 mpg while towing, while the V6 dropped 2-3mpg. I've owned three Dakotas, and none of them got much better mileage than a full size truck, but in my opinion they're much nicer to drive day-to-day. Korey >looking to switch tow vehicle, popup about 3500lbs. looking for any feedback >from anyone who tows with a dakota. >don't go on long drives thru the mountains. >thanks for any info what year, model, cab, engine, gearing, etc.?? I have an 01 Dak club cab with 4.7L, 2wd, auto, 3:55 gears... Max tow weight is 5,150# according to Trailer Life, would be 6,200# with 4:10 gears, but that's not the real world.. *g* We towed our little tent trailer with it and didn't know it was behind us, but we also towed it effortlessly for about 30,000 miles with my 85 HP mazda pickup.. *g* Depending on engine size and truck condition, you'll probably be ok with 3,500# if you don't add 1,000# of people and gear, which always seems to happen.. *g* The good news is that a popup is usually fairly short and the Dakota should have enough wheelbase to handle it safely, as opposed to a travel trailer, in which case I'd be afraid of the tail wagging the dog.. YMWV Mac https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm I think folks get a little too worked up and paranoid... I've got a 2002 Isuzu Trooper with the 215hp 3.5l v6 rated to tow 5000lbs. We've got a 1983 Prower Lite 18' Travel trailer, title says 2400lbs empty, and it tows it just fine. I've not once had a problem with it trying to wiggle around on me. I've probably towed it somewhere over 2000 miles the last few years... If the Trooper can do that well, I would certainly hope the Dakota would do as well or better. I wouldn't be afraid to put a 21' behind it...thought seriously about a beautiful 86 Wilderness 24' a year or 2 ago...not sure how one that long would have handled though. I'll also add that all the towing up until this spring was done with pretty much useless brakes on the trailer. First repair guy didn't have a clue and said they were working, but I couldn't tell it. Another place this spring inspected it and put in new brake magnets...it stops MUCH better now! :-) That said, it still handled surprisingly well... As everyone says, YMMV...but if you have a well-built vehicle (and I firmly believe the Trooper is one such vehicle), it should do a fine job towing a moderate-sized trailer. Now if Isuzu would just come out with a worthy replacement for the Trooper.... Wesley > The good news is that a popup is usually fairly short and the Dakota should have > enough wheelbase to handle it safely, as opposed to a travel trailer, in which [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis > https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm >As everyone says, YMMV...but if you have a well-built vehicle (and I firmly >believe the Trooper is one such vehicle), it should do a fine job towing a >moderate-sized trailer. Now if Isuzu would just come out with a worthy >replacement for the Trooper.... I towed a popup weighing 2,000 lbs. behind a 1990 Ford Ranger and it did a good job. The Ranger had a 6,000 lb. towing capacity. I bought my 25' moderate-sized TT that weighs about 5,500 lbs. empty. I towed it with the Ranger and it was a handful for the 150' from my parking spot in the storage lot to the place where I could wash it. The return trip back to the parking spot was fun as well. People tow TTs with little SUVs, minivans, and trucklets. Just because someone else does it doesn't make it safe. These vehicles aren't really meant to tow much to begin with--so they are best relegated to the smaller, lighter, popups. My primary TV is a 1999 Chevrolet Suburban 2500 with a 8,000 lb. towing capacity. My Ranger was replaced by a 2000 Dodge Ram 1500 with a 7,500 lb. towing capacity. Now I can take the trailer out on the road anywhere I want with either tow vehicle. Any vehicle can tow a trailer. It is just a matter of how far, how fast, and how long before the vehicle breaks down. YMMV as well. Mark "Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't" >> As everyone says, YMMV...but if you have a well-built vehicle (and I firmly >> believe the Trooper is one such vehicle), it should do a fine job towing a [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > Mark > "Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't" And if you haven't already seen it, the Renault pulling a much too heavy trailer: http://www.becontrols.com/Renault5.wmv >Mark >"Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't" "He who lives on the cutting edge should expect to bleed" Mac https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm >>Mark >>"Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't" [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis >https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm "If you are swimming in the ocean and an eel bites you it's a moray" Mark > >>Mark > >>"Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't" > >"He who lives on the cutting edge should expect to bleed" > >Mac > "If you are swimming in the ocean and an eel bites you it's a moray" > Mark "uh uh, when the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie THAT'S a moray" ( somebody--- please get the hook! :) Eddie07 >>>>Mark >>>>"Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't" [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > ( somebody--- please get the hook! :) > Eddie07 When you drink, don't park. Accidents cause people. >> >>Mark >> >>"Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't" [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >( somebody--- please get the hook! :) >Eddie07 < drum roll > Mac https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm >>>Mark >>>"Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't" [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >Mark *groan* "skydivers... good to the last drop" Mac https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm |
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