KD4UPL
Swoope, VA
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I've been looking at Dodge Magnum station wagons as a possible family car with the capability of towing the boat. They are only rated to tow 3,500 pounds but I have seen pictures and heard of people towing much heavier with them. My boat and trailer weigh about 4,400 pounds. There is only 225 pounds of tongue weight. It seems like the Hemi engine would be up to towing this much and the tongue weight's not a problem. I think it would work fine.
I'm not asking about the wisdom of towing over the ratings. I do that all the time with my dually and equipment trailer. I'm asking how many Magnum towers do we have and what is your experience?
Thanks,
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sch911
Rochester Hills, MI
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I worked on the LX Magnum. Even ran a few of the trailer tow tests on it and it's LX siblings in the day. There is a reason it was rated at 3500#. Many factors really. To answer the question, I would not recommend towing 4400# with it. Go for a small SUV....
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Claude B
Montreal, Canada
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.
Claude
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Claude B
Montreal, Canada
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http://www.rvlifemag.com/file365/hitchhints365.html
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garysol
Avon Ohio
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sch911 wrote:I worked on the LX Magnum. Even ran a few of the trailer tow tests on it and it's LX siblings in the day. There is a reason it was rated at 3500#. Many factors really. To answer the question, I would not recommend towing 4400# with it. Go for a small SUV....
And there you have it........
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skipnchar
Topeka or somewhere else
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I used to tow a 6,000 lb. sailboat with a Dodge Magnum convertible. Had plenty of power but didn't handle the tongue weight very well. I had to move the boat as far back on the trailer as I could to get the tongue weight down to only about 250 lb. this was back in the 70s and I was MUCH more into taking risks in those days  It was a nightmare to stop. Don't think I'd want to try a travel trailer with one like mine anyway.
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Jarlaxle
New England
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Rated at 3800lbs (with the 5.7 Hemi) actually, I recall 2500lbs with the V6. Before towing more than 3800lbs with it, get a quote to rebuild the Mercedes-sourced NAG-1 automatic transmission! I had a Magnum...great road car, decent mileage, good handling, superb engine...but I wouldn't tow a 4400lb trailer with it.
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KD4UPL
Swoope, VA
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skipnchar wrote:I used to tow a 6,000 lb. sailboat with a Dodge Magnum convertible. Had plenty of power but didn't handle the tongue weight very well. I had to move the boat as far back on the trailer as I could to get the tongue weight down to only about 250 lb. this was back in the 70s and I was MUCH more into taking risks in those days It was a nightmare to stop. Don't think I'd want to try a travel trailer with one like mine anyway.
Thanks for the response but I'm a bit confused. They didn't make the Magnum station wagon I'm talking about until 2005 and I don't think it's ever been available in a convertible.
It sounds like a got my answer from some people who know. Not a good idea.
Jarlaxle, I have been debating whether I really want another Dodge automatic. The one in my 1500 pick-up was terrible!!
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dodge guy
Bartlett IL
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The trans in the LX car behind the HEMI is pure Benz! and was installed in the E class Benz cars. I used to be a Dodge tech and went to school for diag/repair on them. let me tell you it is one stout unit. fully rollerized throught the trans, no brass busshings. just about every component inside is built extremely well.
In all the years I have worked with them I`ve only worked on one that was burnt up, and that was because it was driven back from a dealer trade with the parking brake on 200 miles!!! other wise a strong unit.
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sch911
Rochester Hills, MI
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dodge guy wrote:The trans in the LX car behind the HEMI is pure Benz! and was installed in the E class Benz cars.
Only partially true, it was a Mercedes design that we (Chrysler) adapted to the 5.7L Hemi powered vehicles, was tooled here in the US and then manufactured in Kokomo Indiana.
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