What is your problem with the transmission of your Durango? It is mechanically the same as the Ram with 5.7L.
I do not care for that transmission gear ratios for towing. 1-2-3 have big gaps, like the old 4-spds. Competitor half ton 6-spd transmissions are both shorter first gear and closer/even spacing for all gears.
The Hemi has great power, maybe slightly more torque for 2009+ than you have but still very good. Nothing wrong with it. Any crew cab half ton will tow better than your Durango with its 140"+ wheelbase. I highly recommend finding one with >1500 pounds of payload, which excludes the Ram 1500 crew cabs. People tend to load up their truck beds.
A & A parents of DD 2005, DS1 2007, DS2 2009 2011 Suburban 2500 6.0L 3.73 pulling 2011 Heartland North Trail 28BRS 2012 VW Passat TDI
We went from 1500 Suburban with 4.10 rear to the 2500 Ram. Cant say enough how much more pleasureable towing is with the Ram.
We have lots of kids and gear...so watch your payload numbers. Our old "big" subruban only had a payload capacity of 1450lbs! and did not pull our current RV well.
If you go with a 3/4, you have headroom for firewood, generator, bikes, and room to upgrade to your next RV .
APT wrote: What is your problem with the transmission of your Durango? It is mechanically the same as the Ram with 5.7L.
I do not care for that transmission gear ratios for towing. 1-2-3 have big gaps, like the old 4-spds. Competitor half ton 6-spd transmissions are both shorter first gear and closer/even spacing for all gears.
The Hemi has great power, maybe slightly more torque for 2009+ than you have but still very good. Nothing wrong with it. Any crew cab half ton will tow better than your Durango with its 140"+ wheelbase. I highly recommend finding one with >1500 pounds of payload, which excludes the Ram 1500 crew cabs. People tend to load up their truck beds.
The transmission problems were mainly overheating and slipping. We ended up having to get a fluid flush/replace at a Dodge dealer mid trip whose only advise was "take it easy".
NewsW wrote: Specs aside, the big question is duty cycle.
Do you want to occasionally tow? Or tow frequently?
Far, short?
Up and down hills?
A lot of maneuvering?
Driving style?
All those things factor in choice.
We tend to do a few short weekend trips (<150 miles) thru the school year, then a longer trip over the summer - 3 - 4000miles over a month or so. We're west of Houston, so all the local stuff is pretty flat. The summer trip will tend to get more hilly - had it up thru Sedona, WEstern Arkansas etc, and like I mentioned earlier, want to head up to Rushmore in the next year or so. Driving style - I guess I tend to be slow and steady - the Durango hits a nice groove around 60 on the Interstates.
We went from 1500 Suburban with 4.10 rear to the 2500 Ram. Cant say enough how much more pleasureable towing is with the Ram.
We have lots of kids and gear...so watch your payload numbers. Our old "big" subruban only had a payload capacity of 1450lbs! and did not pull our current RV well.
If you go with a 3/4, you have headroom for firewood, generator, bikes, and room to upgrade to your next RV .
One of the guys we camp with occasionally tows with a 2500 RAM with the Cummins Diesel in it. He's very happy with it - just seems a lot of truck for the amount we actually tow at the moment.
We tend to travel pretty light (no generator, wood etc) and current intention is to stay with the Passport till the kids are gone, then switch to a 5th wheel, but thats 8-10 years down the line, so the next tow vehicle won't see the next trailer!
Rambling Yorkie wrote: Hi there,
I currently have a 2007 Passport Ultralite 29BHS that I have been towing with a 2008 Dodge Durango 5.7l Hemi with factory tow package and Equalizer 4 way sway control/leveller hitch. Loaded trailer weight is a smidgen over 6200lbs. Tongue weight 750 and its me and the kids (400lbs) in the vehicle.
Its been OK on the shorter trips, but struggled a bit last year in the rolling hills of Arkansas. This year or next I want to head up to Rushmore and back through Yellowstone/Yosemite etc, so I'm looking to upgrade the tow vehicle.
I'm thinking along the F150/Ram 1500 sort of lines, but wondered if anyone had any suggestions?
Thanks
Couple of questions; new or used truck? Does your Durango have 3:43s or 3:73s?
2012 Montana High Country 333DB
*NEW* 2012 Dodge 3500MEGA 6.7 CTD, 2012 Jeep JK Rubicon, 2012 Durango Citadel, 2010 Harley Heritage Softail....American STEEL = American profits.
We tend to do a few short weekend trips (<150 miles) thru the school year, then a longer trip over the summer - 3 - 4000miles over a month or so. We're west of Houston, so all the local stuff is pretty flat. The summer trip will tend to get more hilly - had it up thru Sedona, WEstern Arkansas etc, and like I mentioned earlier, want to head up to Rushmore in the next year or so. Driving style - I guess I tend to be slow and steady - the Durango hits a nice groove around 60 on the Interstates.
The issue is handling, not braking and power. Especially as you drive conservatively.
That kind of relatively short use occasionally is a light duty cycle.
If you scrupulously not overload, and leave a good safety margin, you can go 150.
But for peace of mind, etc. and future capacity growth, I'd look bigger given the very modest price differential to go bigger.
I considerd diesel, but too much extra $$$$ and the mileage difference is not that great. The 2500 Ram handles the local bershire mountains with ease...plenty of power, and I can barely feel the camper when towing it.
1/2 truck with good payload rating should suffice. If its a daily driver, perhaps a ford with the eco-boost engine?
donn0128 wrote: A 3/4 ton will give you LT tires instead of P metrics.
Why does everyone always say that you have to get a bigger truck to get LT tires? I'm sure that there are some out there, but I've never personally seen a half ton truck come with passenger tires. Maybe it's because my family and I always buy 4WD... My dad's F150 FX4 that he bought in September came with LT tires, as did my cousins F150 Lariat 4X4.
In any event, you could easily make new LT tires part of the deal when buying a truck if it only has passenger tires on it; no need to upgrade the whole truck if you don't want to.
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