Hey All,
So I have a quick question that I'm hoping some folks could answer. I have a 1984 D250, 318 motor, 3 speed auto, 4.11 gears. How much can I safely tow with it? I've looked online, but cant find anything, and I dont have the manual.

 

My 1985 owners manual says max tow for a 318 / 727 auto transmission is 5000 # for trailer and load.

 

Sounds about right to me as well.

 

I believe the 360 bumps it up to about 7000, with no other changes. Its funny how much more the ratings depended on the power back then, without much consideration for brakes, suspension, wheelbase, etc.

I have the same setup as you, but newer, and with 3.90 gearing, and 5,000lbs can be either scary or comfortable depending on the load. I've gone heavier, but at that point the tail starts wagging the dog unless you have a very stable trailer.

Don't forget your transmission cooler and electric trailer brakes.

 

Alright, thanks. Its interesting to me that a 30 year old 3/4 Ton pickup can tow less and weighs less than my current generation Nissan Frontier.

 

well use that then and don't beat up on the dodge haha.....
no but seriously if you take a step back and compare the engineering from 30 years ago to today its really not that surprising considering how far advanced that trucks have come... we used to rely on carburetors, then came tbi, then idi, then direct injection, now they don't even have throttle cables.... its all drive by wire... its amazing when you look at the computers in these newer vehicles... they do so much to optimize the performance of the vehicle its mind blowing... then you get programmers and it ramps the performance up more!... its just kind of amazing....

 

Absolutely, and I do, I bought the dodge as a toy and for when I need the bigger bed and payload. (Nissan can only do 1,300lbs in the 6' bed) Heck, I towed the dodge home on a trailer with the nissan. The main reason I ask is the nissan is a manual and the dodge is an automatic, so I can flat tow the nissan and not the dodge, so if I have to move both trucks, I want to be able to tow the nissan with the dodge and not have to worry.

 

gotcha

 

I'm not sure if the towing ratings really meant as much back then. A 1978 chevy c10 with any wheelbase and any motor except the 6.2 smoker was rated to tow 8,000lbs.

C-20 and C-30 could both tow 12,000.

Today the ratings are generally a bit more uniform across the boards, and probably a better guide for the general populace than the older numbers.

What your old Dodge CAN tow, and what it is rated to tow are probably fairly different numbers. Still, the DOT doesn't care what you think it can tow, only what the paperwork says.

 

Yeah, I noticed that and thought it was strange, granted most of the Chevys have bigger motors than my 318.

NY actually allows you to register a pickup thats not being used commercially (aka, my old dodge) as a passenger vehicle, in which case the title displays the curb weight, not the GVWR or GCWR, which effectivly gives you a maximum legal upper limit of 26,000lbs.


I don't really plan to tow much with the dodge, but it will be nice if I ever have to move both trucks at the same time. I know come spring time my parents will be looking to borrow a truck, and its much easier to just tow one out, and drive the other back than find a second driver for the 8 hours.