Hopefully someone has some experience with this.

I'm looking to go RVing full time and I have an 08 Dakota. If I can help it, I'd rather not buy a bigger truck (11 more truck payments!).

It'll just be my wife and I with 2 kitties. How big is too big to haul comfortably?

 

Well let's start by telling us what Dakota you have. Extended or quad? V6 or V8? Auto or manual transmission? 2 or 4 wd? Do you have an owners manual? Do you have the door sticker which lists all the load ratings for your truck?

This can help also.

http://www.dodge.com/towing/D/home.html

http://www.dodge.com/bodybuilder/2008/docs/nd/dmlup.pdf

 

Quad, v8, auto, 4wd, yes and if you mean the sticker inside the drivers door, I believe I do.

 

Depending on rear axle and if you have the towing package, looks like 5900 or 7100 max trailer weight. Double check the door sticker though.

 

I'm pretty sure I have the towing package. Thanks jkeaton.

 

I regularly pull an 18' bass boat with disc brakes, and occasionally tow a 19' 4,200 lb dry travel trailer during the summer. I have an '06 V8 quad cab with the 6 speed manual and tow package. It pulls the boat exceptionally well, but the TT is about all the truck can handle especially in the hills with the tanks full and loaded with camping gear.

You'll need a weight distribution hitch with sway control for a travel trailer. The short wheelbase isn't ideal for towing a TT at highway speeds when passing a semi.

The truck stops great when towing, never felt I needed better brakes. Both my trailers have brakes.

The manual transmission has been great for me but I can't comment on the auto.

Overall I think you'll be fine if you stay at or under 5,000 lbs. If you plan on going cross-country or want to pull over 5,000 lbs I personally would step up to a 1/2 ton with a bit more payload and a longer wheelbase.

Hope that helps.

 

I have a Jeep Scrambler with winch, iron bumpers, etc.. Fully laden it weighs around 3,400 lbs., or about the same as a medium sized travel trailer. My truck is a 2005 Quad Cab, 4.7 engine with HD Towing and 4 x 4. This is about max in the hills because I have the anemic 3.42 axle. If you are running flat ground, or have stouter gearing, it will be fine. Tows much better behind my '93 K2500 Suburban with 454 engine, HD towing and 4.10 gearing, but the cost per mile is considerably more. There is a reason that beast has a 42 gallon fuel tank as std. equipment.

 

I wouldn't go over 5500lbs. At 5000lbs I start to be very observant of what is going on around me. Its not how much you can pull, its how fast you can stop.

I love my truck, and most towing is fine, on a flat road, but, when you start having hills and stuff to climb, you will start noticing a difference. Maybe, its because I have towed stuff with the big boys, like the 2500 and 3500's.

 

Looks like when this happens, I will have to say goodbye to my little guy. I wasn't expecting to be able to pull a huge trailer, but the trailers to suit me will be too small.

Thanks for all the help.

 

I'm back again (sorry). I looked on the drivers door and was given the tire pressure, tire size and truck load capacity. There is no towing information on this sticker.

Using the manual, I didn't get much help on my specific truck. The pictures says "weights in chart shown are not weights for your vehicle".

However, looked at the bodybuilder link. There are bolded ones (which represents optional). How do I determine if its mine or not? I have a 2008 SLT 4x4 quad cab v8. Mainly curious on the rear axle ratio 3.55 vs 3.92.

Although it is obvious, I'm not knowledgeable on vehicles and apologize for my ignorance. Thanks for the help.