Hello


My name is Jerry and I have a question regarding trailer towing with my Durango...it has a 3.6 L V6 with a class II hitch rated at 7500 lbs. The Durango's GVWR is 6500 ilbs.. The trailer I bought is a Jayco Featherlite 25F travel trailer. Its GVWR is a little under 5000lbs. Would the Durango be able to tow this trailer comfortably? I am trying to just find out some more info. I have bought the trailer and I am newbie to travel trailer towing. Any suggestions or advice would be helpful..Thanks.

 

does it have the factory tow package or just a added hitch ?

 

I added a aftermarket dodge hitch thru my dealer. It is a class II 7500ilb hitch. It is the only one made for this year Durango. The trailer weighs close to 5505ilbs dry weight. The Durango's GVWR is 6500 lbs

 

First off: a Class II hitch is limited to 3500lbs/ 300 lb tw
The Class IV hitch in the DD tow package can handle 14000lb/1400lb tw, but the DD can only handle 7500lbs.

If you just got the class incorrect: the 3.6 DD with aftermarket hitch only would be adequate if you only planned to tow the trailer unloaded. Adding a hitch does nothing for the capability of the vehicle. I would also be uncomfortable towing at or near the full GVWR.

The factory tow package comes with heavy duty brakes and additional cooling.

 

I tow my boat which is almost 5,000 lbs fully loaded with no problem. However a trailer is much taller and subject to cross winds and shifting. I strongly recommend that you have your trailer dealer install an anti-sway bar set up. It will greatly improve safety and stability. My friend is pulling a 5,000 trailer with his Toyota 4Runner (V8) and he said the anti-sway set up made a huge difference. Also breaking can be an issue so be sure you have the right set up. It is not all about the engine size and GVW.

 

I think you are going to be asking too much of a 3.6L Durango. Last year, I towed a 12 ft enclosed V nose trailer with 4 motorcycles in it. Best guess was 3500 lb weight. The Durango is a '13- 3.6l with the factory tow package.
The D handled it but I felt it was on the edge. At highway speeds the transmission was in 3rd gear most of the time-3500+rpm. Got 11 mpg over a 500 mile round trip. I would not do it again. I have a good bit of TT experience, from 30 ft Airstream travel trailer, boats etc. I am also a 30 year field rep for a Big 3 auto maker. I firmly believe that the realistic trailer tow capacity of any vehicle is 2/3 of what the manufacturer rates it at. That would put a properly equipped(factory TT pkg) 3.6L Durango at about 3500 lb. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions, I will take them all in consideration. I do have an electric power brake installed when I had the dealer put the hitch on. The RV dealer is installing an anti-sway bar system when I go to pick up the trailer, I had that in the loan for the trailer. I don't plan on hauling the trailer great distances just around locally, with in 50 miles or so. What we like to do eventually is park the trailer at a park and leave it there for the season. Any other reccomendations? Thanks. I really respect everyone's opinions on this topic.

 

So do you think I should get a transmission cooler for the trans too?

 

Are you towing on hills/mountains or relatively flat ground?

 

It's going to be just mostly flat with some small hills. I live in Iowa so depending where you go you can run into some big hills but nothing really steep. No mountains and for now I'm not going to be driving anywhere near those areas, so mostly flat driving. My hitch is a class III 2in receiver hitch, rear 5000lbs gross trailer weight 500lbs, tougue weight 7500lbs, weight distrb 750lbs. its manufactured by Curt. I did get the electric power brake and the wiring installed.