Hey everyone I was just wondering if someone could tell me how much can be safely towed behind a 94 dakota 4x4 with the 318 without turning overdrive off. I know your not suppost to haul alot with O/D on but I couldn't find a specific number in the manual. This weekend I pulled our 1600lbs camper 400 miles without overdrive to play it safe at 3000rpm and 12mpg lol. If anyone could give me an idea thanks.

 

The limit for most is 2,000lbs. Your safe to pull it I would say.

 

I'm gonna get yelled at on this one....I've pulled 6000 lbs without turning o/d off with the exception of going up and down hills. Didn't have any problems. The trans that I have done this with has lasted longer than the original that didn't pull ANYTHING.

 

IMO, depends on speed, load, and road conditions.

If Im not mistaken, the reason you are to turn off the overdrive is not because of the load on the "overdrive gear" but the fact that it will constantly shift in and out of gear. But this all depends on out speed, load, and road conditions.

I just bought a heavy duty trailer lastnight, and while im just guessing at 1500# empty, it has a 7000# GVW rating. It pulled it (95 318) with out hick up at 60-65 mph. even used the cruise when there were not hills.

You could have a 1500# load thats tall and flat causing a lot of wind drag and thus alot of shifting, or you could be pulling flat steel that weights 4000# but is perfectly stream line and not causing any shifting.

I plan to use this trailer to pull 4 sleds to the mountains. I will most likely run od and cruise for the first 60% of the trip as its all highway and mostly flat. then durn off the OD when I get in the mountains.

make sense? It did in my head...

 

Ya you can run more weight with OD on. I have towed heavy loads 5,000lbs and all around Some higher only turning off for hills. For me it is not worth running my truck at 3,500RPMs when it can be at 2,000 or so. Never had problems with the OD on my truck as well. According to the owners manual they mention to turn it off to prevent the tranny from over heating. And they talk more about the axle overheating due to towing then the transmission. But some will die before they tow with the OD.

 

Too much drag (whether from wind resistance or sheer weight) can cause overheating of the tranny which is why most HD's have larger or more transmission coolers and gages. I can see the rear diff getting hot as well, but not as big of a deal IMO (although I believe that is the fluid that gets neglected the most).

A 318 could prolly pull 10,000# if you tried it. Would be very hard on the TC, Tranny, and rear end, but it would do it. You'd by crazy IMO to try it though. Pulling power is only 25% of the puzzle in towing.

You also need to consider:
trailer connection: I am running a class 4 hitch (biggest you can get w/o "load bars")
Suspension: I have a class 4 hitch, but not enough suspension to use to fullest capacity
Brakes: with stock brakes, I would not exceed 2500# GVW (trailer) (and that may be pushing it too in an emergency situation) (Keep in mind that kid darting out in front of you) I plan on adding trailer brakes to the one I just bought because Im guessing it will be 3500# GVW loaded with 4 sleds.

 

ill turn it off if its constantly shifting back and forth. if its not leave it on. im pulling a newengland lobsterboat, about 4000 pounds and an enclosed box trailer about 2000 loaded with a wheeler. the heavier lobster boat tows better at high speeds than that box. im towing with an 89 with the slug version premagnum 125 hp 3.9. your not going to have problems. i would have the fluids changed though if it hasnt been done in a while, most seem to forget about that. im towing about 200 miles every other weekend and i drop from 17 mph to 10 with the od turned off so i only shut it off when i hit the hills, and a grey hound bus can outrun me with that setup, those older 3.9's are pathetic on a 4x4 for power. if it ever dies i need to atleast put in the magnum version.

 

i should also add that the tow hitch reciever should be used, i wouldnt tow your traler off the bumper. that bumper says 2000 pounds on it, but i dont trust it at all. those bumpers are flimsey

 

alright thanks everybody. I'll definitely give it a try without O/D. My trailer is low (pop-up) so its out of the wind and I got a nice catback and some other goodies so hopefully it doesnt constantly downshift on the highway.

 

My guess is you will be fine, esp since there is little wind drag. If it shifts more than normal driving.... flip it off.

On another note.... What does everyone have for trailer connections? My truck came with a small 4 pin connector, but the trailer has the large round 7 pin connecter.