Greetings all,

I am looking for a tow vehicle for a boat to be purchased. I know which boat I want just havn't picked which one (lots of used boats out there). The boat and trailer will run about 5,200 lbs. This will not be a daily driver but mostly to tow the boat, but there may be long distance towing involved (500+ miles) for family trips.

I found a 2000 Durango RT at a local Dodge dealer. It has the 5.9 V8 and 79k miles. They are asking $6,499. Vehicle looks very clean and in good shape.

I obtained a build sheet from the dealer today and it lists options (specific to towing) as follows: Heavy Duty Service Group, Trailer Tow Group, 750 amp Battery, Auxillary Transmission Oil Cooler, Front and Rear Perf Tuned Shock Absorbers. Also Power steering cooler and Heavy Duty Engine Cooling.

This looks like it has pretty much what i need, but i don't want to over look anything. Any advice or thoughts on this vehicle and its options?

Can anybody clarify what is included in the Heavy Duty and Tow groups? I have an idea but can't find specifices.

I have read that tow capacity is listed at 7,200 lbs for the 5.9 engine. Is that right? I plan on picking up the truck tonight and having my mechanic look it over in the am.

Thanks.

Rick C.

 

you should have no problems towing that for those distances, except maybe feeding that gas tank

get a carfax report on the truck (dealer should provide one for you if he is smart) if its clean, thats not a bad price, of course try and talk him down some for your own sake (that truck would be work 7225 in my area with a clean title and carfax and no work needing to be done)

the tow group includes (iirc of course) 2" class IV hitch reciever with integrated 7 prong round trailer power connector, transmission cooler, 6x9in power folding mirrors.

i believe the heavy duty group is the 9.25 rear axle and heavier leaf springs


yes that is correct,

 

Looks good dude but try to get it a little lower in price.

 

Thanks for the replies. After i posted this I called a friend who is a major boat person and self proclaimed tow master. He thought the Durango, while hefty in power, was a little short on wheel base, over all size, and braking capacity. After all it isn't how easy you get from 0 to 60 with a boat behind you, its how fast you get from 60 to 0 that is important.

He felt that around town it would be fine but on the highway at speeds of 60+ I would certainly "feel" the boat. I did verify that one of the boats I am looking at has been weighed on a certified truck scale and it came in at 5,740 with trailer with a tongue weight of 600.

He is recommending a van (ford E 150 or 250) or expedition/tahoe size/type vehicle. I am not real hot on the expeditions or tahoes.

Any comments on braking and higher speed handling with the Durango? I didn't see anything on the build sheet about beefed up brakes.

 

the brakes are not great on these trucks, but they are adequate, if you feel you need better braking you can do a swap to 2003 durango brakes (they were bigger) or look for an 03 with the 5.9 and 4 wheel disk brakes, i personally dont think you will have any problems with braking (we pull the box trailer for my boy scout troop every now and then without any problems and it is a double axle trailer without any problems)especially if you know what you are doing and leave enough space in front of you (any vehicle you tow with needs extra stopping room with a trailer behind it)

 

I found this quote:

New sliding caliper front disc brakes and duo-servo drum rear brakes are standard on all models. At 2.75-inch (70-mm) diameter, Durango's single-piston front brake calipers are larger than those on Dakota to assure ample braking with capacity to spare on this heavier vehicle with greater trailer towing capacity. The larger calipers are accompanied by longer shoes. Rotors remain the same as on Dakota - 11.3 x 0.9 inches (287 x 23 mm). Due to a heavier body with a rearward weight bias relative to Dakota, Durango has 11 x 2.25-inch rear drum brakes. Durango brakes are comparable in size to those provided by competitive vehicles.

From this web site: http://www.allpar.com/model/durango-trucks/chassis.html

It is primarily about Frist Generation Durango's and not specific to the 2000 model but I assume most is accurate.

This is off the same site:
Brakes: Built to Tow

Durango's brakes were enlarged to handle the increased weight versus Dakota, helping to handle its best-in-class 7,300 lb. towing capacity. Standard brakes are 11.3" x 0.9" vented disc front and 11.0" x 2.25"drum rear, with ABS. An optional four-wheel ABS package is available.

I think one aspect of this is the overall vehicle weight and specifically payload capacity (1800lbs). Once you factor out the 600 lb tongue weight of the trailer. It is down to about 1200lbs so it wouldn't take much to max this out with 4+ people, gear, and gas. Mostly it would just be my wife and I in the truck when towing the boat so this may be not much of an issue as we don't weigh that much.

 

The GVRW is rated to handle the weight. You need to make sure there are brakes on the trailer you are towing and that you have a good controller or serge brakes. I like Prodigy Brake Controllers. http://www.tekonsha.com/product/acce...%20Controllers


I towed 7,300 lbs with my 1998 5.9L SLT+ (it had 2wd option) and that was a chore for it but braking was fine and it got me where I was going just fine but it got a little warm so I got something bigger and a bigger cooling system. In fact I had to turn up my controller 3-4 steps when I went to my 3/4 ton V10 because of the shear weight. My 3/4 ton truck surely handles the weight hands down tho but as for the braking, maybe a little better in the truck but not that much.

Now can ya feel the weight, sure! But these are gas engines and not Diesel or V10.

The thing is you are going to have even MORE weight with a bigger truck and a less towing capacity because of which. Now I'm not talking about what the truck can handle, I'm talking about it is still the same engine! You are going to produce the same torque and horse power but with a bigger truck it sucks it off.

Now being that the boat has a spear shape and so it is not acting like a big trailer (like what I towed) you don't have to account for windage making it even better! Plain and simple, a 5.9L motor in 2wd is going to pull the same if not better cause you are not pushing more weight with a bigger rig.

Now I did have a little ***** but in mine over yours so take a little off in comparison. Now if you want a bigger truck then get one, but the Durango should handle it no problem.

 

Thanks for all your input and help. I think the Durango will do fine just from the towing specs alone. I did look at comparable (year/miles/price) Expeditions, Suburbans, and Tahoes in the area and none of them could come close to the miles/price range of the Durango. Anything in the miles range (79k) was over $8-9k and anything in the price range ($6.4k) had 110k plus miles.

I think this is just a sleeper in minds of people because it is not in that "big" truck group.

I think it will do fine.

Thanks.