I have a towing package on my Durango and I'm not too sure what the towing capacity is for the vehicle. Owners man. really was not a help. It does not look like something a dealership would put on. It looks very heavy duty. The dealership said that it was dealer installed, but what does that mean? I have a four-horse horse trailer that weighs 5000lbs empty and I have three horses that weigh 1000lbs each. I won't be putting more than two in at a time, but is this too much for the hitch or for the Durango. I also have a dirt bike trailer and I put 3 bikes on the trailer at a time. Is this to much?

 

you'd get more and better resonse from questions like this if there in the durango section


but ill take a stab at it


the horse, i think would be really pushing it, if not overloading it


but i think the dirtbikes should be fine



it should saw what the durango is rated for tho on the inside of the drivers door



hope i helped, welcoem to DF BTW

 

Towing capacities for the new Durango are 8850Lbs for the SLT, 8850Lbs for the Limited, 6000Lbs for the SXT and 8850Lbs for the Adventurer model. Having a trailer that weights 5000Lbs plus three horses would be really pushing it in my opinion at about 8000Lbs. Better safe then sorry suvmom. Definately don't do it if you have the SXT model.



-Matt-

 

What year Durango and what engine do you have?

Right off I'd have to agree that your are probably at your towing limit. I think the stats matt posted are maximum limits for the largest engine and towing package.

I see from another post you have an 03 Durango. I'm not sure if the largest engine in that was the 4.7L or if the 5.9L was available. I don't think the towing limits were as high for that year as Matt has posted for the new Durango. MAybe Matt can fish up the towing numbers for that model.

 

Found this post on a another web thread dealing with trailers, dodges and laws etc etc...May be a help in this area...

http://www.horsetrailerworld.com/for...=3263&posts=24

 

If I remember correctly, 1st generation Durangos have a max towing capacity of 7500 lbs. And to get that, I think you have to have a 5.9 engine and 3.92 gears. 2nd generation Durangos can tow more as Viper-GTS pointed out.

 

Kensai is correct about the maximum towing capacity of the 1st Generation Durango. You have to have 3.92 gears, the 360 V-8, and the towing package. If you have the 287 V-8, 3.55 gears, and the towing package, like me, you're max towing rating is only around 4500 lbs. The Towing capacities are in the Owner's Manual that's where I found mine, it gives you a chart, you just have to cross-reference what you have with the chart and it will give you the towing capacity.

 

I think if you are pulling a partially or fully loaded horse trailer, A Durango is definitely not recommended. Otherwise, the Durango won't last long. I only seen the heavy duty trucks pull partially/fully loaded horse trailers such as the 2500/3500 series HD class trucks. Even the 1500 light trucks would have a difficult time pulling and providing stability pulling something that heavy.

I remember using a little '85 Toyota 4x4 truck with a 22RE 4cyl to pull a 1984 Buick Lesabre from El Paso to Monahans Texas. It was a 4 hour ride going up and down hills. Scariest tow ever as the car weighed more than the truck and the 4 cyl was maxed out trying to pull that car. Averaged 30 mph pull most of the way until I finally got on level road and was able to push the speed to 55 mph. Everytime a big rig passes by me, the wind sheer causes me to sway sideways a bit. Never will I ever do something like this again. Only did it to help a friend that their LeSabre broke down in the middle of nowhere on Interstate 10. After making it back to Monahans safe and sound, I found out that the left side of the hitch assembly frame was almost sheared off from the Toyota housing. So the car I was pulling could have come off almost at any given time!

 

check the hitch for a weight rating. Most standard hitches have a weight rating of only 5000lbs with out a weight distributing system. the dirt bike will be fine with out a weight distributing system, but the horses worry me.