Currently my 03 Durango SLT 4.7L has no towing hitch attached to it.

I was considering buying one so I have the ability to rent a trailer or borrow somebody's should I need one. My brother is moving in about a month, and renting a trailer doesn't seem to be too expensive and would save one or two extra trips, each direction being about 40 minutes so the gas savings would make up for the rental cost. I'm wondering if it's worth buying a hitch.

Right now I don't mind throwing stuff in the back with the seats down, but there are just some things I don't want to put in there that can ruin the Durango. Plus, I've discovered there is nowhere inside for my to clip down some bungee chords to hold things in with the trunk open.

I would also like to have the ability to tow a family members' car should the need arise. One is a Ford Taurus from early 2000s, another is a Nissan , my brothers drive a Toyota Rav4 and a Jeep Liberty. I also have an unregistered, uninsured Mistubishi Mirage sitting in my driveway that I may want to tow to get it worked on if I can't get it working myself (Is that legal to tow in a non-emergency?)

I've looked up max towing capacity of the 4.7L and edmunds said its around 7,000lbs but from reading through threads on here, that doesn't seem right.

So I guess my questions are, what is the actual safe max towing capacity for my Durango? Is it able to tow the aforementioned cars? Should I both getting a hitch that can do 5,000lb?
There is one here for a decent price.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TRAILER-HITC...-/400264896586

Or should I go for one that pulls 3500lbs?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1998-1999-20...-/320951677051

There only seems to be a $10 difference.

I've never owned a vehicle that had any power before, so I am completely new to towing. Are either of the two hitches any good? I know the towing is only as good as the max tongue weight.

 

I know the above was a loaded post. I hope that doesn't deter anyone from wanting to help me out. The sooner I find out and can make my decision, the better.

 

We were actually having a discussion on towing capacities the other day. You can find all the information in this thread here. https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...uy-pickup.html

 

That_Guy, I was actually just reading through that thread before starting this one. It's why I started doubting the maximum tow capacity that edmunds.com gave for my 4.7L.

I suppose for my purposes it should be fine. The bigger question is, do you think I would need a 5,000lb towing hitch or would a 3,500lb hitch suffice for my needs?

 

I'd go with a 5,000lb one just because if you ever did need to tow anything heavier you'd have to get a new hitch.

 

You can get a factory hitch at the junkyard for much cheaper than any of the other options.. just take yourself a can of PB Blaster and a breaker bar... mine cost me $30 and that included a wire wheel and a can of rustoleum to clean it up a little

 

Thanks for the input everyone.