Towed a car hauler (3800lbs) through mid TN with some pretty steep hills, with no problem. I didn't leave OD off, but I did turn it off on the steeper sections.

I have the quad cab 5 speed auto w/ towing package 3.55 gears. Just posting again, haven't posted in a while.

 

Towed a Extended cab rt with my 318 99 4x4, trailer itself was 2k lbs and i gotta say I was impressed she didnt let me down but you definitely knew something was behind ya.

 

I towed a 93 Saturn home on a car dolly, total weight about 3000 lbs and I swear pulling it she didn't even flinch. I basically just drove like I do every day, just with OD off. The suspension felt it, but the engine/tranny didn't even break a sweat. And there quite a few good hills. One was a 13% grade (nothing compared to out in the rockies, but still a decent hill).

Stopping on the other hand was interesting...

 

Havent pulled anything with mine yet. I dont have a trailer hitch but thats coming soon. My friend has a 98 3.9 5 speed 4x4 pulled a 20 foot double axle trailer with a yamaha rhino and a suzuki ltr 450 plus tools and bunch of other stuff weighed around 3,500-3,800lb pulled it great only problem was stopping only cause the trailer brakes needed rewired. I was very surprised at how well it did.

 

Just the other day I towed my father-in-laws truck back to their house about 40 min away.... did it like a champ. I love the umph my truck has.

 

yeah even with 3.55's in my truck, i'm still surprised how much i can tow... having a 5 speed definately makes a difference when it comes to not burning up your brakes

 

I just replaced my tranny from having towed over 6500lbs. of scaffolding. Yeah I know it was dumb, but I did get home. so that's what counts.

 

Isn't the tow rating like 8k or something?

To the questions about stopping, just don't have to stop. I coasted so much with the trailer. It was a pleasing trip actually.

 

I think it may be higher than that, however it was the torque converter that caused all the damage in the tranny. I was trying to say that even broken the truck didn't let me down. I love my dakota!

 

I have a 1st gen, but I'll chime in. I pulled a '95 Dakota CC 2wd V6 about 65 miles going between 70 and 75 mph with my '95 CC 4x4 5.2L with 3.55s, NV3500 and 31.5" tires. I estimated the combined weight of the dual axle trailer and truck to be between 5000 and 5500 lbs, which my truck handled great. Even at those speeds, I never once felt like the trailer was trying to push the truck around.