Hello,

I'm new to the forumand a long time Dakota owner. Had a 97 and now have a 2000 I've owned since new. I've put 172k miles on it, mostly highway. It is a 4.7, 5spd, Quad Cab, with towing package, hvy duty cooling, battery, suspension, etc. and basically everything you could get except steering wheel radio controls.

The heaviest load I've towed is a HD in a U-Hail 6x8 trailer. My question is; will it tow a '73 corvette coupe (apprx 2,500 lbs) on a car trailer. The vette has the motor and tranny out of it. The reason I ask is I will need to tow it about 150 miles from Mesa, AZ to Flagstaff, AZ. If you don't know the route, it is a elevation change from 1,100' to 7,000' up some very steep mountain grades.

Opinions on whether I should try it, use a car dolly vs the trailer, or what???

Thanks in advance,

 

I think you should be fine. When going up those grades, make sure you take it slow and steady, you don't want to jump up your RPM's too high with that load. Also, will the trailer have its own brakes? I can't anticipate having any problems, but you never know. Have you tested it around town?

 

Actually, I don't have the trailer. It will be a U-Haul rental. I've considered a car dolly to keep the tow wait down. Thanks for your reply.

Carl

 

as long as the trailer has brakes and you have a brake controller, you should be fine. just take it outta OD when going up hills. I've towed 8000lbs with my dak and it pulled it no problem. but I wasnt going up any steep hills.

 

I'd go with the dolly as it will keep the weight down to roughly 3,000 lbsas opposed to the trailer which would up the ante to about 3500-4000?
not positive but it's a reasonable guess. on the mountain grades it would be less stress on your system
don't let your revs get over 5000, after that you're burning gas but losing gusto. not to mention your truck would rebel after too much.
and tow brakes would be worth the extra bling.

________
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Thanks for all the input. I got the vette home to Flagstaff from east Mesa, about 160 miles with no problems. I used a car dolly from u-haul. I told the manager what I was doing and that their website didn't list my truck, so he just listed a Dodge 3/4 ton and off I went. I had to used 3rd gear on a couple grades, but other than that it was a piece of cake.

 

You would have been fine with the trailer. They're pretty heavy, about 2000 pounds iirc, but even at 4500 pounds you're well under the max for a Dakota with tow pkg. I've got a 5.9/auto and haul a 3500 pound car on a 1900 pound trailer every couple of months and it does just fine. U-haul trailers won't need a brake controller since they're all set up for surge brakes, which I hate.

 

Like to start by saying HI. Iam new to the site. I own a 98 DAK with the 318 and tow a 22 foot travel trailer allover the state that I live in with no trouble. I would also like to add that I have done some minor motor mods, K&N filter, throttle body spacer, super chip, flowmaster muffler. I did pull this camper before all of this just was looking for more pep.