when i bought my 05 3.7l new it said it was rated for 5000 towing i have never had a problem with it. the hardest thing i have done, not really towing tho, is pull a crown vic out of 6 inches of mud while my truck was sitting in the same mud and had no problem at all. i will say this if you are going to use one of these for regular towing with an auto get a trans cooler.

 

Holy old thread Batman!!

Wow, I forgot about this one. Yes, my truck came with 3.55's. Hopefully, I will be installing 4.10s this summer and going to a 33" tire to compensate. This should still keep the final drive (at the tire) very close to what it was with 245/70/16s and 3.55's.

 

Do you guys have any advice on my 3.7 ? When i accelerate hard sometimes it seems too almost bog down or it will just climb real slow

 

yeah that happens... look into exhaust CAI efan fastman throttle body and check out KRC performance theyre all there is basically for performance parts other than gears

 

A bogging truck also sounds like it's not kicking down into passing gear.

I'm going to drag the thread up again. It has a good title for the search.

This weekend I'm picking up a 6x12 U-Haul trailer, and helping a friend move about 250 mi away.

The truck is a V6 / 2WD ST ext. cab with 3.21 gears and the 6 speed manual. Statistically, the weakest Dakota. But not nearly as cruel as the Ram 1500 QC V6 / 6 speed a dealer once tried to sell me. Oh the humanity.

So anyway,

Trailer Empty = 1,920 lb. ; Max Trailer Rating = 4,400 lb ; Cargo =2,480 lb

U-Hauls are damn heavy.

I have a class 3 hitch, harness, etc. from U-Haul. The trailer has surge brakes, which I will test in the presence of the U-Haul guy.

I think the results will be interesting. The truck is going to work for sure, but 6 gears and 5,000 usable RPM can get a lot done.

Donkey was at 4,950# trailer weight. I estimate 3,900#, plus a passenger, plus minimal light items in the bed. These trailers look cavernous, if it can go in the trailer, I don't want it in the bed. At least I will be under the truck's GVWR.

 

Well here's the verdict -

The chassis and brakes handled the load very well, and once up to highway speed, cruising in 5th was no problem. Some hills saw me reaching for 4th. Acceleration was predictably slow, and I'm sure 4.10 gears would have made it easier. But I never had to ride the clutch. I wound out 1st to about 5000, 2nd to about 4500, and rode 3rd up to highway speed. Never felt like I was beating the truck up.

The whole rig tracked very straight, was controlled over bumps, and never got squirrely despite some windy conditions.

And also, the trailer was *packed*. Not a single box more could have fit.

Average MPG was about 13.

Pics :

IMG_2287.jpg

IMG_2279.jpg

 

I posted up a question about towing with the V6/2wd/6-speed combo, and this thread pretty much answers my question. Compared to what you folks are towing with your sixes, hauling a 4x8 harbor freight trailer with a 400 pound quad in it, along with my 400 pound quad in the back should NOT be an issue at all.

 

I can tow your dakota with your over whight load with my 06 2500 ram 2500 hemi with the 6spman...Than again a CTD owner is going to say I can tow your 2500 towing a dakota with a over whight load...

the 4.7 with a 6sp man in a Dakota is a dam nice truck to drive, any time you have a 6sp man, you can do more than a automatic, I would be verry happy with V6 dakota with a 6sp man.

 

Yeah, as much as I would like a big boy truck, I'm hopefully closing on a house in the next month and looking to start building an airplane - so the budget for a new vehicle is non-existent. The dakota i found is a 2008 with lower mileage, base model extended cab, and I cannot beat the price - plus theyve been sitting on it for months because no one up here likes 2wd trucks. I'm hoping to talk them down.

Would you mind towing my 2000 s10 off a cliff for me?

 

Any of you putting in a transmission cooler or just use the one that came from the factory? Reason I ask is I have a 2009 Dak 4x4 quad cab and has 3.92 gears and the transmission went out on it but it was replaced with a new factory one(done under warranty) and while it was there I thought about having a transmission cooler(the one that mounts in the front of the truck) put in but the mechanic said the factory one is more than ample to pull a trailer as long as you shut the overdrive off and dont go over the recommended weight. What do you think? I am still of the mind to put one in.