So I am new to towing, I have a 2006 Dakota V6, I installed the electronic brake controller, class III hitch is on, 7 pin adapter, all is well. I checked with dodge and this truck has a 3.55 axle ratio, with the engine they speck the truck to have a max towing capacity of 4500lbs.

We were in the market for a travel trailer camper, so we bought one. It was supposed to be 3800 lbs UVW, when we get it the sticker on it says its 4610 lbs UVW, so I'm thinking great I was hoping to get to the max with it fully loaded with our stuff.

So anyway, we drive it home, no swaying, seems great. I'm just a little concerned about the engine and whether it can handle it in the long term or on longer trips. It seems to run at about 2500 RPM's to keep it at about 62 mph, until I hit any incline at all, then it jumps to 4000 RPM's to get it up the hill at a decent speed...I have never towed anything so I'm not sure what is a safe RPM, how to tell if the truck is being worked too hard. The temp guage only increased slightly over half way when I was parking the trailer in my driveway and had to push it up an incline from stopped, so it seems fine on temperature.

If anyone has any advice, experience or words of wisdom I would love to hear it. My dilema is should I keep this truck or upgrade to a RAM 1500 or some other bigger V8 or even Hemi. The trailer I got is touted as being lightweight, so smaller trucks can handle them, I'm just not sure what "they" consider smaller trucks. I consider the Dakota a smaller truck.

 

i would be concerned that the rpms are a little high. if you like the dak, than keep it. the one big thing you need to do is swap out the gears. this will help out alot. the 3.55 makes the truck a dog, my 05 4.7 had the 3.55, went to the 4.10 and it was a great difference. it will definitely help out with your truck in towing. and it is a great all around town gearing to have.

 

I would try to come up with some priorities? If this is a trailer that's going to be pulled 200 miles a couple times a year, you'll have one set of priorities, but if you're pulling it that far every other weekend, those priorities may be way different?

Thinking your truck is rated for the job, and it will do what you're asking it to do without hurting it. The bigger question is do you have the right truck based on your priorities/expectations?

Maybe using it a few times as is will help make your decision. Maybe consider how the truck is going to be used the majority of the time? Driving a bigger or more powerfull truck empty 99% of the time so you're well equipped for the 1% you're towing may or may not make sense(thinking gas milage here)...

 

The engine will take it, but I'd bet money the tranmission is getting very warm on those 4000 RPM pulls. The 42RE isn't the most robust trans, nor does it have great ratio choices IMO.

Also, you were pulling an unloaded trailer home and the truck was sweating. Wait till its packed, the bed is loaded, and the cab is full of sht. You will be severely taxing the motor and trans, as well as running the risk of being over your GCVW.

I'd go for a transmission cooler and temp gauge, and 4.XX gears for sure. Also hit the scales to make sure you're within your limits; if you wreck, and the truck is overweight, it's bad news.

 

Thanks for all the opinions, I hear what everyone is saying. The priority is not to drive 200 miles every weekend. We do want to be able to go 2 or 300 miles without worrying about it though maybe once a year, most trips will be fairly local around Ohio, maybe 100 miles at most on average.

I did pull it to its storage location with everything we would load it with, plus it has 2/3 fresh water which I wouldn't normally and wasn't planning on towing it with, it came from the dealership with that unexpectadly, so really it was pulling a pretty good load already not just UVW.

I was thinking before of getting a transmission cooler and temp guage, that seems to be the right move. I would definitely consider upgrading the gears to 4.10, how much of an undertaking is that?

 

Oh and can anyone suggest a good place to get pricing and/or buy 4.10 gears and everything needed to upgrade it?

 

Moe's Performance offers pretty good deals on gears and kits. Hit up Bill at KRC, he's on Bionic. I bought my 4.10 gears and master install kit for $300.00 so I would give him a shout.

http://www.bionicdodge.com/bionic/in...on=profile;u=2

 

You are putting your family and the public at risk. YOU ARE OVER WEIGHT! You should always leave alot of margin when towing. Example tow rating of 5000 lbs trailer should not be more than 3500 lbs. Plus on top of this problem you still need to add gear and additional passengers. If you are involved in an accident the lawyers will have fun with you!