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I have 2000 dakota 4 door 2wd with a 4.7l v8 magnum with 157,000 miles on it.i just towed a 17,000 pound gulf stream coach with a bunch of stuff inside I would say total weight was about 18,050 pounds 8 miles going up and down hills with half flat tires and didn't have any problems. Now that's pull weight not tonge what. But that is still a lot of weight . So now you know what that v8 can pull. But also that is the same size motor in a have ton which are heaver truck so loose horse power because the have ton Is heavier.so in the dakota u have a v8 with less truck smaller truck more power.
So you shouldn't have any problems pulling any thing.
Don't get caught doing that kind of thing. You were SERIOUSLY overloading your truck, and were WAY beyond the trucks ability to control that kind of load. Short distances on deserted roads is one thing, going any distance on public roads would be a severe safety hazard. The dakota is likely only rated to tow less than 7000 pounds, depending on how it is equipped, and you were WAY beyond that. If you have been in an accident, your insurance company likely would have denied to cover you on any claims, as you were will outside the trucks legal safe-use parameters. Insurance companies, and Law enforcement.... take a really dim view of that kind of behavior.
What HeyYou Said! Pulling is one thing, cornering, stopping, sway are totally different. Tongue weight on 18k pounds should be 1,800 pounds plus to avoid the trailer steering the truck, and that's way over anything that these trucks can handle.
Assuming that this isn't a troll, the coach was probably flat-towed at a crawl speed. It's one thing to pull it a little in a pinch; it's another thing to actually tow on roads and in traffic.
What HeyYou Said! Pulling is one thing, cornering, stopping, sway are totally different. Tongue weight on 18k pounds should be 1,800 pounds plus to avoid the trailer steering the truck, and that's way over anything that these trucks can handle.
Safe hauling over a long distance is why you have ratings. I hauled a flat deck with a ‘54 F100 on it from middle of no-where Manitoba to Alberta with my ‘08 4.7l mag That was right at the top end of my load capacity. But no-where near what the engine/trany/reared could handle. Kept it under 90km/h as I had no trailer brakes, but could go as fast as I wanted up hill. Engine doesn’t define towing capacity.