I am thinking about a potential move from Toronto to Vancouver, and thought about using Durango 2011 (RT, 5.7L) as a tow vehicle for our second car - BMW 135i. It is a small car but it weights 3200lb. On top of that, trailer itself is 2200lb, making the total weight 6000lb.

Our D has a factory heavy-duty tow package, good enough for 6500lb.

Sounds Ok, but I have a question: am I crazy to even think about towing THAT long distance (4500km==2800ml) with a trailer on almost max!

How people move that far?! I can not drive both cars at the same time, and my wife will not be able to drive this far - we have two toddlers, no way they will let us go for 4 days. So, if we are driving, that would be just me along with two cars.

Is it a really bad idea?!

 

I think the towing capacity is 7200 or 7400. I forget. I think you'll be fine towing within the limits of the vehicle's design.

 

You should be fine according to everything i've read!

 

That's a long tiring drive hauling a trailer. I would think you are OK as far as the D is concerned. But, if it was me, I would look into shipping the BMW.

 

You'll be fine with the Hami, as long as you can get the tongue weight within spec.

Hemi has a 7200lb towing capacity
The V6 has a 6200lb towing capacity

I towed 6000lbs with my V6 and it performed great. I did back the car onto the trailer though, to get the tongue weight sorted.

 

you will be fine
expect around 10.5-11 mpg with 91 octane fuel.
We did 2500 mile round trip with our 2200lb trailer to haul back a 1929 Model A.
Not one single issue and the Durango pulls the trailer like nothing is behind you

 

Deim,

With the 5.7 L engine the Durango can tow a Max Gross Trailer Weight (Max. GTW) of 7,200 lbs and will have a Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) of 13,100 lbs. Depending on what else you plan on bringing along with you, your total weight of 6,000lbs will be ok. The distance traveling will not matter, just be cautious of the additional weight you may be adding to the trailer or the Durango, we do not recommend exceeding the weights mentioned.

This information, along with other towing requirements and tips, that may be helpful to you, are located in your Owner's Manual, starting at Page 421, of the second edition.

If you have any other questions feel free to PM me!

Hope this helps and safe travels!

 

I actually just towed my wifes CR-V (3600 lbs*) from AZ to VA over a span of 5 days using a U-Haul auto hauler (2200 lbs). This pull was up and down mountains with some days/nights being 115+. We averaged about 14.5 over the trip and about 70 MPH. These are my observations.

Change your oil before you head out. I was not expecting to have to change my oil until close to 8K miles. I was prompted about 1K miles into the trip when i only had 4000 miles on the truck.

On steep hill climbs when the RPMs are around 3-4K for an extended period of time, an almost wet dog smell would come through the vents. This seem to happen more during the hotter days.

Transmission cooler keeps the temps pretty steady. My oil did get pretty hot on some of the steep hill climbs (280~) but leveled off quickly when the roads did.

Transmission does a good job of dropping gears when trying to slow and go down hills.

Never felt the trailer get squirly even though i was moving around 70 MPH at most times. Im not sure if it was the anti sway control or i was just keeping it steady.

My factory wiring harness did not work. I had to have a last minute harness installed due to time constraints. I would ensure yours is in full operation before you head off.

 

How would you check your wiring harness without actually going out and renting a trailer?