I contacted Dodge to find out tow capacity of my used 2011 Dodge Durango Crew because I was confused by all that I read. The class 3 Mopar hitch was installed before I purchased it so I assumed it had a tow package. After looking at the build sheet I noticed it wasn't included along with the other items that come with the tow package. My bad for not verifying before purchase. Oh well, I assumed I had at least the 3,500 lbs that is mentioned in the owners manual which is sufficient for my needs. However there was a line item called "Trailer Sway Dampening" so I was curious if that gave me more capacity than the 3,500 lbs in the manual. Dodge came back to me saying that I only have a 2,000 lbs tow capacity!!! No where have I read this online or in the manual. I questioned the customer service rep via email and she said she confirmed that answer with "product mentors" to in fact be only 2,000 lbs. I called the customer service line because surely she was mistaken. Same answer. WTF!!! I could only be mad at myself if the 2,000 lbs was listed in the manual but it isn't. It clearly states that 3,500 lbs is the maximum if your Durango didn't come with the factory tow package. Anyone else hear this before? Below is one of the responses I received:

Thank you for your patience.

Upon further review, according to our records, this vehicle was not
equipped with a trailer tow package from the factory. Therefore, the max
trailer tow weight would be 2,000 lbs. and the tongue weight of the
trailer hitch would be 200 lbs.

Please do not hesitate to contact us back if you need further
assistance.

Have a great weekend!

Thank you again for your email. Should you require additional
assistance, or have any new information to provide, please reply to this
email message or call 1-800-4A-DODGE (1-800-423-6343).

Sincerely,

Randi

Customer Service Representative
Dodge Customer Assistance Center

 

OUCH!

As others have stated. "You can tow without the tow package installed on your DD".
"And you only need the tow package in high heat areas of the country".

Personally for me. I wouldn't tow anything unless my vehicle (any) was setup for it.
Just adding a tow bar, doesn't really qualify a vehicle for towing anything.

You can try and tow with your DD as is. But, now that you know it's not setup for it, you will just need to adjust your driving habits when you do tow anything.

 

I think they could potentially have a class action lawsuit against them. The 2,000 lbs limit is no where to be found in the manual so how can anyone know that Durango's without the tow package are limited to only 2,000 lbs especially when the manual states 3,500 lbs as being the maximum if you don't have the tow package. I wonder how many people are burning up their transmissions etc because of misinformation...

 

Class action, is another can of worms to mess with. That's up to you.

But, the time and money you spend doing a class action, you could be buying a new DD with tow. Or get your current DD setup better to tow.

 

I would seek a second opinion on the 2000# towing capacity issue and like you find this hard to believe. Many small SUV's have a 1500# tow rating with a 4 cylinder engine. A friend of mine bought an '11 DD w/V6, brand new and added an aftermarket hitch and pulls closer to the 3500 pound capacity (a boat) just fine. I think your Dodge source is misguided.

 

usmc1811, I have no intention on pursuing a class action suit. It's just misleading that no where in any documentation or Dodge website have I seen the limitation of 2,000 lbs for a Durango.

GDM, I apparently received 4 opinions from people at Dodge. The first person was through their contact form who when I questioned her supposedly checked with a supervisor. I then called their phone number and got someone else on the line. She gave the same answer and confirmed with a supervisor. All said 2,000 lbs.

 

Like I said and as others have already stated.

You can tow with your DD by just adding a tow hitch.

 

FCA personnel are all there to try and help. If they can.
There will always be FCA guidelines to follow on what help they can provide.
And I'm sure they followed the/your Durango model specifications.

 

i tow 3500# with my aftermarket hitch often on my 2011 DD v6 with 152,000 miles and it runs great and tows great. Just tow with an eye on the transmission temp for piece of mind like i do, downshift it it needs to have some higher rpm's to cool down. I tow in drive without any trouble, changed fluid around 100k miles.

 

I hve a 2015 limited.the trans temps and all that stuff are exactly the same driving it without a trailer or with my trailer. I pulled my 3700 lb sea doo trailer to the river. It was warm out and lots off hills. I don't have the factory hitch. I installed one myself. I am very mechanical and I did worry about the effects of towing,so I monitored it closely while I drove. It was a champ. Never even felt the trailer in tow, and got way better fuel economy then my Laramie 4x4 Hemi truck. Averaged 20 mpg. Sweet. I was wondering if I needed to add a trans cooler and what not, so this was my maiden voyage. My answer, nope! It did fine! The trans runs at 197-199 driving empty and the same with the trailer, and the oil temps were the same. The numbers seem high but I am old school and get the new trans run warmer then years past.