I am about to buy an '05 1500 Dodge truck tonight and would like to hear pro's and con's of the engines. I am not interested in super fast acceleration. I like to drive fast, but don't mind taking a reasonable time to get there. I pull a 16' quad trailer up mountains (steep incline to 7500') and don't want to be the putz going 45mph. We have a 2000 Durango and hate the engine. I had a Dodge Ramvan 316? V8 and loved it for many years (she got a bit old to be hauling). Is quick acceleration and heavier pulling capacity the only difference? Fully loaded the trailer may be 2500 lbs max ever. Help!

 

Both engines are good. If your going to tow, I'd personally opt for the 5.7L. It's definitely go the grunt you'll want to pull the trailer. Let us know what you get.

Welcome to Dodge forum.

 

Do you mean I'd be the putz with the 4.7 uphill?

 

you have less chances of being the putz with the hemi

 

Hahaha! I suppose you could put it that way. The 4.7L we drove in a RC Ram was fine, but the extra power is nice to have when you need it.

 

I never tried a 4.7 but I do have a Hemi. There great for pulling trailer's ,just this weekend I was pulling a total load of 6,000. And the gas mileage wasn't too bad either. I only lost 4/10 of a mile when pulling.. But Now this is the kicker. How much pulling are you going to do? My Hemi sucks gas. If you do a lot of local driving under 35 mph. lot's of stopping. Forget it..When they say 13/17 that's a lie. I have gotten over 17 a couple of times but not worth it most of the time. That new Hemi that comming out that changes to a four cyclinder on the road has to be in Cruise control to work. You can't pull in Cruise and you can't pull in over drive. make sure the truck has the set up for pulling or you will fry the transmission.

 

What kind of engine does your Durango have? If it has the 4.7 liter then you have the answer to your question - you know that you don't like that engine - go with the Hemi. The other two engines inthe Durango that year were the 5.2 liter (318) and the 5.9 (360). The 4.7 in the ram is virtually unchanged from the 4.7 in the 2000 Durango.

 

Do not go with the 4.7 in that truck if you plan on towing. When I worked at the dealership, you will regret ownin a 4.7 in the rams, because of horrible oil leaks after warranty is up. I hate to say it, bein a mopar lover, but it will happen. I own a hemi in my ram, and pulled a 8000 trailer and averaged 14 MPG, without the trailer i've had it all the way up to 20 crusin at 70. The hemi would be worth the extra power. Also, the 4.7 is horrible of fuel economy is the rams. too big of a truck for too little of an engine.

 

Get the hemi. It's an excellent towing engine. Lots of torque and enough HP to maintain speed under heavy loads.
It also gets better mileage than a 4.7L.