Towing with the 3.6L V6 Dodge Durango

[Paulx213]

Originally Posted by VicS1950

As the thread has meandered, and I'm quite good at helping threads to meander, is there a reason that you haven't considered a full sized van?

SUV = Sport Utility Vehicle. The name says it is both, but in reality both modes suffer a bit.

Wheelbase and a short distance from the axle to the hitch ball are your friends. A full sized van generally has both. A full sized van also has lots of room. I've towed with many vans. I think they make really good tow vehicles.

As to a Jeep with a diesel engine...
The engine isn't the problem when it comes to Jeeps and towing. I have towed trailers with Jeeps. I prefer to avoid that again for the rest of my life. A diesel engine would not change what I didn't like about it one bit. Just one opinion. vic

What was wrong with towing with a Jeep and what Jeep did you tow with? I towed my old 15 foot travel trailer for 8 years with a 95 Grand Cherokee though out the mountains of BC and it was a great tow vehicle. The 4.0 straight six and the rest of the rest of the drive train are bullet proof and I had no stability problems.

I wouldn't pick it for a 5000 lb trailer but for smaller trailers it's a fine while still being a reasonable size for a daily driver.

[Paulx213]

Originally Posted by jamesj

FYI - I believe the newer Jeep Grand Cherokee's and Dodge Durango's (one time the Chrysler Aspen) are made on the exact same assembly line down at "Dodge Main" in Detroit. I think they have been since somewhere about '04, maybe '05 time frame? Please don't quote me on this though. :-)

Notice how the two are similar is size and the body lines are similar, with some molding changes, name plate changes, and different options to make them different.

The Jeep forums are stating they are pretty similar, except the Durango has a longer wheel base allowing for a 3rd row of seating.

When I sold my '06 Duango, I was told that the 'New' Durango's were "German" design, thanks to Daimler, and the plans were shelved for a couple model years. I'm guessing this was due to the sale of the Chrysler division to the private owners.

Not that it should make a difference, I was also told that the new design is a uni-body design, not a full frame, and was rated to pull 7400lbs. Since I'm not in the market for one, I haven't confirmed this.

One thing I have noticed, is that the 'New Durango' seems a bit smaller (narrower) than my '06 was, but it just could be my perception.

You are correct. For the first time the Durango and the Grand Cherokee are basically the same truck. The Dodge is just stretched and has different trim. They are based on the Mercedes ML platform but other then the platform share very little with the German SUV.

I think the Durango would be a good choice for X18D. It's not a heavy trailer and well within the towing capacity of the Dodge. Sure a full size pick up would be better but the Durango is a more practical family vehicle.

My only concern would towing in the mountains with the 3.6 V6. It only has 260 foot lbs of torque and it's going to be working hard. I hear the new ones have an 8 speed auto which should really help with having the right gear at the right time.

[Nathan48035]

Paulx, my Jeep Grand Cherokee is a 2002 and it just feels like it's too soft. I kind of figured that it was made that way to allow for better off road handling. We actually got the Jeep, because my wife had a 95 (give or take a couple years) prior to the 2002 and loved her old Jeep. With the new one neither of us have been very happy with it from the beginning. Don't get me wrong I do love the straight 6 in the Jeep. We've got 170k on it and haven't had problems with the engine itself, but there have a lot of other issues that have really annoyed me about that vehicle over the years. As far as towing with it goes, I actually tried swapping out the rear sway bar to try and improve the handling of it because the ride was so bad... And that was before we started towing with it!

The latest generation of Durangos is suppose to be a big improvement over the previous generation and I'm pretty excited that the 2014s are going to have the new 8 speed transmission. It sounds like that is going to be a real nice upgrade. The earliest I'm looking at getting one is at the end of the year so the 2014s with the new transmission will be available then.

[29BHS ECO]

nathan48035 The performance of the v8 over the 6 will become obvious when pulling down the road against a head wind or just the resistance of the trailer going thru the air. That's when power / torque is needed and most 6 cylinder motors don't have it. Oh they will try to pull but he life of the motor goes right out the exhaust. just my $.02 Larry

[VicS1950]

Originally Posted by Paulx213

What was wrong with towing with a Jeep and what Jeep did you tow with? ...

As was mentioned, the suspension was soft and it wandered around too much. It just never felt like you could relax. The one I remember best was a Grand Cherokee with V8. Maybe a 2005?? It wasn't my rig. 30 hours straight with that one. Just one other time for a short trip.

My brother-in-law had one that he towed a large Coleman pop-up with. His favorite thing to complain about was the Jeep until he finally traded it in for a Suburban. That was probably overkill for the Coleman, but it worked great for him.

Originally Posted by Paulx213

I wouldn't pick it for a 5000 lb trailer but for smaller trailers it's a fine while still being a reasonable size for a daily driver.

I'm glad it's working out for you. Maybe it was tires or setup with the rig I drove. There's no reason to listen to complaints if you're happy. vic

[Power247]

Originally Posted by Nathan48035

..........The latest generation of Durangos is suppose to be a big improvement over the previous generation and I'm pretty excited that the 2014s are going to have the new 8 speed transmission. It sounds like that is going to be a real nice upgrade. The earliest I'm looking at getting one is at the end of the year so the 2014s with the new transmission will be available then.

We have a '12 v6 Durango and we totally love it. We also wanted something with a 3rd row and DW did not want something as big (size or payment) as a Tahoe or Suburban. We do not tow the TT with it due to the weight of our 276BHS ( that's what the Ram is for) but have pulled other trailers without issue.

That being said, If you are able to pull your camper with your current vehicle then you should have now problem pulling with Durango. The only upgrade I would suggest is adding Airlift airbags to the rear coil springs unless you go with a model that has the factory airbag setup. Like my truck, the rear coil springs make for a great ride as a daily driver but lack the firmness I prefer when towing.
Best of luck on what ever you decide.

Greg

[Sassy16]

We will be towing our x20e with my Durango for the first time this weekend, but it has the V8 Hemi in it. I'm glad we went ahead with the V8 even though I was worried about the few MPG for everyday driving. I am very happy with my Durango though. Had it since December and there is a lot of room, much more than my Nitro.

[Nathan48035]

Power24 glad to hear you are happy with your Durango so far. You have me wondering about the Airbag setup. I just did a quick google search on those and they seem like a really good idea and seem pretty inexpensive too. I'll have to look more into it, but they seem like they would be a good idea.

Sassy, please share your towing experience after the weekend. That's a pretty good comparison since your trailer is only a little heavier than mine. Do you have a nice drive planned or you guys just going out for a quick trip near home?

[Sassy16]

We are traveling from West TN to East TN, about 400 miles with some nice hills so we should get a good idea. I'll let you know.

[Power247]

Nathan, you may not need it once you set up your WDH. The good part is that installation is really easy should you decide that you need it. Adding Airlift to my Equalizer WDH setup made a world of difference on my Ram. Either way I doubt you will be disappointed in the Durango.

[xkuzme1]

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