Towing Opinions - 2003 Durango R/T

[Daves69]

How did You like the 4.7 Corsair's engine?

I was happy with it. I didn't have any drive train problems at all. Then too, it only had 72K. I did have the common rear AC door flap breaking problem. Posted my fix for it on Dodge Forum.

 

[Bobo]

I found a local 2003 Durango R/T (5.9 l with 3.92 gears) and am thinking about buying it. It is in super great condition with 85k miles. I would like to have an SUV for hauling things for the house but the main reason is that it has the towing capacity for my Road Runner (7300 lbs.). I know the engine can handle it but that doesn't always mean it's a good idea vehicle wise and transmission wise. Does anyone on here have real world experience towing with this vehicle and would they recommend it? It would be rare that I tow the roadrunner but when I do, it would be pretty long distances. From the research I have done, it looks like I would need a hitch equalizer but is that enough?

I appreciate any opinions you guys have.

I found a local 2003 Durango R/T (5.9 l with 3.92 gears) and am thinking about buying it. It is in super great condition with 85k miles. I would like to have an SUV for hauling things for the house but the main reason is that it has the towing capacity for my Road Runner (7300 lbs.). I know the engine can handle it but that doesn't always mean it's a good idea vehicle wise and transmission wise. Does anyone on here have real world experience towing with this vehicle and would they recommend it? It would be rare that I tow the roadrunner but when I do, it would be pretty long distances. From the research I have done, it looks like I would need a hitch equalizer but is that enough?

I appreciate any opinions you guys have.

I have trailered my 65 coronet... 50 miles.... 5 or 6 times with a Uhaul rental trailer with my 2014 Durango RT with ease I also have towed my 30 ft pontoon boat all over Florida... smooth as glass plenty of power no *** end sag no helper devices used

 

[Budnicks]

I've used my 99 Dakota SLT 4x4 5.2ltr Auto
to tow an open trailer & my 68 RR a few times,
up & down the windy *** Sierra mountain roads...
Maybe it's not ideal, but it handles it no problems...
I'm a well seasoned tower too...

It weighs over 4800#'s empty,
not sure what the Durango's weigh
2wd or 4wd ?

Make sure the trailer, it's not tail or tongue heavy
& your pretty much OK, don't be a speed demon &
if the trailer has trailer brakes & dual axels at a min....

I do have a few mods, 32" x 11" all-terrains,
1:7 HS Rockers {rockers really woke it up}
Hypertech tuned,
3" Flowmaster cat back exhaust,
4" intake tube with a K&N gauze filter,
AEM Airbox & swirl TB spacer,
Edelbrock shorty bolt-on headers...
It got like 12mpg before the mods...

IMO Trailer breaks are a must, if you're going to attempt it...
I think it's a good idea with any tow rig...

I also have a 02 F-350 4x4 7.3ltr Powerstroke,
that can haul most anything, when it gets to a real trip or long haul...

I prefer to drive the Dakota, if you can't tell "I love it",
fits in my garage too...
Even if it only gets like 17mpg on a good day,
20mpg on freeway/hwy flat ground, in the valley, long trips...

 

[droptop]

Tow across town, yes. On the interstate, no way. The first generation Durangos were under braked to begin with in my opinion. You need at least a 3/4 ton to tow at interstate speeds pulling a 2 ton car plus whatever your trailer weighs.

 

[BeeKool]

I L O V E my Dakota.

Me too

 

[YY1]

I've got a K&N long tube and cat back duals on mine.
Helps a little I'm sure.

I kind of agree about the brakes, but I'm using a car dolly with no trailer brakes.
A full trailer with a 3800# load will for sure be a lot more manageable with well adjusted trailer brakes.

...and a tongue heavy trailer is quite possibly the worst towing nightmare ever.

 

[Cranky]

Tow across town, yes. On the interstate, no way. The first generation Durangos were under braked to begin with in my opinion. You need at least a 3/4 ton to tow at interstate speeds pulling a 2 ton car plus whatever your trailer weighs.

Not sure about the first years of the Durango but for the 2000 models, if you ordered the trailer tow package, you got 11" brakes on the rear. Not sure if the fronts were upgraded or not. Also, if you ordered the fender flare kit, you also got 15x8" wheels in that deal. Also not sure if the rear sway bar was part of the trailer tow package but it came on the car along with the maximum cooling package.

 

[plymouthman72]

Yeah those are great for towing. A friend was looking for a 3/4 ton several years ago and just couldn't find one. A buddy at work just put his 08 Yukon Denali with 155k miles and is asking $15500. Crazy how much the trucks and SUV's go for.

Plymouthman72, good luck finding something that works for you and sorry about taking over the thread for a little bit.

It really is crazy how much they go for but there is not denying the usefulness of Trucks and SUV's

 

[Sixpactogo]

I have used my wife's 2000 Durango a quite a few times over the years with no issues. It is a 4.7 with 3:55 gears. I did make the mistake of not using the equalizer hitch once while hauling my 70 Challenger to the Mopar Nats. The short wheel base makes for a choppy ride plus driving at night you get lots of high beams from on coming traffic. Since then I always use the equalizer hitch and shut off the overdrive.
IMO you would not have a problem as long as you have trailer brakes, use an equalizer hitch. Those two things would be a must. As for the overdrive, I had a shop foreman at the local Dodge dealer tell me that if I had anything heavier than a June bug on the hitch to turn it off. The other thing I would recommend is a transmission cooler but I would have one of them on any tow vehicle.

 

[plymouthman72]

Thank you all for the replies, advice, stories! It helped me a lot in my decision to go ahead and get the Durango R/T. I would love to buy a full size pick up but they are just too expensive and I refuse to have a car payment (besides my wife's car) plus trucks are just expensive as it is. This is honestly just to nice of a vehicle for me to pass up and the price is really good. It will be even better once I sell my Buick LeSabre and I will only be out about $3000. That's not bad for a super clean low mileage AWD SUV that can tow on on occasion when I need to move the bird. When I do, I will always use a UHaul Loader with the trailer brakes so I am confident it will be okay. Shoot, this thing will probably tow better than my 2014 V6 Ram did. Horsepower was good on it but it had no torque and ran super hot. I am sure the Durango will suck gas but I can buy a lot of gas with out car payment.

This is what she looks like:

 

[YY1]

Nice.

Are those chrome wheels or caps?

Late, but I'll second MPG.

At one time I held the record on Dakota-Durango.com at 14.2 average.
Mine will get 23 at 50 MPH but at 65 MPH it gets 17 if I'm lucky.

With 4WD you may be worse but the aerodynamics of not having an open bed might make up for some of it.

What mine will do, which ALWAYS puts a smile on my face- is spin the tires when ever I want it to, and go sideways to boot!

 

[plymouthman72]

Nice.

Are those chrome wheels or caps?

Late, but I'll second MPG.

At one time I held the record on Dakota-Durango.com at 14.2 average.
Mine will get 23 at 50 MPH but at 65 MPH it gets 17 if I'm lucky.

With 4WD you may be worse but the aerodynamics of not having an open bed might make up for some of it.

What mine will do, which ALWAYS puts a smile on my face- is spin the tires when ever I want it to, and go sideways to boot!

They are chrome wheels. When I looked at the cars DIC (display info center as GM calls it ) it showed him to be getting 17 mpg but I have no idea how long it had been since he changed it. My Buick only gets 24 so if that is the case, I will be happy with it. My dad's 99 5.9 Ram got about 16-17 so that sounds about right to me. I don't have a heavy foot anymore because... well because I drive a Buick. It put a huge smile on my face yesterday when I gassed it hard and heard what V8 exhaust sounded like for the first time in years.

This also may sound weird but there is something cool knowing that my 360 dodge will be towing my 340 roadrunner and that they actually have very similar engines so many years apart.

 

[YY1]

I also LOVE the sound the magnum exhaust manifolds make.

So does my wife, and she even points out to me when she hears another one

Are you sure it's got a 3.92 axle?

That MPG sounds like 3.55 numbers.

I know a guy that special ordered his Dak R/T with a 3.31 axle!

 

[plymouthman72]

I also LOVE the sound the magnum exhaust manifolds make.

So does my wife, and she even points out to me when she hears another one

Are you sure it's got a 3.92 axle?

That MPG sounds like 3.55 numbers.

I know a guy that special ordered his Dak R/T with a 3.31 axle!

It definitely has the 3.92 axles because I cross checked the VIN on dodge and it listed everything out. It is very possible that it was reset soon before I test drove and that may not be accurate. I was flipping through buttons on it and didn't keep it on the mpg so I don't know if it changed. I would not be surprised if was. I don't usually get over 60 on my way to work and drive with a light foot. My hope is to average 16-17 but if its lower, it's lower. It still beats driving my Lesabre haha

 

[YY1]

You can tell how many miles since the EVIC (electronic vehicle information center) has been reset.
The trip indicator is one of the displays.

FYI- hold both buttons in to reset.

 

[Daves69]

It definitely has the 3.92........

You might want to check if it has the corporate 9-1/4 LSD. Clutch plate retainer clips were an issue. Breaking and falling into gears could cause lockups and or possibly destroy the LS.

 

[YY1]

It likely does have a 9 1/4.

Mine has been just fine.

 

[Riverdawg]

Great looking R/T. Wasn't there a front suspension problem with some of the early Durango's, like upper control arms?

 

[Daves69]

It likely does have a 9 1/4.

Mine has been just fine.

I'm betting it has a 9-1/4 too. So your limited slip unit has been fine?

Here's a post that had the 9-1/4 LSD issue if interested.........
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen-ram-tech/343734-identify-these-pieces-found.html

 

[YY1]

The front end issue was ball joints.

Mine doesn't have that issue either. I still have the as built parts on!
(BTW, they are bizarre- all four rivets are on the same side!)

I didn't have the door weatherstrip leak issue either.

...or the heater core issue.

...or the trans issue.

...but I did have the MAP/MAF sensor issue which never got totally fixed and still surges at 55-65 MPH with the cruise on.

...and it eats serp belt idler pulleys, and kind of eats water pumps.

Super easy fixes considering some of the chronic issues it could have.