Towing advice

[Blueboy]

Got a '03 "HemiKota" Dodge Dakota 239ci V6 and wondering if anyone out there tows a travel trailer?
If so what kind ? Looking to buy one in the not so very near future, but want to be very informed first on what I buy beforehand.

[xjy173]

I pull a 3200lb pop up with my 96 Cherokee; my biggest problem was keeping the Jeep level when the loaded camper was hitched up. I installed rear air shocks to remedy that problem. I also installed a 6 pass transmission cooler to keep the engine and auto trans cool during towing.

You could call a Dodge dealer to find out the tow capacity of your Dakota is and then modify it if you want to pull a bigger trailer than that. There are load leveling hitches available on trailers that spread the tongue weight over the entire truck to keep it level (as opposed to just the rear; my pop up tongue is too small for one so I installed the air shocks instead).

Good Luck !!

[sans1]

Not sure your towing capacity, I had a 1/2 ton chevy conversion van (1500) and pulled a 2000, 29' 727X ultra light from prowler, we paid 12K new in 2000, only issue we had was the galley hoses got caught on the slide and had to be repaired. I found one on craigs list for 10K same year 2000 27' Prowler Bunkhouse Travel Trailer with Slide

One thing I found is region drives price, in 2001 we moved from Omaha where we bought our RV to Colorado, the same one was selling for 16K at a dealership here. In 2002 we traded it in for a fifth wheel. The bunks are for smaller children, too small really for large teens )we used them for storage when we lived in it for 4 months. Bathroom was a bit small too because the location of the bunks. It slept 8 if you used all of the beds (double from fold down couch, 2 in a queen bed, double for dinette, and two bunks)

Ours had a single slide on the galley side. The ultra light is just over 7' wide, but it was amazing how much extra room the slide out gave (the galley and couch were on the slide). It was just under 4000 and with a load leveling hitch and properly adjusted brake controller, it pulled good and handled well. I did tow it a couple of miles down to a local campground without the load leveler installed and it made a huge difference, steering was real loose and back end of the van was visibly lower.

[4x4mike]

Capacity is important. You want some safety factor and you want to stay out of a ticket. You''l want to address the brakes and also keep the tranny cool.