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Towing a travel trailer with a 2013 Durango R/T with 5.7L HEMI

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cmurschel

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hi Everyone,

New to the group. Recently bought a 2013 Durango R/T with a 5.7L HEMI mainly to be able to tow a 31 ft. 2in. long travel trailer. Durango says it can tow 7,200 lbs with 720 lbs tongue weight. Travel trailer is 4,982 lbs. dry and 7,000 lbs. gross weight. We went on one trip loaded up and my guess is the trailer was at about 6,000 lbs. I use the tow/haul button and although the Durango does not seem to struggle, it does tug back and forth with the trailer. I am fearing I am putting too much strain on it. Planning on trips across the country next summer so may need to upgrade to a bigger vehicle. Would like to keep the Durango, just not sure if the tugging is normal or not.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Chris
 
#3 ·
What do you mean by " it does tug back and forth with the trailer"?
Do you mean the trailer is moving the truck around?

I pull a boat, so not the exact same as a camper, but it is 31' overall and 6,000lbs.
I don't have any feeling that the boat is steering the truck.
If you're not overheating then you know its not over-exerting the drivetrain.
 
#4 ·
with 6000lb back there, the vehicle will feel different.. acceleration and braking will certainly feel different (you've doubled the weight that you're starting and stopping)..

If it feels too much like you're being pushed when braking, the brake controller may need adjustment..
 
#5 ·
I agree sounds like some adjustment on the hitch and Brake control may be in order. Make sure to maintain some decent weight on the hitch without overdoing it. Lack of pressure on the hitch or tongue weight can cause some swaying and tugging
STEVE
 
#6 ·
cmurschel said:
Hi Everyone,

New to the group. Recently bought a 2013 Durango R/T with a 5.7L HEMI mainly to be able to tow a 31 ft. 2in. long travel trailer. Durango says it can tow 7,200 lbs with 720 lbs tongue weight. Travel trailer is 4,982 lbs. dry and 7,000 lbs. gross weight. We went on one trip loaded up and my guess is the trailer was at about 6,000 lbs. I use the tow/haul button and although the Durango does not seem to struggle, it does tug back and forth with the trailer. I am fearing I am putting too much strain on it. Planning on trips across the country next summer so may need to upgrade to a bigger vehicle. Would like to keep the Durango, just not sure if the tugging is normal or not.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Chris
Click to expand...
It's almost impossible to give you any meaningful advice without knowing more about your towing setup. What hitch are you using? How is your weight distribution dialled in, front and back axle? What are you using for sway control? All of these elements will factor into your towing experience.

We tow a 34' Airstream (from 1984, weighing 6250lbs) with our 2014 R/T, also with the hemi engine. The Airstream is fitted with a Hensley hitch, which eliminates sway completely. Our tongue weight is approx. 750lbs before weight distribution, 550lbs after weight distribution.

Towing so much weight will always be noticeable, but that's not a bad thing. Not feeling a trailer because you went with a huge, and often stiff, tow vehicle doesn't create a safer towing experience, it just means you won't know about potential trouble before it hits.
 
#7 ·
We have a 2014 R/T and pull a 23 ft Oliver fiberglass trailer that weighs about 5,000, and it pulls like a dream. And we don't need a sway control hitch either. Maybe instead of getting a different TV, you need to get a different trailer.
 
#8 ·
andreasDuess said:
Towing so much weight will always be noticeable, but that's not a bad thing. Not feeling a trailer because you went with a huge, and often stiff, tow vehicle doesn't create a safer towing experience, it just means you won't know about potential trouble before it hits.
Click to expand...
Wise words.
 
#11 ·
My advise from many years of towing, is don't get a trailer that you're going to tow often that is near the maximum capacity of your tow rig. You can do it, sure. But I don't recommend it. If I ever get back into towing a large TT or 5th wheel again, I'll have a one ton dually to do it, and I'd make sure the max loaded weight of my trailer was no more than 2/3 of the maximum tow capacity of the vehicle.

Just my opinion, many people tow at the max and are very happy. I did it for years as well, and after adding airbags, more power, and a variety of other mods, I was quite happy with my setup.
 
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#12 ·
josborne6 said:
What model camper is that? Just trying to get an idea of what our max size is.

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It's a Keystone Passport 2810BH. Unfortunately the Durango and trailer are in long term storage.

I was unexpectedly transferred to a new position in east Asia..needless to say the Durango and trailer couldn't make the trip.

I'll be over here for another year and a half..so the fun will have to wait until then.


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#13 ·
jtludwig said:
It's a Keystone Passport 2810BH. Unfortunately the Durango and trailer are in long term storage.

I was unexpectedly transferred to a new position in east Asia..needless to say the Durango and trailer couldn't make the trip.

I'll be over here for another year and a half..so the fun will have to wait until then.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Thnx

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#14 ·
Follow Up

jtludwig said:
We seem to do pretty well with our 2014 RT and a 31 ft trailer. We've towed thousands of miles out west.

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I know this post is a few years old, but I was wondering if you still would recommend towing such a large trailer with the Durango? We have a 2013 Citadel 5.7 and are looking at a 30 foot travel trailer. Dry weight is 5900.

Thanks.
 
#15 ·
5900 is a pretty high dry weight, you are going to get heavy quick once you start loading. What is the hitch weight?
 
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#16 ·
Hagdog said:
I know this post is a few years old, but I was wondering if you still would recommend towing such a large trailer with the Durango? We have a 2013 Citadel 5.7 and are looking at a 30 foot travel trailer. Dry weight is 5900.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I think your dry weight is too high. Mine is just over 5000 empty but once I load up the car and trailer I get pretty close to the maximum recommended weights.

I think you need a lighter trailer or a smaller one or both.


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#17 ·
I tow a 28' tt weighing 6000 fully loaded but have recently purchased a ProPride hitch. It tows fine with lots of power from the hemi but I've always been worried about the length. More a peace of mind purchase with the family with me.
 
#18 ·
I'm a bit confused. Please help me clear up some towing questions.

My 2016 RT did not have the tow package when purchased but I will be having the factory system installed in a few days at the local Dodge dealership. (I just bought the car a week ago)

Are there different factory tow packages? What it the maximum for the factory packages? I need to tow a car to events. Possibly 6k lbs. I understand that the Durango Hemi is strong enough to handle the job. But is the tow package adequate? Or do I need to go with something stronger to take advantage of the vehicles abilities.
 
#20 ·
We have a 14 R/T. We tow a horse trailer (7500 GTW) although I don't think we have had it loaded to the 7500 pounds. We also on occasion tow our 35 horse power tractor on a steel flat trailer. And have once towed my daughters SUV on the flat trailer. I will say with our tractor that has front end loader and back hoe on it we where well over 7200 pounds and it towed pretty well. My only complaint towing with our Durango is the electric brake control situation there is little to no room to mount one anywhere in cabin. I finally gave in and put it the only place it could go....under the center stack which blocks the tray and SD card port somewhat but it is what it is. Would be nice if they had a integrated brake control when you get the tow package.


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