That's a lot of trailer length for a Durango.

Does your hitch have anti-sway?

Also IIRC the R/T has Nivomat rear shocks, setting up the WDH takes a little bit of care.

 

The hitch they installed was the Equal-izer E-2, they are installing the E-4 series now supposed to be a 4 point instead of a 2 point.

 

Agree with @tomk. That is a lot of trailer for the durango. Weight isn't everything, Its just too long for our vehicles. However, your swaying issue is probably more to do with loading of the trailer and making sure you have around 12% of the trailer weight on the tongue. Play around with the setup and make sure you get enough weight on the tongue.

 

That’s exactly what I was thinking they set up the weight distribution wrong. If they do this for a living you would think they should know what they are doing.

 

No tow package? how bad was it squatting in the back any pictures I tow my 24' boat and trailer about 5600 lbs and if I have to much cargo in the rear of the durango and hit a bump it does sway. If I load all the cargo into the boat it rides better but mine has the nivomat load leveling shocks if your shcoks are compressed and they have no where to go its going to cause swaying. That 32 foot trailer is very long if you loaded it with camping items you could have imbalanced the tongue weight that will cause swaying as well especially if to light

 

Couple observations. And as info, I'm towing a 28.5' TT w/ a 5100# dry weight 600# dry tongue w/ a 2011 D 5.7L w/ tow package. We can make a TT this big/heavy work because it's just the 2 of us. Stuff in the D other than us weighs less than 200#. I use an E2 hitch, and the dealer set it up Ok when we bought the TT in Oct 2017. Keep in mind the self leveling shocks will throw off their setup after the first couple of bumps. I called E2 about the self leveling shocks (instructions say to turn them off prior to setup, but ours are mechanical and can't be turned off by pulling a fuse), and they recommended bringing the front fender measurement back to original height, rather than 1/2 way as per instructions. I've adjusted mine 2x over the years to get it dialed in when fully loaded. I'm using 7 washers, and use the electric hitch to raise the rear of the D when installing the bars. And I mean raise the rear A LOT. I know I'm towing close to max, so I run over the CAT scales once a summer to check my rear axle, and I'm still about 80# under max. My loaded trailer is about 6300#. I only make one pass over the scales so it's impossible to get an accurate TT only weight. I keep speeds at 65 or under, and if it's windy, I slow down even more. Any wind will make towing the longer trailers a bitch. You'll need to pay attention to wind and wind gusts; and you will feel a push when the semi's pass you.
Having said all that, with the E2 hitch dialed in, I am really happy with how the TT tows. And for those of you doing the math in your head, yes, I am fairly sure that I am over the 720# max on the tongue weight. One other thing to note, you mentioned you don't have a tow package? Do the newer D's not have reduced tow capacity w/o a tow package? Mine would be 3500# w/o the tow package.

 

Just replying in case someone else comes by this as I have. I bought a new DD TnG to tow my $6300# (loaded), tongue-heavy Mini Lite. There's very little useful advice online about setting up to tow with Nivomats. What you've described is how I was finally able to dial in settings that work. Adjusting wd to halve the front fender lift was a no-go and had me over my rear axle limits when I hit the CAT scales. And it was probably worse in motion -- the Nivomats would presumably lift the rear and reduce whatever bar tension was there to begin with. Dropping the head and increasing the ball angle to zero out the ff lift dialed in a metric crapton of tension and got my steer axle load to within 6# of wet weight, along with the correct 12-13% of tt weight as distributed tongue weight. Feels way better, way safer, and I have the receipts to show if I'm ever unfortunate enough to get in a bender.

 

Just replying in case someone else comes by this as I have. I bought a new DD TnG to tow my $6300# (loaded), tongue-heavy Mini Lite. There's very little useful advice online about setting up to tow with Nivomats. What you've described is how I was finally able to dial in settings that work. Adjusting wd to halve the front fender lift was a no-go and had me over my rear axle limits when I hit the CAT scales. And it was probably worse in motion -- the Nivomats would presumably lift the rear and reduce whatever bar tension was there to begin with. Dropping the head and increasing the ball angle to zero out the ff lift dialed in a metric crapton of tension and got my steer axle load to within 6# of wet weight, along with the correct 12-13% of tt weight as distributed tongue weight. Feels way better, way safer, and I have the receipts to show if I'm ever unfortunate enough to get in a bender.

Your TnG does not have the Nivomat load leveling shocks from the RT tow packagethough.... you have the Bilstein Active suspension from the SRT and its totally different....

Sent from my SM-G975W using Tapatalk

 

Your TnG does not have the Nivomat load leveling shocks from the RT tow packagethough.... you have the Bilstein Active suspension from the SRT and its totally different....

Sent from my SM-G975W using Tapatalk

Good. Then what I see at the CATs is what I get, no extra lifting screwing with my wd settings. In either case, if you have a tongue-heavy tt and follow the book on setting wd to reduce fender gap by half, you'll be taxing the drive axle and lifting the steer axle by 200 or more pounds. Not safe. Follow what millmitch says. Back where we started. Funny how that works.

 

I have been towing for many years and your #1 problem is the trailer is way to long for your DD wheelbase, you are going to have a hard time towing that length of a TT with a DD. These dealers will sell you anything they don't care it is mind blowing!! The DD shouldn't be rated to tow anything over 29ft.

 

You are correct I hooked up on a 24‘ TT, pulled smooth as hell at 70+ with E4. I bet they won’t sell anyone a TT that big to pull behind a DD or any other mid-size SUV. But one thing is for sure they are making it right rather than trying to stick me with something that I couldn’t pull safely.

 

You need either a shorter camper (<26 feet) or a larger tow vehicle.

I used the E4 Equalizer with my Durango and 31’ TT, 5,209 lb dry weight and ~6,500 lbs loaded. It worked fine 90% of the time, but that 10% was white knuckles.

I also learned the hard way that it’s not just about the weight. The wheelbase and trailer length is just as important.

 

I have a 2017 Citadel with a 5.7 hemi pulling a 29ft TT weighing 5863 lb dry probably around 6300 lb loaded. I too had trailer sway until I put a Hensley Hitch on. This summer crossed the Mackinac Bridge with 30 mph winds. The trailer never swayed.

 

That's good to hear, glad they are doing the right thing

 

As an aside, I believe the 2021 R/T has all the towing bits except the hitch itself (and possibly a little wiring).

 

looks like 2021 5.7L tow package continues with the upgraded cooling / radiator

 

Pretty sure the TnG tongue weight absolute maximum is 870 lbs. That assumes almost zero cargo weight in the Durango itself. Just about anything you put in the Durango (including passengers) is going to reduce that 870 because of the load rating on that rear axle. It is very hard to get anywhere close to an 8700 trailer setup that doesn't overload the truck.

 

You might be conflating TW with payload. Both TW and passengers/cargo figure into payload, but passengers/cargo does not eat into TW. If it were the case, four passengers couldn't even tow a jetski behind them. When estimating, it's appropriate to consider cargo weight behind the axle as well as the hitch. However, CAT scales are the absolute truth. My distributed TW has never been over 820, all in, spread to both DD axles, and with 340# to spare in rear axle weight. You're right that anyone trying to tow 8700# that isn't a sled would likely run over one rating or another. Good thing nobody is talking about doing that.

 

Yep - I was talking about how the cargo and the TW together combine to overload the axle (in many cases) long before you get to the maximum TW or Cargo weights... especially when we're talking about trailers which approach the TnG limit of 8700lbs. There have been lots of complaints here about how that 8700 number is nearly unobtanium.

 

All manufacturers tow stats are almost unattainable. The 8700/870 is based on an 8700lb trailer with a 10% tongue weight and only a driver (150lb?) in the vehicle. This is a nonstarter for towing a travel trailer.
And my main point on the E2 setup was, they told if you can turn off the self leveling rear end then turn it off; if you can't turn it off then bring the front back to original height. FYI, hooked to the trailer, my front axle is lighter than original weight even being at the same height.

 

Hey everyone, I am new to this whole towing thing so I have questions. There was recently an article stating unibody vehicles shouldn't use weight distribution hitches because it can torque/ bend the body. Has anyone ran into this??? I have a 22' box cargo trailer so probably 25'-26' in total length and I have bought the Weigh Safe 10k lbs hitch (only unit that was available thru e-trailer), but I hadn't gotten around to actually installing the anti-sway bars yet. I was just planning on buying a set of anti-sway bars for the travel trailer when I got around to buying one, but now I am wondering if I should have even bought a weight distribution setup. The travel trailer setup is a little unique as my Mom would be traveling with me, so I will need separate sleeping areas and that puts most of those trailers in the 30' to 32' range with a height of 11' plus. My Mom has limited range of motion and can't get into a pickup so that is why I bought my '21 DD RT TNG, but now I am thinking this thing can't pull the travel trailer I need. Should I have went with a pickup and just figured out some kind of step system for Mom to be able to get into the truck or is the Durango right and I just have to find the right trailer? I know the Durango can pull the weight of most travel trailers that I am looking at, but now I am learning that length and surface area of the front of the trailer factor into it. The two front runners of the trailers I am looking at is the Rockwood Ultra Lite 2614BS (the 2706WS has too high of a tongue weight I think, but is the one that would work better) or Keystone Cougar HT 27BHS. The Cougar has auto leveling which would really help me because any travel trailer I get, I would be doing the setup at the campsite by myself. Any feedback would be GREATLY appreciated!!

 

Some unibody vehicles are not rated for weight distribution. Yours is, and there’s directions on how to set it up in the manual. You shouldn’t follow those directly as it might not distribute enough weight. There’s guidance in this thread on how to get that done. All that said. There’s no way you should be towing a 30 foot trailer with any Durango. Ultralight is totally out of the question. i’m not really sure what the answer is for you. Sounds like you can’t have a truck, and you can’t have the trailer you need without a truck. And a three-quarter ton truck at that. In case it still matters, leveling is no big deal. If you’re new and haven’t done it yet, it may seem like it, but it’s no big deal so don’t let that determine what trailer you get.

 

Some unibody vehicles are not rated for weight distribution. Yours is, and there’s directions on how to set it up in the manual. You shouldn’t follow those directly as it might not distribute enough weight. There’s guidance in this thread on how to get that done. All that said. There’s no way you should be towing a 30 foot trailer with any Durango. Ultralight is totally out of the question. i’m not really sure what the answer is for you. Sounds like you can’t have a truck, and you can’t have the trailer you need without a truck. And a three-quarter ton truck at that. In case it still matters, leveling is no big deal. If you’re new and haven’t done it yet, it may seem like it, but it’s no big deal so don’t let that determine what trailer you get.

 

I have a 2021 Durango R/T w/o TnG and w/o regular tow package. It has cargo package with roof rails and built-in cross bars if that matters. My build sheet does say it has trailer sway dampening and rear load leveling suspension. My independent dealer installed the OEM Mopar hitch and OEM Mopar wiring harness. I am just looking to tow our two motorcycles in an enclosed cargo trailer, like 6x9 give or take. My motorcycle weighs 560 and hers weighs 498. Would I be ok with this? Does it matter whether the trailer has a nose or flat front like a box?

 

Your tongue weight+ your cargo in or on top of your Durango+ passengers needs to be < (less than) 1300lbs. The rear axle capacity is the limiting factor as you are probably no where near the 7200lbs that is the rated tow capacity for your equipped Durango R/T. That is what I have learned so far at least. A trailer with a nose will help your stability and the gas mileage as it doesn't create so much drag. Safe travels.