Anyone towing with a Nitro yet? I'd like to hear about your experience.
I have a 98 Dakota I tow a 4000 ski boat on a tandem axle trailer with surge brakes. The Dakota GVWR is 6000 lbs with a 5.2 liter that has 230 horse & 300 ft/lbs of torque. Will a Nitro (GVWR of 4000 lb) with the 210 horse & 235 ft/lbs of torque really pull this boat safely? I know the Nitro is rated for 5000 lbs but it doesn't seem like towing a 5000 lb trailer with a 4000 lb truck is very wise. Maybe with a tandem axle & trailer brakes it can be done though. Anyone ever do it?
FLchargerfan
12-16-2006, 07:56 PM
The Dakota is 6000 lbs.? That doesn't sound right to me.
Anyway, if you are serious about towing that boat with a Nitro, you'd better at least wait until you can get the 4.0L or people on bicycles will be passing you!
AirJunky
12-16-2006, 08:45 PM
My 98 Dakota Club Cab Sport says it has a GVWR of 5960 lbs on the door jam. Guess it's not right.
Seems like if the Nitro is a lighter truck with only 65 ft/lbs of torque less than the Dakota, then it should tow better than a bicycle. Also seems like Dodge would never have given it a 5000 lb tow rating if it could only do it at bicycle riding speeds.
Or I could be wrong.
kitestir
12-17-2006, 11:22 AM
If you go to the towing page on dodge's website, it says the R/T can tow 5000 lbs with a special weight distributing hitch. That is with the 4.0 265HP motor. Not the 210 that is in the SXT or SLT. But I did see somewhere that the standard shift version can pull the 5000 also.
AirJunky
12-17-2006, 12:33 PM
Looks to me like the "Trailer Tow Group" is available on all the Nitros. The Dodge . com site says it includes a full size spare tire, tranny & power steering coolers, class III hitch, wiring, etc.
Doesn't seem like the weight of the R/T would allow it to handle a 5000 lb trailer any better than the others. I can understand the additional torque being a factor, but it seems like a trailer that outweighs the truck is still going to push it around quite a bit.
I'll definitely confirm with the dealer that the Trailer Tow Group is available on the SLT too, expecially since they said they won't see any R/Ts till spring.
kitestir
12-17-2006, 02:07 PM
I don't know why you would even chance it anyway. The SLT is only rated for 3500 pounds with the trailer package anyway.(It only comes in auto) My guess is it has to do with the auto tranny not the torque from the motor. The RT comes with different auto tranny. That would be why I would guess the SXT manual and R/T could have the extra tow capacity with the trailer group. The RT comes with a 5 speed auto and the slt and sxt come with a 4 speed auto......
AirJunky
12-17-2006, 03:15 PM
I just got off the phone with the dealer who said all 3 models are rated for 5000 lbs when equipped with the Trailer Tow Group. The only exception to that is the SXT with the manual transmission, which is rated at 3500 lbs.
Bobram
02-02-2007, 07:15 PM
Good to know since I will be towing a boat with my Nitro come summer time.
340duster
02-02-2007, 08:22 PM
My 98 Dakota Club Cab Sport says it has a GVWR of 5960 lbs on the door jam. Guess it's not right.
Seems like if the Nitro is a lighter truck with only 65 ft/lbs of torque less than the Dakota, then it should tow better than a bicycle. Also seems like Dodge would never have given it a 5000 lb tow rating if it could only do it at bicycle riding speeds.
Or I could be wrong.
GVWR is NOT tow rating. GVWR is the maximum amount the vehicle can weigh including the vehicle, passengers, and cargo.
You need to look for GCWR, gross combined weight rating, which is the maximum amount the vehicle and a trailer behind it can weigh. For instance, the GCWR of my 05 Dakota is 11,700, meaning my truck, everything in it, and a trailer plus everything on it can weigh a maximum of 11,700. My truck can weigh 6010 pounds total without a trailer. My max towing capacity is 7100 lbs, but thats assuming its just me in the truck and no real payload. The amount you can legally tow is the GCWR minus the actual weight of the vehicle.
One thing though is Dodge always underrates their tow capacities unlike the import companies who if they say it can tow 5000 lbs and you put 5001 on there, you are in for some trouble.
You would be having a hard time getting 5000lbs rolling with the 3.7L in a Nitro, thats why in the 05+ Dakotas with 3.7s can pull a max of 4550 lbs, while the 4.7s can pull the full amount.
Ram3500Dually
02-03-2007, 12:04 AM
I can understand the additional torque being a factor, but it seems like a trailer that outweighs the truck is still going to push it around quite a bit.
Huh? My trailer weighs almost 18K and my truck doesn't weigh 8K. ANY trailer over 2000 pounds should have their own braking system. That is the law.
Most travel trailers weigh more than the vehicle that is pulling it.
AirJunky
02-03-2007, 11:57 PM
Hmmmm, something is up with some of these comments.
I have an ATV trailer, single axle, weighs about 1100 lbs., carries two ATVs, total weight about 2200 lbs., and no trailer brakes. The Nitro tows it easily. And stops easily too.
The Nitro weighs in at about 3900 lbs., GVWR is 5600. But it's rated to tow up to 5000 lbs. or a combined weight of 8900 lbs.
