alright here's the deal. she's yellin wants a new car. so im lookin at options the two she likes are the liberty and the durango she wants to have plenty of seating for our 2 kids one 4 and one 7 months, comfortable for her to drive to work everyday, she drives 35 min mostly highway. but also wants to pull the pontoon boat when we go camping (this would increase the number of times we go as if we decide to take the camper and the boat it means 4 round trips for me and the truck, 2 to go up and 2 to go back) so this is what im asking..... im looking for input/personal experiance with each what motor/trans setup would you suggest, pros/cons.
Simply for the towing, it has to be the Dodge. The Liberty is too small to tow a pontoon boat safely. I'm not a big fan of the Durango, too big, too heavy, too expensive, and to inefficient. Have her look at a Dakota; slightly better in those categories. Although I have to admit I don't much like the styling of the new Dakota. Also consider the new Mistubishi Raider - a rebodied Dakota.
If it was me buying one, it would most likely be the Durango for the extra room, carrying capacity, and smoother ride. I was really looking forward to the Liberty CRD, but all the road tests I've seen say the fuel mileage is much lower than expected (although that may be because the test vehicles aren't broken in yet) so if you're thinking of the CRD because of the fuel savings, it may not be as good as you expect. On the Durango (and Liberty), if you don't carry heavy loads, the 3.7 might be strong enough for you (also available on the Liberty) and will probably use less gas than the 4.7 engine, and the horsepower difference isn't as large as you'd expect based on the engine being 25% smaller than the 4.7. The 4.7 gives a little more power, but has a reputation for being thirsty. The 5.7 in the Durango has the same mileage rating as the 4.7. I've had the 3.7 in a Dodge Ram (stick shift) and now have the 4.7 in a Dodge Dakota (auto) and haven't had any problems with either engine. I liked the 3.7 with stick shift combination best for fuel economy (available on the Liberty but not with stick shift on the Durango), but you'll need to verify if that gives a high enough tow rating for you.
Liberty CRD Durango Pros slightly better fuel mileage Price compared to CRD smaller, easier to park Larger, more comfort high tow rating with CRD high tow rating with 4.7 Good off road capability more rear storage space Can attend Jeep Jamborees highest tow rating 5.7 hemi available
CONS CRD Expensive lower fuel mileage diesel fuel cost more than unleaded Larger, takes more room
the liberty crd isnt the prettyiest girl at the dance, but it is a great wifey vehicle. for towing you just cant beat a diesel. you didnt give any stats on your pontoon boat, just make sure it weighs less than the crd's capabilities. once you go diesel you never go back.
the new restyled durango on the other hand, is amongst the ugliest vehicles on the road. older durangos looked great, the newer durango runs great thanks to the addition of the hemi....to bad you couldnt get the older style with the hemi. the hemi can be a blast to drive, but if you tow with the durango your mileage is going to go from piss-poor to total suck-ass.
I am looking for a new vehicle for my gal as well. I have done quite a bit of research on the Liberty and I have pretty much decided that we are going to get it. You can get a fully loaded Liberty with the diesel for under 30k right now.
She won't even know it's a diesel ... it is unbelievably quiet. Why spend more $$ on the Durango and get poor fuel economy? Plus, the diesel will last longer than a gas engine.
LOL thats what she's wanting to get out of.... we currently have a chev venture witch has been really good to us. the only thing ive had to do to it is (of course reg scheduled maint) water pump and intake gaskets
ok as far as stats on the boat its a 24 footer on a single axle trailer dont know how much it weighs but if it helps is a fisher with plywood deck. it wouldn't let you forget its back there when i had to use my grandfather's f150 but little notice when behind my v10 2500.
and yes we would be open to considering other vehicles but at the moment seems like the 2 she's liking best is the liberty and durango although she mentions from time to time the chev tahoe.
if you plan to pull your pontoon boat with it and your pontoon boat gave an f150 any trouble at all (even a little bit!) then brother youre looking at the wrong vehicles. more important than being able to pull it is being able to control it in an emergency hard steer. if it "let you know its back there" on an f150 its most likely going to boss the crd/durango around like a girly little bitch. with the big 3 all offering employee pricing you just cant go wrong. i would recommend you seriously consider a full size 1/2 ton (minimum) truck/suv like the expedition/tahoe/suburban/full size van or step on up to the plate and bring her home a 2500 cummins. if a new durango is in your budget, so is a ram.
Since you like camping and want to pull a boat too, have you considered a Quad cab truck with a pickup based camper? That way you wouldn't need to make 4 round trips as you mentioned, since you could take the camper and boat at the same time, and when not camping, you could leave the camper home.
excellent recommendation! although i use my trailer
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primarily for work, when its time to play the trailer becomes a toy hauler for my and the kids 4 wheelers. i hope to actually be able to take a day off soon so that i can start pricing slide in campers.
I have owned a 1964 dodge pu, a 1978 van, 1965 dodge dart, 1966 Chevy pu, 1974 Grand Prix, 1996 Grand Am and now a 2003 Dodge Durango...
All of the above had their drawbacks, but the Durango has somehow combined all the good and minimized the bad.
The major plus? Having 3 outlets for electrical units..I can have decently fresh coffee on caming trips, good radio contact and watch a bit of entertainment (Although nature does better most of the time) while relaxing at the campsite.
I have made more "Friends" also with this vehicle and thus, now have people willing to join me on camping trips...Good thing I'm not a serial killer :)
The diesel Liberty would be sweet and use about 1/2 the fuel on the average that a dakota will doing the same chores over the life of the vehical which can up up to thousands of dollars quickly. As Pontoon boats are not that heavy unless they are very large and if they are that big even a 5.7 Durango would struggle with the wind drag of one that big while getting 7 or 8 mpg while doing it. The diesel Liberty would tow better because it has the torque at lower RPMs where yo need it to move the load. THe 5.7 look impressive on paper but with a power peak of 5400 RPM and a torque peak at 4200 RPM it is greatly over rated for towing.
Yes go from a easy to manuver and park Liberty or minvan to a large land barge, that is a lot harder to park and manuver in tight areas, costs more yet and using even more $2 plus a gallon fule. Great logic for a everyday vehical.
What do you mean? For towing and seating it's tough to beat the new 2nd generation Durango with the 5.7L. I paid $23K for a new 2004 4x4 Hemi Durango. The Dakota isn't sold with the Hemi and the 4.7L doesn't get much better mpg. We looked at quite a few SUV's before buying the Durango. We could not find any 4x4 that could seat 4-7 people comfortable and tow as well as the Durango for less than the 23K we paid. So I'm not sure how the Dakota can do better for less although it should tow a pontoon boat easily.
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