I read a review in our paper here last week on the new Liberty Diesel. They hated it. Said it struggled for power and kept over heating. They tried two and both over heated on uphill grades. I'd like to see more reviews to see if this was just a fluke.
I tow with mine and love it. The torque and HP curves on the hemi are flatter than you might realize. It develops quite a bit of torque at lower RPM's. Just got back from towing my 5,000lb trailer on a 800 miles round trip. It tows it with ease even up 6%+ grades. Not so great on gas when towing though.
"" wrote: > ..boB wrote: > > > Simply for the towing, it has to be the Dodge. The > Liberty is too > > small to tow a pontoon boat safely. > > I agree, the Liberty is too small to tow much. > > > I'm not a big fan of the Durango, too big, too heavy, > too > > expensive, and to inefficient. > > 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. > > 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. > >
The Hemi Dokata/Durago is not a good tow vehcial. Regardless of HP rating, the Torque peak is at 4200 and the Power peak is at 5400RPM and you do not tow at those RPMs and the engine will produce a lot less power and torque below 3000 RPM where most towing is done. Even the old Dodge 360 has more towing guts below 3000 RPM than the 5.7 Hemi. You would be better off with a 4.7 and 3.92 gears or so if you want to tow up to 4000 to 5000 lbs and you will use less fuel overall too. If your trailer weigh more than that you need a more serious tow vehical than a Hemi Durango regardless of what Chysler might claim. It you do deside to go with a crew cab truck, check of a 1500HD chevy crew cab (not the light duty 1500 model) It can be had with a short bed and it will easilty out tow a Hemi because the 6.0 in it has a much better power curve for towing than the Hemi (it has a lower RPM power peak and is a strong motor) and it pulls strongly at lower RPMs too. A 1500HD with 4.10 gears will tow ANYTHING you are ever likely to put behind it and 5 k behind it would be nothing. I know I seem anti Hemi but as it ships it is a poor towing motor. SUV?s need lots of low end grunt for good towing and something the 5.7 Hemi does not provide in it current tune. Recently my friend bought a new crew cab pickup and we drove a lot together and we drove a CC Hemi dualie with 4.10 gears and it was a bit of a joke power wise for a tow vehical (which he needed). That truck is still sitting on that dealers lot and it has been there since last year too.
The Dakota I agree with. The Hemi Durango is an awesome tow vehicle. I have one, do you?
Very wrong. The HP and torque curves of the 5.7L Hemi are rather flat compared to the 360. I have the 360 in my 2001 Ram. I've towed my same
5,000lb trailer with both and the Hemi Durango easily out pulls the 360 Ram. I've also towed my trailer with a 2004 Chevy 2500HD and yes the Chevy 6.0 is slightly better than the hemi at pulling my trailer but not by much.It really depends on what you want to tow. But saying the Hemi isn't any good for towing a 5Klb or so trailer is just plain wrong. It pulls mine with incredible ease faster than I wish to tow including up 6%+ grades. Is 75mph+ on flats and 50mph on 6% grades not good enough?
Oh geez. You haven't tried it and compared it with the Hemi have you? The 4.7L struggles trying to pull a 4K or 5K trailer even on flats and with the 3.92's.
They do exagerate just like any other manufacture. The Hemi Durango will easily pull up to 6K comfortably. The 8900lb rating is a bit much for a Hemi Durango as well as any 1/2 ton truck but then, I'm not going to compare a 3/4 ton truck to the Hemi Durango.
It does indeed pull a bit better up the steeper grades but not by much. Unless you've actually pulled the same trailer with the vehicles you've mentioned 360, 4.7L, Hemi 5.7L and Chevy 6.0L then you're guessing based on some stats. I've towed the same trailer with all 3. The 5.7L Hemi is much stronger than you seem to realize. No comparison to the older Dodge 360 and the 4.7L is very weak in the towing dept. THe Chevy 6.0L is a bit stronger but if you need that then go with a
2500HD and not the 1500.
How much does that Hemi Dualie weigh?
FYI:
2001 Dodge 5.9L has 255 lb-ft at 1500RPM (2001 Dodge brochure) 2004 Dodge 5.7L has 325 lb-ft at 1500RPM
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