Dodge Dakota

[rookieboater]

Hey guys, I just recently bought a Sea Ray 180 Sport with the 3.0 liter I/O, Shore'rlander bunk trailer. It has a dry weight of 2100 lbs. It holds 21 gallons of fuel (@7lbs a gallon). I put a class III hidden hitch on the truck. Is this boat within my towing capacity? I seem to be under powered going up hills (fairly steep). Mostly short trips to the river but an occasional longer trip (75 miles) to a lake up north of Sacramento. I turn the overdrive off and go slow i the hills, not in any hurry. I have the 3.9 V6 engine with a 3.93 gear ratio differential....I do not have a tow package on the truck, but am considering installing it (tranny cooler/oil cooler). Any thoughts? Thanks in advance rookieboater

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Dodge Dakota

You should be fine and a tranny cooler never hurts to have.<br /><br />Bob

 

[Johnshan1]

Re: Dodge Dakota

You are fine, I would add a tranny cooler for sure, I used to have the same truck and they are known for transmisson problems, great truck though.

 

[PAkev]

Re: Dodge Dakota

I had a Dakota Sport with the 3.9 L motor. The only mechanical thing I ever had to do other than routine maintenance was replace a radiator that took a flying stone. If the gearing is the same, I think you will have plenty of torque for pulling that boat. Other than that the truck tended to be quite thirsty. I know folks with V-8's that got much better fuel economy. <br /><br />Not sure how far you plan to be trailering the boat but I believe they still include the OD lockout which is recommended for towing. If you plan to do any highway speed towing perhaps the tranny cooling package would be a worthwhile investment.<br /><br />Kevin

 

[rookieboater]

Re: Dodge Dakota

You are right about the truck being thirsty...and yes they still have the OD lockout that I use when towing especially uphill...I love the truck (it is a quad cab) and the room it is under warranty now so I have to wait to install the tranny cooler thanks for your input.....rookieboater

 

[rookieboater]

Re: Dodge Dakota

probably the most I will tow the boat it on any one trip is about a seventy miles or so, mostly local lakes and on the Sacramento river, right now trying to put downriggers on the boat and get it ready to fish wife not happy with holes I'm drilling to mount things...she just likes to play on the water with the boat but that is okay, we both can enjoy it.....

 

[RatFish]

Re: Dodge Dakota

rookieboater,<br /><br />Unless you plan on getting rid of your truck before the drivetrain warranty expires, I would not wait too install the tranny cooler. I installed one on my Toyota Tacoma with about 40,000 miles left on the engine and drivetrain warranty. If you smoke the tranny and the dealer suspects you are towing without the "tow package", they may say "too bad".<br /><br />If you are worried about warranty coverage order the tranny cooler from the dealer and have them install it. Going this route probably would not void your warranty but check with them first.<br /><br />You could always install the tranny cooler and if you encounter tranny problems, remove it before taking the truck to the dealer.

 

[Johnshan1]

Re: Dodge Dakota

Dodge makes a bad tranny in the Dakotas and Rams, do all you can to protect it. Add a cooler even if you dont plan to tow much.<br /><br />-John

 

[John Carpenter]

Re: Dodge Dakota

My experience is 3 consecutive Dodge trucks with a total of over 350,000 miles & have not spent a dime on transmission work. Towed with all of them....1 Dakota with the 3.9 & 5 sp., 1 1500 Ram with the 318 auto, and the current 2500 with the auto & Cummins diesel. I have talked to many Ford & Chevy owners with transmission problems...they all have problems which I think are frequently the result of how they are used, driven and maintained.

 

[Johnshan1]

Re: Dodge Dakota

For starters, we are talking automatic trannys- the 5 speed manuals are fine transmissions.<br /><br />Secondly, that 2500 Diesel is not a common dodge transmission, its found in less than 5% of Dodge vehicles, in other words, your experience with it does not add any valuable data to the discussion at hand.<br /><br />Finally, your Dodge Ram with 318 is a prime example of bad transmissions, in other words you lucked out or took very very good care of it. Working in the auto industry we see many of these trucks on a daily basis with bad or erratic transmissions.<br /><br />-John

 

[agrazela]

Re: Dodge Dakota

Rookieboater,<br /><br />I also tow with a Dodge Dakota 3.9L / 3.9 gears / 4-spd auto. My whole rig, fully loaded and with trailer, runs just over 2000 lbs...and I feel underpowered with this truck.<br /><br />I second (or third) all of the above statements and more:<br />-Tranny sucks<br />-Truck too heavy<br />-Tranny sucks<br />-Truck drinks fuel like a fratboy drinks beer<br />-Tranny sucks<br />-Motor underpowered for the massive weight of this truck<br />-Did I mention, the tranny sucks?<br /><br />That said, I am sure that based on your GCWR and GAWR and with those gears and a class III hitch that your truck could pull 5500+ lbs...if you want to do 15 mph. I personally would not attempt to pull more than 3500 lbs total with my (or your) Dakota; and even then I would be planning the least hilly route to my destination! Also, with your kind of load, I would definitely invest in an aftermarket tranny cooler (currently have only the stock one).

 

[sangerwaker]

Re: Dodge Dakota

I'm with you agrazela!<br />I also tow my rig with a '97 Dakota 3.9 and feel way underpowered. My rig weighs roughly 3200 fully fueled and full of gear. I never use overdrive, and it still sucks (especially fuel)!!! I wish I had went V8 when I bought it. My tranny has already puked and cost me 1600 to rebuild. My brother has a hemi in his Dodge full size, and he gets better mileage towing than I do! I do not recommend towing anything larger than maybe 1000 lbs with this engine! Best of luck!<br /><br />Doug

 

[Johnshan1]

Re: Dodge Dakota

Thanks guys for backing me up