[A/S] In defense of Durango - (Was: Tow Vehicles)

[Tuna <rctowns@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Spec-sheet comparisons are valuable - as a starting place - and theories and
common wisdom are meant to be tested. I'm a familiar sight at the local
truck stop weigh-scales; i always get a 'twinge' when people come on this
and the other A/S list asking questions about 'trailer weight'... ACTUAL
trailer weight and weight-distribution are so very crucial that i can't
imagine venturing out on a long trip without KNOWING what i'm pulling and
how it handles under varying conditions.

When i decided to get serious about towing again a couple of years ago, i
traded up from a '98 S-10 Blazer to a '99 Durango. My first long-distance
towing adventure was from Las Vegas home to Reno with a 24' Parker flatbed
trailer, twin axle, and no load. Unladen weight is about 2,500 lbs, and i
had no load distribution, trailer brakes, or sway control installed (for
that trip). It was the proverbial white-knuckle journey, with cross-winds
and semi's blowing the trailer all over the road.

By contrast, my last long-haul with that flatbed was from eastern
Pennsylvania back to Reno, hauling a 3500 lb load on top of the trailer (a
1961 Kaiser-Willys FC-170 pickup truck - a 'rescue mission'). With my usual
complement of tools and supplies in the back of the Durango, the EZ-lift
dual-cam load-distribution and sway-control, Ultima 2020 brake controller,
the Durango with the factory-towing package, I was right at the vehicle's
towing capacity. I stopped twice in the first hundred miles to re-position
the load on the trailer- a matter of inches, forward and back, and it made a
HUGE difference in the towing characteristics. Other than a detour to
Detroit, i was on I-80 all the way, and covered every type of terrain except
the steep mountain passes in the Rockies. (I have done these, with similar
loads on several other trips, though). Weather conditions included strong,
gusting cross- and head-winds for much of the trip; and days of light to
fairly heavy rain. It was not 'ideal' traveling by any stretch of the
imagination, and a great test of the rig's capacity.

The long uphill grades through Wyoming were the only conditions which seemed
to test the limits of this rig. I don't have a heavy-duty transmission
cooler, and because the rig was towing so effortlessly up to that point, I
made the mistake of towing up grade for about twenty miles or so in
overdrive. As soon as the transmission light came on, i pulled over and
waited for it to cool down, then continued on in third gear. Strong
headwinds contributed to the over-heating, i'm sure. With the addition of a
good tranny-oil cooler, i expect that i could have towed the whole distance
without pause.

When using a properly-adjusted load-distributing hitch and sway-control, the
'longer wheelbase' consideration is vastly diminished - these tend to make
your rig act as one unit - and once that's been addressed, the beefier rear
axle, a tranny-cooler, and good trailer brakes will pretty much trump
torque/horsepower considerations, IMHO. I'm not saying you can pull an older
Overlander with a 2.8 litre V-6 (i tried, just to see what would
happen...you can't), but the Durango - in my experience - is a pretty
terrific puller when towing a medium-sized or smaller A/S (or equivalent),
and is more than up to the task, even under the most challenging conditions.

For the huge, heavy modern Airstreams, I heartily agree that 'longer is
better' in a tow-vehicle, and i'd be inclined to invest in one of those
special-purpose haulers that Freightliner has started producing. I've had
the "white-knuckle experience," and i'd rather not have that ever again.

Just my $.02 (adjusted for inflation)

Tuna
WBCCI/VAC #8862
Reno, NV