Just what I need to know

Just purchased a 2004 2720 and need to know if a 2001 Dodge Dakota Quad cab V8 will tow the trailer, loaded with gear in the 2720 an d bed of the truck. Do not have the truck yet , but need one soon... any suggestions will be helpful.
Also, so you need anti sway bars towing the 2720?
Thanks in advance....

Can't help with the tow rig, but; after traveling approx 3600 miles without sway bars found that I did not need them. Even when being passed by triple 18 wheel rigs.

The TM is stable. As you can see, I also have a 2720.

ColoradoCop

[Bill]

RAMMAP -

Once you have loaded the TM with all your "stuff", it will weigh about 3300-3400 pounds. This is not an exact number, of course, since I don't know how you load, or what options you have, but it does assume that you travel with all water tanks empty.

You need to know your truck's tow rating. A Dodge dealer should be able to tell you, or with some hunting, you can get it from Dodge.com on the Internet. Important question - does it have a factory-installed tow package? If so, and since you have a V-8, you should have no problem. If it doesn't have a tow package, you are still probably OK, but you may want to add a transmission cooler, since it won't have a high-ratio rear end. However, it is hard to believe that even a small V-8 (like my 4.6) would have trouble with a 2720.

Only you know how much "stuff" you will put in the bed of the truck, but if you carry water, extra battery, generator, extra gas, bicycles, etc., it could be a few hundred pounds. While you are looking for your tow rating, you also need to find your Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR). This is the total weight of the truck, the trailer and all cargo including people. I wouldn't expect you would have trouble here either.

Weight is important. Once you have your rig loaded up and ready to go, it is worthwhile (in my opinion) to find a scale and weigh both the loaded TM itself, and the total rig including loaded truck.

You need a Class 3 weight distributing hitch (WDH), but you almost certainly do NOT need sway control. TMs are specially designed not to sway, and most people on this group agree that it works. I have over 20K miles on my 2720 behind my Explorer, and have never had a hint of sway. And get a good brake controller - many folks here really like the Tekonsha Prodigy.

Just my two cents -

Bill

Bill is right.

I had a 2000 Dakota quad cab, 4x4 off road, tow package, big v8. Thought I was set to go. After buying the TM the Dakota pulled it fine but I just did not feel in controll. I weighed the rig, super lightly loaded (one nite trial camp) and found that the TM was at 3600, plus the fully deckout Dakota at a little over 5000 gave me something like 40 lbs to play with before I went over.

Now remember I said I had off road that means steel skid plates protecting trans, oil pan, rearend. That is a lot of weight.

I would go to the dealer select the truck you like get the gvwr and look it up in the book to see how much you can add plus tow. That is where I made my mistake, the truck was way heavy and my TM (loaded and rigged for off road) was heavy and the two heavies were just too heavy.

Now for the up side. (If you're in love with the Dakota as I was this is not an up side) I found that the full sized trucks use very little more gas than the smaller ones. I moved to a Chevy 4x4 quad, 6 lit. v8 1500HD and I only get two miles per gallon less that I was getting with the Dakota. But the biggie is that while towing, I don't even know the thing is back there with the Dakota I did, big time.

I'd have to agree, I too like my chevy's. I tow mine with the 4.3L v-6 blazer, and I to can't really tell it's even there unless on a STEEP LONG mountain, then it doesn't lag by much. But I will say, I NEVER ONCE experienced sway. Heck, when I first picked it up, I didn't have a brake control, lights, or a WDH. To top that off, not understanding a thing about it's hitch and the way it locks on the ball as it's completely different from my Boat trailer, towed it about 3 miles to the shop with the tounge resting on TOP of the locking mechanism! (Granted I wasn't going over 35, and was very mindful of stopping distance) I could still not really tell it was there! Even backed it into a very tight spot at the shop with no incedents. I certainly would NOT recommend this, simply stating my experiences with my particular tow vehicle......

[glow=red,2,300]Happytrails........[/glow]

Well, I didn't go with the Dakota. Went all out and got a 2003 Chevy 1500HD crew cab. Nice truck.... shouldn't have any problems towing.
Thanks for all your advice.