Just bought a Durango on ebay.

Just bought a 04 Durango on Ebay. Has 5.7 Hemi. Should give us enough power to pull the mountains. 6K and 85,000 miles. Should be arriving when we get home in Florida in April. The Isuzu just bit off more than it could chew sometimes trying to pull those mountains from Menifee, Ca to Idllywild Thousand Trails. Don't know why I fooled with it this long. Be a great second car when we get home and when the Durango is in the shop. Next year when we take off on our 4 month trip, will not be concerned to head to northern California because of the elevation. As with all used vehicles, I hope no hidden surprises. Who knows. Thinking about purchasing an extended warranty on it. We are at Wilderness Thousand Trails and guy next door suggested that I look into it. Maybe not a bad idea. I owned a Chrysler dealership at one time in my life and cars went from a novelty to just a tool. I found out, let your hobby become your occupation and it will ruin it every time. I got on the motorcycle kick owning about 30 of them in 5 years. When I get home the Concours goes. Getting too old for motorcycles too LOL.

Any input greatly appreciated. John

Just sitting here thinking about it. I got to tell the wife. LOL. Oct of 2012, she went out to Los Angeles to see the kids and when she came home, I had a Trailmanor in the drive. This time, she went for 3 days to see the kids while I was left alone with the dogs and I bought a Durango. Maybe she will stay home more.

[TrailManorMan]

Sounds like me, I bought our TM before my wife knew, then I asked her what she thought about getting a TM, she said we should start looking for one, next day I told her I found one !!!

Good luck with your Durango

[hillbillyhotel]

john

lol , yea, you may need to tell her
I have a 04 ram with the 5.7 , I have towed with it also, the tm's and full size tt, it will be all you will need. it will get the job done, one word of advice, don't look at the mpg. I just keep mine reading on the temp

[LoveToCamp]

I don't know if you can get an extended warranty for an '04. There may be a limit to the age. But, if you can get a warranty for a reasonable price, it probably is a good idea. A tranny or differentials, and it will pay for itself. AC is also a big-ticket repair.

Wife's '06 Grand Cherokee has the same engine. It towed decent going up the steep hill west of Colorado Springs, through Woodland Park. Echo - don't look at fuel economy when going uphill! We averaged 14 mpg for that trip (Denver to Cripple Creek, and back).

[scrubjaysnest]

Extended warranties we stay away from...not worth the money unless they give ya a couple years worth of free oil changes. Had an extended warrenty on a Ford, everything that broke wasn't covered including the tranny and a/c. We don't do used any more...drive until they are dust. We have the small v8 in both the Ram and the Cherokee. Plenty of power there so the hemi wil do even better. Ram gets 13 to 14 mpg when towing the TM. Darn good in my book for 11200# going down the highway.

Thanks for the heads up on the mileage. We get around 14 with the Isuzu so anything in that area is ok. At least I will not have to worry about having enough power and it is not 6 mpg like a lot of the class A's.

We are currently camping in Wilderness Lakes Thousand Trails and a guy a few sites down has a Durango. He told me, that one of the great things about the Durango is that you can pull it behind your motorhome without having to do something with the electronics. He said it was the only one he knew of that you can just hook up and pull. He also recommended the extended warranty. His is a 2001 and he has the warranty through Ford. He had the motor replaced and that paid for itself. He said plan on an argument when you have to have something done and know your contract. Should be interesting.

Been checking prices to have it shipped from New York to Florida. Best price is $650. We will not be home until April and have to delay she shipping until we get home to receive it.

Suppose to pick the wife up in LA today. I guess it is time to break the news to her. She really don't care.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Tampajohn

Been checking prices to have it shipped from New York to Florida. Best price is $650.

John -

There is some kind of rail service - part of Amtrak? - specifically dedicated to shipping cars between Florida and the Northeast. It is intended for snowbirds, and so it may run only spring and fall, I'm not sure. Might be worth checking out if you havent done so already.

[Edit] It is Amtrak, and it is called AutoTrain. There are others - Union Pacific has one, for example.

Bill

Thanks Bill. I will check it out.

I am still alive after telling the wife. I showed her one like it and she said look how big it is. I am suppose to do drive that LOL. Get over it. She should know me by now. We been married for ever. I am sure the bridge and tennis girls will love it.

Nothing ever boring in the Sagraves household.

[Bill]

Warning! I gave an email address to one company, because it was needed in order to get an estimate - and within an hour I had replies from 14 different companies!

Bill