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09-09-2015, 03:19 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Seattle, Washington
Trailer: 2017 Escape 21 " June Bug"
Posts: 102
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Dodge Durango as TV---V6 or V8 for 21
Seems like the tow weight of 6200 for V6 is enough and would appreciate the thoughts of experienced escapers pulling 21s which one to go with....thanks much!
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09-09-2015, 03:58 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Allendale, New Jersey
Trailer: 19' towed by a 4Runner
Posts: 251
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If I lived in the NW and was towing in the mountains I would go with the V8 to tow the 21'
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09-09-2015, 04:43 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
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Get the hemi with the 8 speed transmission, nice set up.
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
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09-09-2015, 04:59 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Chattanooga, Tennessee
Trailer: 2015 19 foot
Posts: 439
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I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee with a V-6 and 8 speed transmission which also has the 6200 pound towing limit. I have towed a 19 over the Sierra Nevada with no problems. I like getting 3-4 MPG better mileage all the time. We thought a lot about V-6 vs V-8 but the everyday mileage tipped the scales for us and I am not sorry.
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09-09-2015, 05:53 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: O town, British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21 "Lightning"
Posts: 1,467
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I live and tow in the NW of the continent and love the V8.
If you had stated you were going to stay on the relatively flat land of the I5 corridor, then I'd suggest the V6.
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09-09-2015, 07:22 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Olympia, Washington
Trailer: 2016 Escape 5.0TA has gone to a good home in Manitoba. Now Class B+ owners sadly not an Escape
Posts: 460
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Our V-8 Dodge Dakota rated to tow 7500 pounds did great towing our 21 up hills...at 20 mph and the AC off so it did not overheat...
__________________
Jan and Paul
"Le Bon Oeuf"
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09-26-2015, 11:49 AM
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#7
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Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Trailer: Escape 19 (Sep 15)
Posts: 12
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We just returned from Chilliwack with our 19 and 2014 durango with v6 and the tow package. Did great up and down the mountain passes, headwinds and cross winds. On this trip we covered over 2600 miles with various mtn passes and we averaged 15.5 mpg towing.
I too fretted the v6 vs v8, but opted for the v6 for the other 28 days a month we are not towing. And tow performance was just fine!
There is a little sag but not much, and we towed without wdh or sway bars.
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09-26-2015, 12:52 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
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If there is sag then you need w/d. otherwise your headlights will be out of alignment.
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
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09-26-2015, 01:54 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SpokanEscape
Our V-8 Dodge Dakota rated to tow 7500 pounds did great towing our 21 up hills...at 20 mph and the AC off so it did not overheat...
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A great illustration of how counting cylinders says nothing useful about an engine. Depending on the year, a Dakota could have had one of three different V8's of the "Magnum" family with as little as 170 horsepower. Early Durangos were wagon-bodied Dakotas with the same engines, but there is no longer a connection; the current Dakota V8 is the 5.7L 360 horsepower "Hemi" (the one which Jim mentioned).
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09-26-2015, 01:56 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elwoodaz
We just returned from Chilliwack with our 19 and 2014 durango with v6 and the tow package. Did great up and down the mountain passes, headwinds and cross winds...
I too fretted the v6 vs v8, but opted for the v6 for the other 28 days a month we are not towing. And tow performance was just fine!
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That makes sense to me - the current V6 is the 3.6L "Pentastar", which puts out more power than any V8 offered in the Dakota or early Durango.
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09-26-2015, 02:06 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elwoodaz
There is a little sag but not much, and we towed without wdh or sway bars.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008
If there is sag then you need w/d. otherwise your headlights will be out of alignment.
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How much sag? Put even one person in a back seat or anything in the cargo area - without a trailer - and the rear end goes down a little more than the front. There's no problem unless it is excessive.
If you have HID headlights, you likely have an adjuster knob on the dashboard to fix vertical aim.
The alternative to fix rear ride height (if that's the only concern) is air springs added to the rear suspension, if they're available for that model.
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09-26-2015, 02:59 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: North of Danbury, Wisconsin
Trailer: 2018 Escape 21C
Posts: 3,033
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We added airlift air bags and it helped correct rear sag . Very easy install.
I crossed the Rockies this week on I 70. I have the 5.7 Liter Hemi V8 and I found
it barely adequate. A lot depends on what speed you wish to maintain pulling up a long
grade. I witnessed many vehicles that could not maintain 20 MPH coming up the mountains
I've often wondered that if they had to come to a dead stop if they could ever get going again.
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09-26-2015, 03:19 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
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Why was your motor "barely adequate" ? crossed the same road with mine and had no issues pulling my 21'Escape. Did you have something in the truck bed??
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
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09-26-2015, 03:21 PM
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#14
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Site Team
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Canyon Lake, Texas
Trailer: 2015 19 "Past Tents", 2021 F150 Lariat 2.7L EB
Posts: 10,222
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Yeah, good question. Steve, are you saying the Hemi V8 is underpowered?
__________________
"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy an RV. And that is pretty close."
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09-26-2015, 03:31 PM
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#15
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
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There's something extraordinarily wrong if an engine with the same power output as used to pull 20 tons has trouble moving five tons on the same road. Until not so many years ago, 300 to 400 horsepower was a big rig engine rating.
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09-26-2015, 03:51 PM
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#16
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: North of Danbury, Wisconsin
Trailer: 2018 Escape 21C
Posts: 3,033
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All I know is that I have towed up long steep grades with my Hemi and with the Cummin's
6.7 liter diesel . There is no comparison, the diesel acted like it was on flat ground and never
struggled in the least , I cannot say the same for the Hemi. I've owned pickup trucks with V6
engines . They worked fine on flat ground when lightly loaded but not when loaded to their payload limit .Just my experience and opinion. My work trucks were always one ton trucks
with the biggest V8 available so maybe I am just spoiled ?
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09-26-2015, 03:59 PM
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#17
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Site Team
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Canyon Lake, Texas
Trailer: 2015 19 "Past Tents", 2021 F150 Lariat 2.7L EB
Posts: 10,222
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Maybe, I dunno.
Towed our 19 with the 2.7L Ecoboost on some very steep grades in CO and NM and had power to spare.
__________________
"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy an RV. And that is pretty close."
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09-26-2015, 04:04 PM
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#18
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
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I do know that out west with the Ethanol additive I switched to premium and got better gas mileage, even with the cost differential. Did you not drive the hemi before purchasing to compare with your diesel experience?
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
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09-26-2015, 04:33 PM
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#19
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: North of Danbury, Wisconsin
Trailer: 2018 Escape 21C
Posts: 3,033
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008
I do know that out west with the Ethanol additive I switched to premium and got better gas mileage, even with the cost differential. Did you not drive the hemi before purchasing to compare with your diesel experience?
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I run midgrade when at home in Wisconsin . I ran premium when towing in the mountain states out west. My previous truck was a 2011 Ram 1500 with the 5.7 ltr Hemi.
We don't have mountains in the Midwest so I had no way of knowing how the truck would perform in the Rockies. Everyone has different towing expectations and I guess I expected
too much.
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09-26-2015, 05:43 PM
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#20
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steve dunham
All I know is that I have towed up long steep grades with my Hemi and with the Cummin's 6.7 liter diesel . There is no comparison, the diesel acted like it was on flat ground and never struggled in the least , I cannot say the same for the Hemi.
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The current Chrysler Hemi has about 10% more power than the Ram version of the Cummins, but would need to spin substantially faster to produce that peak power (5600 rpm versus 3000 rpm) - although of course most people wouldn't use all four hundred horsepower and so wouldn't need that peak speed. If the transmission (or the driver) doesn't choose a low enough gear, the Hemi won't produce the power.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rbryan4
Towed our 19 with the 2.7L Ecoboost on some very steep grades in CO and NM and had power to spare.
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The turbochargers - on the diesel or the EcoBoost - help to maintain power output at high elevation, unlike any naturally aspirated engine (including that Hemi) which loses power in the lower-density air.
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