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Post edited 10:06 pm – October 25, 2012 by ron_sue

Whew….. honestly, a 24 ft. trailer is too much for that truck.  can you tow  it, probably.  will you enjoy it, probably not.  a ram set up the same would probably be worse since the 4.7 would be dragging a heavier truck body.  our trailer is just a little more than half that size and it can be a hand full under some conditions (mountains and head winds).  maybe a earlier ram with a 360 ci. engine (i think some dakotas had that option), a 5.7 ford, etc.,  then there is all ways the d word (diesel).  

again, honestly trailers over 16 ft. have a different set of requirements for safe comfortable towing than our little classics.   i was looking at one time at an 18ft. trailer  with a slide and thinking lincoln navigator.  i knew of someone that used an escalade to pull a similar (to what you are considering) trailer.  they did ok, but the gas stations did better. 

just my opinion, but if you are counting votes…….

Edit on 10/25

Here is how the dakota works for me when towing;

0-30mph i can take off like a mustang (spinning tires and all i'm sure but i would pay for that for miles if sue was in the truck  30-60  on flat ground takes a little more effort than when empty but still not bad.  at 60-65 on flat ground i can run in overdrive, and in "hilly" areas 55-60 is comfortably in tow/haul.  however, one of the first things that i have to do when traveling to one of our favorites is  climb a mountain.  like i said later in this thread i  had pop-ups at one time. what i did not say was that i tried to tow one of them with a 4cyl. chevy wagon climbing the same mountain.  i would have to turn my flashers on and creep up.  although not as bad, the dakota handles it very similar.  i have found a sweet spot around 45 mph that seems to work.  any faster and the trannie hunts, and the temps (coolant and transmission) head into the 200+ range quick.  all that while delivering about 6 mpg. i refuse to push it any harder.

I pull my 16BH with an F150 and 4.6L V8, and I know the trailer is back there when even going up TX hills and especially in a head wind.  It will start searching for a lower gear when trying to maintain anything above 60.

Also reemember your payload is going to have to include passengers and cargo in the truck as well as tongue weight.

As many have said on here before, it's not so much the weight, but the wind resistance when towing these boxes down the road.  However, in your proposed scenario you're looking at a double whammy. The RV you're considering is on the heavier side of the lightweight category, and the Spree series sits just a little higher than the Classics so catches a bit more breeze.  If you're never going to venture any further than your local area you might be o/k, but getting up on the big road and heading for the hills will tax that 'lil Dodge into submission. 

My tow vehicle also has a 6100lb rating, and when I considered trailers I set myself a weight limit of roughly half that to try and ensure a comfortable towing experience no matter what.

Mike M.

Great truck, it'll have no problem pulling anything in the Classic line, and you won't regret the extra towing capacity.  Hopefully gas mileage isn't on your list of things to be concerned about, because even completely unloaded it's not that great.  In exchange though, you get good torque, which makes towing more pleasurable.

One area of concern:  5.4's were prone to significant spark plug problems.  They used a stupid plug design that hung a long unthreaded section down into the combustion chamber.  This section carbons up and causes the plugs to be next to impossible to get out.  There are scores and scores of cases where the heads have had to come off, a job that's worth more than the truck at 12 years old.  Find out if the plugs have been done or if they need doing.  If you own it and it needs plugs, find someone who has experience dealing with them.  The methods for working on them have evolved over the years, and you don't want someone who has never faced them just taking a shot at it.  Guaranteed breakage.  They are not for the squeamish.

Mike M.