2018 DURANGO RT OR SRT

Rent another motorhome. Seriously. You want to leave in 3 weeks for a 2500 mile trip with a proposed TV that will be over its ratings with no experience towing. Is this a vacation of torque test? That does not leave much time for practice, shakedown trips, or WDH adjustment.

Mid-size SUVs are very limited when it comes to towing high walled RVs with a family onboard. People tend to add about 1000 pounds of items (food, cooking, cloths, towels, spare parts, tools, chairs, toys, etc) for a long weekend. For a long distance trip, you may be approaching 1500 pounds over dry weight. Also, you can expect loaded TW to be in the 12-14% of loaded overall weight in order to help it remain stable. So if you are looking at 6k pounds dry, then, you will likely be around 7500 pounds with 900-1000 pounds of loaded TW. In order to keep all the vehicle ratings (towing, GVWR, axles) under specifications while towing with a family of 4-5, you will want something with at least 1500 (1700-1800 better) pounds of as equipped payload noted on the Tire and Loading sticker, 900+ pound receiver rating, as well as enough tow rating. If you are restricted to FCA, then you're in a 3/4 ton crew cab pickup.


You do not need an integrated brake controller. The better aftermarket ones are under $150CAN and take 10 minutes to install, 9 of which are mounting. Fine tuning the weight distributing hitch is key to comfort and stability. My design is a a little more picky about being adjusted more precisely than most. I have had 60mph feel scary to my wife as a passenger, or 75mph be rock solid with only WDH adjustment differences.

I had a 2016 Durango AWD Hemi R/T and Love, Love, Loved it. Purchased a Grand Design 2150 and all the specs were within the DD's limits (I later found out except 1. It was the Hitch Tongue Weight limit) It did pull it fine however.

Factory specs said 423lbs for the trailer. When I weighed the tongue it was 770lbs without any water. I found out later that was without batteries, propane, weight distribution hitch, and anything in the trailer.

Jeeps and Durango's have unibody construction and even though it has a class 4 hitch, it is only rated from the factory to carry 720lbs on the hitch "Period".

So my advice is check the tongue weight or like me you will be buying a different vehicle.

I have a Durango and yes, the payload is your biggest issue. With girls, you're unlikely to see the growth spurt that turns a 50lb squirt into a 130lb refrigerator, but you need to factor in additional stuff as they get older and bringing friends along.

You also don't mention how many girls you have.

With my SLT, I would not tow anything more than about 4500gvwr even though it says "6000 towing capacity". And I don't have the additional people and their stuff to bring with me.

Another thing to note is that if you are looking at the lightweight trailers, some of them have well less than 100lbs available for stuff in them (some only have 200-300 lbs available), so once you fill the fresh water tank, there's no available "weight" left in the trailer for stuff so you can reduce weight in the tow vehicle.

id be concerned about payload as well. That was the limiting factor when I had my WJ. by the time a family of 4 with their gear and a weight distributing hitch are in the vehicle there isn't much left for tongue weight. also get real world weights on the camper. dry weight is just a mythical number. I suspect it could be done but just barely. Not likely to be a pleasant experience. May we ask why no crew cab truck? They are infinitely more practical, more capable and cheaper with higher resale value to boot. My wife didn't like my truck but soon warmed up to it. her explorer was almost another f150 had we not got the deal we did on a leftover old model year explorer. if its appearance a cap can make it look more like an suv. Drive one. They don't drive like the bricks of old.

Make sure it has the Hemi. We have a 2014 with the V6 and it has good power but towing our 3000lb tractor leaves me wanting more power. Absolutely love our Durango though.

As others are saying, payload cap is usually the problem with lighter tow vehicles.
If the above statement is correct, driver and a full tank of fuel are already included. If you have a 1700 lb payload cap on that model try checking it this way to see what you can pull and or carry.

Weight of others in vehicle,
remember kids grow so allow for that 300lbs
weight distributing hitch 100 lbs
Stuff in the truck, coolers etc 100lbs
so 500 or so for the family, leaves you with a little over 1200 lbs for tongue weight.
The maximum towing capacity on those suv's is listed as about 7200 lbs, Tongue weight should be 15% of total weight of the trailer so the tongue when the trailer is loaded for use will be around 1080 lbs.

When looking at trailers look at gvwr, empty weights dont matter, loaded as you will use it is what matters.

By the weights you are probably OK. Also most people will tell you that you should maintain a safety margin of anywhere from 10% of 20% in ensuring that you are safe. If you adhere to that your gross loaded trailer weight should be kept to about 6000 lbs.
If your terrain is flat and level you should be ok with any tt under the above weights. You wont be going fast if you approach those numbers, but with a tow package including brake controller and transmission cooler you should have a manageable rig.

Looks like the SRT base payload is 1590, that's going to be really, really tight for a 600lb dry tongue weight trailer and a family of 4 or more. My trailer is 360lb dry tongue and loaded to travel and with 5 in the truck we were at ~90% of our 1650 payload. You're going to have to be very, very careful about how you load both the trailer and tow vehicle to keep all your weights within limits.

The RT appears to have an even lower payload rating so it's right out. If you're looking at SRTs make sure you check the yellow door sticker of the specific vehicle you're looking at.

You are ignoring the first rule of TTs and 5ers....buy or select the TT/5er first and then match a TV to it. Proceed at your own peril. Down the road you may become a boondocker with a small TT so no issue but if you like private RV parks for long stays and a big TT, you are in trouble.

If you go ahead regardless, think gross weight rating and PAYLOAD...not trim level.

Be careful of the payload numbers for the SUV you buy. The yellow sticker on the door jamb will tell you how much weight the vehicle can carry, including the trailer tongue weight, hitch, anything in the cargo area, and the weight of the passengers. It gets used up fast!