Expedition vs. Durango?

I towed a keystroke bullet 32 footer with a dodge durango Hemi all over the west (2005). I added bilsteins to stiffen the rear of the Hemi, and might have added air bags if I hadn't sold the trailer.the Hemi has good power and at 2 00k miles is doing great. I love the hemi. Really do.

I'd go for a new ecodiesel Grand Cherokee... JMHO..

7400 lb towing..

Modern day unibody vehicles are not anything like the musclecar's of the 60's and 70's.. todays Unibody's are very robust. Body on Frame has its place, thats for sure, but for these light weights, the unibody is very fine.

Especially given the frequency that most RV'ers tow.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

I am only considering Durangos 2009 or earlier with frame construction versus Expos 2007 or later.

I've wondered how the newer Durangos handle towing. I have a 2004 we used to pull a 24' 5000lb loaded TT. Pulled it great, a bit slow (35mph) up steep mountain grades but did fine.

The 2004-2009 Durangos had a very stiff square tube frame and solid axles. An SUV on a rather tough truck frame and suspension. Aren't the newer Durangos built more for creature comfort than for towing? Meaning, independent suspension and not as heavy of a frame?

That said the 5.7L Hemi handled the load just fine although 6,000lb loaded would be our limit in mountainous regions. The newer 5.7L has a bit more torque than our 2004 and slightly better mpg.

Mvander wrote:
Expy is a more robust 1/2 ton based suv. Not saying the durango wont work just that it will be a less robust platform.

I personaly would not want to tow with a uni-body.

FishOnOne wrote:
Is it important to you one has a frame and one is uni-body?

I'd think so...the old definitions for a SUV and CUV are blurring

Old days has the SUV body on frame and derived from pickups. The CUV's
are monocoque/uni-body and derived from 'cars' or 'mini vans'

The current Expy is a body on frame and derived from a pickup

The current Durango is a monocoque/uni-body derived from Grand Cherokee
and there is debate whether SUV or CUV. The frame like sheet-metal 'frame'
underneath the pan is what makes that argument legit for both sides

Typically...OEM's do NOT recommend WD Receivers on their monocoque/uni-body
vehicles

Ask if anyone knows whether the Durango has any WD Receiver restrictions?

Now dislike the term SUV. Loved it when they first coined it. As..back
then, it was very descriptive of how we used our 4x4's. Sports minded
utility vehicles going out into the boonies for sport

Today, few and a very few at that, actually take their 4x4's off road
Serious off roading...not local fire roads

Is it important to you one has a frame and one is unibody?

Expy is a more robust 1/2 ton based suv. Not saying the durango wont work just that it will be a less robust platform.

The new Durango is rated very well against the competition, as Bionic Man indicated. A coworker has a 2013 Durango V6 2WD and he regularly pulls a large boat that apparently weighs 5500 lb according to his scale ticket. I know boats pull easier due to better aerodynamics, but he thinks his Durango is the best thing since sliced bacon.

The new Durangos are very ncie vehicles. They just won a CUV competition in Motor Trend. That said, their comparison was against CUVs and with the base V6.

I am sure that others here will talk about GVWR, which is important. Size wise, the Durango is size competitive in wheel base and track to a Yukon/Tahoe.