[ckeegan]

Pulling the trigger on a Durango Citadel in the next week or two, and I'm seriously torn between the Pentastar and Hemi.

My wife and I are talking about getting a travel trailer (likely hybrid around 5,000lb GVWR), but not immediately. I am a Realtor, so the vast majority of my driving is city.

Just curious if anyone here tows anything of any weight with the Pentastar. Clearly 5,000lbs would be well within the Durango/Pentastar's listed ability, but that may be going down the flattest Florida road they could find. I'm in SC, which is slightly hilly, but would easily take the trailer up into the Smokies.

I certainly don't want to hate myself every time I fill up a Hemi Durango if the Penstar would be sufficient. Again, we're going to be newbie campers, so the absolutely majority of the time, the Durango is going to be hauling my family of 4 or me and a couple clients.

Thanks for the input.

 

[sonicblaze]

How long are you planning on keeping it? I have a 2011 JGC V6, and although its towing capacity is lower (3,500) than the 2014 I think , I tow a popup @ 3,200 and it groans on the hills a little in western Nebraska. I stopped using cruise control because going up a hill, it'd just scream in 4th trying to keep up the speed.

If I got to do it over again and knew back then I'd buy a camper even only using it a few times a year, I would have opted for a larger engine. Yes the hit to the wallet at the pump is more often, but if I hadn't had the V6 first as direct comparison, I would have never know how much/bad it was and probably wouldn't think much of it.

 

[ckeegan]

I'll probably have it for 5-7 years, which is why I want to make the right decision out of the gate. Thanks for your initial reply though.

 

[davewg]

Pulling the trigger on a Durango Citadel in the next week or two, and I'm seriously torn between the Pentastar and Hemi.

My wife and I are talking about getting a travel trailer (likely hybrid around 5,000lb GVWR), but not immediately. I am a Realtor, so the vast majority of my driving is city.

Just curious if anyone here tows anything of any weight with the Pentastar. Clearly 5,000lbs would be well within the Durango/Pentastar's listed ability, but that may be going down the flattest Florida road they could find. I'm in SC, which is slightly hilly, but would easily take the trailer up into the Smokies.

I certainly don't want to hate myself every time I fill up a Hemi Durango if the Penstar would be sufficient. Again, we're going to be newbie campers, so the absolutely majority of the time, the Durango is going to be hauling my family of 4 or me and a couple clients.

Thanks for the input.

At 5000 lbs I'd be looking at the hemi. I tow a 25' camper now with a Yukon XL Denali. Our trailer weighs about 4500 loadd out and u wouldn't want less then what I have.

Keep in mind a 5000 lb trailer empty will be closer to 6000 lbs loaded, and what ever you put in the D reduces its tow capacity.

We're getting a looking at a Limited with the 3.6, but our next camper will weigh in empty around 2700 lbs.

If you're curious I can provide links on how to properly calculate/consider towing. It's more than just the weight of the trailer...

 

[ckeegan]

At 5000 lbs I'd be looking at the hemi. I tow a 25' camper now with a Yukon XL Denali. Our trailer weighs about 4500 loadd out and u wouldn't want less then what I have.

Keep in mind a 5000 lb trailer empty will be closer to 6000 lbs loaded, and what ever you put in the D reduces its tow capacity.

We're getting a looking at a Limited with the 3.6, but our next camper will weigh in empty around 2700 lbs.

If you're curious I can provide links on how to properly calculate/consider towing. It's more than just the weight of the trailer...

Thanks for the input. Just for the record, the dry weight of the trailer we're eyeing up is only 4,100 lbs, GVWR is 5,500. That, plus occupants on the D still puts us just below the tow rating, but I also don't want the D taching out up a big hill slowing to 25 mph.

On the flipside, the 80% of the time I'm not towing, I'm going to hate filling the tank! Why oh why didn't Chrysler bring the damn diesel over?

 

[davewg]

Thanks for the input. Just for the record, the dry weight of the trailer we're eyeing up is only 4,100 lbs, GVWR is 5,500. That, plus occupants on the D still puts us just below the tow rating, but I also don't want the D taching out up a big hill slowing to 25 mph.

On the flipside, the 80% of the time I'm not towing, I'm going to hate filling the tank! Why oh why didn't Chrysler bring the damn diesel over?

Your still going to be close if not overloaded. The empty trailer will put a minimum of a 410 lb load on the D (10-15% of the trailer weight is recommended on the hitch). You need to subtract that weight from the load capacity go the D. As you load the trailer the tongue weight goes up, and the Ds cargo capacity goes down.

Just remember its not just about the weight of the trailer.

You won't have all of the exact weights needed, but look at this calculator to get an idea
http://changingears.com/rv-sec-calc-trailer-weight-tt.shtml

This link is old, but was a good rule of thumb for me when I first got into towing. Note too the second comment.
http://bamarv.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-to-calculate-your-real-towing.html

 

[ckeegan]

Awesome info so far, thanks a lot. It is interesting, I have searched for videos or anyone with any history of trying to tow with the Pentastar in the D, and nothing. I guess that tells you something! You'd think that the tow rating would be more accurate to real life, but it sounds like that extra 1,200 lbs the Hemi can pull will make a big difference. The question is whether or not that difference 20% of the time is worth the pain at the pump the other 80%.

 

[fireman]

Just remember its not just about the weight of the trailer.

You won't have all of the exact weights needed, but look at this calculator to get an idea
Travel Trailer Weight Calculator

This link is old, but was a good rule of thumb for me when I first got into towing. Note too the second comment.
Living the RV Life: How to Calculate your REAL Towing Capacity

Thanks for the links. I'll definitely be revisiting that before I start towing this winter. My trailer will only be about 2200 pounds loaded and I'm hoping to be able to get a check on the scale by the state police.

 

[davewg]

Thanks for the links. I'll definitely be revisiting that before I start towing this winter. My trailer will only be about 2200 pounds loaded and I'm hoping to be able to get a check on the scale by the state police.

You won't have any issues with the V6 with that trailer.

The next travel trailer we're looking at has a GVWR of about 3700 lbs, and I'm not concerned with the D's ability to tow that.

I don't think I'll get any where close to that weight either.

 

[ckeegan]

You won't have any issues with the V6 with that trailer.

The next travel trailer we're looking at has a GVWR of about 3700 lbs, and I'm not concerned with the D's ability to tow that.

I don't think I'll get any where close to that weight either.

Honestly, I'm hoping that is the case since I would prefer the Pentastar from a cost standpoint (prefer the Hemi from an exhaust note, being a man, and smoking people off the line standpoint), but obviously I can't go back once I've bought the D.

I just wonder if you can realistically tow something with 5,500lbs loaded (including people and gear in the D) and go up a hill faster than 25mph at 6,000rpm.

 

[fireman]

I certainly don't want to hate myself every time I fill up a Hemi Durango if the Penstar would be sufficient. Again, we're going to be newbie campers, so the absolutely majority of the time, the Durango is going to be hauling my family of 4 or me and a couple clients.

Thanks for the input.

I did some math for you, assuming 20,000 miles a year.
The 2014 V6 gets a combined 19 MPG
The 2014 Hemi gets a combined 16 MPG

Dividing 20,000 by those numbers yields this:
V6 - 1052 gallons of gas per year
V8 - 1250 gallons of gas per year

Driving 20,000 miles a year and getting the average combined MPG shown on the sticker, the Hemi will require an extra 198 gallons of gas per year.

The current national average for regular is $3.48. Multiply $3.48 by those extra 198 gallons and you're looking at $698.04 more in gas per year. Obviously, if you drive fewer than 20,000 miles a year, that number will go down. Conversely, if you're like me and drive more than 20,000 miles a year, you'll pay more than $698.04 extra per year. (This also assumes gas prices remain the same all year.)

Edit: These numbers do not take towing into consideration as there are too many variables. It's just a rough baseline.

Factor in a likely increase in insurance rates as well for the Hemi.

 

[johngreen1234]

OP does not seem to be accounting for wind resistance.

I towed a ~3500 lb TT with the 4.0 I6 for several years. I found that on rural roads with steep upgrades I was faster than any MH and most TT's, once I'd dropped down to second. The PROBLEM was keeping above 55 on the freeway if there was a headwind. With a tailwind 75 was easy. But imagine travelling a flat freeway in heavy traffic and not being able to keep up with traffic--and that includes big-rig trucks.

I have a Hemi now and every morning I thank heaven for blessing mankind with the Hemi. Yes, there is an incremental gas cost (when NOT towing), and then there are other little costs. But when you hear that Hemi roar, you'll know what man's purpose in life is!