Hey guys and gals I hope I am not opening a topic that has been asked before but I just needed some advice. I am new to camping and I am looking at buying a Apex Nano 213 RDS with a dry weight of just over 3700 pounds. My tow vehicle is a 2002 Dodge Dakota 4.7 2 wheel drive. I know that I will need a trailer brake assist as well as a weight distribution bar but should my truck be sufficient to pull that trailer? It is rated for 6000 plus pounds but I would just like some advice to be sure before I pull the trigger on a new trailer. Thanks again for the help.
02 Dodge Dakota & Coachmen Apex Nano 213RDS
- Thread starter Camper402
- Start date
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Roy M
Well-known member
Is your towing capcity from the truck data plate? Don't rely on a sales brochure, those numbers are for a bare bones vehicle with minimum fuel and a 150 lb driver. That trailer grosses at 6,000 lb, forget trying to tow it with your truck.
grashley
Well-known member
Welcome to the Forum!
Thank you for asking before purchase!!
Since 2009, all vehicles have a placard stating their actual payload as it left the factory. That makes answering questions easier. You do not have that placard. To accurately determine your payload, fill the fuel tank and get the truck weighed. There WILL be a tire placard with the truck GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating). Subtract actual weight from GVWR to get remaining Payload. Technically, the Payload does not include any passengers or cargo. In this case simply know anything in the truck when it was weighed is already included in the weights.
The remaining Payload must be sufficient to hold all additional passengers and cargo carried in the truck as well as 80# for the WD hitch and the tongue wt of the camper.
According to the Coachman web site, that camper is 3806# dry and 6000# GVWR. A 6000# camper will have a tongue wt of 600 - 700#.
If the published max tow wt is 6000#, you will certainly be well over what your truck was designed to pull. As Roy said, that 6000# number is for a bare naked truck with max tow option, full fuel tank and a 150# driver ONLY! (Recent models include 2 passengers) Every pound of options on the truck and every pound of passengers and cargo in excess of 150# must be deducted from the MaxTow.
Remember also this is a 16 year old truck as well.
I would not try to pull this camper. I would limit my search to campers with GVWR below 4000#. Salesmen will ridicule the GVWR weight and push the dry wt. They want to sell campers and do not care about your safety or your truck's ability to tow. NOBODY goes camping in an empty dry wt trailer. It will be much closer to GVWR than dry wt. Anything less than the GVWR is a safety margin.
Thank you for asking before purchase!!
Since 2009, all vehicles have a placard stating their actual payload as it left the factory. That makes answering questions easier. You do not have that placard. To accurately determine your payload, fill the fuel tank and get the truck weighed. There WILL be a tire placard with the truck GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating). Subtract actual weight from GVWR to get remaining Payload. Technically, the Payload does not include any passengers or cargo. In this case simply know anything in the truck when it was weighed is already included in the weights.
The remaining Payload must be sufficient to hold all additional passengers and cargo carried in the truck as well as 80# for the WD hitch and the tongue wt of the camper.
According to the Coachman web site, that camper is 3806# dry and 6000# GVWR. A 6000# camper will have a tongue wt of 600 - 700#.
If the published max tow wt is 6000#, you will certainly be well over what your truck was designed to pull. As Roy said, that 6000# number is for a bare naked truck with max tow option, full fuel tank and a 150# driver ONLY! (Recent models include 2 passengers) Every pound of options on the truck and every pound of passengers and cargo in excess of 150# must be deducted from the MaxTow.
Remember also this is a 16 year old truck as well.
I would not try to pull this camper. I would limit my search to campers with GVWR below 4000#. Salesmen will ridicule the GVWR weight and push the dry wt. They want to sell campers and do not care about your safety or your truck's ability to tow. NOBODY goes camping in an empty dry wt trailer. It will be much closer to GVWR than dry wt. Anything less than the GVWR is a safety margin.
56safari
Well-known member
I own a 2003 Dakota club cab 4.7 with 5 spd manual, 3.55 rear end ratio and the tow package - bought the truck new. For mine, the max towing weight is 5,600 lbs. I don't use the truck to tow a camping trailer, but do tow an open car trailer. I have towed a combined 5,400 lbs with no issues. The truck will hold my towing speed of 60 to 65 on most interstate grades but I do drop to third gear and around 50 mph crossing the Cumberland's on I 75. It will hold it's own in 5th gear on fairly level roads, but 4th keeps the rpm near peak torque and the mpg is similar in my experience. The truck is stable and not buffeted by passing semis. But, I don't have the same frontal area of a camping trailer. If I were considering towing a camping trailer, I'd probably limit the weight of the trailer to something under 5,000 lbs. Obviously, I do have a trailer brake controller and electric brakes on the trailer. Just my experience. Hope it helps you in your decision process.
Forgot to mention its 2WD. My more typical trailer weight is 4,500 lbs and the truck handles that with ease. Just don't expect your typical mpg. Without the trailer, I'll get 20 to 22 mpg on the highway. With the trailer the mpg drops to 10 to 13 depending on the weight, wind and terrain.
Forgot to mention its 2WD. My more typical trailer weight is 4,500 lbs and the truck handles that with ease. Just don't expect your typical mpg. Without the trailer, I'll get 20 to 22 mpg on the highway. With the trailer the mpg drops to 10 to 13 depending on the weight, wind and terrain.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
As others have asked, let's verify the source of that 6000 lb tow rating. 2002 Dakota's with the 4.7L engine can vary anywhere from 5050-6600 lbs of tow capacity, depending on body style and optional equipment. The Club Cab and Quad Cab models are usually under 6000 lbs. Find the TL Towing Guide for 2002 and check for your specific version of truck.
http://www.trailerlife.com/trailer-towing-guides/
That Nano 213 will weigh in around 6000 lb when loaded for travel (forget the dry weight!), which means the Dakota will have to carry about 600 lbs of tongue weight in addition to passengers, gear and hitch in/on the truck. Make sure you have tow and cargo capacity sufficient for that. My guess is that you are going to be really close to max, which is rarely a comfortable situation for towing.
http://www.trailerlife.com/trailer-towing-guides/
That Nano 213 will weigh in around 6000 lb when loaded for travel (forget the dry weight!), which means the Dakota will have to carry about 600 lbs of tongue weight in addition to passengers, gear and hitch in/on the truck. Make sure you have tow and cargo capacity sufficient for that. My guess is that you are going to be really close to max, which is rarely a comfortable situation for towing.
Following up on this question because I have a similar vehicle. TV would be a 2016 Lexus GX 460 with a couple mods to stabilize the rear end. Tow limits are 6500 weight and 950 Tongue Weight. I will use a WDH, anti-sway, etc. as this will be my first time towing for any distance.
Since the 213RDS is under 4000 pounds dry what would be the difference towing this with it's 6000 pound GVWR vs. another trailer that is dry weight of 4000 and a GVWR of 5000?
Seems a little weight management should do the trick.
Or would it be better to target something with a dry weight of 3500? It will be my wife and I and our 3 small dogs.
Thanks!
Since the 213RDS is under 4000 pounds dry what would be the difference towing this with it's 6000 pound GVWR vs. another trailer that is dry weight of 4000 and a GVWR of 5000?
Seems a little weight management should do the trick.
Or would it be better to target something with a dry weight of 3500? It will be my wife and I and our 3 small dogs.
Thanks!
steveblonde
Well-known member
zambien said:
What mods did you do to stabilize the rear end?
grashley
Well-known member
Welcome to the Forum!
Generally, a new thread will get more responses than tacking on to an older one, but both are completely "legal".
In answer to your question, the difference between camper A that is 4K dry, 6K GVWR and camper B that is 4K dry and 5K GVWR is simply the suspension / axles / tires used and the maximum weight the camper is designed to carry. We always suggest GVWR in calculations because nobody goes camping in an empty camper and GVWR is closer to what the camper you actually pull will weigh. If it weighs a bit less, it is a safety margin. It is amazing how quickly a camper can "gain weight."
Note also that the PUBLISHED max tow for an older truck (pre 2014) assumes a base model, NO options except max tow package, one 150# driver, NO passengers, NO cargo and a full tank of fuel. Every pound of options, accessories, passengers and cargo must be deducted from the max tow.
Note also this max tow really applies to a pile of bricks on a flat bed trailer, NOT a 10 ft tall, 8 ft wide travel trailer. The advertising department does all in their power to make this number as big as possible for advertising. It does NOT mean YOUR truck can safely pull that weight. It means they make one similar to yours that can.
Thanks for asking!
Generally, a new thread will get more responses than tacking on to an older one, but both are completely "legal".
In answer to your question, the difference between camper A that is 4K dry, 6K GVWR and camper B that is 4K dry and 5K GVWR is simply the suspension / axles / tires used and the maximum weight the camper is designed to carry. We always suggest GVWR in calculations because nobody goes camping in an empty camper and GVWR is closer to what the camper you actually pull will weigh. If it weighs a bit less, it is a safety margin. It is amazing how quickly a camper can "gain weight."
Note also that the PUBLISHED max tow for an older truck (pre 2014) assumes a base model, NO options except max tow package, one 150# driver, NO passengers, NO cargo and a full tank of fuel. Every pound of options, accessories, passengers and cargo must be deducted from the max tow.
Note also this max tow really applies to a pile of bricks on a flat bed trailer, NOT a 10 ft tall, 8 ft wide travel trailer. The advertising department does all in their power to make this number as big as possible for advertising. It does NOT mean YOUR truck can safely pull that weight. It means they make one similar to yours that can.
Thanks for asking!
grashley said:
Thanks for the info and advice. I've been going back and forth between something like the 213 RDS and the Keystone 1800RB (3314 dry/4400 GVW). I think we will go for the keystone but I'm going to rent something similar on rvshare first to be sure.
