Made an upgrade this weekend. Went from a 2017 Acadia to a 2017 Durango. I have no complaints about the Acadia, towed the boat and several trailers with it with no complaints, I just didn't fit the seat well. We also are looking in a few years at a small travel trailer to dip our tows into that world before a bigger one in retirement.

The used market pricing is a little high right now, but that made the value on the Acadia higher which balanced out. No dealers are interested in used car haggling right now. (to be fair, the internet has made them have to price low in the first place for a while now. I was chatting with the owner of several dealerships a few years ago and he commented that he couldn't even give his best friend a deal on a used car, it was just too tight)

So - the Durango is an R/T and loaded...I'm a big fan of the tech. It's got the adaptive cruise and lane assist. My first trip, as in pulling out of the dealership, was a couple of hours on the freeway and both features were fantastic, the adaptive cruise in particular made for a relaxing trip.

I went up over 3,000 lbs towing, this is rated over 7,000 lbs because, that's right, it's got a Hemi. Not sure when the maiden towing will be, at least a couple of weeks on the boat, but maybe a small utility trailer this week for an event.

Of course, pics, because it did happen.

Looks great, Got to love the hemi. Mine has been awesome. Never get tired of the power. Never let me down. Congrats

That is one good looking truck. I've always been a fan of dark colors and usually blues, greens and silvers. Just once I'd like to drive a hemi just for the sheer exhilaration of feeling all that torque.

It was between this one and a white one, they were almost identical other then color. This one was just a bit more, but also had less miles, so good excuse to go for the color I preferred. Really didn't want white, but I'm not one to let color dictate my deal.

Nice ride. 7K lbs. of towing is nice. Buying vehicles does seem to be much more straight forward these days with the Internet and all of the access to comparative information. Would you say the used vehicle market is as crazy (short supply) as the used boat market?

Well, I wanted the 8 Cylinder Hemi and the adaptive cruise, so pretty much top of the feature set. My search was 100 miles, metro detroit area, with a max of $35,000. There were 2.

I also looked at Jeep Grand Cherokee, same platform, there were more of those, but I really liked the feel of the Durango better. The longer wheelbase and heavier weight also make for a better towing experience.

None of the lots looked empty, but they certainly had empty spaces. One of the salesman told me they were selling certain models pretty much same day they came in. There isn't stock of new cars, so people who are used to swapping out leases every 3 years (should be lots of 2018's right now) are buying out their leases. They've got pictures on the news here (we are the motor city) of lots with thousands upon thousands of cars/trucks fully assembled waiting for chips to plug in. Giant paperweights right now.

I've been looking at trucks for awhile & no luck. Pretty picky about what i want & with current prices I am not going to compromise. Contemplating 2500 diesel at this point so any future upgrades would not be an issue in the towing area.

My stepson just showed up the other day in a brand new Chebby 3/4 ton 4-door pickup. Not too decked out but very nice. 9600# towing capacity...

Which surprised me since under the hood is a 4-banger... ?? Had to look it up-- 2.7L turbo, makes 348 ft #'s torque and 310hp- same torque as my 5.4 Triton plus 50 more hp! Amazing what dinky engines are capable of...

Long wheelbase and weight do make for a good tow rig. Here's a shot of our new tow rig.


2008 Monaco Cayman 35' with a Cummins 350 hp. Sleeps 4, full galley, single bath with large shower and it has a combo washer/dryer. Oh, and did I mention it drives like a dream?

The blue looks like it came right out of the Monterey Boats palette sheet. Hmmm. I wonder if I can find one around here with the same color.

Congrats on the new ride GFC

The color is Blu By You Pearl-Coat. Good luck!

Gotta love Dodges color pallet and naming scheme.
I'd love to have one of their Hell Raisin Hellcat Challengers.
Nice looking rig.... both you and GFCs

Agree on Hellcat. Think i'd opt for Charger or Grand Cherokee version.

I like the blue color on the Durango, should make a great tow vehicle.

GFC, that garage door looks a little low!

WWG, it won't be if I can get a good enough run at it.

GFC we need to hear more about the new toy. Don't leave us hanging.

OK, it's s 2008 Monaco Camelot. It's 35' long, sleeps 4, has the usual 3-burner gas stove, 2-compartment stainless sink, and the not so common clothes washer and dryer. The engine is a 350hp Cummins. It has auto-leveling jacks which are kinda fun. You push the auto button then the button to lower the jacks then you just sit back and wait. There are 3 jacks, one in front, two in the rear. It takes about a minute for the jacks to lower and do the self-leveling part.

I had an inspection (survey in boat lingo) done before I bought it and he found a long list of little things that need to be corrected. Nothing major, mostly cosmetic. The only big items were the propane detector, smoke detector and ozone detector were way out dated.

Like a boat, this thing has had to have a few things replaced. 4 new tires on the back axle, 2 new batteries for the chassis, 4 new batteries for the coach and I took it through a truck wash to get it cleaned up.

Fortunately the couple that lives behind me owns a towing and auto body business. I asked him who I should go to for the batteries and he gave me a name and also talked to the guy so I would get the business price. Gotta love friends who come to your aid.

Nice rig!

ONE jack in the front? Never heard of that. Although not a lot of weight in the front of a pusher, and since the airbags empty out before it levels the front tires should never leave the ground...

--does that thing have a rear-facing radiator, or an off-to-the-side radiator? An infamous problem with Cummins rear-radiator motorhomes is that the 'slobber tube', aka the crankcase vent hose, is positioned just below the radiator on the driver's side, just behind the fan, right where the smoke from the crankcase gets sucked by the fan right and thru the radiator. After some time, the radiator looks like mine did... I found this out the hard way when pulling the 7000# Chap up Parleys Canyon (6% grade) and it started getting pretty hot. Ours is a 2000 model, could be this problem was fixed by 2008, but I'm not sure...

I don't care for the adaptive cruise feature on my car as it slows you down way too soon even with AC set at the mininum distances. I do like my lane assist as I can take my hands off the wheel and go about a 1/4 mile before the car starts to yell at me. I was passing a Tesla in my diesel truck last week on the highway and the person (not identifying gender) spent a long time polishing her nails while looking down. I guess she has the auto pilot option on her car. As for me, I gave her a puff of black smoke while I passed.