Durango RT vs Audi Q7

[2kwik4u]

The Grand Cherokee was in the running. In fact, it was the last one eliminated, leaving these two. She decided she wanted that third row of seats...lol

We had the 3rd row in a Traverse (I hated that thing), and rarely used it for the 5 years we had it. Traded it away on a Nissan Rogue. Then proceeded to have another baby, and have the now 8yr old suddenly become a social butterfly. Now it takes 2 vehicles to take anyone else to the lake with us.

Kinda wish we had that 3rd row back with a tow rating again......never fails right?

I can say...I'm 6'2" tall and run about 220lbs. I've sat somewhat comfortably in the 3rd row of an R/T. Never sat in the back of a Q7 to compare though......Something else to keep in mind, space BEHIND the 3rd row. That stupid damn Traverse we had, was USELESS for taking anything with you if you needed the 3rd row for people. We couldn't even fit a regular stroller back there with a cooler for a picnic day in the park. GM engineers should be drawn and quartered for such a dumbass design.......Moral of the story, check how much space is behind the 3rd row and make sure it has the volume and shape you need for what you intend to carry. I think the R/T is a bit longer than the Q7, so this might give it the edge in space back there.

 

[dgfreeze]

Yeah, Chevy doesn’t have a “Mighty Mouse” SUV. If the Tahoe/Yukon would be a little smaller, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I’m not brand loyal, but my wife is a Chevy fan. Unfortunately, they just don’t have anything that fits the bill. I’ve been in the back of a Q7, and it’s nothing special, but not bad either. That was another factor for removing the Grand Cherokee, as it doesn’t have much storage in the back. Wife’s sister has one, so she has had the opportunity to get familiar with it.

 

[Rammrodd]

The R/T has all of the brakes, coolers, and suspension upgrades of the tow package already included.

Adding a tow package to an R/T involves the below items

• Factory Hitch
• Factory Wiring
• Reprogrammed BCM (for wiring to be active)
• New Bumper Cover plate to hide hitch (paint to match)

I'll dig up a thread that covers this.....gimme a few

The R/T does have the heavy duty brakes and load level suspension standard. It does not come with the heavy duty oil cooler unless you get the factory tow package. The cooler is only standard on the SRT.

 

[2kwik4u]

Yeah, Chevy doesn’t have a “Mighty Mouse” SUV. If the Tahoe/Yukon would be a little smaller, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I’m not brand loyal, but my wife is a Chevy fan. Unfortunately, they just don’t have anything that fits the bill. I’ve been in the back of a Q7, and it’s nothing special, but not bad either. That was another factor for removing the Grand Cherokee, as it doesn’t have much storage in the back. Wife’s sister has one, so she has had the opportunity to get familiar with it.

I 100% agree with that. Wife and I have been pretty GM loyal over the years. We've found them to be an excellent value for us. Had a few other brands over the years, Ford, BMW, Audi, Mazda, Nissan, but we keep coming back to GM. The "midsize" Traverse is LITERALLY the same dimensions as a Tahoe, but without enough capacity to tow anything substantial. Everything under the Tahoe has a max tow rating in the 5k or lower range. If you want to drag around a 20+ft boat, or camper of any substance you have to step up to the Tahoe.

Have to go with a foreign based (FCA included) brand to get into a decent capacity without going super-sized.

 

[2kwik4u]

The R/T does have the heavy duty brakes and load level suspension standard. It does not come with the heavy duty oil cooler unless you get the factory tow package. The cooler is only standard on the SRT.

I would have bet money it did......but can't find the information I had this time last year to confirm. I know it has the trans cooler as well as the brakes and suspension. Would've expected the oil cooler to come along as well.

Here is an R/T that has the tow package......
2015 R/T with Tow Package - 2015 R/T W/Tow Window Sticker
Only things under Tow Package on the sticker are hitch and harness

Also found a window sticker from a 2019 WITHOUT the tow package that listed Trailer Sway Control in the standard features column. What the dammit FCA?

 

[Rammrodd]

I would have bet money it did......but can't find the information I had this time last year to confirm. I know it has the trans cooler as well as the brakes and suspension. Would've expected the oil cooler to come along as well.

Here is an R/T that has the tow package......
2015 R/T with Tow Package - 2015 R/T W/Tow Window Sticker
Only things under Tow Package on the sticker are hitch and harness

Also found a window sticker from a 2019 WITHOUT the tow package that listed Trailer Sway Control in the standard features column. What the dammit FCA?

Thru my research I had found they they had moved around what was included and what was added on with the trailer package depending on the model year. This sight has PDFs of the brochures and can be a good tool to find that info.

Auto-Brochures | Dodge Car & Truck PDF Sales Brochure/Catalog/Flyer/Info A600 Aries Avenger Caliber Caravan Challenger Charger Colt Coronet Dakota Dart Daytona Diplomat Durango Dynasty Grand Caravan Intrepid Journey Magnum Monaco Nitro Omni Ram 50

Dodge car pdf sales brochures, catalogs and electronic media

www.auto-brochures.com

Usually under the features/options list under the trailer package it lists what was added for that model year. I believe the brake controller wasn't added til 2019. Another nice tool is the window sticker lookup. You enter the VIN and they will give you the sticker for that vehicle. Good way to tell the trailer package inclusion.

Window Sticker Lookup by VIN

Use your VIN number to get your Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, or Jeep Window Sticker

windowstickerlookup.com

 

[2kwik4u]

Thru my research I had found they they had moved around what was included and what was added on with the trailer package depending on the model year. This sight has PDFs of the brochures and can be a good tool to find that info.

Auto-Brochures | Dodge Car & Truck PDF Sales Brochure/Catalog/Flyer/Info A600 Aries Avenger Caliber Caravan Challenger Charger Colt Coronet Dakota Dart Daytona Diplomat Durango Dynasty Grand Caravan Intrepid Journey Magnum Monaco Nitro Omni Ram 50

Dodge car pdf sales brochures, catalogs and electronic media

www.auto-brochures.com

Usually under the features/options list under the trailer package it lists what was added for that model year. I believe the brake controller wasn't added til 2019. Another nice tool is the window sticker lookup. You enter the VIN and they will give you the sticker for that vehicle. Good way to tell the trailer package inclusion.

Window Sticker Lookup by VIN

Use your VIN number to get your Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, or Jeep Window Sticker

windowstickerlookup.com

Thanks for the links. Appreciate the help. Hopefully this helps @dgfreeze as well.

When I was looking hard for an R/T last year I was using that window sticker lookup to verify tow package on the original build. I had a VERY specific set of criteria I was searching for, and had to cast a REALLY wide net to find some.

2015+ (wanted the ZF HP75 transmission, only available on '15 and newer models)
White or Black exterior with R/T package. White had to have the Blacktop Package as well
Black Interior
Second Row bench seat (I hate 2nd row captains, and they come on MOST R/T's) <--This one was exceptionally hard to find.
Sunroof
Tow Package
Adaptive Cruise (part of the tech package as best I could tell)

Finding that combination was SOOOOO difficult. I think I found like 3 or 4 in a 10 state area. Was |....| that close to driving to North Carolina (12+hrs) to get a white one I found. Dealership REFUSED to give me a trade in number on my Sierra before I traveled, but expected me to see the value in his truck that only had ~12pics online, a window sticker, and a clean carfax (carfax is useless to me BTW). Would've been the right truck at the right price if the dealership could have removed their collective cranium from rectum.

I spent MONTHS researching and test driving Durango R/T's to replace my TBSS. Then, in about a weeks time, changed gears and bought my Sierra without a ton of research. Still had to drive 3 hours to find one with the options I wanted, then of course, I wasn't super happy with it at first and was looking to get into a Durango again. I've since come to love my Sierra a little bit more. I've added some mods, fixed a few small issues, and it's really grown on me. Hope to keep it (unless crashed or otherwise damaged) for quite some time at this point.

 

[dgfreeze]

I 100% agree with that. Wife and I have been pretty GM loyal over the years. We've found them to be an excellent value for us. Had a few other brands over the years, Ford, BMW, Audi, Mazda, Nissan, but we keep coming back to GM. The "midsize" Traverse is LITERALLY the same dimensions as a Tahoe, but without enough capacity to tow anything substantial. Everything under the Tahoe has a max tow rating in the 5k or lower range. If you want to drag around a 20+ft boat, or camper of any substance you have to step up to the Tahoe.

Have to go with a foreign based (FCA included) brand to get into a decent capacity without going super-sized.

I was a loyal Chevy fan all my growing up years, until the '08 bailout. I believe in a business figuring out how to survive without getting Big Brother involved. I still am partial to older Chevy's/GMC's, before they "tainted" their name, as can be seen in my profile pic.

 

[dgfreeze]

Thru my research I had found they they had moved around what was included and what was added on with the trailer package depending on the model year. This sight has PDFs of the brochures and can be a good tool to find that info.

Auto-Brochures | Dodge Car & Truck PDF Sales Brochure/Catalog/Flyer/Info A600 Aries Avenger Caliber Caravan Challenger Charger Colt Coronet Dakota Dart Daytona Diplomat Durango Dynasty Grand Caravan Intrepid Journey Magnum Monaco Nitro Omni Ram 50

Dodge car pdf sales brochures, catalogs and electronic media

www.auto-brochures.com

Usually under the features/options list under the trailer package it lists what was added for that model year. I believe the brake controller wasn't added til 2019. Another nice tool is the window sticker lookup. You enter the VIN and they will give you the sticker for that vehicle. Good way to tell the trailer package inclusion.

Window Sticker Lookup by VIN

Use your VIN number to get your Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, or Jeep Window Sticker

windowstickerlookup.com

That window sticker website will come in very handy! Thanks!

 

[Liveto99]

GL towed great, I had the diesal.

 

[Liveto99]

Haha, just had this discussion the other day. My brother in law has a 2wd Ram in FL, he has fears at the boat ramp when there is sand built up at the bottom. My other bro in law also has a 2wd Ram, I had to pull him out of the sand at the boat ramp. Last week. It looked mild enough, but he got in there and couldn't get out. Made for quite the spectacle as I pulled him out with my trailer attached.

He should mount a trailer receiver on the front of his truck and just reconnect the trailer before putting the boat in at the ramp. Also if he has to maneuver the trailer in any tight spots with a pivot point close you can really maneuver the trailer well.

 

[2kwik4u]

He should mount a trailer receiver on the front of his truck and just reconnect the trailer before putting the boat in at the ramp. Also if he has to maneuver the trailer in any tight spots with a pivot point close you can really maneuver the trailer well.

Had a buddy that did this with his old '95 Tahoe. He had a 3500 pickup to tow a 30ft enclosed race trailer. He couldn't get the giant truck/trailer combo in his back yard, so he stuck a hitch on the front of his wifes Tahoe. Moved that giant trailer in between a house/garage/fence so easily after that.

Front hitch saved the wifes Tahoe in 2 rear end accidents as well. Bonked the crap out of the other car, didn't so much as scratch the Tahoe.

 

[MrMoose]

So the suspension is firm enough to handle the load without getting squirrelly at speed, and the brakes are solid? I get the feeling the Durango will probably edge out the Q7 in terms of suspension and power, but Audi historically has amazing brakes, and that air suspension might be better for towing than I’m imagining.

@dgfreeze, suspension stability was fine. Weight wise, you know there's a boat behind you. No issues with brakes; I sold it with over 80k miles on it with the original brakes. Power was never an issue with the V8.

 

[2kwik4u]

Google is watching me......This just came across my news feed.

Facelifted 2021 Dodge Durango Tipped To Debut Very Soon With Hybrid And 707 HP Hellcat Versions | Carscoops

We could see it within the next month, with sales to start this fall

www.carscoops.com

 

[Mainah]

Hellcat Durango! Yes please!

 

[dgfreeze]

Oh dear.... just what I need, a Hellcat Durango... **wipes drool off chin**

 

[MrMoose]

@dgfreeze , something to look into regarding the Audi... At one time, and maybe still now, they developed a bad reputation for having brake issues that were not covered under warranty. I've seen it mentioned by an Audi SUV own on this site, maybe @swatski or @Julian?
Also my brother has a Q5 and will never buy another Audi because of the money he has had to put into brake repairs.

 

[JetPowered]

Our brakes developed a nasty squeal when in reverse. It was covered by a TSB and handled by warranty. No brake problems to speak of past that.

 

[Julian]

@dgfreeze , something to look into regarding the Audi... At one time, and maybe still now, they developed a bad reputation for having brake issues that were not covered under warranty. I've seen it mentioned by an Audi SUV own on this site, maybe @swatski or @Julian?
Also my brother has a Q5 and will never buy another Audi because of the money he has had to put into brake repairs.

No issues whatsoever with my brakes. The brake rotors are HUGE (like 14"), and if you have the dealer replace them they charge a fortune. I replaced mine myself for $2-300 (from memory) while the dealer wanted $2000! (that was on the 2011 TDI)

 

[Dixie Highway]

He should mount a trailer receiver on the front of his truck and just reconnect the trailer before putting the boat in at the ramp. Also if he has to maneuver the trailer in any tight spots with a pivot point close you can really maneuver the trailer well.

Not 100% sure he'd be willing to do that with his relatively new pickup truck. Not to mention, the physics of that are less than optimal. The incline leaves even less weight over the rear axle of an already nose heavy vehicle, it might tow the empty trailer out but my guess is it would actually be LESS effective once the boat is on. That tongue weight helps more with traction than you'd think. The problem isn't a wet ramp, but the trailer wheels in sand effectively "chocks" the wheels.