Towing capacity of the dodge 318 engine?

Answer 1

Well, the local parade float association tows a 42 foot trailer that weighs probably 7 or 8 tons loaded. Its a 1972 Dodge D300 with a utility bed on it and daul tires in the back, its a manual transmission. It's very low geared, nobody has ever gotten going faster then 55 unloaded, 45-50 when its loaded. Up hill we usually end up in 3rd gear, at 35, and long grades tend to put us on the side of the road overheated. When towing the trailer, the truck gets 4-6 miles per gallon. Its an old beat up and worthless truck so nobody cares that we are probably slowly killing the engine by overloading it, and sense its a one ton with dual tires in the back, it can handle the 15000 pound trailer safely, its just underpowered and slow.

So the engine itself can handle alot, especially if you are not in a hurry, especially if you are willing to abuse it, and especially if your truck is low geared. If your truck is an automatic, I would definitly worry more about burning up the transmission, my father almost did once, then I would the engine. If your truck is only a half ton truck, then the engine can probably easily handle most anything the truck can, and you would not be abusing it. Sorry, that probably isn't as specific as you may have been hoping, but there are alot of variables.