Dakota first gen vs second.

[shackwrrr]

Looking at Dakotas for my new daily/tow vehicle so I can make some progress on my shadow TIII swap. I'm looking in the 1000-1500 range and it looks like 2 choices, 2wd second Gen or 4x4 first Gen. Which one would be better? I know the v8 is desirable, but the v6 would keep me happy.

Any years to look out for
Any problems to watch for
Any info tidbits

I found a 1998 STD cab short bed with the v6 auto that I'm going to look at but I have no idea how rusty it is.

[Sethyboy85]

I have a friend with the V6 and he gets 16mpg driving it like grandma, he recently even did HG's on it and some other stuff full tune up and still only gets 16, my V8 same year and options as his has managed a best of 20mpg.

I do have a few small (like 5 minute mod) airo mods done to my truck vs his but in all honesty I think the v6 you tax it more where the v8 just idles around and doesn't get worked as hard.

Both trucks 95's can't comment on 2nd gens.

[Dodge Aries K]

I've had 4 Dakotas so I'll tell you about them.
Ones I sold:
91 standard cab long box TBI V6 2WD with a 5 speed manual. It was the worst of the four. So much traction issues with that nice open rear diff. Standard cab is really cramped. Made it a bit better by putting some Shadow buckets in place of useless BENCH SEAT but there still wasn't really any room for stuff inside the truck. Long box was pretty cool though. The TBI V6 was useless though... 120 HP doesn't do a good job of moving it around. Fuel economy highway was impressive though... 24 MPG! Rack and pinion steering was almost "car tight" so it was nice to drive.

94 extended cab Magnum V8 2WD with automatic. This was a great truck. Posi rear end made it go in the wet with no problems. Extended cab is nice for two people, sucky but useful for 4-5 people. It had buckets and center console which was pretty nice. It had a topper on it which was gimmicky but that's the topper's fault, not the truck. Anyway, I decided I didn't want it anymore because of the fuel ecomony being horrible and it not being 4WD so I sold it. This was the nicest driving out of the 4 Dakotas I had though... rack and pinion, posi, V8 power... this thing was lots and lots of fun.

96 extended cab Magnum V8 4WD with automatic. I liked this thing but it was the most temperamental of the 4. It was basically my green truck but with 4WD and even worse mileage. I ended up selling it after finding out that my 03 Caravan was good at towing cars on a tow dolley so I didn't need it anymore. 4WD so it has the craptastic steering box instead of rack and pinion... it was okay on this truck but nowhere near as "tight" as the other two above.

Just recently picked up a 93 extended cab Magnum V6 4WD with a 5 speed. This seems to be the best compromise for 1st gen Dakota. Plenty of power, 5 speed so it's better on gas (and more reliable), extended cab so it has room for people, and 4WD so it won't get stuck. I haven't driven it enough to rate mileage and so forth but it shouldn't be too bad. The steering box on this one though sucks... HEEP JEEP style looseness... but it was extremely cheap and runs out well.

Anyway, hopefully that helps somewhat. It seems to me the 1st gen units were a hell of a lot tougher in my experience compared to my buddies who had newer ones but... the newer ones are a lot nicer to be inside of.

[ScottD]

I had a 90 Dakota Sport V6 5spd. It would tow my Spirit R/T on a dolly but wasn't terribly happy doing it. Because of the short wheelbase, brakes, and general lack of power (125hp V6) I would keep my speed to 55mph or less.

I also had an 89 Shelby Dakota V8 that I towed with. It was better than the 90 Dakota V6 but it was also a swb regular cab that I didn't feel comfortable going over 60mph with, especially since I had to turn the overdrive unit off to tow and it had a 3.90 rear in it.

If you're not going to be doing a lot of towing, a first gen swb would be ok. If you are going to be doing a lot of towing, I'd suggest either a 92-96 extended cab V8 1st or a 2nd gen V8 extended or quad cab. The longer wheelbase makes towing a much better experience. 92 is when they went to the Magnum engines and the V6 went from 125 to 175hp and the V8 was an option at 225hp.

[shackwrrr]

I'm still looking at the 98 swb v6 but I also found a 1994 ram swb 318 5 speed. I want to tow a gutted TIII shadow on a trailer.

[moparman76_69]

I use a 88 long bed v6 TBI for work and loaded down with equipment and ladders/ladder rack I still get around 20 MPG (19.5-20 depending on hwy vs stop and go). I figure it'd tow a car on a dolly but it might not be to happy with it. I didn't realize at first that it didn't have the overdrive auto in it, Make sure you get a 89-up for that.