Anyone towing with a minivan?

[Colleen A.]

We had to replace our 81 Chevy G20 van (huge thing!) with a minivan. We got the hitch and all the other hardware installed on the new van but DH is concerned that it might be sitting too low. Is anyone out there towing with a minivan and if you are, did you need to have airshocks or "lifters" installed on the van? Thanks for any help!

Colleen

 

[Disney Campers]

I have a Chevy Astro van we towed our first trailer a 25' Jayco, did not need any type of helper springs. Not sure what van you have or what type of trailer you have, but you may need a weight distributing hitch, this can help keep the tow vehicle level.

 

[Colleen A.]

We did get a weight distribution hitch installed, as well as having a sway bar on the trailer. It is a 21 ft. high lo. Do you think we'll be ok? (we don't plan on doing the mountains with it!!!)

 

[MLouise]

Before we got our motorhome we had a 30 ft. travel trailer that we towed with a Ford Aerostar. We had the weight distribution hitch and put an anti sway bar on each side of the hitch. We went to WDW, Cherokee, N.C and other places without any trouble. WARNING!!!
When stopping for gas, bathroom, food, etc MAKE SURE the driveway does not have a noticeable dip in it. If it dips, the hitch will definitely drag. This happened to us once, luckily there was no damage. Just make sure you look at the driveway before pulling in.

 

[Campingbuddy]

We tow a one of the larger pop-ups with a Ford Aerostar. It has the trailer tow package with the larger engine. My neighbor has about the same setup as I do. We have never had a problem towing our pop-ups. Uphills are not a problem.

 

[DisneyFanGuy]

We have a Ford Winstar. We purchased it four years ago after doing a bunch of research on towing capacities. It is rated at 3800 lbs with a towing package, which was nearly 1,000 lbs more than any other FWD minivan. We tow a larger pop-up and are pretty close to the limit with people and stuff.

It rides low and we have to be careful backing uphill into our driveway. I'm told that this in normal. Who knows. A bigger problem is that even with the package, going up a long incline, such as through the mountains outside of Chattanooga, seems to really strain the trans.

At this point, we have 96,000 miles and are still going. No major problems. We aren't going to attempt the mountains again.

We are going to upgrade in the spring to a larger SUV.

 

[TinkerbellRules]

How much does the manufacturer's state you can tow? I didn't see what type of minivan you have. Our Dodge Grand will only tow 2000 lbs. We have a CHV custom van to tow our TT. Be very, very careful and follow the towing capacities recommendation. It can void any warranty you have, plus it is a safety hazard.

I guess I'm telling you this because we screwed up when we bought a "tow" vehicle. The salesman said it would tow anything, but it wouldn't!! We had a F150 4x4 Flareside without the right axle ratio.

Check out this website for advice.

http://www.irv2.com/

Click down on Forums. Lots of experienced campers...

Just a quote: ( http://irv2.infopop.net/2/OpenTopic...56091522&m=3840917781&r=2740942881#2740942881 )

"I guess a lot of us are getting a little weary of warning minivan owners away from serious TT towing. There's a lot of technical detail involved, but the bottom line is, unless you have a stripped model with no A/C, etc., a nd plan to travel alone with no cargo in the van, that 3500 lbs. means very little. With a well-equipped model, a typical family and tools, etc. in the van, around 1500 lbs. (empty weight) is about the limit, considering both GCWR (gross combo weight rating, the max tot al van plus trailer, both loaded for a trip), and especially tongue weight, which is very limiting for minivans. The only exception is the Astro, which is built on a 1/2 ton pickup chassis, has the drive train, springs, etc. to handle the load. Even for it, about 4500 is max. You are absolutely limited to popups. Be very careful looking at trailers, don't go by the empty weight given in the brochure, that doesn't even include the battery and propane, etc. Look at the gross (full load) weight, and rea lize that the tongue weight will be at least 10 pct. of that, and will have to be borne by the rear axle, which has its own GAWR (gross axle weight rating). Think about trading up to a full size van, or a short bed 1/2 ton crew cab pickup if you don't have more than 2 kids."

Good luck!

 

[ZPT1022]

Minivans are actually pretty capable vehicles in terms of towing. My mother had a '92 Dodge Caravan and we took a 5 week long cross country trip towing a Uhaul with all our stuff and 7 people in the van. Not the most comfortable, but we all lived to talk about it . We went pretty much everywhere and covered all kinds of terrain and never had any real problems, except for very steep driveways, which may cause you to "bottom out", but it never caused any lasting damage to the car (my mother's gray hairs from it are a different story entirely ). You should be good to go. Hope this helps. Good luck!!

 

[TinkerbellRules]

Like the experts say, anything above a popup cannot be towed with minivans, safely, and it will void your warranty if you do.

How much does the hi-lo weight? I didn't do any research on them before we got our 25' Nomad Lite (4300lbs).

Inquiring minds want to know

 

[Colleen A.]

I don't remember the exact weight of the model that we have, but when we bought it, it only weighed about the same (or even a bit less than some models!) as pop-ups. It is the Fun-lite model, made of fiberglass. It's 21 ft. We have the sway bar, the weight distribution hitch and the best transmission cooler we could buy. I called the HiLo company and spoke to their mechanic and told him what we had and what our tow vehicle is. He said we should have no problem with the towing. He has seen it towed on the same vehicle before. My husband's biggest concern is the height. He wasn't sure if we would need air shocks or "lifts". I don't want to take it to a mechanic and ask them. They always seem to try and sell you everything, whether you need it or not!

Colleen

 

[TinkerbellRules]

Glad your Hi-Lo works out with the van! I know how disappointing it is not to have the proper tow vehicle

I looked at the weight on our camper this w/e. It's 5500lbs. I hadn't looked since we bought it.

How much storage does the HiLo have when towing? We kind of considered them, but never really saw one. How does the shower/bath area work when it's "popped" up (sealing and everything). I've never understood exactly how they worked. Do you need electricity to pop them up?

 

[Colleen A.]

Let's see if I can explain a HiLo. The camper is raised/lowered with a car battery, which is stored in the front of the camper. The upper walls slide down over the lower walls. There is a shower/tub and a toilet. It's more of a hand held shower, although there is a seat in the back of the tub that makes it easier. There is also a vanity and a "closet" in the bath as well.
It's great for towing since it sits lower than the van and you don't have the wind resistance that you get with a regular travel camper. We were looking at pop ups when we got this but the ones with the bathrooms were so much more money than this. We got it used but it is in great shape!

Colleen

 

[TinkerbellRules]

Thanks for the info!

 

[tiggereyore]

Don't always trust the manufactuor. We bought a '84 Jayco j 2450 in the spring I freaked out when I read the books they said 7300 towing. My Toyota Sequoia has a 6200 lb cap. After talking with 2 dealers and the guy we bought it from again and checking out what he pulled it with (f150) It turns out it's only 4800 empty. I stopped freaking and started enjoying. We have done two trips 1 to maine came home the Kangamangus highway in the White mountian of NH the 2nd was to jefferson back through the wm's. I can't say enough my Suv handled it no problem. Infact I couldn't ask for anything better.

My only advice is check as many sources as you can they will all differ. Good luck.