I hate for this to be my first post but the more I'm shopping around and looking the more I seem to confuse myself. The family currently has a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan rated fro 3600lbs (gross towing correct?). We're looking at getting something for the family which has 5 of us in total and I'm at a loss and have several questions if anyone could help. 1) No hitch installed at the moment and I'm trying to figure out what's recommended. It seems I could easily just go to a Uhaul or even install it myself but I have no idea what I'm looking at with choices. 2) I think the family has their eyes set on a small lite travel trailer but they seem to vary a lot in weight. Being in the Caravan are we doomed to a life of popups or is the travel trailer a possibility. I've been told the hybrids are a lighter so I've been exploring that option lately. I've included some links of what we've been looking at if anyone could offer some guidance. Hybrids:http://www.arrkannrv.com/rv/2017-FOREST-RIVER-VIKING-16RBD-7430http://www.arrkannrv.com/rv/2017-FOREST-RIVER-VIKING-16RBD-7294Travel Trailer:http://www.carefreerv.ca/product/new-2018-forest-river-rv-salem-cruise-lite-fs-175bh-723650-29http://www.rvcity.ca/product/new-2017-jayco-hummingbird-17fd-633031-29http://www.allstarrv.ca/product/new-2017-coachmen-rv-apex-nano-185bh-557720-29Appreciate any help in advance as I really want to make sure I do this properly. Last thing I need is to be turned off from RVing because of a nightmarish mistake on my part.

I can't advise you on what will work best for your family of 5 (and the dog?)But, when making your selection....DO NOT use the listed "Dry Weight" of any of your choices. That number is very misleading and you will not be towing a completely stripped down, empty trailer.You will be best served by looking at the PAYLOAD numbers of you Caravan and not the tow rating. My bet is that after you load up your family, and their stuff, and consider hitch weight you will have very little left over payload for a trailer much more than a popup.Hopefully others will chime in and be more optimistic. Don't give up on the camping thing for you and your family.

Coming here is smart. Don't believe for one second what a salesperson says you can tow. They'll either use the dry weight or make something up just to make the sale.They might even make it look official by going to their computer or a book as if there is a magic number listed there.

With the Grand Caravan, you need to worry about payload for the tow vehicle LONG BEFORE you worry about towing capacity. The stated payload capacity (perhaps on the weight and tire pressure sticker on the driver's door frame or in the manual) is for occupants, fuel, "stuff," AND tongue weight for a trailer. It's doubtful that, after you load a family of five plus pets and stuff, that you'll have more than a few hundred pounds left over for a weight-distributing hitch plus the tongue weight of the trailer. As downtheroad said, use the GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) for any trailer you are considering and calculate 12 - 15% of that for an estimated loaded tongue weight. In short, I doubt seriously that you will find anything that will accommodate your clan that is towable by your vehicle (unless you find a lightweight pop-up)... but that's just my opinion. Now, a 3/4 ton Maxi Van would be a different story!Rob

A popup or a similar collapsible trailer (e.g. A-Liner) would be by far the most reasonable to tow. It's not merely the weight (though that's certainly a concern); a full-sized travel trailer or hybrid has a lot larger frontal area as well, which makes a big difference when towing particularly with comparatively small/light vehicles.While the grand caravan is better than many vehicles in this regard, pay a little attention to its payload capacity as well. Basically, the sum of the trailer tongue weight (maybe 400-450 pounds for a 3600 pound trailer) plus the weight of the stuff and occupants inside should not exceed the payload capacity, which is around 1500 pounds or a bit more according to online sources, presumably depending on how fancily equipped and hence heavy the particular model is.You may want to consider getting or upgrading the transmission cooler before doing much towing. While I'm not familiar with the specifics for the grand caravan, typically it's not too expensive or difficult to do this. A properly cool automatic transmission is a happy automatic transmission.

You could look at a teardrop trailer. They usually have room for 2 to sleep (let the kids tent it) and a "kitchen" in the back.Just thinking out of the box(trailer)! Ha ha ha

Beginner 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan | Good Sam Community

Harvey51
Explorer
Jul 08, 2017
Years ago friends of ours were torn between a tent trailer (popup) and a very small hard trailer to pull with their Caravan. We loaned them our tent trailer for a long weekend and they were captivated by it. The sounds of nature easily pass through the canvas. No problem towing it. They bought a used one and enjoyed it immensely. One trip was a 6 month one, parents and two kids from Alberta to the Atlantic provinces and back.

Now in our sixties we have moved on to a small motorhome and haven't used our popup for several years. We often tow a trailer with kayaks with it.
stevemorris
Explorer
Jul 02, 2017
been there done that. our first combo was a ford windstar and a 18 ft 2100 lb tt

we got all the weights, confirmed all was good. the problem isn't weight, its wind resistance!! sure you can go up hills slower, but all day just trying to maintain the speed limit without using 2nd gear, gets very tiring

best thing we did was a medium sized pickup, dodge Dakota, easily comfortably towed that tt and its bigger replacement

and speaking of weights, don't forget the weight of your towing equipment that you need. a proper class 3 hitch plus the wd coupling system will add quite a few pounds
Deb_and_Ed_M
Explorer II
Jun 30, 2017
Hubby and I own a used-car lot, so I've driven GOBS of different vehicles. My 2013 GC towed my kayak trailer (a 6 x 12' utility trailer, probably around 900 lbs) rather sulkily with just the wind resistance of a couple of kayaks and another paddler along with me. In the world of towing, it's hard to beat a truck (or trucklike SUV) - the wheelbase length adds stability; most are set up to tow heavy things - and the MPG "penalty" isn't really that bad. The massive carrying capacity will let you bring the bikes/toys/grill/etc along

With a true towing "beast" - you can buy the RV that will be roomy enough for your family and make the whole experience a lot more fun! Also - the newer trucks with towing packages "talk" to the trailer. I drove our RAM2500 and 32' 5th wheel down Monteagle with a 6% grade and never touched the brakes - the engine did all the work of maintaining a safe speed. Something like that would be a white-knuckle trip in a GC loaded to the max...
afidel
Explorer II
Jun 30, 2017
All 2014 GCs have the full 3,600/360lb weight capability, the only things that are added in the tow package are the hitch and wiring for a brake controller, starting about halfway through the 2013 model year the bigger tires and HD brakes became standard equipment and the tranny cooler has been standard since the introduction of the 3.6L. Like I said though the 360lb on the rear bumper is really optimistic, at least with my single axle trailer, too much energy gets transferred to the rear axle to be comfortable. I'm not sure how much under 360 you'd have to be to get more comfortable but I'd be looking for the lowest tongue weight I could find in a pop-up large enough to sleep the family.
Bobbo
Explorer II
Jun 30, 2017
We have a 2008 Chrysler Town & Country, which is really the same car. We could find nothing that would sleep the 2 of us comfortably.

According to the 2008 manual, a 3.8l or 4.0l car with 5 people without a tow package has a trailer weight limit of 1350# and a tongue weight limit of 135#. We were looking at 2 people so our weight limits would have been 1800# and 180#.

Not only is that pop-up territory, it is SMALL pop-up territory.

We actually found more that our 2010 Subaru Forester could haul. It had a 2200# trailer weight limit. Even at that, we could find nothing that would sleep 2 comfortably.

My signature shows what we ended up doing.
John_Wayne
Explorer II
Jun 29, 2017
You should be able to find a place that will rent tent trailers, rent one and give it a try before you buy and I'd buy a used one. Who knows after a year you will be wanting to up grade the tow vet. and get a larger trailer. Always rent before buying if you have never done it before.
rexlion
Explorer
Jun 29, 2017
The Taylor trailers have light tongues, 105 lbs for the 14', and just 195 lbs for the 21' which is 1950 lbs dry weight. One could add a 55 lb Anderson No-Sway hitch to level it out and still be ok on hitch weight. I would not carry 5 adults in the van with that rig, but 2 adults and 3 smaller kids should be do-able.

Nowadays most rv mfrs make even their pop ups too front-heavy for minivans. But there are a few isolated exceptions, like Taylor, Scamp, some Aliners, etc. The trick is to find one that will sleep more than 4.
Veebyes
Explorer II
Jun 29, 2017
bikendan wrote:
as a people mover, minivans are perfect for that purpose.

as a towing machine, minivans have everything wrong for that purpose(front wheel drive, soft suspension, unibody construction, high gearing for gas mileage, low hitch capacity).

Sounds about right to me. Manufactures spend millions designing & powering vehicles for a purpose. They are designed with lifetime & durability of engines in mind.

Owners come along & think that they know better & proceed with all the aftermarket stuff to increase load or performance of the engine.

A minivan is a people mover. That is what it is designed to do. It is not a trailer hauler. Certainly nothing larger than a small popup.
dodge_guy
Explorer II
Jun 29, 2017
afidel wrote:
So I tried exactly what you are proposing, added a hitch and brake controller to my 2014 Grand Caravan, bought a 3,000lb dry, 3,600lb GVWR trailer that I could pull according to the specs. It didn't take but driving the trailer home to know that wasn't going to work. It wasn't a matter of power, or stability (GC has a longer wheelbase than many SUVs), it was the weak rear suspension. With 360lb on the tongue it bottomed out with every bump, even at 20mph. My recommendation would be to get a pop-up and make sure to pay as much attention to tongue weight as you can. A Jayco 10SD sleeps 5 and has a 150lb hitch weight, a much better fit for the suspension on the GC, and the low profile will mean plenty of power for hills and way less movement from passing trucks.

All you needed then was a set of air bags or Timbrens and/or a light duty WD hitch.
bikendan
Explorer
Jun 29, 2017
as a people mover, minivans are perfect for that purpose.

as a towing machine, minivans have everything wrong for that purpose(front wheel drive, soft suspension, unibody construction, high gearing for gas mileage, low hitch capacity).

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