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

27 Replies

DMiller85
Explorer
Jun 28, 2017
Appreciate the advice so far despite it sounding grim. I'll continue to do some research and see what I can come up with. I'm starting to feel like we'd need to use our second vehicle as a kid/storage ride to free up some room.
troubledwaters
Nomad
Jun 28, 2017
You need to educate yourself first on weights, what they mean, how they work, what you can tow, etc. Start here
WNYBob
Explorer
Jun 28, 2017
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
DrewE
Explorer II
Jun 28, 2017
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.
Second_Chance
Explorer II
Jun 28, 2017
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
Dance_Chick
Explorer
Jun 28, 2017
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.
downtheroad
Explorer
Jun 28, 2017
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.

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Beginner 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan

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