Towing Vehicle

Wondering if the OP is planning on loading up those 3 adults and the child and all their gear into the mimivan and towing whatever TT they happen to decide upon.

OK, I usually get flack for this but there are things you can do to beef up your Minivan. The first thing I would do is install a quality aftermarket transmission cooler. They are surprisingly inexpensive and not too difficult to do. I would do that towing anything other than a popup because the majority of the stress on your drivetrain is going to be wind resistance not weight (well, unless you live somewhere with a lot of hills).

You can go to a good metal shop and see what they say bout your hitch and mounts. Sometimes, they can be strengthened. Your Minivan is not on a frame like a truck so you can only go so far in this department. Your ability to control driving habits can come into play.

You will need a very good and very properly setup weight distribution setup not only to alleviate the weight resting on the hitch but to keep your front wheels firmly on the ground in that front wheel drive van.

A good brake controller is a must as well. Don't play with some cheap time activated "proportional" controller.

Really though, you may just want to embrace the power of the popup trailer. They can be quite nice.

bikendan wrote:

any TT or HTT will probably exceed the factory's max amount.

I would agree that any TT that will comfortably do what the OP wants will exceed the numbers, but many such as the Rpod certainly are towable. I don't know what the Ody figures are compared with my Highlander but I comfortably tow my Ascend RD17 with it. yes, a tacoma or 150 would be better.
bumpy

GloriaD wrote:
:Ultra lite Trail Sport 2009 - minivan towable
but i guess its not a good idea?

please don't believe ANY ad that says "minivan towable".
get the facts first before you follow that bogus marketing ploy by the RV industry. research all the weights specs of the trailer, especially its factory UVW, which is on an outside yellow sticker for newer trailers or an inside white sticker on older trailers.
that will give you the weight when it left the factory, plus the weight of usually two tanks of propane.
that's a number you can start with and add the weight of other things you'll need.

maybe if the trailer had no awning, oven, a/c, spare tire, battery, propane, water and no cargo, could it be "minivan towable".

but you keep ignoring what some of us have said about frontal area limits. you need to check the Honda's owners manual for that.
any TT or HTT will probably exceed the factory's max amount.

GloriaD wrote:
So I couldnt tow a 2005 Trailer Cruiser 21RBH or a Roadrunner 2007 ULTRALIGHT 17 ft,1136 KGS with a Honda Odyssey?
This ad caught my eye also :Ultra lite Trail Sport 2009 - minivan towable
but i guess its not a good idea?

The "Dry" tongue weight of 2 of those campers already exceed the Oddyssey's 350-lbs tongue rating. Plus the "dry weight" of those campers and your passengers will likely exceed the tow rating without adding any camp gear/equipment. The Roadrunner might work.

We looked at the R-Pod and were very impressed. Here are the specs:

R-Pod Trailers

GloriaD wrote:
So I couldnt tow a 2005 Trailer Cruiser 21RBH or a Roadrunner 2007 ULTRALIGHT 17 ft,1136 KGS with a Honda Odyssey?
This ad caught my eye also :Ultra lite Trail Sport 2009 - minivan towable
but i guess its not a good idea?

Thanks to those who mentioned Scamps and the link to the Casita line. I am soaking up all your info and advice. many thanks,

If you find a hardside or hybrid trailer with dry weight under 2500 lbs and hitch weight (loaded) under 350 lbs, and if you don't tow it too fast or too hard, you could make it work. By not too fast, I mean probably 90 kph or below; always locking out overdrive; shifting down and slowing down when climbing long or steep hills; also slowing down in strong headwinds. Your biggest enemy is wind resistance. Going 100 kph will stress the drive train much more than going 90, for example... it's not just 10% more stress, but probably 20-30% more.

The Scamps and Casitas have rounded, tapering edges and lower roof lines, which reduce frontal area 15-20% over a similar-length conventional (stick built) trailer. The lower wind resistance means you could probably tow them at 100 kph comfortably in most conditions. Another possibility is a small, older Airstream; they are wider than a Scamp or Casita, but still have the rounded, aero lines.

mowermech wrote:
One should also keep in mind that the SLEEP capacity is not as important as the capacity to hold the people on a rainy day! A small trailer can get TERRIBLY crowded with three adults and a child in there for several hours in the rain!
Been there, did that...

Actually , it's probably worse than 3 adults and a child..necause one is an adult size 14 yr old. :( Thanks for the reminder of rainy days..definitely some one would be spending time in the van with the dvd player or xbox .or maybe I should say spending time outs. lol

So I couldnt tow a 2005 Trailer Cruiser 21RBH or a Roadrunner 2007 ULTRALIGHT 17 ft,1136 KGS with a Honda Odyssey?
This ad caught my eye also :Ultra lite Trail Sport 2009 - minivan towable
but i guess its not a good idea?

Thanks to those who mentioned Scamps and the link to the Casita line. I am soaking up all your info and advice. many thanks,

One should also keep in mind that the SLEEP capacity is not as important as the capacity to hold the people on a rainy day! A small trailer can get TERRIBLY crowded with three adults and a child in there for several hours in the rain!
Been there, did that...