Towing camper with van. What rating hitch should I purchase?

spol11 wrote:
Tow vehicle: 2013 Nissan Quest SV 6 cyl.
Max tow capacity: 3500#
Torque: 240 ft/lb

RV: 2000 Trailmanor 2720 SL
Dry weight: 2875#
Payload cap: ~1210#
Hitch weight: ~392#

In the van will be my wife and two young kids.
Van dry weight: 4400#
So, vehicle weight + load/passenger = approx. 5000#

I'm looking at whether a class 2 or class 3 trailer hitch would be more appropriate. As well as whether a weight distribution hitch might be an even safer idea.

Thoughts on safety of pulling this pop up/expandable camper with my van??

the fictional dry tongue weight will already exceed the Quest's max of 350lbs, before anything is added.

that van is really only rated for popups.

You will be a VERY UNHAPPY camper trying to towing a 4000# trailer with a 3500# rated TV regardless of the hitch. You might get by if you stay in the flat plains states like Oklahoma, Kansas, or Nebraska. You may end up being a slow rolling traffic hazard on any hilly roads anywhere else. Don't even think of driving in the mountains.

Welcome to the forum bud!

Many folks here will freak out at the proposed setup you're thinking about towing.
Yes class 3 hitch. Yes weight distribution absolutely, if your vehicle is rated to do that.
No need to freak out, but your vehicle is certainly at the top of it's ability to pull that camper for several reasons.
1. Extremely soft rear suspension.
2. Not meant as a tow rig, watch your temps and make sure maint is up to snuff.
3. Make sure the trailer brakes are setup well and working as designed.
4. You live in the wrong state to be towing over the wight limit with a marginal tow rig. You can't go far in any direction form SLC without real grades to pull or come down. Altitude means, if you head into the mountains, your marginal 260hp minivan is now a 200hp minivan.
Honestly, I wouldn't invest $ in the van to pull that camper unless short local trips. I would not want to hit the mountains loaded for fun with that as a tow vehicle.
Safe? yes I believe the size and weight of the van will not get man handled too bad by the trailer. As long as you have good brakes and trailer brakes and know how to drive in the mountains with a vehicle twice the weight of what it normally is.
However be prepared to put the 4 ways on up and down the big grades and taker slow.

Class 3. Our situation is very similar and we opted for class 3. As I recall we could not find a class 2 and the numbers were the deciding factor.

Second, not sure OP understands TV payload. He wants an “ok” for this van, the trailer and his family.

Are you going to tow the camper completely empty? What is the payload on the Quest? The listed hitch weight on the TrailManor has to be empty - use 12% of the trailer's GVWR to calculate an estimated tongue weight for the loaded trailer. You may not have enough tow vehicle.

Rob

Keep posting and someone is sure to approve of your TV and trailer set up. Won’t be me..
you are way overloaded.

Class 3