Shopping for a trailer to pull with a van...
Okay- I am new here & I KNOW that this gets brought up a lot. After reading an old post from 2011, I decided to join this forum to get some advice. We've got 6 kids, one in a car seat. We also h...
Forum Discussion
rexlion wrote:
I agree with previous posters that a hybrid or a popup are your best, possibly your only alternatives to sleep 2 adults plus 5 kids. Of the two, a popup will tow easier with better fuel economy and less strain on the transmission. And it will be easier to find a popup with a tolerably low hitch weight. You see, the hitch weight will max you out long before the trailer weight will. A HTT (hybrid) with, say, a 330 lb dry hitch weight will end up having a realistic 450 lb (or more) hitch when loaded with LP, battery, water, and gear. The Jayco X17A might work with its 260 lb dry hitch, but it's discontinued and limited to dealer stock.
If you feel that you need a bunch of cupboard space and a bathroom, I suppose the HTT is the way to go. If you mainly want a place to sleep everyone that's up off the ground, a popup will do just fine. You'll have canvas with either one, just more of it on the popup along with less weight and far less wind resistance when towing.
Whatever you tow, be sure to lock out overdrive.
Here is your first post which is a good post and must be kept at the forefront. It will be very challenging to stay below the GVWR even if OP's kids are light (they grow!). I could see that the minivan itself has a higher profile which cuts some of the wind off the TT but I still stint a PUP or hi-lo is the best option.
BTW, wife drove a T&C for a decade until last month. Love the stow and go. Have an F-150 Super Crew so never used it to tow PUP. Put 165,000 miles with no mechanical problems.
