Towing with a minivan

Thanks for the pics and the explanation BenK. Very good detail. I'm book marking this for future use when folks talk about towing heavy with a WD hitch and a Unibody vehicle.

OP, great decision.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

I think you are making a wise choice to go for a more capable vehicle for that trailer. While minivans can make great tow vehicles, that trailer is simply more than they are designed to handle. I don't mind towing with our Sienna right at the max, but it is a PUP so low profile and we tow around Florida where it is almost all flat towing. Tough to beat the 16 mpg we get towing. However, I would not want to tow a full-height trailer with it.

hommer638 wrote:
I had it in the back of my mind that I would need a better tow vehicle. I am planning a trip to the east coast and then a year later a trip to the west coast.I have been looking at the Ford F150 XTR with the 3.5 ecoboost, my son has one and it looks like a very capable and fuel efficient truck.

Great choice; the power they produce is amazing especially for such a small engine.

The biggest challenge then will be resisting the urge to go to a bigger trailer! :B

jerem0621 wrote:
snip...

With the WD, like I said, it did great. But, I think the WD hitch has loosened up the uni-body somehow. The doors don’t seem as tight and the interior body panels now rattle more than they use to before we towed with the WD hitch.

Good buddy, glad you posted this and am taking the opportunity to explain how or why a unibody isn't a good candidate for towing heavy with a WD Hitch system

A monocoque/unibody has a thicker gauge pan or platform with a body spot welded to it. Some of today's are bonded (glued) to the pan with 'some' fasteners and/or spot welds.

A ladder frame setup will have the WD Hitch load on the ladder frame and the body (monocoque/unibody) sitting on top if it via compliant doughnuts

Spot welds are typically NOT continuous seam welded, but staggered (pitch or centers spaced as specified by the engineering drawings)

The forces on a ladder frame are transferred to the frame via bolts holding the receiver to the frame rails. Some to the cross members (not a good way and why some TV's has a lower WD tongue rating).

Since not seam welded...spot welds focuses forces on a small area. That becomes a stress raiser if over loaded (over the design loading)

Stress fractures and then tearing to finally ripping apart. They why of squeaks, groans, etc. To mis-alignment, as the part no longer is to spec

Monocoque/unibody are tighter and stiffer than most any ladder frame...when new...as the compliant doughnuts allow more movement, even when new



Took a few minutes searching for examples



This one shows spot welds in 'shear' how it held, held, held...till the upper spot welds gave up. The top one ripped apart by tearing the a piece away. The second one tore and let go at the spot weld itself. The third one held, but the surrounding material developed stress fractures that was the parting line when the two above let go






This one shows spot welds in 'peel' and tore apart from the bend side to leave material on the other side of the spot weld. The first micro fractures were on the bend side and propagated around the spot weld and finally tore around the spot weld





This one is another spot weld failure in shear and IMHO, too close to the sheetmetal edge vs the forces it was 'trying' to hold against. The spot weld itself is pretty good and the material was either not thick enough or as stated above, too close to the edge




Just one more examples of spot weld failures and telling of the squeaks, groans, etc vehicles that have spot weld failures. The noise is from the two parts of a fracture touch each other while trying to hold it together





In some cases, a vehicle will 'dog track' and/or take more steering input if the looseness if severe enough to allow mis-aligment of suspension/steering components. Bottom line is that the integrity of the whole is compromised and my fear is during an emergency maneuver or accident...the monocoque/unibody might come apart...and the basis for my advice on this matter...follow your OEM's requirements (recommendations) and NOT tow above their rating and NOT use WD when they say 'not recommended'...

Folks gotta decide on their own risk management decisions and think too many have no clue on how a monocoque/unibody works/constructed and fails from over loads...

theoldwizard1 wrote:
From some quick research I don't believe that trailer has electric brakes.

Of course it does ... here in Ontario as in many jurisdictions any trailer with a gross weight exceeding 3000 lbs must have brakes. With a GVWR of nearly 4000 lbs this Wolf Pup has to have brakes and they sure won't be surge brakes. :R

hommer638 wrote:
I had it in the back of my mind that I would need a better tow vehicle. I am planning a trip to the east coast and then a year later a trip to the west coast.I have been looking at the Ford F150 XTR with the 3.5 ecoboost, my son has one and it looks like a very capable and fuel efficient truck.

Yes, while the van would get the job done, somewhat begrudgingly, a half ton Eco boost or any of the V8s, or even the baby Eco boost will do it with comfort and power to spare.
Probably more importantly, the chassi of a full size pickup is designed to pull something like your trailer without even flinching. No wdh needed, no extra add ons. Gas n go.

The three concerns about going over the weight limit are tongue weight, braking and power. The weight distribution hitch will help with the tongue weight.

From some quick research I don't believe that trailer has electric brakes. Of course they can be added and of course you can add an electric brake controller. Combined they will cost you close to $1000.

As for power, the biggest issue is heat. Add coolant and transmission fluid gauges. An auxiliary transmission cooler is also a good idea.

You should not have problems with your east coast trip. Crossing the Rockies is another story.

I had it in the back of my mind that I would need a better tow vehicle. I am planning a trip to the east coast and then a year later a trip to the west coast.I have been looking at the Ford F150 XTR with the 3.5 ecoboost, my son has one and it looks like a very capable and fuel efficient truck.

noteven wrote:
Give the people at CanAm RV Centre in London a call

Bingo. Because 425 lbs dry hitch weight plus battery plus LP plus any water or cargo up front in the trailer plus the weight of the WD hitch..... is liable to rip the receiver clean off at highway speed! But Can-Am can fabricate a custom receiver with more & better mount points, and install any recommended suspension upgrades. They may have ideas about better tires, too. It may cost about 3 grand, though. So a different tug is still the easiest route. Either a pickup or an SUV with at least 650 lbs hitch weight rating. My Lexus GX470 could handle it, or a Jeep Grand Cherokee, or a Sequoyah or Tundra.

This last week we camped next to a small family towing one of those A frame, fold up trailers with a 5th gen Dodge Grand Caravan, 3.6 V6. They were really logging the miles and the van was chock full of stuff. I can't speak to the weights but, they said it towed just fine with the low profile trailer. I'll bet they were heavy but, I don't know the numbers. They had wandered several states from home when we met them. We own a 5th gen Chrysler T&C and I wouldn't want to do a lot of towing with a minivan. The Suburban is much better suited for towing. Suburban, Tahoe, Yukon, Expedition, etc.. might be a better choice for your needs.