First time towing with the new van, not fun!

ssia2485 wrote:

The LeRoys wrote:
The tires were at 75 all the way around. So I will drop the front to 60 and raise the back to 80 to match the door.

I adjusted the hitch. The hitch head needed to be raised one hole and 2 washers added. It looks much better now. I tightened the socket bolts some too.

I will take a test drive over to the other side of Tampa one night this week to see how these changes impact it. There is a TA there so I can get weighed and verify my tongue weight.

I did however find that my Equalizer is a 10K model. So I may be right at the edge of its capacity. I may have to look at upgrading that.

I also looked at the truck side by side with the Van. The distance from axle to axle on the truck is 152" while the Van is 139". The distance from back axle to receiver on the truck was 47" whereas the Van was 67". So the wheelbase is over a foot shorter and the receiver is almost 2 feet further back.

Bingo - You found your problem. That 20 inch difference from the axle C/L to the hitch ball will create more sway. The shorter wheelbase is also bad for your application. The van will never handle like the truck because of this. You don't see many vans on the road pulling large trailers for this reason. The van was a bad choice for a tow vehicle.

Many truck campers require 2-4' receiver extensions to clear the camper over hang of the trailer you are towing. I ran a 28" extension on Super Cab short bed truck and had no issues towing an 8k lb enclosed trailer. I will admit I had 7-8k lbs on the rear axle and a diesel engine over the front axle weighing close 5K lbs, so my TW was heavier than my trailer. I suspect your stock rear suspension is too soft (like the Excursion) which is causing all your handling issues. Once you get it firmed up, the van should handle better.