This is our TT, what the heck can tow it??

[jlfought]

So I did my research before we bought a trailer to be sure we would get a trailer that was towable. Then after purchasing a 30ft trailer we found out we were expecting our 6th child! Our 2 bunk trailer we just bought would be just impossible with a toddler, a baby and a special needs child( along with 3 other kiddos). We had to go bigger which totally screwed all my calculations as to what could tow the TT.

I have been trying to go back and refigure but pregnancy brain is too strong and I can't figure it all up like I did last time! HELP!

We are looking at 1 ton 15 passenger vans(maybe 12 passenger??). 350/3500 series

And before I even put it on here, I know, I know- our trailer is a monster-Salem 36BHBS. Gulp. Did I mention that we will be full timing it for a year across the country as soon as our house sells?? Yep-we are crazy. So let's just state that as fact now and get it out of the way lol Now we just need to move forward 😉

Here are our #'s that I have figured out:

TT GVWR:10880
TT Dry: 7990
Weight we need at hitch: 1415
Weight of driver and passengers:710 lbs

We don't plan on having any added cargo in the van but I have been throwing in an extra 100 pounds just in case and 100 pounds for hitch weight.

I need to work backwards and figure out what we need to have in a vehicle for sure. We've been looking at some older models of vans but not sure some are up the challenge.

We will be getting a WDS when we get our new TV. So I know we need that.

Any help would be very much appreciated!

( we currently borrow a 1 ton truck from my husband's uncle to take the trailer out on weekends every now and then.)

~Jen

[JBinOR]

We have six kids, about the same ages in our 1999 Express 3500 5.7L V-8 3.73. We pull a 5000 pounds (unloaded) trailer just fine. I would definitely, though, want at least the 7.1L Chevy or the V-10 Ford with the weight you have. You really don't need a dually, though. Plenty of people are pulling similar rigs just fine, and your tongue weight is not horrible. Do remember, keep it out of overdrive when towing, and downshift in the mountains.

[tatest]

jlfought wrote:

carringb wrote:
You need a Ford E350 with the v10. payload is over 3,000 pounds. GCWR with 4.10 gears is 18,500. You will need to upgrade to a class 5 receiver however, since the stock is only a class 4. A diesel would work too but those come with additional maintenance headaches, and it's quite a bit less powerful than the v10.

The Chevy Express will have enoug payload but not enough GCWR.

So I found a 1997 Ford E-350 Extended wagon V-10 4.10. If we upgrade to the class V receiver it will work for us? I found just one site that had tow info on it for the model and it has it listed as a 10,000 lb tow capacity and 5590 curb weight. Those were the only figures I found for it.

Thanks so much for the info too!!

The GVWR and axle ratings will be posted in the door. The E-350 can have any of several GVWR options, over a small range of values, marketed for tax and license purposes in some locales.

Current E-350 GVWRs can be as high as 9000 in the van, to give a regular length cargo van a bit over 4000 load capacity. But wagon is heavier, the extended length wagon is heavier yet, whittling down that margin. I'm not sure where the max was in 1997, since the front end was beefed up on the 2007-8 upgrades.

My E-350 regular length wagon has 8800 GVWR, a good 3000 pound margin over the curb weight (which is actually lighter now since I pulled out the back seat and seat mounting hardware).

I'm pretty sure you will find the GVWR at least 3000 pounds over your curb weight, that much is needed for people and luggage when the vans are used as hotel and parking lot shuttles. But that 3000 does have to be shared between what you carry and the tongue load, which might be over 1500 pounds on a 10,000 pound travel trailer.

[mkirsch]

It's going to be crowded with 8 people in a Suburban/Excursion especially with multiple car seats.

That's where the E350 van will shine. Plenty of room for everyone and easy access to car seats.

Frankly, the industry just isn't prepared for a family like yours. There are vehicles that can carry 8 people. There are vehicles that can tow 10,000lb travel trailers.

There just aren't any STOCK vehicles that can carry 8 people AND tow a 10,000lb travel trailer without making some compromises.

If you can find a van with enough seats, 3000lbs of usable payload capacity, keep your trailer tongue below 1500lbs, and keep the family around 1500lbs maximum, I really think you'll be okay.

[tcp]

I can still build an E350, 8passenger van on the ford.ca commercial website. I can configure it with a 6.8l v10, 5 speed transmission,4.10 LS rear axle, power telescoping towing mirrors and integrated brake controller. I would suggest it will do fine towing your trailer with a 10k lb towing capacity you can add a couple of thousand pounds of stuff to your trailer and stay within the rating. It also has a 18500lb GCWR and a curb weight around 6000lbs with a bunch of options. That would leave 2500lbs or so for hitch weight and occupants. It's an option.

Or this:

http://www.megax2.com/our-rides/

[fischer]

I saw a passenger van with duallys but it was a church van in OK

[normal_dave]

Being a van owner with several kids, these posts always send me hunting for vans...

Here's one "nextdoor" to Indiana, no affiliation. Can we link ads here? oh well...

2004 E-350 Chateau V-10 Wagon

Chateau package is a 7 passenger with 4 captains chairs, factory built. You could pull the two center captains chairs, change brackets and install a 3 passenger seat in its place, since you will have 6 children.

I think the benefits of towing with a van when you have a large family are numerous. Nothing else came close for us. Our friends who have suburbans often comment on the ease of access to the rear seating the van offers.

Good Luck in your search.

[jlfought]

carringb wrote:
BTW excursions are nice but really short on payload unles the springs are upgraded. Also, '05 was the last year so finding them in good condition is getting harder.

A Suburban 2500 with the 8.1l might work too but payload will be borderline and they are even more rare. If you can find a Chevy Express 8.1L that will meet specs, but they only ever made a very small handful of those, and only in '01/'02.

Exactly the problems we ran into when looking for these 2 models which is what we were originally thinking( we have a 1500 suburban now and were just going to upgrade to a 2500).

[carringb]

BTW excursions are nice but really short on payload unles the springs are upgraded. Also, '05 was the last year so finding them in good condition is getting harder.

A Suburban 2500 with the 8.1l might work too but payload will be borderline and they are even more rare. If you can find a Chevy Express 8.1L that will meet specs, but they only ever made a very small handful of those, and only in '01/'02.

[carringb]

I disagree that a dually is needed for a family of 8. Even 8 adults is doable in a stock E350. They have a minimum of 3,000 pounds of payload, and nearly 4,000 in fleet trim and some seats removed.

I would suggest looking at a 2000 or newer because you get and extra 40 horsepower and rear disc brakes. Even better is an '05 or newer due to the TorqueShift transmission.


That all said, a small shuttle bus would be pretty nice! I've browsed them, but it's hard to find them with a co pilot seat for a decent price. The cheaper fleet specials almost always have the passenger door delete setup.

[tcp]

http://www.truckinweb.com/features/1401_2006_gmc_topkick_c5500_colossus/

http://www.dragtimes.com/video-viewer.php?v=awKTnQAZ-EI&feature

alton truck manufacturing could make something for you.

blt2ski wrote:
As far as the duals go, you would have to ask them, but, if it is a std type van, it probably has singles on the rear vs duals, 4 tires total.

If you have a small sized family, then the 710 might work. My sons were 5'12" on there 13th b-day, now are 5'16 at age 27. My daughters are 5'8 and 10", ex is in the middle height wise, but oldest daughter and ex are probably the heaviest of us overall, Im 6' and 210. My kids were generally speaking in the 20-30%tile weigh, and 120+ in the height growing up. On the other hand, the older of the twins has a gf from India, 4'11 and maybe 100 lbs dripping wet. if you are all smaller in nature, 710 could work......but as you note, they will grow too..

The one van you see may work, on the other hand, depending upon how used it is, you could spend more on repairs than a newer one that cost more up front. Bryan is a good person to PM with re ford vans, he is probably one of the better resident experts on them.
Marty

[blt2ski]

As far as the duals go, you would have to ask them, but, if it is a std type van, it probably has singles on the rear vs duals, 4 tires total.

If you have a small sized family, then the 710 might work. My sons were 5'12" on there 13th b-day, now are 5'16 at age 27. My daughters are 5'8 and 10", ex is in the middle height wise, but oldest daughter and ex are probably the heaviest of us overall, Im 6' and 210. My kids were generally speaking in the 20-30%tile weigh, and 120+ in the height growing up. On the other hand, the older of the twins has a gf from India, 4'11 and maybe 100 lbs dripping wet. if you are all smaller in nature, 710 could work......but as you note, they will grow too..

The one van you see may work, on the other hand, depending upon how used it is, you could spend more on repairs than a newer one that cost more up front. Bryan is a good person to PM with re ford vans, he is probably one of the better resident experts on them.
Marty

[jlfought]

blt2ski wrote:

jlfought wrote:

carringb wrote:
You need a Ford E350 with the v10. payload is over 3,000 pounds. GCWR with 4.10 gears is 18,500. You will need to upgrade to a class 5 receiver however, since the stock is only a class 4. A diesel would work too but those come with additional maintenance headaches, and it's quite a bit less powerful than the v10.

The Chevy Express will have enoug payload but not enough GCWR.

So I found a 1997 Ford E-350 Extended wagon V-10 4.10. If we upgrade to the class V receiver it will work for us? I found just one site that had tow info on it for the model and it has it listed as a 10,000 lb tow capacity and 5590 curb weight. Those were the only figures I found for it.

Thanks so much for the info too!!

That tow rating assume one driver of 150 lbs, no other passengers. Your actual rating could be less than that. Or the 10 k could be because of the STD returned on it.

Is this rig a single rear wheel rig? I would vote no if it is. OR plan to do a suspension upgrade to the rear, along with adding dual tires. Something like what Bryan did to his E350.

Again if it were me.....I would skip the E350 and go with a bus version of an E450. This should more than cover for the passenger weight of 8 people, also include things like car seats in people or other weights you need. Along with potentially 1500 lbs of hitch weight.

You will if like myself, probably add some 1500 min to 2000 lbs of gear to the trailer above and beyond what it weighs sitting there. That is the amount I had for my family of 6. During ski season, we added another 500 lbs of ski gear etc. Along with the snow that fell in the roof during weekend. The most I know of was 4-5000 lbs when it snowed over 3' one fine weekend.

Marty

I have never seen a 15 passenger van that is a dually. Do they make those on that type of vehicle? I wonder how much it would cost to upgrade the rear suspension and add drw. Seems costly to me but ?? Something to look into.

[jlfought]

blt2ski wrote:
One, at this time today your family of 7-8 is 710 lbs......I'm laughing here........wait a few years, you will be like me, a family of 6 when my 4 were adult sized kids at 1200-1300 lbs betweenus. I can see at least this number for the family add in 1200-1500 lbs of hitch at.....as mentioned, a DUAL tired passenger van/bus will be my first choice. There is NOT an SUV or as van that will truly have the pay load for your total needs.

Have phun with the kiddo's!!

Marty

no one ever believes our weights or thinks our kids are all very little lol

-Our 5'10" 14 year old son is 110
-Our 13 year old daughter is 104 and has reached adult height already.
-Our 11 year old is filipino so very slight and will always be. She doesn't even register on the american weight charts lol
-Our 9 year old is 69lbs
-and then we have a 2 year old who will have plenty of years to grow from her 25lbs she is now.
-Our newest addition will be here in December so will eventually factor in some.
-And my husband and I stay with in 10 lbs of our usual weight typically.

But only a few years left with our oldest two and they will be out. So weights will grow some but not terribly much as the older ones leave the house and the newer ones get grow up 😉

We may even be selling our TT once our year around the country is over. So it's mainly the here and now that we are concerned about.

We have considered a bus but I get terribly car sick if I am not in the passenger seat and there is no passenger seat(or room for one) in a bus or shuttle bus unfortunately. So we ruled that out.

[blt2ski]

jlfought wrote:

carringb wrote:
You need a Ford E350 with the v10. payload is over 3,000 pounds. GCWR with 4.10 gears is 18,500. You will need to upgrade to a class 5 receiver however, since the stock is only a class 4. A diesel would work too but those come with additional maintenance headaches, and it's quite a bit less powerful than the v10.

The Chevy Express will have enoug payload but not enough GCWR.

So I found a 1997 Ford E-350 Extended wagon V-10 4.10. If we upgrade to the class V receiver it will work for us? I found just one site that had tow info on it for the model and it has it listed as a 10,000 lb tow capacity and 5590 curb weight. Those were the only figures I found for it.

Thanks so much for the info too!!

That tow rating assume one driver of 150 lbs, no other passengers. Your actual rating could be less than that. Or the 10 k could be because of the STD returned on it.

Is this rig a single rear wheel rig? I would vote no if it is. OR plan to do a suspension upgrade to the rear, along with adding dual tires. Something like what Bryan did to his E350.

Again if it were me.....I would skip the E350 and go with a bus version of an E450. This should more than cover for the passenger weight of 8 people, also include things like car seats in people or other weights you need. Along with potentially 1500 lbs of hitch weight.

You will if like myself, probably add some 1500 min to 2000 lbs of gear to the trailer above and beyond what it weighs sitting there. That is the amount I had for my family of 6. During ski season, we added another 500 lbs of ski gear etc. Along with the snow that fell in the roof during weekend. The most I know of was 4-5000 lbs when it snowed over 3' one fine weekend.

Marty