Post your tow vehicle pics here

MrUKToad wrote:

mikenem wrote:
According to the Trailer Life 2012 towing guide...that Sienna only has a 3500# tow rating. What model Airstream is that?

It's a 28' International, tops out at 7,300lbs

The Sienna does indeed have an official Toyota tow rating of 3,500lb but, as I have discovered, tow ratings for minivans (in general) bear no relation to their ability to handle a heavy load; they were set 35 years ago and haven't been altered since, despite major changes in the vans themselves.

It's a bit unfair of me to put that photograph up without some additional information. The Sienna has been modified with the addition of a big transmission oil cooler and a Prodigy brake controller. The hitch receiver, although a standard Hidden Hitch model, has been strengthened to add rigidity and to help the Weight Distribution system transfer weight more cleanly to the front axle. It uses a standard pair of Eaz-lift 1000lb spring bars and a pair of friction anti-sway bars. As you can see, the Sienna sits level, the GAWRs and GVWR are not exceeded, even when fully loaded with kids and kit. Indeed, the Sienna specs stack up well against a lot of half-ton trucks and SUVs, all of which have much higher tow ratings, and the Sienna ends up more stable because of its low center of gravity, good aerodynamic properties and semi-independent rear suspension.

We towed around 6,000 miles last year without any issues at all. We averaged 12 mpg (US) when towing (and 28 when not towing!). We tend to keep the speed at around 60-65 mph, largely because that's the speed limit here in Canada, and that undoubtedly helped with the gas mileage. Sure, we lose a little speed up the hills but that's to be expected, although the Sienna will push out a respectable 265HP so it's not really under powered.

I don't think the Sienna would cope as well if it were not towing an Airstream. Although it's a heavy trailer, it's quite slippery through the air compared to a lot of other trailers and, as wind resistance is a big factor in towing dynamics, the Airstream helps us out a lot.

The dealership that set us up has a lot of minivan customers towing big Airstreams, all of them successfully. There have been no reports of transmission issues with the Sienna (or the Honda Odyssey, or Town & Country) over extended periods so there's no evidence that these vans suffer from pulling these trailers.

Well...I hope the best for you

I can speak by experience. I had a Odyssey for long time and I started with a pop-up tent trailer and that was fine, when I changed my trailer for a 16ft hybrid trailer, the Odyssey towed fine but stopping is an entirely different situation and I can notice that car is NOT made for that. This minivan doesn’t have a solid frame, they have a body-frame and all the load is handled by the whole car, not only by a well designed frame. If in the future your doors start touch the door frame or they don’t close any more you will know why that happened.

It is important how the 265HP tow, but is more important how it stops a BIG heavy load. I know that you mention you have a brake control and the trailer have brakes also, but if you have an emergency situation, that could be really different when the weight of what you are towing is bigger that the tow vehicle and you can’t control it.

When the engineers set up the limit of the towing capacity it is because they know the limitation of the vehicle. If you modify the car and go over factory specification, you are going over the towing capacity and curve weight of the minivan and that is illegal. You can come with a big legal problem because you are over of the limits and that is negligent.

I would like to see Toyota honor the warranty of the transmission or engine if it fails when you show the picture of what you are towing. That means the minivan is NOT designed to handle that.

Personally I won’t put my family in a potential dangerous situation just to show that my minivan can handle it…. Is that safe?... it is safe until something happens and you are going to regret your decision.

My intention is just to try to let you understand what the situation is.
Again, I hope the best for you and the safety of your family.

Regards