2002 Town and Country towing a new 2014 Amerilite 19bhc

[mrotis]

(Apologies for cross posting but wanted to get this under its own thread - not to be confused with the Jeep Liberty discussion.)

Hello - I have also recently purchased this Gulfstream model and am set up to pull with my 3.8L 2002 Town and Country. We installed a class 3 WD hitch with equalizer (WD?) and stabilizers/anti-sway. Have electric brakes and van is rated for 3800 towing capacity. Mechanic says we DO have a tranny cooler.

I'm getting mixed opinions about the van's ability to tow adequately and wonder if you all have any thoughts/suggestions. We have taken it out and, sure, you feel it back there. Generally, we wouldn't pull with fluid in tanks.

Also - Is it OK to drive longer distances in 3 instead of D - as long as RPMs don't max out?

Thanks for your feedback!
-otis

TT ratings are ...
GVWR
Dry Weight 2,740 lbs.
Hitch Weight 310 lbs.
Net Carrying Capacity 760 lbs.
Black Water Tank Cap 37 gal.
Grey Water Tank Cap 37 gal.
Fresh Water Tank Cap 30 gal.
LP Gas Tanks 20 lb.

[Carluvr]

Having owned an '03 3.8L Town & Country I wouldn't tow anything larger than a small tent trailer. The transmission and brakes on these vehicles are the weaklinks. The brakes are undersized for the van itself and the 4-spd is notorious for having problems.....all before you add the weight and drag of a trailer.
And yes, the seats are incredibly heavy, so removing any that won't be used will help out a lot.

They are nice vans on there own, just not as a tow vehicle.

[mrotis]

Yeah - I guess 10-ish, give or take is OK then. I get about 23 in my '02 3.8L TC unencumbered on the highway.

[dodge_guy]

10 mpg is great! Hardly what i would say "stunk" for towing a TT.
And FWIW, my 07 T&C with the 3.8 will get 25mpg at 67mph. I can eek out 29 if i keep it at 60!

[Doug33]

mrotis wrote:
Mileage stunk, probably averaged about 10 mpg - less in the foothills, mountains.

That's the maximum I get with my rig - I don't remember those mini-vans getting that great MPG to begin with.

[PAThwacker]

Weigh it loaded up.

[mrotis]

We took out the two third row seats and traveled with two adults, two kids (and the back loaded with kids bikes and other stuff like camp chairs...).

No issues overheating although we saw plenty on the shoulder with hoods up.

Mileage stunk, probably averaged about 10 mpg - less in the foothills, mountains.

No brake issues yet either. Used low on steeper grades and took it easy!

[dodge_guy]

Glad to hear you didn't turn into a mushrrom cloud on the highway! LOL. Funny how well it worked out for you when others said it couldn't be done. What mileage did you get towing? Just curious.

Congrats!

[Doug33]

Glad to hear it went well. How many passengers did you end up traveling with? Any issues with overheating? It's been awfully hot lately. Any issues with the brakes?

[mrotis]

Just wanted to follow up on this thread - we just got back from a trip towing with the Town and Country all the way down to the Great Smoky Mountains from WI. Many grades, hills, etc - even went as far as Asheville, NC. All in all, the T&C did great. You'd slow on steep, longer grades but for the most part, we simply chugged along. Now, MPG stunk, but you're gonna get that reduction towing most anything.

I think in the long run we'll look for something more robust to pull with, but we had no issues over 11 days on the road.

Thanks for the input.
-otis

[hvac]

Depends on your use of the trailer. The single issue for any distance towing is wind and air flow. It never goes away, and gets worse the faster you go.

Case in point, I tow a 16 Camplight with a F150 rated at 9100lbs. The trailer weighs 3100 loaded. This is with a 300hp 5.4 triton v-8. At 65 mph I average about 13 mpg. At 70 it drops to 10. Add in heavy head winds and this goes down even worse.

Frontal surface area and rear drag are a huge issue, but only if you are going long distances usually interstate and like me covering 2-3k miles in 3 weeks or less. I would suggest 2 lane roads, under 55 mph, a trans cooler and enjoy the trip. FWD will work, but I have heard Chrysler vans a have trans issues.

[kknowlton]

As another former Caravan owner, I tend to agree with ChooChooMan. We towed a small popup (aka PUP) with our van and did fine, but overheated pulling even that little trailer up into the Black Hills. A hybrid trailer will tax that T&C pretty much. If you plan to stay in flat country, you may be ok for a while, but I guarantee that either van or camper will be traded for something else within a year.

[ChooChooMan74]

I had a 2000 Caravan, and I don't think it is up for towing any type of trailer larger than a popup. This is coming from a guy who tows with a little Liberty Diesel, so I am usually all for people who want to save and tow small.

[Mvander]

If you don't use them all, remove some of the van seats to gain back some payload. They can be heavy.

[Road_Ruler]

lanerd wrote:
Typically, FWD vehicles don't make real good towing vehicles.Good luck Ron

Never heard about that before. The FWD Nissan van we had for 16 years/ 300,000miles was a very good TV.