Borderline ok tow vehicule

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Hi! I would like to buy a pop-up that weights 1500pounds and my tow vehicule is a 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan with the 3.3. I know the capacity of the van is 1800 pounds but I know that it is Under ideal conditions while the van is practicaly empty. We are a family of 5 + a big dog and I know that the added weight of us 5+ the dog+ the gear would bust the 300 pounds. Now my question is... is it that bad? If the van is a few pounds over weight? The towing capacity is respected but the overall weight would not be... I don't want to be a hazard on the road or bust the transmission. But I bought this Van new and took good care of it so it would be a shame to see it go because I'm only 300 or 400 pounds short. I should mention that I am planning on doing long trips (Canada to South Carolina) yearly.
Thanks!

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Mvander wrote:
Do it. Those trannies are so common the cost to replace will be low comparably. I would be more concerned with stopping if the camper dosent have its own brakes. I had two just under 2000# pups and you really feel them when you have to stop short without trailer brakes.

Yeah, but still around 2000$. If it is certain to fail, rather put that money on another car...

[skipnchar]

Depends on your opinion. How many rivits would you allow to be removed from the wing of an airplane and you'd still fly it? It's a similar type question.

[Mvander]

Do it. Those trannies are so common the cost to replace will be low comparably. I would be more concerned with stopping if the camper dosent have its own brakes. I had two just under 2000# pups and you really feel them when you have to stop short without trailer brakes.

[jfkmk]

carringb wrote:
I would be most worried about the transmission. Chrysler never figured out how to put a robust transmission in their minivans. That's a lot of weight for long trips. If you were staying local, it would probably work out. But I sure wouldn't want to take that van on a long drive with that much weight.

X2. I've never seen one of these transmissions go much past 100k miles in the base case.

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carringb wrote:
I would be most worried about the transmission. Chrysler never figured out how to put a robust transmission in their minivans. That's a lot of weight for long trips. If you were staying local, it would probably work out. But I sure wouldn't want to take that van on a long drive with that much weight.

Sounds about right. Thanks! Nice van w/ dual axl.

[carringb]

I would be most worried about the transmission. Chrysler never figured out how to put a robust transmission in their minivans. That's a lot of weight for long trips. If you were staying local, it would probably work out. But I sure wouldn't want to take that van on a long drive with that much weight.

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agesilaus wrote:
If you have an accident and are overloaded you could be in trouble. It will also overload and possibly overheat the transmission and brakes. Dog + people + gear + full tank of gas would be way over 300 pounds. Also the tongue weight is very important too.

So you think the danger is clearly present and that I should change my vehicule? Thanks for the reply, appreciated. I see you never came to Québec... what are you waiting for? 😉

[agesilaus]

If you have an accident and are overloaded you could be in trouble. It will also overload and possibly overheat the transmission and brakes. Dog + people + gear + full tank of gas would be way over 300 pounds. Also the tongue weight is very important too.