Forum Discussion
- tbinwisconsinExplorerWe bought a new KZ-Sportsmen Classic 19bhs with an unloaded vehicle weight of 2,840. The dealer said we should have no problem towing it with our 2011 Sienna minivan with a tow package and a WD hitch. When we got to the dealer for set up, they said our WD hitch hadn't yet come in, so they set us up with a class 3 hitch/wiring, etc. We had a 2 hour drive home.
We white knuckled it the entire way. The poor van stressed and the camper swayed and we felt like idiots. We got home and literally went and bought a new truck the next weekend. The difference in feel when towing is incredible.
So, I agree to stick with a very lightweight tt or tent trailer and don't believe everything the dealer tells you! - thib2722ExplorerThe towing capacity isn't the problem. The problem is going to be the transmission that isn't designed for any towing. A friend of ours bought a small RV to tow with his wife's van, a Kia Sedona. He was well under the towing capacity even loaded (we went to the scale), but the tranny just didn't make it. On a short one hour trip, he boiled the fluid out the tranny vent tube. He was never over 55 mph, but a little bit of wind did him in. The engine handled it fine, but the tranny balked.
- Major_DadExplorerI towed a 1996 Coleman Shenandoah tent trailer (2500 lbs) with a 1992 Pontiac Trans Sport van w/ 3.8 liter V6. The minivan had automatic air shocks and the tent trailer was well within weight limits, but in bad weather front wheel drive and towing got me stuck twice. Once at the bottom of a hill on a snowy road, and again on a wet driveway in a campground off the Blue Ridge Parkway. We took a long trip from San Antonio to Gettysburg, and the van worked really hard and got 5-8 mpg. It was not pleasant driving.
The problem was solved when we traded the '92 minivan for a '96 Suburban. I would not recommend doing what I did back then. - fla-gypsyExplorerThere was a MV pulling a Casita last weekend quite handily. The Casita weighed in around 2500lbs and is quite well made.
- TerryallanExplorer II
TheLostOne wrote:
with my mini van it says Towing capacity with the 3.8 liter engine is 3500 pounds wgar can i realistically tow with this.
In reality, You NEED to READ your owner's guide. Some, NOT ALL, but some minivans are designed to tow their 3500lb max trailer, while being loaded to their max GVWR. Meaning that the usual question of how much you carry in the TV doesn't matter, and the van will carry the max, while towing the max.
I Was thinkin the Honda Odyssey is one of them, but not sure. Again, Read your manual - GdetrailerExplorer III
Drum wrote:
I really don't see the harm in towing a 2500 lb trailer with a 3500 lb minivan if it's properly equipped and weight limits are observed when loading. You've gotta pay attention to the weights even if you're towing a 10,000 trailer with a F350 diesel by the time you get in the motorcycle and gym equipment or whatever. It's all relative. You can't generally stuff as much into a little 2500 lb TT. They're making much lighter weight trailers these days, so I think it's possible.
Many vehicles now days are not and were never intended to tow a large billboard (aka hard sided trailer). They were given such a light rating to allow folks to use small landscape trailers or tow their "personal watercraft" trailer.
Once you hang a hard sided trailer behind which WILL have considerable frontal area all those ratings go out the door. Even small hard sided trailers will have a good 6ft wide by 4 ft of frontal area. This is 24 square feet of area to catch the wind.
Basically towing a hard sided trailer is like pushing a load of cement blocks without any wheels under them.
Even a trailer which weighs in at 2500 lbs ACTUAL lbs will be at or above 3,500 lbs once you add in your personal stuff not to mention any passengers, gas or any other stuff loaded into the tow vehicle.
Often times mini vans also tend to get loaded with more than one passenger, so you need to take that into account.
My personal take on this comes from my own experience of towing using a vehicle which was rated at 3,500 lbs. While I didn't tow a TT I did tow a utility trailer and let me tell you it was never fun to tow with.
After buying a truck and EXPERIENCING the difference I can NEVER recommend that anyone tows with a vehicle with that light of a rating. The truck took command of that utility trailer, before the trailer PUSHED my vehicle around.
I have as of yet EVER heard anyone say that they have TOO much tow vehicle, but LOTS who COMPLAIN that they need to modify their too close to ratings vehicle to make it work better.
Add up the costs of springs, shocks and other suspension upgrades plus adding additional transmission cooler it can get expensive in a hurry and you still have a vehicle which is just not going to tow well.
I SKIPPED buying a travel trailer for quit a few years, instead I put money back to buy a tow vehicle which HAS been purposely built to tow and already HAS the ratings to tow more than 3,500 lbs.
Do yourself a favor, don't bother using that mini van for towing, just not worth the time or hassle. - vermilyeExplorerI pull a 2100 lb dry weight Escape 17B (actual weight loaded for a long trip - 3000 lbs) with a RAV4 (V6 & tow package) rated at 3500/350 lbs. 33,000 miles so far over two years, including Colorado & other eastern & western mountains. A couple of advantages - I travel solo so not much of a load in the RAV4 & I rarely drive interstates, prefer secondary roads and towing @ 57MPH. Yes, I slow down on long hills, but the 25MPG unhooked makes it worth it. 15MPG towing.
- qtla9111NomadThere are quite a few options available based solely on weight, for example, Funfinder X sizes 13ft to 18ft with the 18ft dry weight of 2770. Also check out folding hard-sided models such as Trailmanor, Aliner and Chalet. You are not limited to a teardrop, although they have their niche.
Feel free to PM me if you want more info. - DrumExplorerI really don't see the harm in towing a 2500 lb trailer with a 3500 lb minivan if it's properly equipped and weight limits are observed when loading. You've gotta pay attention to the weights even if you're towing a 10,000 trailer with a F350 diesel by the time you get in the motorcycle and gym equipment or whatever. It's all relative. You can't generally stuff as much into a little 2500 lb TT. They're making much lighter weight trailers these days, so I think it's possible.
- GdetrailerExplorer III
TheLostOne wrote:
with my mini van it says Towing capacity with the 3.8 liter engine is 3500 pounds wgar can i realistically tow with this.
You are not going to tow a 30+ ft 10K lb trailer with triple super slides, thats for sure.
You ARE however going to be limited to very small (and I mean SMALL) trailers like a TAB (think old "tear drop" style brought back with modern day decor and features not more than a bed on wheels). Even those are going to be a real challenge towing over even the slightest hilly terrain.
There really should be a "how much can I tow?" sticky for everyone to read. It is a common question which pops up pretty much daily and the answer is not much for 3,500 lb ratings...
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