Too much trailer?

[ednjenn]

Just purchased a new Jayco 32tsbh. It's bigger than our old trailer by a stretch, and it will be over 9000 lbs loaded. We're towing with a 2002 e350 extended length 12 passenger van with the 7.3 l power stroke diesel. As we speak my transmission is being rebuilt and beefed up with a cooler and a banks billet torque converter. Should this tow vehicle be alright? I am limited due to having 8 kids. Hence the need for the big trailer. Thanks I value your opinions.

Blessings,

Ed

[dodge_guy]

You say 12 passenger, but then say ext length van. The extended length vans were 15 passenger.

Either way with the 350 I wouldn't worry too much. They can have a lot of payload depending on how it was optioned!

If it is an ext length van look into a high end sway hitch like a Hensley or pro pride.

[ednjenn]

Thanks everyone, I'll be doing as advised when I get my hands on it.

Regards,

I like the DRW conversion concept. Just need to find a place around here that can do it, as I lack the skill.

Ed

[Ivylog]

I was told to get the back seat of one at a defensive driving school... making the above staged video a joke. Unbelievable what a trained driver could do with 12 adults on board. We even got pretty good at scaring those in the back BUT these were not stock SRW E350s.
I would do it but only after upgrading your chassis and weighing loaded up. You do not need 1500 lbs of tongue weight so how/where you load the trailer will help.

[Tvov]

gbopp wrote:

ChooChooMan74 wrote:
The thing that scares me most about those E350s ext vans is the amount of overhang, which has been documented to make the vehicle unstable.

I've often thought the Ford vans has a long overhang. I was not aware of the stability issue.
Interesting. Thanks.

I had heard (somewhere at sometime) that height of the van is/was the issue. Stability problems only occurred when vans were fully loaded and driven dangerously - speeding and/or quick maneuvers.

Driven "normally", the vans are fine - that is my understanding.

I don't know the exact capacities of the vans, but they are pretty heavy duty and capable of towing a lot safely when setup correctly.

[CampingN_C_]

I can't speak on the van but I'll tell you that's a beast of a camper. I have the 32BHDS and I'm around 1500lbs on the tongue. I had a 2500HD short bed and always fought handling issues, others have been just fine with the same setup but I never got mine perfect.
With the second slide on the rear of yours, your TW should be slightly less than mine.
Just be prepared for the tongue weight to really surprise you.
Reese DC with 1500lb spring bars. No less.

[gbopp]

06Fargo wrote:
A fix for floppy E350's:



Clicky

Wow! That appears to be a worthwhile investment.

[noteven]

A fix for floppy E350's:



Clicky

[gbopp]

ChooChooMan74 wrote:
The thing that scares me most about those E350s ext vans is the amount of overhang, which has been documented to make the vehicle unstable.

I've often thought the Ford vans has a long overhang. I was not aware of the stability issue.
Interesting. Thanks.

[Golden_HVAC]

8 kids - that would be 10 people in the van unless mom and dad are driving separately. ..

I think the base weight of the E-350 is around 6,300 pounds and GVWR 9,600. The 7.3L is about 500 pounds more than a 460" engine, so your curb weight might be as much as 7,000 pounds. With a hitch weight of around 1,000 pounds - see where I am going?

You really need to check the curb weight of the E-350 van. If it is over 7,000 pounds, you really need to check it with all the kids on board, and see what weight capacity you will have left. If less than 1,000 pounds with all the kids on board, you really have been overloading the van - even with a small 5,000 pound travel trailer and 750 pounds of hitch weight. Now you are talking about 1,000 pounds of hitch weight?

Anyway I would take the van and trailer without any kids in it to a CAT scale, or moving company that has a scale, and check the weight. Front and rear axles of the van, plus the trailer axles. Make sure it is not overloaded left to right either. Some trailers have as much as 500 pounds more on the drivers side due to the slide outs, overloading only two of the tires, while the passenger side is escaping being overloaded.

When I checked my motorhome weight at a moving company, I went first in my car, to see where I would enter, cost, and how to move the 30' RV through the crowded area without getting stuck in a place where backing out would be time consuming.

You will either have a GCVWR of 16,000 or 20,000 pounds, depending on the 3.55:1 rear axle ratio or the 4.10:1 rear axle ratio. If you have 4.10 it will either be 22 or 32, 52, 56 for open diff, or limited slip might be B2 or C2 in the axle location on the plackard on your drivers side weight sticker (bottom line, midway right to left).

Hopefully your van is lighter than I think it is. My 2002 E-450 van is 9,600 pounds with 6 kids and me onboard, including a 400 pound wheelchair. I have a 14,050 GVWR and GCVWR of 20,000 pounds with a 4.63:1 rear axle ratio and V10 engine. I an considering a toy hauler that will have a ramp for the electric wheelchair, and that would be around 10,000 pounds, with 1,000 of that on the hitch. No problem for my E-450 based shuttle bus.


Good luck,

Fred.

[ChooChooMan74]

The thing that scares me most about those E350s ext vans is the amount of overhang, which has been documented to make the vehicle unstable. That is why, if I was in the market for an EXT van, would get a Chevy/GMC. I would be VERY careful, and maybe consider a DRW kit for it and maybe a Pull-rite Hitch

[ktmrfs]

with 8 people in the van, how much carrying capacity do you have left?
What is the tow rating on the van?
what is the hitch capacity on the van?

if you are under the tow rating, under the hitch capacity, and under the vehicle GVWR, then your ok

My $.02, after adding 8 people, you could very well be over GVWR with the trailer tongue weight (will be on the order of 1200lbs in my estimation).

But the only way to know is to load everyone into the van and run it over the scales and see what you have left.