Jennifer, You can tow with a car, but most cars can't tow more then 2000 lbs. All cars have a GVW (gross Vehicle Weight), and it is not recommended to load your car up or tow anything that will put the car over that weight. For towing long distances or in the mountains, it is best to stay under 80% of the GVW. My recommendation would be to go with a minivan. My personal preference for Minivans is the Chrysler town and Country, or the equivalent Dodge Caravan. I would stay with 2001 or newer. the older ones had transmission problems, mostly because people didn't use the right fluid in them, but that is a different discussion. Either one comes with an optional tow package, but if it does not come with the tow package, it is no big deal. A hitch and wiring can be had for less then $200.00 and it took les then an hour to install. Most minivans come with a roof rack, so using a top carrier won't be much of a problem. The town and Country, and the Caravan have the stow and go seating, so you can store items under the floor when the seats are up. very handy if you have little ones traveling with you, keeps there toys out of the way until they are needed. The gas mileage on minivans is better then SUV's, but not as good as cars. I think the Honda Odyssey has the best mpg of all minivans with a V6. I would estimate the minivans have an average mpg rating of 20-25 on the highway, and 17-22 in town. Cars will have an average of about 5 mpg higher then the minivan. When towing or loaded heavy the mpg will drop with anything. Towing with my Mercury sable I was lucky to get 12-14 mpg on the highway, and we normally got 28-30, on my town & Country towing drops the mpg to about 16-18, and we get 20-22 with out towing. No matter what you decide to get: go with a v6, 4 cylinders can't haul as much, and generally don't last as long. Go with a 4 speed automatic, the over drive really helps the mpg on the highway, do NOT use over drive when towing. add an auxiliary transmission cooler if not equip. 4 wheel anti lock brakes (ABS). try to have the towing package already installed. If you want to tow, make sure you can get a hitch for the vehicle before you buy it, check out www.etrailer.com or www.hitchfinder.com. some manufacturers tow packages do not include the hitch. make sure of the vehicle's GVW, and towing capacity. Follow the heavy duty use maintenance schedule for the vehicle, when towing or hauling heavy loads of people and supplies. This is the schedule that most people are wasting their money on 3000 or 3 months per oil change. Well I hope this helps some. Michael From: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jennifer Jackson Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 23:16 To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Subject: [BlindHandyMan] cars and towing
Hey Guys, I am having a car dilemma that I sure hope you guys can help me out with. My family currently has a Suburban, but it is time for something newer. We do a lot of camping and other activities for which we fill up the interior space and add a car top carrier. The gas mileage for around town is killing us though. My thought has been to replace it with a car that will hold our family of five, and then getting a trailer to tow with the other stuff when we need it. Can a car do this? Do I need a tow package? What questions am I not thinking to ask? I look forward to your answer and possible suggestions. We are still driving that Suburban with the busted out back window. My husband is itching to get something else soon. Jennifer [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Check out the new improvements in Yahoo! Groups email. http://us.click.yahoo.com/4It09A/fOaOAA/yQLSAA/86xolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To listen to the show archives go to link http://acbradio.org/handyman.html or ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday The Pod Cast address for the Cooking In The Dark Show is. http://www.gcast.com/u/cookingindark/main.xml Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various List Members At The Following address: http://www.jaws-users.com/handyman/ Visit the new archives page at the following address http://www.mail-archive.com/blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com/ For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list just send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindhandyman/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindhandyman/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
