First of all unless the vehicle was purpose built for towing simply adding a hitch and a light kit will do nothing but create long term problems for the suspension and drive package. A purpose built vehicle has upgraded trans cooler, in some cases an added oil cooler, additional engine cooling capacity, onboard computer remapping capabilities so that when you push the tow mode button on the dash it changes many of the vehicle's performance characteristics. You mentioned that your van is factory equipped and that is a step in the right direction. A very good friend of mine who lives in Montana has about the same setup on his town&country that you do. We decided to take his 14-ft aluminum fishing boat to a lake in the mountains about 30 miles away from his home. The boat, motor, trailer, fishing equipment, safety gear and beer cooler probably didn't way 1000LBS total. I know that the tongue weight was less than 150LBS Because I picked it up and set it on the hitch ball. On the flats the van towed it ok with a few handling issues going around curves. When we got into the mountains that poor v6 was wrapped for all it was worth and we never saw the top side of 45MPH. Coming back that evening we encountered some wind and the boat and trailer were whipping all over and the van didn't have the track, wheelbase or suspension to afford a lot of control. Thom told me that this was the first time he had towed the boat with his van, that usually he used his Jeep Liberty A full framed rear wheel drive short wheelbased vehicle to tow with. In the van's defense I will tell you that it was a single axel trailer and honestly I can't remember if it had it's own dedicated set of brakes or not.
Regards Larry Stansifer -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Lenny McHugh Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 11:46 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] cars and towing Larry, Why? I have a Grand Caravan Sport. It has automatic load levelers, all wheel drive and came equipped with a towing package. I never towed anything with it. We sold our camping trailer many years ago. Lenny ----- Original Message ----- From: "Larry Stansifer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 1:37 PM Subject: RE: [BlindHandyMan] cars and towing None of the mini-van class vehicles are really appropriate for any kind of towing. Regards Larry Stansifer -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Robert J. Moore Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 10:58 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [BlindHandyMan] cars and towing couple more things to consider is some thing like an s10 blazer or a GMC Gymmy or if you like some other brand That way you would have the lugsury and room of a car and better milage than your big suberbin. Also you would have a full truck frame and rear weel drive which I think is much better for towing. I don't know about other models but I believe some if not all Dodge caravans have a uni body construction which I don't think will stand up as well over the long haul. So what I might look for is some thing with a full frame, 5plus passenger interior, preferably a 4 door, and rear wheel drive. From there you can check out gas milage. What I am really saying is there are much smaller versions of what you now have and you won't need much cargo space since you can pull a pop up or just a utility trailer for your stuff. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of carl Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 5:26 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] cars and towing you need a to bar fitted and then if you have the power you can toe anything ----- Original Message ----- From: Jennifer Jackson To: [email protected] <mailto:blindhandyman%40yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 5:15 AM 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] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> See what's inside the new Yahoo! 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