Need help in deciding if my vehicle could tow my trailer!

[chief19spixi]

Not to diminish the very real point, Explorers don't seem to make good Tow Vehicles. I base this on the fact that uhaul ( At least here ) will not rent you a trailer if you are going to tow it with an Explorer. Expedition or higher is required. I just figure that there has to be a reason if they will refuse to rent you a trailer with one. I know nothing else about them so this is a very limited opinion with no research.

VERY GOOD POINT!! They don't do it here either!!

 

[RvUsa]

Erica had an explorer, and the tow rating was about enough to pull a lawnmower trailer... LOL, It is probably because they have IRS (independent Rear Suspension) and that limits how much you can tow.... JMHO

 

[LarryJ]

So we own a Pontiac Montana and a Rvision Bantom Flier TT. The trailer is light around 2700 pds. dry weight. We are now at a point that we need to haul it with my van. We took it to the dealer and they said no prob. It would cost around $1500 to add hitch, transmission cooler, weight distribution bars. My van already has air shocks. So me and DH wonder are they pulling the rug over our eyes or will it indeed be safe to tow. Or do we take that money and put it down on a bigger vehicle that could tow it easier. I just don't want a bigger car payment. Please help as this is our first trailer and have no clue!

Thanks so much!

Two biggest questions are what are the total listed weight on the TT and what were you towing it with before you now say "We are now at a point that we need to haul it with my van". You TV has to me changed from something to now the Pontiac Montana and I would need to know what you towed it with before.

In general I would not tow much more than a small TT 15' or under or a small pop-up tent trailer with any of the mini-vans and smaller SUVs like the Ford Explorer. Yes a lot of vehicles will tow things, but usually people in these situations of stretching their TV capabilities have families with kids and the important thing is when something happens like a flat on the trailer or strong cross winds and once you are in trouble your whole family is at risk and it can happen in a heart beat.

Larry

 

[figmentfan1]

Yes, a dealer will try to sell you ANYTHING. They did with us... luckily my BIL used to work for RVIA and knows A LOT about all things RV, he told us what we were looking at was too much for our vehicle. He was right.

You need to get your owner's manual and READ what your Max tow weight and hitch weight are. You need to give yourself AT least 1000lbs to play with in the trailer and a little leway in the hitch area too.

We have a Toyota Sequoia V8 2wd and it will tow 6500lb with a 750lb hitch weight. We got a TT that has a dry weight of 4600lb and hitch weight of 680lb. That gives us lots of room in the weight department. We will always tow "dry" - that is suggested by RVIA and most dealers to keep weight down.

If you are still unsure about your towing vehicle Trailer Life Magazine publishes annual towing guides- here is the link...

http://www.trailerlife.com/output.cfm?ID=42175

JE

 

[kc5grw]

Another consideration that I have not seen discussed here yet is the wheelbase of the tow vehicle versus the length of the trailer. A trailer that is too long for a tow vehicle's wheelbase can cause an out of control situation even if weights are within spec. This site has discussion of tow vehicle wheelbase and a couple of rules of thumb to determine if you are safe. http://www.rvtowingtips.com/how-long.htm.

Here are the rules of thumb from the website.

1)
For the first 110" of wheelbase, this allows you 20' of trailer.
For each additional 4" of wheelbase, this gets you 1' more of trailer.

2)
The distance from the coupler to the rear trailer axle should be no more than twice the wheelbase of the tow vehicle.

These 2 formulas result in some differences, the website has a good discussion on the probable reasons for the differences.

 

[seabee]

You're right Mike, that is another reason we are upgrading.

 

[Gillian]

1)For the first 110" of wheelbase, this allows you 20' of trailer.
For each additional 4" of wheelbase, this gets you 1' more of trailer.

Our van is 119. We tow a small popup so that's all good.

You should also keep in mind how much weight is in the tow vehicle, people and the xtra stuff carried inthe vehicle.....Frank

I have heard that for my van (2006 toyota sienna) the 3500 lb limit is not lowered by additional people/stuff. I'm not worried about our current setup, just trying to understand how sometimes van tow ratings are different than those for SUVs.

I was looking in the manual for more info on that and couldn't really find it stated in that way (not that they'd say "stuff" lol). There is a discussion of load or cargo in the van and of towing capacity, and they seem to be separate.

What numbers should I be looking for to see if this is true?

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Tow rating will also vary with front wheel drive vs. rear wheel or all wheel drive, hence part of the reason for the difference between minivans and suv's, not to mention the usual abscence of any kind of frame in a minivan.

 

[ffpm63]

A montana being a frontwheel drive was not designed to tow much of anything. The biggest problem would be trying to stop. If you had t do an emergency stop I think you might get run over by your own trailer. I would imagine an 18' trailer would also require a class III hitch (that has a 2" opening) Look around I have never seen a montana with anything larger than a Class II hitch (1" opening). You would be safer with something a little larger. An Astro with the 4.3 might do the job but check on that first as well I don't think it will handle much more than your trailer.