Not so sure we made the best decision...

[Rland8228]

So we finally took the trailer out for the first time, and my husband hates me. Every sound that I hear every little noise I freak out. We are towing with our 2012 Dodge Caravan it doesn't even have 10000 miles on it yet. We are very close to towing capacity and I am just freaking out. I feel as if towing it 2000 miles round trip is a lot for us to do with it being close to capacity. I guess my biggest fear is that we jack knife or do something stupid. We know that we need a second vehicle so we will be getting a truck but I am just not sure if we should tow all the way to the fort with the van or not.I think maybe we should just use it up closer to home than anything. Anyone else ever have this problem or feeling. I guess just looking for some advice!?. We are supposed to check in on Sat but we can book to a room if we want or push it back. Im just not really sure what to do.

 

[manning]

Slow down and take your time. Don't know how fast you go. I've seen crazies out there doing 70-80 mph. I wouldn't be surprised they are exceeding speed limitation on tires.

What's the setup on the vehicle?

 

[Rland8228]

You are asking the wrong person. I know that obviously we have a hitch and whoever opened the camper before us left sway bars so we have them. I guess I'm just nervous about the tow load. The car manual says that we can take 3600. I looked at the manual and it's days with 3-5 people it's 3300. Well the trailer as Is is at like 3100. I'm just a little nervous I guess what it will do to the car.

 

[John VN]

Hitch up, load up with supplies and people then go to a CAT Scale and get everything weighed.

 

[WizardLarz]

1. take the Van in the dealer, let them know that you're going to do some towing and you want a full check of the van to make sure you are ready.

2. Take the gang on a weekend outing with the camper so you and hubby can get used to driving & parking with that camper in tow.

 

[tiggerdad]

1. take the Van in the dealer, let them know that you're going to do some towing and you want a full check of the van to make sure you are ready.

2. Take the gang on a weekend outing with the camper so you and hubby can get used to driving & parking with that camper in tow.

Agree, plus also ask the dealer about the load range on the vehicle. I have heard several people talk about the recommendation that you not exceed 75% of maximum towing capacity for long trips. I believe this is more for transmission wear than anything. Again, I have not heard this directly from an expert, but sounds fairly safe.

A good hitch a sway system will help with control as long as you keep the speed at or below 70.

 

[John VN]

So we finally took the trailer out for the first time, and my husband hates me. Every sound that I hear every little noise I freak out. We are towing with our 2012 Dodge Caravan it doesn't even have 10000 miles on it yet. We are very close to towing capacity and I am just freaking out. I feel as if towing it 2000 miles round trip is a lot for us to do with it being close to capacity. I guess my biggest fear is that we jack knife or do something stupid. We know that we need a second vehicle so we will be getting a truck but I am just not sure if we should tow all the way to the fort with the van or not.I think maybe we should just use it up closer to home than anything. Anyone else ever have this problem or feeling. I guess just looking for some advice!?. We are supposed to check in on Sat but we can book to a room if we want or push it back. Im just not really sure what to do.

My bolding regarding your concern.

Truthfully, it makes no difference if you are towing around the corner or 2,000 miles round trip if your vehicles are above capacity. Safety for those on board should be of the utmost concern and as I stated, you will not know if capacities are under, at, or over unless the van and trailer are weighed. It makes no difference if a dealer says things will be fine and sets you up with the best system for towing if the actual weights are beyond limits.

Your van's rating for towing are based on engine, transmission, brakes, suspension, tires, weight of occupants and gear, cooling system.......and the weight of the loaded trailer. Guessing that everything is fine can lead to bad handling, injury and even death.

Get the weights and ease your mind.

 

[anniemck]

To be honest, Dodge has probably the worst transmission track record than any vehicle I have ever owned/known... I would NOT do this trip pulling a travel trailer.

 

[manning]

You are asking the wrong person. I know that obviously we have a hitch and whoever opened the camper before us left sway bars so we have them. I guess I'm just nervous about the tow load. The car manual says that we can take 3600. I looked at the manual and it's days with 3-5 people it's 3300. Well the trailer as Is is at like 3100. I'm just a little nervous I guess what it will do to the car.

Need to know.

When was it built?

I don't recall when federal law was changed but now the last thing a trailer manufacturer does is weigh and post the weight on the trailer. In other words now the weight must include the weight of the trailer along with the weight of all options. IE trailer weighs 3000 lbs and a 200 lb air conditioner is an option then the posted weight would be 3200 lbs.

Prior to the change the weight of the options did not have to be included. That's why the question...when was it built. Of course anything the previous owner adds does not have to be added.

The best thing to do is take it to a scale and have it weighed two times. once when it is empty and again when you have all your stuff in it.

Just guessing I wouldn't be surprised you're over the limit. Does that 3300 include everything?

 

[2goofycampers]

If in doubt, don't.

 

[articfox676]

If in doubt, don't.

You also have to be able to stop your TV and TT in an emergency.

We never tow over 60mph. Even with a 3/4 ton caution is important.

Nothing wrong with staying close to home.

 

[North of Mouse]

At the least, make sure your van has the towing package - heavy duty transmission w/cooler, breaks for trailer, etc. We have seen some very dangerously over weight trailers for the tow vehicle. Just because a dealer will say you're OK does not mean you are - they want to make a sale - sad, but true.

It doesn't take long to add several hundred pounds of extra weight to a trailer when you put all your belongs in there, plus the people's weight in the towing vehicle.

Just be safe! I think your concerns are very valid!

 

[arthuruscg]

Did you install a trailer brake controller in the van yet?
I believe dodge requires trailer brakes over 1k lbs.

 

[bama_ed]

Rland,

I went back and looked at your thread with the photobucket link and the pictures of the trailer. Yours has a double axle which to me usually means a not-so-light trailer since axles have their own weight ratings.

We towed our popup which the empty sticker said was 2832# and after we load the bikes etc over #3000 with a Chrysler Town and Country minivan that had a factory installed tow package and the same 3500# limit and we wore it out. I towed the pup to the Fort but never felt comfortable taking it into hilly terrain like the Smokey Mountains or other such places. After several trips to the Fort and replacing brake pads and a tranny problem, I got my Suburban which is now the tow vehicle.

This was with a popup and I bet your trailer is definitely heavier than mine. And here's the thing as articfox said: it's not being able to pull 3300# that's the issue. It's being able to stop and control 3300# plus your tow vehicle that's the issue.

Confirm the weights of the trailer loaded, make sure you have a brake controller if you have electric brakes on the trailer, and something that size will probably need sway control (which you said you have already). Limits are on paper but it's always better to have a margin of safety.

Bama Ed

 

[manning]

Rland,

I went back and looked at your thread with the photobucket link and the pictures of the trailer. Yours has a double axle which to me usually means a not-so-light trailer since axles have their own weight ratings.

We towed our popup which the empty sticker said was 2832# and after we load the bikes etc over #3000 with a Chrysler Town and Country minivan that had a factory installed tow package and the same 3500# limit and we wore it out. I towed the pup to the Fort but never felt comfortable taking it into hilly terrain like the Smokey Mountains or other such places. After several trips to the Fort and replacing brake pads and a tranny problem, I got my Suburban which is now the tow vehicle.

This was with a popup and I bet your trailer is definitely heavier than mine. And here's the thing as articfox said: it's not being able to pull 3300# that's the issue. It's being able to stop and control 3300# plus your tow vehicle that's the issue.

Confirm the weights of the trailer loaded, make sure you have a brake controller if you have electric brakes on the trailer, and something that size will probably need sway control (which you said you have already). Limits are on paper but it's always better to have a margin of safety.

Bama Ed

Stopping can be tricky. I can remember way back when I had a 1700 lb popup. I didn't connect it up right (I was new at it then) and did not have trailer brakes. Good thing I was stopping at a little travelled intersection. I finally stopped in the middle of the intersection. White shorts turned an instant brown. From then on I doubled checked.




I have a hunch that trailer is way over 3000 lbs. I wonder if they are looking at 3000 per axle.

OP, what is the make, model and year. without knowing we are just guessing.

 

[super_camper]

So we finally took the trailer out for the first time, and my husband hates me. Every sound that I hear every little noise I freak out. We are towing with our 2012 Dodge Caravan it doesn't even have 10000 miles on it yet. We are very close to towing capacity and I am just freaking out. I feel as if towing it 2000 miles round trip is a lot for us to do with it being close to capacity. I guess my biggest fear is that we jack knife or do something stupid. We know that we need a second vehicle so we will be getting a truck but I am just not sure if we should tow all the way to the fort with the van or not.I think maybe we should just use it up closer to home than anything. Anyone else ever have this problem or feeling. I guess just looking for some advice!?. We are supposed to check in on Sat but we can book to a room if we want or push it back. Im just not really sure what to do.

Like Bama Ed I also pulled a pop up for several years with our minivan which had the same weight rating as your vehicle. We were near the van towing limit with the fleetwood bayside popup we pulled and we were careful with loading and ensured we were within weights by visiting some local scales.

Safety should be your first priority so I would recommend you have everything weighed and then verify your vehicles tow capabilities. You definitely have a heavy TT for a mini-van to tow.

 

[bama_ed]

Here is a link with a 1997 AeroLite travel trailer which is what yours is. This sales ad lists the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of the trailer as 3,995 pounds.

http://for-sale.yakaz.com/1997-aerolite-travel-trailer#lo=4&docid=000fgdqlsuf2qrn0

This trailer was made in a variety of lengths which obviously will vary the weights of it. So you need to know the details on your trailer.

GVWR minus Cargo carrying capacity (CCC) equals Unloaded Vehicle Weight.

Note that GVWR is the MAXIMUM weight the camper should be loaded up to. This is unrelated to what your tow vehicle is capable of and is probably related to the axle and frame limits. Somewhere in the camper (on the inside of a cabinet door, on the outside of a table stand, on the OUTSIDE of the trailer) they are required as someone said to list the GVWR, CCC, UVW.

You need to learn what the GVWR, CCC, and UVW are for your particular trailer.

Obviously for safety purposes it's best to have a tow vehicle whose towing capacity is greater than the trailer's maximum loaded weight (GVWR).

Bama Ed

PS - here is another link showing probably empty weights and note some are 7 feet 1 inch wide and some are 8 feet wide. What's yours?

http://www.nadaguides.com/RVs/1997/AEROLITE

 

[Rland8228]

Thanks everyone for your advice it really means a lot. I can't believe that you can post to complete strangers and actually care what they say. ( if that makes sense) the sticker in the trailer has it at 3195. We made the decision last night to change to a resort and buy a truck or something similar once I am cleared to go back to work. Again hopefully I will be able to get to the fort one day. We do have the brake control in the van my dad who has been in the business for years say that we would probably be fine but it is a smart move that we wait a little while and take it locally. I think we might try Hershey park which is only about an hour and a half away. Again thank you all so much we are just both so bummed we out a lot of work to the inside and out but we know we will be able to take it out soon. We are just looking at it financially we really don't have any back up so that god for bid something did happen to the transmission we would have no way to pay for it.

 

[MDKLHunter]

Thanks everyone for your advice it really means a lot. I can't believe that you can post to complete strangers and actually care what they say. ( if that makes sense) the sticker in the trailer has it at 3195. We made the decision last night to change to a resort and buy a truck or something similar once I am cleared to go back to work. Again hopefully I will be able to get to the fort one day. We do have the brake control in the van my dad who has been in the business for years say that we would probably be fine but it is a smart move that we wait a little while and take it locally. I think we might try Hershey park which is only about an hour and a half away. Again thank you all so much we are just both so bummed we out a lot of work to the inside and out but we know we will be able to take it out soon. We are just looking at it financially we really don't have any back up so that god for bid something did happen to the transmission we would have no way to pay for it.

We had this dilemma too, here's how our story ended. We have a 2010 Dodge Caravan we planned to tow a pop up with from Indiana for spring break at the Fort before the 3nt Dream Cruise. My van does not have a tow package, and after some research it seemed towing without the factory modifications may void your warranty. We then planned to take my husband's truck. Last fall I read on here about renting and decided that may be good for us. We rented a pop up from Fort Camper Rental and couldn't have been more pleased. I figure what I spent on the rental I saved in gas & convenience. On the drive down we noticed an odd whining noise from the van that only got louder. Hubby took it to Central Orlando Chrysler, and I came home with a rebuilt transmission! What if we had been towing, EEK!!! Now to make the story better, we live in the town and my husband works at the factory where these very transmissions are made! Rumor is there were some out sourced bearings used in the 2010's, not the case now, but I'm still glad all of our repairs were covered. My advice? Don't skip the Fort, it was amazing!!! See if maybe a rental might meet your needs!

 

[Rland8228]

Hi everyone, I hope that you all are enjoying the start of summer. I have gotten a couple of messages asking how we have made out with the trailer. Well we still have yet to take it out. Everyone we have talked to says oh just try it and see what happens but the thing is I don't have the funds that if something does happen to fix it. I really wanted a trailer and I got one but trying to get a truck lately has been impossible . WE thought about renting a truck and driving down with it but that would be an additional 400.00 to our trip if we chose to.We are planning with our tax return to buy a truck so that we are able to take it out hopefully next year. For the time being we have decided to start tent camping. It really excites my son and I just want to try and make DH and DS happy. Although I don't know what DS 1 and I will do. We were really wanting to come back down this year but I think it may have to wait which is a really big bummer but what can you do I guess.