pulling camper with a van

[RN01]

Has anyone pulled a camper with a van? We have a toyota sienna and a coachman clipper 17 foot and we are planning on taking it on a camping trip that's 12 hours away without pulling a camper. Our van does have the towing package on it but it still makes me nervous to pull it that far. Are we crazy or do you think it will be okay?

 

[bama_ed]

Numbers. It's all in the numbers.

Your owners manual for your van should have a table that tells what the towing capacity of the van is (properly equipped with tow package). Most minivans properly equipped are in the 3,000-4,000 pound range for towing capacity.

You trailer has a GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) which is the unloaded empty weight of the trailer plus the cargo carrying capacity (UVW+CCC). The GVWR is the most your camper can weigh with all the "stuff" in/on it. The trailer axle is usually the limiting factor.

It will come down to how close the GVWR is to the tow capacity. You would like to have more tow capacity than the GVWR. The issue is not getting the trailer up to speed - it's controlling it when you try to stop.

I assume you have a proper brake controller installed on the tow vehicle.

You might be fine - you just need to know your numbers.

Bama Ed

PS - I pulled a heavy popup with a mini-van with tow package and the GVWR was just under the tow capacity. So I thought I was okay. After a few brake and transmission repairs on the van, we got a bigger tow vechicle. Just sayin'.

 

[tiggerdad]

Agree with Ed, base it on the numbers. A lot of people actually suggest not pulling more than 75-80% of the gross total for long hauls.

Short trips sure, but long distances pulling with something that just barely covers the weight requirements is gonna cost you in the long run I am afraid.

Good luck to you and have fun.

 

[Rland8228]

agree with that Bama Ed and tiggerdad. Its all about what your manual says and the actual numbers are.


Now from our own experience. We have a 2012 Dodge grand caravan. We can pull 3500 lbs. We at first purchased a trailer that at full weight was 4200 dry was 3150. We pulled it one to the dealer to have it inspected and let me tell you I was terrified. It was heavy and you could fell it. Now we probably would have been find. But we unfortunately being stupid immature people are seriously over financed in the vehicle and nothing can happen to it. So we decided the best thing to do was sell it. We go a pop up instead and you cold never feel it when we pulled it. We really like it but just sold it and upgraded to a 25ft travel trailer because DH bought a truck with our refund this year. I know it may not be what you want to hear but I just want to give you my honest story. If you look back in my threads I had the same issue and was sick to my stomach about it.

I am sure people have done it and still do it. Its all about what you and your family are comfortable with. Best of luck!

 

[PEC]

Have a Dodge Caravan and used it to pull a pop-up for a couple of trips last year. I have an F150 now and trust me you can easily tell the difference. Even if the van can pull you can tell that the chassis and everything else really is not designed to tow. Can it pull the weight? Yes. Is it designed to? No. With all the correct advise her on what the owner manual says, I would consider a large SUV or truck if you can afford one. The entire setup is more designed for towing.