Does Anyone tow with a Front Wheel Drive Mini Van?

[jkust]

Re: Does Anyone tow with a Front Wheel Drive Mini Van?

I'll mention one of the things that permitted me to launch and retrieve my heavy boat with my heavy trailer from even less than ideal ramps was my roller trailer. The rears wheels never needed to touch the water no matter the ramp grade. I completely forgot about that as one of the reasons I could squeak by with a inferior vehicle and an inferior minivan at that. Of course I have to now preface all comments with 'this will not apply to you as rules of physics do not apply to anybody but me'. For bunk trailer owners of course bunk trailers are better, easier, cheaper, supreme, more attractive, more durable, cooler, lady magnets, low fat, sugar free and whatever else they suggest.

 

[lrak]

Re: Does Anyone tow with a Front Wheel Drive Mini Van?

Right now its a current generation FWD 8 passenger Sienna LE.
~4450lbs curb weight
~6000lb GVWR
~1550 lb carrying capacity (including driver & tongue weight)
3500lb tow rating
266HP into a six speed auto that you can lock out one gear at a time

I've pulled trailers with vehicles ranging from a torqueless Vibe to a diesel F250 with a '95 Odyssey in the middle of there. Even though they've all been autos, I've downshifted all of them manually before going up/down hills. Never had a single one I couldn't shift to direct ratio.

 

[jkust]

Re: Does Anyone tow with a Front Wheel Drive Mini Van?

266HP into a six speed auto that you can lock out one gear at a time

.

That's almost 100 HP more than the minivan I towed with.

 

[I`mNotMe]

Re: Does Anyone tow with a Front Wheel Drive Mini Van?

Right now its a current generation FWD 8 passenger Sienna LE.
~4450lbs curb weight
~6000lb GVWR
~1550 lb carrying capacity (including driver & tongue weight)
3500lb tow rating
266HP into a six speed auto that you can lock out one gear at a time

I've pulled trailers with vehicles ranging from a torqueless Vibe to a diesel F250 with a '95 Odyssey in the middle of there. Even though they've all been autos, I've downshifted all of them manually before going up/down hills. Never had a single one I couldn't shift to direct ratio.

Cool.

What year is your mini-van? Did you order your van with Towing Package?

 

[lrak]

Re: Does Anyone tow with a Front Wheel Drive Mini Van?

Cool.

What year is your mini-van? Did you order your van with Towing Package?

2014. The tow prep package (oil & power steering coolers) is included on every '14. It was an extra option for a couple hundred on the '13s.

I did not get the actual "towing package" as it was ~$900+tax for a hitch and wiring. A Curt hitch and plugin wiring connectors were ~$150 from hitchanything.

 

[I`mNotMe]

Re: Does Anyone tow with a Front Wheel Drive Mini Van?

2014. The tow prep package (oil & power steering coolers) is included on every '14. It was an extra option for a couple hundred on the '13s. I did not get the actual "towing package" as it was ~$900+tax for a hitch and wiring. A Curt hitch and plugin wiring connectors were ~$150 from hitchanything.

Cool. And if someone owned a GM mini-van, Honda mini-van, Dodge mini-van or Sedona mini-van, would you recommend "cooling" upgrades in these vans? Or, do these mini-vans come with included HD cooling items (like your Toyota van) as well?

 

[ssobol]

Re: Does Anyone tow with a Front Wheel Drive Mini Van?

Cool. And if someone owned a GM mini-van, Honda mini-van, Dodge mini-van or Sedona mini-van, would you recommend "cooling" upgrades in these vans? Or, do these mini-vans come with included HD cooling items (like your Toyota van) as well?

Certain model years of the Toyota Sienna came with the towing package as standard equipment (e.g. 2006). Don't know about the other brands. However, if you have the VIN of the vehicle you are interested in, a dealer for the brand should be able to tell you the manufacturer installed equipment (ask in the service department).

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: Does Anyone tow with a Front Wheel Drive Mini Van?

Watched my Dad tow our 28' Pontoon with a 2004 Dodge Caravan, the boat only weighs 3400 lbs all rigged out with trailer and motor, his Caravan was the commercial model and rated for 3500 lbs was he legal towing it yes was it scary as all crap yep, and he had to flip a 5" drop receiver to keep the hitch from dragging the ground.

Same boat pulled by my Chevy Trailblazer it wouldn't do it, well it would but it overheated every single time I tried to pull any kind of hill.

Dad upgraded to an F150
I upgraded to an Expedition.

Sometimes weight limits don't tell all.

 

[jkust]

Re: Does Anyone tow with a Front Wheel Drive Mini Van?

Same boat pulled by my Chevy Trailblazer it wouldn't do it, well it would but it overheated every single time I tried to pull any kind of hill.

Sometimes weight limits don't tell all.

Must have been the Inline 6 cylinder since the V8 variety has the same displacement as the Suburbans, Tahoes and Yukons of the day. Even then the inline 6, standard engine had decent torque and I know lots of people using them to tow substantially heavier loads. That one has me scratching my head.

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: Does Anyone tow with a Front Wheel Drive Mini Van?

It had the soccer mom 4.2 litre I6 3.42 rear end, not geared for towing at all. Towing a toon is a little different especially a 28' its not so much the weight that gets you its like dragging a big sail down the road.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Does Anyone tow with a Front Wheel Drive Mini Van?

For years I towed an 18 foot glass boat with a dodge Grand Caravan. 3.0 Mitsubishi and a home made trailer hitch. Because of the length of the vehicle, and the engine weight, the front wheels were almost always on the dry portion of the ramp and I never had problems retrieving the boat. Now, when I changed to an S10 with 2WD, I regularly needed to have people jump into the bed for extra weight.

The Mini van towed well but pulling away from lights was a bit bothersome. At any rate, with an industry known poor transmission that regularly blew in non towing vehicles, I managed to rack up 180,000 miles before mine went. Reason I traded the mini van? Air conditioning went bad.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Does Anyone tow with a Front Wheel Drive Mini Van?

For years I towed an 18 foot glass boat with a dodge Grand Caravan. 3.0 Mitsubishi...

The Mini van towed well but pulling away from lights was a bit bothersome. At any rate, with an industry known poor transmission that regularly blew in non towing vehicles, I managed to rack up 180,000 miles before mine went.

Most 3.0s were hooked to the much-sturdier 3-speed.

 

[jkust]

Re: Does Anyone tow with a Front Wheel Drive Mini Van?

It had the soccer mom 4.2 litre I6 3.42 rear end, not geared for towing at all. Towing a toon is a little different especially a 28' its not so much the weight that gets you its like dragging a big sail down the road.

Right, the 5.3 liters only came with the 3.73 while the I6 could have had the 3.42, 3.73 or even the 4:10 plus the Locking Rear Diff was also an option that cost almost nothing but so few bought. The biggest drawback of the Trailblazer for towing even when you have all of the towing equipment is they are a short SUV if you got the short wheel base version which most were.

 

[Coachjfk]

Re: Does Anyone tow with a Front Wheel Drive Mini Van?

My Dodge Caravan SE pulls my 1,800 lb 17 Foot Glastron tri-hull 7 miles to the lake and back 2-3 times per season admirably. Now if I had to go Up and Down that mountain or be pulling through the desert, I think I'd be singing a different tune.

 

[gtochris]

Re: Does Anyone tow with a Front Wheel Drive Mini Van?

It had the soccer mom 4.2 litre I6 3.42 rear end, not geared for towing at all. Towing a toon is a little different especially a 28' its not so much the weight that gets you its like dragging a big sail down the road.

I don't think I'd want to go very far with a toon on a trailer, back when I borrowed my parents '02 Tahoe regularly as my tow vehicle (prior to buying my own 4Runner), I pulled a friends 23' pontoon and it was a handful and that was just local!

I think the current batch of Mini-vans are as stout as possible, Growing up, my parents elected for a 1995 Astro Van as it was the only option that was HD enough to pull and a reasonable size/ efficient. Vans are one of the toughest things to develop: You are using a car chassis, FWD, focus is on MPG's, but safety and GVWR are top priorities. They can only be so good at so many things and upper towing limits are not one of them.

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: Does Anyone tow with a Front Wheel Drive Mini Van?

I don't mind towing the toon with the Expedition, I am not going to say I don't know its back there because you do, but it is much different towing with a vehicle built for it than a vehicle "suppossedly" built for it.

My trailblazer was an EXT ls soccer mom SUV, I bought it used and checked the specs on it, the truck was rated for the weight (actually it was good according the the 80% rule as well) but it just couldn't handle the load in our mountainous area.

Sometimes there is just no replacement for displacement.

 

[lgrouper03]

I used to tow my 18' Bayliner with a 2000 Honda Odyssey. Yes I knew I was taking a risk. Yes I knew those transmissions were suspect. Yes it eventually went out after 3 years of successful towing, including out-of-state jaunts. If they could make those transmissions hold up, that van actually towed quite well. I now have a Yukon XL with tow package, which does a wonderful job. I don't worry about light-footing it and extrapolating pass maneuvers, I can drive it how I want. But it drinks more gas. What I learned is what SigSauer said, "...weight limits don't tell all".

 

[ssobol]

This summer I towed my 22 cruiser behind an 06 Sienna minivan for over 1500 miles in 10 days (Mid Atlantic to Great Lakes and back). Launched and retrieved at a number of places. Cruised 60-65 mph on the highways. Got a little over 13MPG when towing. Had no problems.