Curious about your TV (for lighter Roos)

PattiPatti · 11-01-2008, 10:27 PM

Anyone here tow with a minivan? I've heard lots of folks on both sides saying either no way, or I do it no problem.

I've got a 17' Roo and will tow (at least for now) with a Honda Odyssey.

**bikendan** · 11-02-2008, 12:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PattiPatti

Anyone here tow with a minivan? I've heard lots of folks on both sides saying either no way, or I do it no problem.

I've got a 17' Roo and will tow (at least for now) with a Honda Odyssey.

patti, not many people tow a Travel Trailer with a minivan.
there are a lot of salespeople who will tell you they can. and it's true, they can. but minivans are designed to carry people, not to tow trailers.
you probably won't be happy and neither will your Honda.
the frontal surface area will create a lot of wind resistance that your Honda will have to overcome, along with the weight.
it takes torque to do that and minivans don't have much of that.
i have a friend who has 19' hybrid and a Honda Pilot. he thought he would be fine with the combo. but the strain on the Honda was too much and was terrible in the mountains. so he uses a Chevy 1/2 Silverado.
the Roo 17 "dry" weight is 2835lbs. "dry" weight is a fantasy number. it doesn't include options like spare tire, oven, a/c, microwave, awning, water, battery, propane and so on.
you usually add 400-500lbs. for the options to ballpark a realistic number. your Honda max is 3500lbs. with one 160lbs. driver. any additional passengers or cargo will subtract from that towing max number.
so now you have a trailer that will weigh around 3300lbs. before you load it up. and if you have another adult and 2 kids, you'll already be maxed out.

you will be at your max or over it.

dezolen · 11-02-2008, 10:58 AM

Here in Canada we can pull a trailer of that size no problem. I had a 21' Trail-lite which we pulled with a Windstar. Handled like a dream. Just have a good hitch such as Reese dual cam or Equalizer brand

PattiPatti · 11-03-2008, 07:58 PM

Thanks to both of you. We have a Reese hitch on now, will be getting the trans. cooler hopefully this week, and then go up and get the Roo and do everything with the WDH at the dealer.

This is all new to me and DH, so any nugget you can toss my way would be appreciated!

dezolen · 11-03-2008, 09:37 PM

If you need an electric brake controller the Prodigy controller works very well.

PattiPatti · 03-22-2009, 07:09 PM

I know this is an old post but I have an update - after we went to town installing everything on the Odyssey ($$$)... the drive home with the Roo was less than fun.

Then we spent a winter debating what to get... not many SUVs out there that we really liked - and trust me, i think we drove them all. Plus I commute about 70 miles a day to/from work... AND i really love my Ody.

Long story short - we got a new '09 Ody... and a 1999 Ford F-150 to tow! So yeah, we're one of "those" people who own 3 vehicles for 2 drivers (DH drives a civic hybrid). But the man (who really isn't a truck kinda guy at first glance) is very happy i talked him into this. He's loving the pick up. Now let's hope the kids fit in the extended cab for a while...

**bikendan** · 03-23-2009, 03:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PattiPatti

I know this is an old post but I have an update - after we went to town installing everything on the Odyssey ($$$)... the drive home with the Roo was less than fun.

Then we spent a winter debating what to get... not many SUVs out there that we really liked - and trust me, i think we drove them all. Plus I commute about 70 miles a day to/from work... AND i really love my Ody.

Long story short - we got a new '09 Ody... and a 1999 Ford F-150 to tow! So yeah, we're one of "those" people who own 3 vehicles for 2 drivers (DH drives a civic hybrid). But the man (who really isn't a truck kinda guy at first glance) is very happy i talked him into this. He's loving the pick up. Now let's hope the kids fit in the extended cab for a while...

i don't know specifically what you meant by "less than fun". but there's a difference between "can it tow it" and "should it tow it".
you apparently learned that your minivan can tow the trailer. but you also discovered that it shouldn't.

personally, i want a tow vehicle that is designed for towing, not for transporting the soccer team to the field.

so front wheel drive, high mileage and uni-body construction are not features designed for towing.
rear wheel drive, low rear end ratios and ladder frame construction are designed for towing.

rockwood06 · 03-23-2009, 04:49 AM

I agree 100% if you are going to tow you need the proper tow vehicle, that's the first safety feature people need to look at. If you have to tow with a Minnie van then tow nothing more then a pop up. Just because the vehicle has a receiver on it doesnt mean that the sky is the limit. The only minnie van that I know of that is worth towing with is a Chevy Astro Van. The van is built on a truck frame and it is rear wheel drive but limited to 5,500 lbs.

dezolen · 03-23-2009, 05:28 AM

Check out Can Am airstream dealer
http://www.canamrv.ca/Home/Hidden/Te...0/Default.aspx

MtnGuy · 03-23-2009, 07:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PattiPatti

So yeah, we're one of "those" people who own 3 vehicles for 2 drivers.

Us too, us too. That "spare" comes in handy sometimes when 1 vehicle is out of commission for some reason.

We try to drive the most gas effient vehicle available for the purpose. The missus drives a Honda Accord back and forth to work, and we use that on non-camping trips. I drive a 4 cyl. Wrangler for my day to day driving, and "top off" off road-weekend stuff. The truck is brought out for towing, trash runs, and lumber, mulch, landscape stuff, etc. gettn'.

Cherokee39 · 03-23-2009, 06:57 PM

Patti, is the dealer in Fredrick? If so go over everything at the PDI. Dont let them rush you. If it is not right make them fix it now or get it in writing. Any questions about them give me a pm. Enjoy.

Charlie

PattiPatti · 03-28-2009, 07:00 AM

Oh no, it was a private sale. There was a young airman at work whose FIL had died and they got his truck - but they had no need for it. The poor girl felt really bad about selling her dad's truck, but we assured her it was going to be put to good use.

NWJeeper · 03-28-2009, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dezolen

Check out Can Am airstream dealer
http://www.canamrv.ca/Home/Hidden/Te...0/Default.aspx

Yeah, trust the RV dealer. NO WAY! They will tell you can pull that trailer with a Vespa! Sorry but the RV dealer doesn't care about your safety just moving another trailer off the lot.

I am in agreement with the idea that front wheel drive, unibody construction gearing meant for the city along with small engines are not a good combination for pulling trailers. Getting groceries or going the gym is fine, but not pulling trailers!

**bikendan** · 03-29-2009, 02:52 PM

just a comment about dzolen's link to a pt cruiser towing a Airstream Bambi.

we have a '03 pt cruiser. after only 72,000 miles the transmission blew. and that's without towing something.
the Chrysler trannies in their minivans and the pt cruisers were famous for blowing out early.

as i said, sure you can pull a TT with almost anything. but what that video doesn't show is the stress that having that pt tow a trailer does long-term to the car.

people don't realize the stresses that pulling a trailer does to the transmission, engine and frame over a period of time.

dezolen · 03-29-2009, 04:09 PM

Chrysler fwd trannys and some Fords would fail standing still. In retrospect we pulled our 22'Traillite and a 21' powerboat with a Windstar and was amazed how well it pulled it.
When minivans were first introduced they had a 3500# tow rating with a 4 banger. 20 yrs later they still rate them at 3500#. Something does not add up and I aint no engineer.
A 17' hybrid should be no problem for any V6 minivan considering you might tow 5% of the time and use vehicle as a daily driver 95% of the time.
That's why I avoided a deisel for our present rig

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