towing with a caravan v6

[rcrete]

I was wondering if anyone tows a popup with a v6 caravan or knows someone who does. I have seen people towing but my auto mechanic says the brakes are not very good to begin with and he thinks that with a trailer it would be worse.
Rich

[dthurk]

Many campers have electric brakes.  If you have a model that doesn't, it most likely can be retrofitted with brakes for not to much trouble or expense.  That will take the braking stress of the camper off the tow vehicle.  We towed with a Caravan for some period of time.  Be careful not to exceed weight ratings, particularly GCVW.  Check your manual or ask you're car dealer.  They can tell you exactly what your weight ratings are on your particular vehicle.

[rcrete]

Many campers have electric brakes.  If you have a model that doesn't, it most likely can be retrofitted with brakes for not to much trouble or expense.  That will take the braking stress of the camper off the tow vehicle.  We towed with a Caravan for some period of time.  Be careful not to exceed weight ratings, particularly GCVW.  Check your manual or ask you're car dealer.  They can tell you exactly what your weight ratings are on your particular vehicle.

Thanks, I will look into the electric brakes. I am leaning towards a Caravan because they are cheap, and supposedly can tow 2000 lds.

[zamboni]

My parents have a Town & Country (basically, about the same structurally), and they towed a Coleman Niagara - even up from Texas to Colorado.  They now have a TrailManor.

Both campers, however, have electric brakes.

I'd strongly urge getting a good brake controller.  The cheap ones installed by hitch places are sold to you at a price almost enough to get the Prodigy, which is one of the most recommended out there.  It will help save your tow vehicle's brakes.

[GeneF]

Rich

Sounds like you do not have a Caravan yet so you may want to get one that has a towing package on it.  This should increase the tow rating to around 3000 to 3500 pounds.

I used 5 minivans to tow popups and they did fine.  I would reccommend that you keep to no larger than a 10 foot box.  The twelve footers tend to get heavier and a bit much for the van.  

Good luck, but again, look for one with a tow package, a popup with electric brakes and the Prodigy controller.  Also, a sway bar for extra safety.

By the way, a  tow package is not that much more cost on q vehicle.  I believe it was less than $200 on my 00 Sienna.  Sway bar is about $100 and the Prodigy a little over $100.