Newbe looking for info

[WilliamsFamily]

Hello all,

I am new, both to the world of RV

[SpeakEasy]

Glad you're on board, WilliamsFamily! You'll learn a ton here, and the people are great!

I doubt that you'd be happy if you bought a 3500 pound trailer and towed it with your Quest. You would be pushing the limits so severely that you'd be worrying about it constantly. (At least, you SHOULD be worried!) Even if you were taking mostly short trips, you'd be worried the whole way. Will it sway? Will I be able to stop adequately? Will I be able to get up to highway speed adequately? Will I be able to maneuver when that jerk cuts me off? Am I damaging my engine or transmission? And on and on....
 
See what I mean?

Then there's the issue of cargo. You'd have to be concerned about every pound you loaded into the van on each and every trip. No, honey, you can't take five books with you this weekend; we'd be over the weight limit. And on and on....

I say go lighter or get a beefier tow vehicle.

[dee106]

http://www.lightweight-rv-news.com/
       
 we had a starcraft popup awhile back, they weight is 2,300 on the average, we pulled it with a mini van, v6,  When we went to the big popup with the slide and loaded we went with the astro van, 5000lbs towing. If you want with a slide out and big beds they weigh in about 2,450 on your basic unit.
         you can do the starcraft 2407, 2404, both are slide outs, other brands have them in the same weight class,www.starcraftrv.com[size=-1]4[/size]
   
 reminder: Never travel with a lot of wood, never fill your water tank until you get to the camp site every gallon of liquid is 8.34lbs, so it adds up quickly (beer/soda , juice etc) and bring only a days food. cans, bottles and ice add up, buy it when you get there! if weight is an issue.
 
  water tank, 20gal of water = 166.8 pounds
  two gallons juice                    16.8 pounds
  gal of milk                                8.34
  ice  2 bags                              10   pounds
  beer/soda one case                  18    
  charcoal                                  10  
  dog food bag                           10
  ________________________________
                                             240 lbs
  plus clothes dishes cups , pots pans,
 bbq grill, chairs, bedding, tv, dvd, radio, games toys,spare tire, jack, shampoos soaps , can foods normally 8 to 10 ozs add that too.
 
  supplies       800lbs easy
  two adults    300lbs
  two children 140lbs
  dog                50lbs.
   so far!        1,500 plus
 
  average camper   2,400
   people and stuff    1,500 plus!
  _______________________
                              3,900 plus!
 
  so pack lite!
 
 

[Azusateach]

Greetings!

I can't speak for what your TV can tow, but I can comment on my little Rockwood 1950.  Loaded -- and I mean loaded -- it comes in at less than 2000#.  In its 10' box I have the cassette toilet/shower option, and an AC unit on top.  It doesn't have slide-outs, but there's a full-sized bunk on one end and a queen on the other.  The dinette makes into a twin.  Rockwood is made by Forest River in Indiana, so you might just want to look at them if you are going to stick with your Quest.  I've had my little PU for a year and camped with up to 5, and we've done just fine.  There are light units out there, but you'll have to give up something.  Remember, you probably won't be spending that much time inside except on rainy days, and you've got the bunk-ends for that.  Hope this doesn't confuse you too much!  

Laura

[tlhdoc]

I towed my 3000 pound trailer with a mini van for a few years.  It was really pushing the van.  We ended up, upgrading to a SUV for towing.  Fleetwood makes a very nice 10 foot/3000 pound trailer the Timberlake.  It has one STUPID thing though.  The cassette potty can't be emptied from the outside, so you can't dump it on the way out of the campground unless you want to popup at the dumpstation.  If you could get them to turn the shower around so that you could fill/empty the toilet from the outside or put on in that is made to empty from the other side you would be in good shape.  My trailer has a similar floor plan and I like the Timberlake even better.

[popupbound]

Williamsfamily - We also have a minivan.  We have a 2004 Toyota Sienna which is rated to tow 3500 lbs.  We purchased a 2005 Fleetwood Victory (now renamed Timberlake). in November of 2004.  We towed over 3,000 miles during the 2005 season and didn't have any problems.  We did not go to any areas with mountains, but are planning a trip out west next summer.  I am very confident as to the ability of our van to tow the Victory.  We are a family of 4 (15 yo and 11 yo) and usually have a friend or two along also.  We do not tow with water, and when we are packed and ready to hit the road we are at about 2800 lbs. (which includes our a/c).  The Victory has a GVWR of 3000, and the CGVWR of the Sienna is 8700 lbs.  The Victory (Timberlake) is a 10' box with front storage trunk and has a king bed on one end (where you can sleep 3) and a double on the other.  The dinette is a little larger than a twin size (39"), but I don't think you can get 2 on there unless they are small children.  It also has a shower and toliet, and although you cannot access the toliet from the outside to empty it, we have not found this to be an issue.  We always pop up on our return home to clean out the pup and empty the toliet then.  You could also empty it at the dumpstation before you pop down if you wanted to.  We have slept 6 in the pup on occassion (it is a little tight), but most of the time is spent outdoors unless the weather is bad.  You can see what the set up looks like on my webshots page http://community.webshots.com/user/popupbound/

Good luck on you search.

[Rowdy]

We drove our Quest 12,000 miles to Alaska towing a small popup that weighed about 1000 lbs. We put everything inside the van so as to protect the trailer's bearings and tires. We got 1 mpg less than we did without the trailer and never knew the trailer was back there. So, at this light weight, you're fine. I have had occasion to tow a trailer weighing 2500 lbs. and my opinion was that I would never take off for Alaska with that rig. I think at 2500 lbs. you'd be happy if you weren't towing through mountains, but you could probably go close to 3000 lbs. if you're not going cross country.

[WilliamsFamily]

First of all, thank you all for your advice.  

Popupbound, we have actually looked at the Fleetwood line, and are actually leaning toward one, though I am not sure if we need the shower or not.  Also, the Toyota and the Nissan are very comparable vehicles, so your advice is much appreciated.

Just so I get this straight, (please refer to disclaimer in first post about stupid questions) the manufactures listed

[tlhdoc]

The dry weight of the trailer may not include the appliances.  Water heater, furnace, refrigerator, etc.  Also before you buy a trailer have that trailer weighed.  The weight of YOUR trailer can vary from what the brochure lists.

[sniffid]

We towed a Coleman Tacoma - 12 ft. box and 1,950lbs unloaded - with our Nissan Quest Minivan and had no problem whatsoever. What hasn't been said is that the Gross Combined Vehicle Weight rating should also be considered. Our pop-up had an awning, fridge and brakes as the only options so we were loaded for camping at approximately 2,500lbs. I weighted everything in the camper at about 250lbs. We were sensitive about weight and traveled light. As I recall the GVWR of the Quest was about 5,000lbs and the GCVWR was 8,000lbs.  The curb weight of the Nissan was under 4,000lbs maybe 3,900lbs.

I honestly don't know how some people pack so much "stuff" in a pop-up.

We now have a Hybrid rated for up to 5,200lbs but I'd be surprised if it weighs 3,600lbs loaded for camping.    

In my opinion a Quest can be a fine tow vehicle if you're careful about packing.

[NIAGARA05]

I just wanted to mention a few things about towing with a minivan.  Yes if you can find a light trailer and the dealer said you could then go ahead.  I work for as a Ford dealer and from experiences with front wheel drive cars and suv's is that they are limited to weight restrictions.  For example mini vans and small suv's ride on a unibody type frame versus a full frame suv like explorers and the bigger suv's.  

Full frame vehicles usually much much more rigid and stiffer frames.  The other thing is that you need to remember that you have all weight down on the front wheels because of the motor and transmission on mini vans or suv you are raising the steering and putting double the amount of pressure on the drive axles which can cause them to wear faster versus a rear wheel drive where the transmission is located in the middle of the vehicle.  In a rear wheel drive you rear tires are will always pulling  the trailer even as the front rises a little bit because the drive whells are in so you only have to push on set of wheels.

When you are pulling with a front wheel drive you not only pushing the wheels to you are also pulling the rear whells plus the trailer wheels which is casues the wear much faster.  In a minivan or small suv you can't get the good towing gears like in rear wheel explorer or bigger.  

For instance we own a 03 Explorer Sport Trac with a V6 that can tow 5080 lbs (4x4 lowers you towing capacity because of the added weight 4x2 can tow 5300 lbs) this truck came with a 4:10 gear ratio which allows this treuck to get most of its torque at an earlier rpm to get of the line.  We also own a 05 Explorer 4dr with a 4.6L V8 with  a 3.73 gear ratio which gives me more towing power durning the mid range around 30 - 40 mph instead of off the line.  We are able to tow up to 7000 lbs.  All these vehicles we purchased with tow package that came transcooler, oil cooler, stronger springs, lager radiator and the wiring.  The Sport Trac we had to put a class III trailer hitch, 7 pin plug and brake controller.  The 4dr Explorer came with all they above plus and the bigger that I mentioned earlier plus a class III/IV hitch and the plug and fuse to hook-up a break to the stock wiring.

Make sure that you get the right hitch. Without weight distribution added there are the weights of the hitches.

Class II 350 tongue and 3500 max
Class III 500 tongue and 5000 max (after 5000 max you are supposed to put weight distribution on anything that weighs 5000 or more)  
Our Class III will hold 600 tongue and 6000 max w/ weight distribution
Our Class III/IV will hold 770 tongue and 7700 max with weight distribution (the hitch will hold the weight but max towing in the truck is only 7000 because all the brakes can handle).

Also check on the what the laws are for electric brakes.  Our state is 3000 and some are 1500.

Sorry this is so long but I wanted go into some depth to you understand about the differences in frames and suspension and other components.

Mark '74
Susan '78
Marbles the cat 10yrs old also known as missy
05 fleetwood niagara