Towing Question

[jhundley]

I have now completed the calculations I was given and see that I am within what my vehicle can tow (I have a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan) I was told by the parts deparment at the Local Dodge dealership that the Tranny cooler, the hitch and the 7 point wiring harness is what is included in the towing package.

I have all of the above - the guy from the dealership told me not to tow in overdrive. Would that mean that I would put the van into 3rd from the moment I left or only when going up ANY incline.

I also realize that now more than ever the fluids need to be changed more frequently than before - half the standard amount of time, is that correct? At this time I have only towed the pup home from the dealership and then a few weeks later to a local (less than 20 miles ) campsite. We have one more campout planned this year that has one large hill and is about 1 hour and 45 minutes away. Can I wait to change my fluids until I return - was looking at a complete tune up before spring camping season starts ( all fluids flushed and replaced)

All this is new to me.

[wavery]

I have now completed the calculations I was given and see that I am within what my vehicle can tow (I have a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan) I was told by the parts deparment at the Local Dodge dealership that the Tranny cooler, the hitch and the 7 point wiring harness is what is included in the towing package.

I have all of the above - the guy from the dealership told me not to tow in overdrive. Would that mean that I would put the van into 3rd from the moment I left or only when going up ANY incline.

I also realize that now more than ever the fluids need to be changed more frequently than before - half the standard amount of time, is that correct? At this time I have only towed the pup home from the dealership and then a few weeks later to a local (less than 20 miles ) campsite. We have one more campout planned this year that has one large hill and is about 1 hour and 45 minutes away. Can I wait to change my fluids until I return - was looking at a complete tune up before spring camping season starts ( all fluids flushed and replaced)

All this is new to me.

How many miles has it been since your last oil change?

[jhundley]

maybe 10 miles

[jhundley]

sorry maybe 150 miles since last oil change

[wavery]

Oil change intervals are always open for discussion and arguments will ensue. Those that make $ servicing vehicles will often exaggerate the importance and intervals of oil changes. It's best to go by what you Owner's Manual recommends.

Towing will increase the amount of contaminates in the oil, in a direct proportion to your drop in MPG. If your MPG is cut by 50% then you should probably do your oil change in half the recommended mileage suggested in the manual. Also take into consideration the % of miles that you tow. I doubt that you tow 100% of the time (another math problem for you ). .

You may want to consider using synthetic oil. You can get twice as many miles between oil changes in some cases. GM has done extensive testing and recommends 10K miles between oil changes on the vehicles that come with synthetic oil. I believe that Chrysler recommends the same (again, towing will effect that).

Synthetic oil gives your engine far better protection because it lubricates better, cools far better, and is less effected by contaminates. It not only prevents sludge but it also cleans old sludge. That may be an issue on some vehicles. If you have a high mileage vehicle, switching to synthetic may expose some faulty gaskets that are currently packed with sludge. As the synthetic removes that sludge, you may experience new oil leaks that would have to be repaired.

EDIT:
Now that I think about it, your 2006 may come with synthetic oils. I know the transmission fluid is synthetic. The manual may say that you "Never" need to change the trans fluid. However, I would change it at about 50K miles if you tow 20% of the mileage.

Having said all that, check the oil level in your engine and you should be quite safe to tow it home. Meanwhile, do the math problem above and ask, if you need help.....

As far as "Tune Ups" are concerned, that is practically a thing of the past. My 2001 Chrysler Concorde has 140K miles on it. I bought a new set of spark plugs @ 100K miles. When I pulled the old plugs out, they looked like new (I didn't even have to re-gap them (quite frankly, I was and still am shocked). I put the old ones back in and got my $ back on the new ones. The car still runs ands performs like it did when it was new. I use synthetic oil and change it at 10K miles intervals.

[jhundley]

You are da man, thanks again for the fluids advice and the website for calculating all the different weights. Good thing I was always good at math and liked algebra etc ... originally was planning on being an accountant but decided to be a programmer analyst instead, less headache,

[wavery]

You are da man, thanks again for the fluids advice and the website for calculating all the different weights. Good thing I was always good at math and liked algebra etc ... originally was planning on being an accountant but decided to be a programmer analyst instead, less headache,

Be sure to check my edit above.......

[firescout]

Our '05 Sienna van is the main tow vehicle for our new Starcraft PU.  It has about 40K miles on it currently.  After the first oil change (approx. 5K miles), I switched to Mobil 1 5W30 synthetic motor oil.  Now that the factory warranty is expired, I change oil somewhere after 7500 miles, rather than the 5K interval per the Toyota specs.  With 40K on the van, I've changed to 10W30 Mobil 1.

For the ATF, Toyota specs their special ATF T-IV stuff.  I performed a drain 'n refill of about 3+ qts after towing the new trailer home.  After a month, I drained another two qts and replaced it.

Before our next trip, I plan on draining out the T-IV fluid and replacing it with Mobil Synthetic ATF.  It meets the T-IV spec, and it is only about $3 more per qt than the Toyota-brand ATF. I bought it at the local O'Reilly's store.

For a modern A/T transaxle that sees more than a couple towing trips per year, I think the synthetic ATF is the way to go.  A rebuilt transaxle isn't cheap.

And if you look in the specs literature for your vehicle, there should be a severe duty maintenance schedule.  Towing a camping trailer puts your vehicle into that category, which means more frequent ATF changes.

[austinado16]

Great advice already.  I just add, don't change your oil weight based on mileage.  Follow the manufacture's spec.  If they spec 5w/30, then stay with that.  40k on an engine now days is nothing.

As to your question about overdrive towing.  I can't tow in OD either, but here's when I do.  Flat or downhill, light throttle load at 55-60mph, no head wind.  For any other condition, I pull it out of 4th and leave it in 3rd.

Change your coolant every 2 years to prevent scale and other corrosion that will eventually plug the tubes in the radiator and give you some major cooling issues that will only come up when you're towing.

Keep an eye on the air filter.  It'll get packed with crud from being out on the road.  Buy a quality filter.....like OE from your manufacturer.   Don't use the cheap brands that the local parts places sell.

Buy a quality oil filter.  WIX Gold from NAPA for example.  Or, buy the OE brand from your dealer.  Cheap oil filters (fram) are really bad news and I've seen them (fram) fail.

And don't forget your fuel filter. Again, go with OE quality.

[jhundley]

I wanted to thank each one of you.
I have adapted the Maint. Schedule for the van to the "Severe " version in the manual. This year we will only tow it a few times, but looking forward to next year when we plan on cmaping 2 weekends out of the month even if only locally.

I have the van tentativly scheduled for Trans fluid change and oil change in the spring.

Once we hit our biggest hill this next trip then I will decide when I am installing hte brake controller - we live in Indiana and 9 of the campgrounds we plan on visiting next season are mostly flat driving or at the most very low grade and minor hills.  There is only one that concernes me but I have been assured that more than likely I will be fine, by not only the dealer ( he was the one that said he had towed on the same hill and needed nothing - yes a dealer who did not try to milk an extra sale out of me) as well as a few friend who tow one that same hill. I plan on going up it normally but if I notice the Tranny searching will move to 3rd likewise on the trip home I know where the hill starts and will slow down considerably before going over the crest and more than likely will drop it into 3rd on the way down.

Thanks again

[austinado16]

We tow just about "only" in the mountains, and after 3 seasons, I just added trailer brakes, not because of how things felt coming down the hills, but because of how it was feeling in situations like; coming into a freeway construction zone when suddenly everyone gets on the brakes, or out in rural highway areas where there are stop lights on the highway and we'd hit a yellow where we couldn't make it and had to get on the brakes.

I was getting tired of trailer push in those situations, and I'm towing with a Suburban.  Steep grades were never a problem because I could anticipate those, use the transmission, brake in the straights before the corners, and leave plenty of room behind the car in front so I wasn't traveling at the end of the slinky.

Your mileage may very, of course;)