RE: Do you like towing w/ Astros and Xterras?

[DavidP]

 
New Trail member here.  Forums look great.  Got a Viking 2480ST last year and pulling it with my F-150, but there isn t enough room in the cab for my whole family.  Thinking about getting a new tow vehicle which can double as the family car.  The Viking weighs in at 3300 and is a little over 18 feet long when towing.  One of the biggest models of pop-ups.  I never weighed it fully packed.  My wife likes the Astro vans as well as the Nissan Xterras.  For those of you who tow with either one, what you do think?  I m concerned about the weight as well as the length of my pop-up.  Appreciate your comments.
 Dave

[brainpause]

 DavidP
I tow with a Nissan Frontier 4x4 ext cab, which is the same chassis as an Xterra. I love towing with mine, even with its four cylinder, although I have a small camper. A six cylinder in the Xterra tows 5000 (I think), so you should be good to go. I know the Astros are a popular TV too, as they are also built on a truck chassis.
 
 Larry

[Tim5055]

 DavidP
The Astro is also rated at 5000 with the proper optional equipment.  Until I got to your statement " double as the family car"  I thought maybe you could pick up an F-250 or 350 with the crew cab; they are beautiful trucks.
 
 Good luck wih whatever you decide to buy.

[AustinBoston]

 DavidP
Astro here.  For the most part, our Astro pulls very well.  There are two things we have done, though.  I replaced the standard shocks with load sensing shocks, and we have replaced the standard tires with LT tires.
 
 Make sure you can use a weight distributing hitch with your trailer, because you will need one with the Astro.  Air bags or helper springs can interfere with normal operation of the ABS brakes (and like most ABS, they don t work that well to begin with).
 
 You will need trailer brakes.  With a trailer that heavy, you should have them on any tow vehicle.
 
 Be sure to spend a few minutes on the passenger side evaluating the foot room.  On long drives, it can get awkward/cramped.
 
 Our 3500 lb. (scale weight) Bayside has been towed over 20,000 miles, all of them by the Astro.  That includes many ten-hour days towing at 65 mph; many 6%-8% mountain passes (12% for less than 1/4 mile), including a few at over 8,000 feet and one over 9,000 feet; stop-and-go at 111øF for over an hour; and various other forms of vehicular torture.  I can t complain about it s performance.  
 
 Without the trailer, we drove it all over Death Valley for a day at temperatures that ranged from 118ø-124øF with no sign of overheating and with the A/C able to keep up.
 
 Now for the bad news.  We had a bad engine out of the box.  It burned oil (about 1 qt. per week), and had to be replaced at 1,500 miles.  I think it was the luck of the draw and we got the one in ten thousand that are bad, but it was still a pain.  At about 55,000 miles, the differential brearings had to be replaced, and now (70,000 miles) they need it again.[:@]  At about 65,000 miles the distributor cracked and so we had a bunch of ignition stuff replaced (almost at normal service schedule).  If our experience is typical, trade it in at 50,000 miles.[]
 
 Mileage isn t as good as a typical Minivan.  We get 19-22 without trailer, 14-18 with.
 
 If you live in an area with a lot of snow, you might consider the all-wheel-drive option because the rear-wheel drive can slip around a bit.  We opted not to get the AWD because it reduces the available tow rating considerably, costs $$$, and increases the cost of many repairs.  We ve been fine without it, but there are times we know it s RWD.
 
 Austin

[Jeffrey]

 DavidP
Astro s and Safari either you really like them or you hate them.
 I have one of each one has  95 awd w/ 120,000 the other has  99 rwd w/ 75,000.
 Both were bought with low miles and were rentals.
 
 The only trouble on the old one was front end work and $900 fuel injection thing? was needed at 90,000 and a torsion bar broke at 110,000.
 
 The other one has been pretty minor stuff, and still under warrenty until 100,000.
 
 I agree the foot space is not good. And I think they are too short for the amount they say they can haul. All I have added is brakes and a sway bar, nothing else.
 And it tows fine this way. But my trailer is only 1800 lbs.
 
 

[wynot]

 DavidP

Be sure to spend a few minutes on the passenger side evaluating the foot room. On long drives, it can get awkward/cramped.

 WHAT foot room?
 
 Also, no offense to the Astro/Safari people, but GM has done absolutely nothing to move these two vans into the 1980s and beyond.  You think by now, especially on a framed vehicle that they would have incorporated a left rear door and if I remember right, they also still have an archaic rear door combo.  GM is milking that long paid for tooling until they no longer can build that model.

[wssfetch]

 DavidP
I owned a 1994 Safari that I traded in two years ago at 130,000 miles for a 2001 Astro. The 1994 had the old full-size van type rear doors but the 2001 has the " Dutch"  door option that I much prefer.
 
 No towing problems with either van.  Neither one was equipped with WD hitch.  The 2001 Astro has had air lifters installed on the back as the suspension is a little soft.  Trailer tows level now and I can adjust the air for various loads.  While my trailer is fairly lightweight (around 1500-1700 loaded) the rear of my van is often loaded with several hundred pounds of stuff when towing.
 
 One of the things I like about the Safari/Astro is visibility.  You are up higher than in other mini-vans and it is easier to see over the top of the PU when towing.  Mileage is better than a full-sized van.  
 
 GM is supposed to cease production of Safari/Astro with the 2005 model.  That is when I ll be trading my 2001 in for a new one and hope that GM will come out with something equivalent or a redesign.  Not everyone wants to drive an SUV.

[YellowXterra]

 DavidP
I tow a Coleman Cheyenne with my Xterra and have no problem. You will need ad on mirrors to see around the camper but other than that its great! I have towed my camper 5000 miles this past year and its done great! It does tow 5000 with out any tow package.

[campingeyedoc]

 DavidP
We are on our third Astro/Safari and have never had a problen with any ( although we have yet to tow with the 2001 we just bought.) We have a larger popup in a Coleman Mesa, and used to have a larger Rockwood, and never had a problem with sway ( no WD hitch or sway bar). My DW would never allow us anything else, great for packing in kids for a soccer game. I feel tha Astro towed better than our full size Chevy conversion van, but if I had my choice and an unlimited budget, a Chevy Suburban would be #1 (our 1985 was great, but almost too big.) The Astro/Safari overall is the best combination TV/family car for us.

[wynot]

 DavidP

GM is supposed to cease production of Safari/Astro with the 2005 model. That is when I ll be trading my 2001 in for a new one and hope that GM will come out with something equivalent or a redesign. Not everyone wants to drive an SUV.

 Actually, that is why I think GM should do something to improve the design of these minivans, all the Astro/Safari reminds me of is a full size van, shrunk.  I believe there is a market for a smaller truck-based minivan, but it really could use some basic improvement.

[OC Campers]

 DavidP
We have a 1998 Astro and tow a Westlake with it.  The power is wonderful and the Astro can hold a lot of stuff.  I am a housewife and haul kids and gear all over town and it is great.  The only thing we don t like about it is the things that have gone wrong with it.  We had it a week and the back brakes locked up and almost caught fire (I am sure that was a fluke like AB s engine thing), both power window motors went out at about 40,000 miles $500 to fix, the wipers work sometimes (this is not been able to be fixed yet by anyone, luckily we don t get that much rain in So. California), at 65,000 the rear differential went out.  Had to have a whole new one put in to the tune of $1,400 and then the horn went on the blink and they had to replace the whole turn signal arm at the cost of $400.  and last so far the air vents do not work (haven t had a chance to get them repaired yet).
 
 Now I do have to say it crashes well.  In June 2002 a lady took out the whole driver side of the van  ($9,000 in repairs) and nobody was hurt and I atributed this to the fact that you sit a lot higher up than most vehicles.  I was in different rental mini vans for 9 weeks (4 in all) and I have to say I couldn t wait to get my Astro back.  I still love it and if GM could get some quality issues taken care of I would buy another one.  
 
 Our van has almost 80,000 miles on it.  I need it to last another 4-5 years.  You see lots of old ones on the road which must mean the engine is strong.
 
 Best of luck in choosing.  We do use a Reese mini 350 WDH with our rig and it works great.  Tried the sway bar system but still wasn t comfortable towing.
 
 Jacqui

[mike4947]

 DavidP
Bever towed with an Exterra, but the experience (riding&driving) I have had with them was positive.
 As to the Astro/Safari vans; my father loved them and had 3 of them.
 Strong points: The 4.3 engine can pull a house, outside of the front seat passenger foot area there s lots of room, you sit high enough to see over most traffic (a big plus for me).
 Weak points: Front suspension, 2 of the 3 had to have the front ends rebuilt, (note: replace with Moog components, not OEM, that ends problems), Rear end squat, the rear suspensions may be attached to a truck like frame but they are sesigned for a car like ride, even a load in the back of the Astro/Safari will make it droop much less with a large tongue weight. If I remember right GM recommends a WDH at over 2000 pounds trailer weight. While the 4.3 motor is a stump puller it s reliablilty is one of the lowest since the 305 of the late 70 s. I got a peek at the warranty books at a dealership and the 4.3 does have the worst warranty claims of any engine installed by GM. My dad s confirmed this. One had the short block replaced with 22,000, One was in the dealer ever time it went over 80 degrees (they never did get it right) and the third got it s weekly quart of oil, which by the way GM said was within factory specs. It did last over 80,000 miles till he sold it.
 
 Dad loved them, and as I drove if I went with him, I can say I never got out after a long drive and felt bad, unlike a lot of vehicles I ve driven.

[kathybrj]

 DavidP
Before buying the Astro, we towed with a Dodge Dakota Club Cab, but the kids go too tall to be in that back seat for any length of time (other than a lift to the town park a half mile away).
 
 When a careless driver hit DH head on in the Astro and totalled it, we immediately began to search for another one. We were lucky to find a Safari, same year, but with more options than the Astro had. We loved the Astro and really love the Safari. DH has driven an Astro for work for many years and has had great luck with them.
 
 We do use a Reese 350 with it and have no problems towing the Utah.

[LoveOurBayside]

 DavidP
How many children do you have/plan to have?  What ages?  We have one in a car seat and one in a booster and it s fortunate that our oldest is very thin because we could not get three across the back of my DH  Nissan Pathfinder if he wasn t.  The Xterra looks even more cramped in the back.  Just a thought to keep in mind.  Also, safety experts discourage putting a child in a lap only belt so IMO the middle is only good for a carseat.  Don t know if Nissan is putting a center shoulder belt in their vehicles yet or not.
 
 
 

[YellowXterra]

 DavidP
My 2000 Xterra only has a lap belt in the back center seat. As I only have 2 kids its works ok for me. They love the seating in the Xterra the back seat sits up higher than the front seats, you can see out the windshield from the back seats. I traded a 91 Astro in on the Xterra and would not go back. I admit the Astro with the 4.3 was much stronger than the 3.1 Nissan but the Xterra pulls just fine even in the East Tn Mountains.