RE: Tow Vehicle

[biff]

 
Haven t posted since last year when it was free.  Just got my membership and I ve got a question for all of you who are much smarter than I.  We just bought our first camper last year (  97 Jayco 1207) and this year we are looking at purchasing a new Tow Vehicle/Family Car.  We are looking at minivans and I was wondering what sort of things I should be looking for and questions I should be asking to make sure I get the safest vehicle I can for pulling my camper.  Thanks.

[birol]

 biff
Before people hammer you for it, please provide us with :
 
 GVWR of your jayco,
 Where you live,
 What kind of roads you will travel on ? (Mountain, mostly flat etc).
 How much you make a year (ok this is a joke [8D] )
 
 Providing answers to the first three will help us/them get started.
 
 Rule of thumb is buy as big as possible because once you pop, I mean Pop-UP, you can t stop and one ends up getting bigger and bigger.

[tlhdoc]

 birol

 

ORIGINAL:  birol
 
 How much you make a year (ok this is a joke [8D] )
 
 

 
 BAD, BAD Birol, you never ask that.[]

[tlhdoc]

 biff
biff welcome back.[]

[birol]

 tlhdoc

ORIGINAL:  tlhdoc
 
 
 

ORIGINAL:  birol
 
 How much you make a year (ok this is a joke [8D] )
 
 

 
 BAD, BAD Birol, you never ask that.[]
 

 Hay lady, can t you read ? I said it is a joke Think about it, this person never knew me beforehand, reads this and goes with big bulging poping out of its sockets eyes : " WHHHAAAAATTTTTTT ?"  and reads on and says, pheeews, it was a joke. Now he has a very good impression of me for the rest of his life.
 
 
 Which makes me think, maybe it wasn t such a good idee ? I don t think I left a great impression.
 
 Oh well, I am quite harmless Biff, really, ask around .....
 
 
 [8D]
 

[biff]

 birol

 

ORIGINAL:  birol
 
 Before people hammer you for it, please provide us with :
 
 GVWR of your jayco,
 Where you live,
 What kind of roads you will travel on ? (Mountain, mostly flat etc).
 How much you make a year (ok this is a joke [8D] )
 
 Providing answers to the first three will help us/them get started.
 
 Rule of thumb is buy as big as possible because once you pop, I mean Pop-UP, you can t stop and one ends up getting bigger and bigger.
 

 1) GVWR=1765
 2) Hershey, PA
 3) Mostly flat but will likely do some mountains.  I have 95 Dodge Caravan that has a 6 cyl 3.0 right now and is pretty much maxed out so I haven t pulled it any farther than about an hour away (except for towing it empty down from Syracuse, NY where I bought it last year).  I d like to be able to pull it out to my in-laws this August in MN but no way will I do it with current vehicle.
 4) lol.  No more, no less than I need.[]

[biff]

 tlhdoc

 

ORIGINAL:  tlhdoc
 
 biff welcome back.[]
 

 Thanks, its good to be back.  Looking forward to getting out there after a long winter.

[notrailends]

 biff
Well you would be fine with a new Dodge grand caravan make shure you get one with a
 tow package and the 3.8 motor you will pull your pop-up just fine. Good Luck and well come back

[Gatsmommy]

 biff
Any of the main mini-vans WITH a tow package should be able to handle it. I would seriously look at Kia Sedona s (Although I m biased)[] They have one of the highest safty rateings...I belive it was in the top 3 in 2002, They have a standard tow rating of 3500lbs, so you don t need a tow package, and they have a great warrenty. Also what really sold us.....they are one of the cheapest mini-van s on the market.
 
 Our PU is around 2000lbs dry weight, and while we feel it s there, and wouldn t want to tow any more then that, it does just fine.
 
 Otherwise I d say go for the Astro/Safari if you plan to upgrade your PU soon, but I ve heard they can be uncomfortable for passengers, and the safty rateing wasn t all that great when I was looking.

[Tim5055]

 biff
I hate to throw a couple more questions in here, but
 
 
 [ul]
 

• Does the Jayco have brakes?
• How big is your camping family?
[/ul]
 
 These may also impact what vehicle you can get.

[biff]

 tim5055

 

ORIGINAL:  tim5055
 
 I hate to throw a couple more questions in here, but
 
 
 [ul]
 

• Does the Jayco have brakes?
• How big is your camping family?
[/ul]
 
 These may also impact what vehicle you can get.
 

 1) yes
 
 2) Just me, my wife and 2 year old son

[Tim5055]

 biff
OK, with brakes and the small family I think most mini vans will suit your needs.  While most have a 3500 lb rating, make sure this includes the specific vehicle you are interested in.  Some vehicles only attain their rating with option packages which may include HD Brakes, oversized cooling system, a different rear end ratio (RWD vehicles), a transmission cooler and the like.

[tlhdoc]

 birol

 

ORIGINAL:  birol
 
 

ORIGINAL:  tlhdoc
 
 
 

ORIGINAL:  birol
 
 How much you make a year (ok this is a joke [8D] )
 
 

 
 BAD, BAD Birol, you never ask that.[]
 

 Hay lady, can t you read ? I said it is a joke Think about it, this person never knew me beforehand, reads this and goes with big bulging poping out of its sockets eyes : " WHHHAAAAATTTTTTT ?"  and reads on and says, pheeews, it was a joke. Now he has a very good impression of me for the rest of his life.
 
 
 Which makes me think, maybe it wasn t such a good idee ? I don t think I left a great impression.
 
 Oh well, I am quite harmless Biff, really, ask around .....
 
 
 [8D]
 
 

 He guy can t you see, [] I did wink at you at the end of my post.[]
 

[battleb]

I have a 4 dr Jeep with a towing capacity (GVW) of 3500 Lbs. The Jeep has the towing package (class II hitch and a 4 pin connector). I want to rent before I make a decision on purchasing. I am considering  renting a Starcraft 2106 with a dry weight of bout 1400 Lbs. The dealer said it doesnt have brakes (surge or electric) and that for that weight, plus the weight of the "stuff" that I would be hauling, I should not need the trailer brakes. I am concerned that the additional weight of the trailer might be a bit much for the vehicles brakes. I would greatly appreciate advice from those amongst us with experience in this realm.

[My3buicks]

I routinely pull my boat, kabota tractor on it's trailer, and now the 78 Coleman PU with my Buick Rendezvous AWD, it doesn't even know the stuff is back there, it has a 3500 pound rating, it has the tow package also.  I can travel in luxuary and comfort, pull whatever I need behind it, and still I pull 18 to 21 MPG.