For all minivan drivers

[angelsmom10]

.....That said, I want to move up to a full-size van some day. So the Collie has room on the floor and the kids won't always be saying, "Mom, Reno's breathing on me!" Not looking forward to the worse gas mileage the way gasoline prices are atm, though.

Our conversion van had a 33 gallon tank on it, with today's prices, you would have to take a loan out just to fill it.

[4campinfoxes]

We have never pulled a camper with a minivan.  We have seen a friend do that & burn up his transmission.  Keep in mind, most minivans do not have much cargo space behind the rear seat.  So if you're looking for cargo space that might be difficult to find in many of the minivans.  

We used our F150 truck instead of our Ford Windstar when we pulled our Jayco 10 footer.  We bought a full size van to pull our camper, even before we got the big honkin' Bayside.  We love the roominess, especially the cargo room in the van.  Added to that is the towing capacity.  We have 2 large dogs who camp with us, and along with the standard gear I can't imagine getting everything & everyone in a smaller vehicle.  

Good luck on your search!

[wynot]

We have never pulled a camper with a minivan. We have seen a friend do that & burn up his transmission. Keep in mind, most minivans do not have much cargo space behind the rear seat. So if you're looking for cargo space that might be difficult to find in many of the minivans.

We used to tow with both our Windstars.  The Windstar was a good tow vehicle, but I wouldn't go back after using the Tahoe.  It seats 7, and quite frankly, gets about the same gas mileage without breathing hard.
 
Regardless of what the automakers and folks want to believe, a FWD minivan (e.g., Caravan, Windstar, Quest, Sienna, Lumina, whatever they are called) is a slightly beefed up car designed to haul people - not tow.  Automakers like minivans because they can use CAFE ratings to make it a light truck, helping the average of gas sucking light duty pickups, but not hurting their sedan and small car fuel economy averages.
 
The only thing which allows an automaker to designate a minivan a light truck is the fact that it 'can' be configured to carry a larger volume of cargo than passengers (the EPA stipulation).

[Kelly]

We used to tow with both our Windstars.  The Windstar was a good tow vehicle, but I wouldn't go back after using the Tahoe.

Another Suburban (or even a Tahoe) is out of the question for me.  
If having the Tahoe weren't an option for you ~ would you still tow with a Windstar?

So if you're looking for cargo space that might be difficult to find in many of the minivans.

Actually the Astro/Safari has more cargo capacity (170.4 cu. ft.) than the Suburban (149.5 cu. ft.) that I've been driving.   Haven't checked on the FWD models ~ yet!

[OC Campers]

I have to say our 98 Astro pulls our Coleman Westlake very well.  We did hve sway issues but that has been taken care by the  single bar hitch.  You can't beat the Astro for room and cargo capacity.  We have 3 kids and a dog and have tons of room.  We even bring a friend or 2 sometimes.  I know the Astro gets a bad rap for reliability but ours has 96,000 miles on it and is still towing beautifully.  As far as crashing, I have never had a front impact crash but I did have a lady take out the entire driver side of the van $9,000 in damage) a few years ago and we all walked away without a scratch.  I have also been rear-ended 3 times and no injuries.  My only wish is that it would have dual sliding doors and then it would be the perfect van.  Good luck with your car hunting.  There are so many makes and models, it is a tuff choice.

Jacqui

[Jeffrey]

My Astro/Safari History..........

1995 Astro AWD
Bought it with 44,000 miles
Mostly just maintenance stuff
But, Had a couple nearly $1000 repairs over the years.
138,000 the transmission went and I dumped it. This winter

1999 Safari RWD
Bought it with 22,000 miles (with a 100,000 5yr warrenty)
4 weeks after the above Astro sent to Sh*t
This one had 90,000 This transmission went too.
Luckily it was still under warrenty so only $50 for a new transmission[]
Including the tranny the Safari has had a total of $5400 in claims on the warrenty.

[Gone-Camping]

I'd really suggest renting or borrowing one and doing a test tow before buying. After towing with the Burb, you're not going to be satisfied with the smaller truck. I'm sure todays gas prices are behind this, but they will eventually fall again (I hope)...

[gsm x2]

I have to say our 98 Astro pulls our Coleman Westlake very well. We did hve sway issues but that has been taken care by the single bar hitch. You can't beat the Astro for room and cargo capacity. We have 3 kids and a dog and have tons of room. We even bring a friend or 2 sometimes. I know the Astro gets a bad rap for reliability but ours has 96,000 miles on it and is still towing beautifully. As far as crashing, I have never had a front impact crash but I did have a lady take out the entire driver side of the van $9,000 in damage) a few years ago and we all walked away without a scratch. I have also been rear-ended 3 times and no injuries. My only wish is that it would have dual sliding doors and then it would be the perfect van. Good luck with your car hunting. There are so many makes and models, it is a tuff choice.
 
Jacqui

Yes Kelly---whatever you do, don't get a Green van
 
gsm x2

[wynot]

Another Suburban (or even a Tahoe) is out of the question for me.
If having the Tahoe weren't an option for you ~ would you still tow with a Windstar?
 
 I feel kind of like I'm tiptoeing around the question of why you're downsizing from a Suburban, but it's none of my business, so I certainly won't ask.  The reason for this comment is that a Suburban is usually considered to be the pinnacle of wagon-type tow vehicles.
 
I had my Windstars set with airbags in the rear, so that I towed level.  I ran 44 psi in the Windstar tires.  I used my transmission to control downgrade speed.  I ran a Class III/IV hitch with a slightly longer drawbar.  I ran a tranny cooler rated for 11,500 lbs.
 
I was happy enough with the Windstar's towing, and 95% of the time you could forget you were towing.  But hit the littlest upgrade and the tranny slams out of OD into 3rd, and without much provocation, will slam into 2d.  We live in the mountains, so grades are there.  It could downshift so abruptly that you would have the steering wheel give a little jerk from the torque steer.
 
A buddy of mine called it correct - I had an Ace-bandaged vehicle that could do it, but at what cost?  I will note, that the Windstar got the best fuel mileage towing, usually two to three mpg better than I could get without a trailer.
 
To totally answer your question, yes, I would still be towing with the Windstar.  But I suspect we wouldn't have taken some extended length (distance) trips that the Tahoe facilitated.

[mrsa1113]

Kelly we pulled our Santa Fe with the Dodge Caravan we have for the first year and still used it a couple of times last year even after we go the Explorer, when we needed more seating capacity (kids brought a friend along).  Jeff actually preferred towing with the van over the Explorer.  It did a great job.  It also had a transmission cooler.  No matter which van you look at or choose remember there are several different models, and therefore sizes, of each one.  I have seen some Caravans with NO space behind the 3rd seat.  But ours when loaded for a road trip to Texas (without the camper), there was usually room behind the 3rd seat for alot of cargo/luggage, strollers, etc.  I really like my van and am still driving it.  Just passed 100,000 miles a month or so ago and haven't had any major problems with it.