What weight PU can our Minivan SAFELY handle?

[TheViking]

My van came with the tow package which includes the heavy duty radiator, engine cooler, tranny cooler, load levelers, and a few other things I believe. I'll confirm but I'm pretty sure. Good idea about ceramic brake pads. Pretty sure they don't come with that.
 
I hate to go to the dealer to get the hitch put on - seems like they are always high cost.
 
I need to research the WDH more to see if that is part of the "standard hitch" package (III) or is an add-on after the hitch (that the dealer would install).
 
What comes first? The trailer or the hitch? Hmmm. (chicken and egg syndrome?)

Check out the underside of the van, where the hitch would go. I put one on my Dodge Ram myself. They pre-drill the frame so the hitches just bolt up. The hardest part is trying to hold the thing while you put the bolts in. Contact a place over in Phoenix called Quality S Mfg. It's over on 43rd Ave. just South of Indian School. They mfg all kinds of hitches there. I bought mine for like $50.00 a few years back. They have a website too http://www.quality-s.com/. Good Luck

[Rowdy]

I won't belabor this, but let me add my 2 cents. In my experience with campers and tow vehicles of of all types and sizes, I feel that towing limits are exaggerated. Whenever I've tried towing the maximum, I've been disappointed. Personally, I reduce the towing capacity of the tow vehicle by 20% and use that as a target weight for a fully loaded RV. The book says my Ford pickup is capable of towing 7300 lbs. The loaded camper is around 6,000 lbs. This is a good match, and I wouldn't want to go much heavier. My Quest was rated at 3000 lbs, and a 2500 lb. trailer strained it.

[tlhdoc]

I need to research the WDH more to see if that is part of the "standard hitch" package (III)  

The standard Class III hitch is usually a receiver that you add a draw bar to.  Just a receiver with a 2 inch square hole in it.  The WDH is a totally different item.

[Rawhide Kid]

The family went to our first RV show today - only three dealers with PU's there - Jayco, Fleetwood, and Starcraft. It was nice to look at the new one's (what they had) one right after the other.
 
The family then went to the Starcraft dealer (Payless) and looked at some new and used ones. They had a 2107 2005 model that they had rented for a year - $4250 out the door. Still a little high - he was willing to throw in a hitch and anti-sway for my van for free at that price. I thought he was still too high since the PU looked pretty well used. These rentals probably get 5-7X more use in a year than "owned" PU's do in most years.
 
Found a really nice 2005 model 2407 (link below) but they had it at $5500 without tax - bumping it over $6k. Way above our budget. But the DW made an interesting comment looking at it: "THIS would be fun!" (she didn't say that looking at the 2107!)
 
http://www.starcraftrv.com/starcraft_folding_campers/starcraft_floorplans_ss.html
 
We'll keep looking. Couple interesting comments. Nobody thinks you need or would want a WDH. The Jayco salesperson had to look it up to make sure that their PU was ok with a WDH (I insisted she check to be sure). The Starcraft dealer REALLY poo-poo'd the need for it.
 
I continue to like the Starcraft floorplans. The 2407 started in 2000, so I hope we can find an older model that is cheaper. The 2407 tops out at ~3k pounds which should be ok with our Minivan. The dealer said that "prices go way up in the spring" but I think the number of PU's for sale go up too so perhaps we can find something we'll like. If not, we can wait til the fall we decided. We'll continue to tent or use our van til then (just me and my son and perhaps one daughters). Can't rush this.
 
Hopefully we'll find a nice PU this spring or fall, but if not, oh well. Another year won't kill us, and by then the youngest (who is officially six months old today) will be a bit more road-ready and the next youngest potty-trained.