Another towing question

[DanD]

Fisherman Fisherman Fisherman you are an extremist Sir.

I said a weight distribution hitch would transfer SOME weight to the front. I didn’t tell him to jack the back end up like some redneck with their street rod.

 

I do agree that a mini van might have some issues stopping in a panic situation; but a trailer equipped with brakes would quickly rectify that. It would be something to keep in mind when buying new rig.

Yes both the hitch and a trailer equipped with surge brakes are a lot more money then standard ones; but still nowhere as much as a replacement tow vehicle would cost.

Other then the strain on the drivetrain; I'd go anywhere with that set-up.

 

Dan.

[lew]

 

I said a weight distribution hitch would transfer SOME weight to the front. I didn’t tell him to jack the back end up like some redneck with their street rod.

 

 

That actually happened to a fella I used to work with Dan.

 

He bought a house trailer with a weight distribution hitch but never asked anyone how to set it up properly. He hauled it to Vancouver for a vacation and had to replace the front tires on his car when he got there.

 

He said the steering felt funny all the way across the country but he never thought to ask anyone why

[smally21]

To the OP, lots of people tow small boats with minivans, and find their way up a down a half decent boat ramp. its legal, within the specs, doesn't catch the eye as being bizarre and likely to get stopped, and minivans are reasonably heavy, well powered vehicles. most of the guys i dealt with drove full size trucks, but also generally dealt with larger boats.

 

a 4WD pickup truck in low gear can solve a lot of problems, and dropping the boat off the end of the ramp as mentioned earlier is one of the worst. kind of thing tough to overcome with FWD vehicles. an inspection of the ramp prior to use is a good idea. sounds like you are familiar with this one which is good. your trailer is not going to have brakes and from the flavour of your original post i doubt you're going to spend hundreds of dollars to add them just to drive a short distance. WDH have their place for sure, but aren't some sort of cure all cant turn a honda civic into an F350 if you know what i mean..

 

as its been brought up already, one of the things i heard all the time when talking to customers and consulting on their towing needs was "i dont have far to go". the other one i heard all the time was "i only use it twice a year"

 

i understand in your case we are talkng 3kms down a quiet road, so im not really talking about OP here..

 

while the intention for the guy on the phone is just to get his boat out of the water at the end of the year or visit uncle berts cottage that is only down the road ill say a couple of things.

 

-the boat weighs what it weighs no matter how far or how often you tow

-a vicious set of train tracks will cause damage and dont care how long you are towing the boar for

-panic stops can occur anywhere

-police and the MTO can be anywhere

-once you start towing your boat you will find other reasons to tow it, the cottage, a G2G, tournament, to the marina for repair, etc.

-any shortcuts taken in the sourcing or purchasing of the trailer will come back to haunt you on resale

 

 

 

just responding to some comments made earlier, the rig should be appropriate to the load and law, and common sense, regardless of use or towing habits.

 

one of the comments we used to make when looking at a tow package "if it looks like a dog humping a whale, its probably not right"

[Fisherman]

Fisherman Fisherman Fisherman you are an extremist Sir.

I said a weight distribution hitch would transfer SOME weight to the front. I didn’t tell him to jack the back end up like some redneck with their street rod.

 

I do agree that a mini van might have some issues stopping in a panic situation; but a trailer equipped with brakes would quickly rectify that. It would be something to keep in mind when buying new rig.

Yes both the hitch and a trailer equipped with surge brakes are a lot more money then standard ones; but still nowhere as much as a replacement tow vehicle would cost.

Other then the strain on the drivetrain; I'd go anywhere with that set-up.

 

Dan.

 

Extremist, not quite, realist more like it. There's a lot of people out there that would run out and buy a WDH and "crank her up" and ride around with the back tires off the ground. Again I don't think the OPs trailer has brakes, however, not required under 3K. But after seeing a WDH for a Dodge caravan that doesn't have much of a frame, mostly unibody if I'm not mistaken, I also found this this, which I'm sure a lot of people would like to see in action:

Dodge Grand-Caravan 5th Wheel Hitches

Dodge Grand-Caravan Gooseneck Hitches

 

Available here: http://www.autoanything.com/towing/Dodge/Grand-Caravan/110A50740A0A0A23A283A1.aspx

[smally21]

5th wheel on a caravan - awesome! i wish i could find the pics, an astrovan pulling a 38' houseboat we built - but only for a short distance

 

a customer pulled up to my shop to pick up his 12,000 lb tandem it was 34' long - driving a ford escort. the improvised hitch was tied to the undercarriage and bumper...

 

it was awesome wouldn't let him take it til he came back with his truck!

Edited January 6, 2012 by smally21

[Billy Bob]

5th wheel on a caravan - awesome! i wish i could find the pics, an astrovan pulling a 38' houseboat we built - but only for a short distance

 

a customer pulled up to my shop to pick up his 12,000 lb tandem it was 34' long - driving a ford escort. the improvised hitch was tied to the undercarriage and bumper...

 

it was awesome wouldn't let him take it til he came back with his truck!

 

LOL

Where there's a will, there's a way.....

Stupid is what stupid does.....

[Freshtrax]

I would check your towing spec's again my carolla is rated to tow 1500 pounds. Maby you just need a higher class hitch installed

[Freshtrax]

Silly me. I read on and found out you already did that. I towed a tent trailer from to toronto to vancover and back in four weeks had no problems. That van lasted to 500k. ( Mercury villiager). Good van on a side note i miss it.