Towing with a minivan

We are looking to get a minivan and I am wondering if I can actually safely tow with it. Most of them have in the neighborhood of 3500lbs stated towing capacity, but I see several people saying it could overheat the transmissions, they aren’t really made for that, etc. I am not planning on towing anything near 3500 – here are my desired real world uses:

-Several trips a year with my family of 4 heading a few hours to the lake for the weekend/week towing my 14′ aluminum boat with a 4.5hp or 20hp engine. Even with a few items in the boat/trailer setup it is all likely under 1000lbs. I would launch the boat with the van too.

-One or two trips a year out west over the mountains with 3-5 adults towing a utility trailer with 1000-1500lbs of whitewater rafts and supplies.

I’m not getting rid of my truck, just hoping that we can be more comfortable on some trips and want to have realistic expectations as I shop.

For what you describe your going to tow and the few times your going to do it I would say your fine. Change the transmission fluid every 30k or less. Make sure it comes with a transmission cooler if possible.

i don’t think that would be an issue. maybe the hills/mountains out west would give you some troubles. Would also be cautious about steep ramps.

I own a Honda Odyssey that doesn’t have the supposed trailer package. When i purchased i asked about adding a trailer package and they said all they do is add a hitch. I asked about a transmission cooler or any of that stuff and he said nope. Could be the salesman didn’t know what he was talking about. Anyway i took it to uhaul and added a hitch for a fraction of their asking price. I think my max tow capacity is 1200 with this setup. Ive hauled a small utility trailer around with my Yamaha 250 CC quad. No issues there.

If i remember correctly didn’t you have a thread a few years back where you were gonna get a sweetheart of a deal on a Chrysler from a friend of the family who recently passed away?

We now have a full size pickup and a minivan as our two vehicles and i couldn’t imagine a better combination to cover all activities!

If the manufacturer says it can tow 3500 with towing package, then it can tow 3500 with towing package. For Tindall’s stated needs, the minivan is more than enough.

I don’t buy into this massive overkill deal where guys think they need a 1 ton diesel with dualies and air brakes to tow a 17-foot boat on a single axle trailer.

I towed our pleasure boat that weighed in at over 4000 for years with an SUV rated for 5k. It towed great, never had the slightest issue. Still have the SUV, still going strong at 136k.

The keys are first having the towing package so you have everything the manu recommends to tow to the max–not just the hitch. Then it’s all about trailer setup. Proper balance with the right amount of weight on the tongue, the right number of axles, and a braking setup (if required) that works properly and is tuned to the weight of the boat/trailer.

Also, I don’t like to let my transmission “hunt” on long uphills or in high winds. Most vehicles have a way around this, either shift out of OD or use the push to shift to manually change gears and keep the vehicle from constant up/down shifts. I love the Tow/Haul mode on my GMC, it changes the shift points up the RPM range to prevent hunting gears.

Yea, I regret not rolling the dice and getting the 2k van back then. My wife tells me we are not in the market for a cheap van now…

I’m hoping to find something in great shape with 60k miles +/-. We don’t drive much and take care of stuff. Our 05 and 06 vehicles both have under 170k.

Look for one with the tow package in it. We bought one around 2010-11 or so and it had tow mode, trans cooler, hitch, etc. setup for towing already.

Any thoughts on towing with a van or any vehicle that has a CVT transmission? We had a Nissan Murano with a CVT that the listed towing capacity was ~3,500lb. It towed my 14′ boat just fine, but when I tried pulling a 1,500# empty utility trailer, it seemed to struggle a bit with it. That vehicle is long gone and I now have a Yukon for all my heavy towing needs, but considering a hitch on our ’11 Odyssey (believed to be CVT) for light usage/family trips.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

If the manufacturer says it can tow 3500 with towing package, then it can tow 3500 with towing package. For Tindall’s stated needs, the minivan is more than enough.

I don’t buy into this massive overkill deal where guys think they need a 1 ton diesel with dualies and air brakes to tow a 17-foot boat on a single axle trailer.

I towed our pleasure boat that weighed in at over 4000 for years with an SUV rated for 5k. It towed great, never had the slightest issue. Still have the SUV, still going strong at 136k.

The keys are first having the towing package so you have everything the manu recommends to tow to the max–not just the hitch. Then it’s all about trailer setup. Proper balance with the right amount of weight on the tongue, the right number of axles, and a braking setup (if required) that works properly and is tuned to the weight of the boat/trailer.

Also, I don’t like to let my transmission “hunt” on long uphills or in high winds. Most vehicles have a way around this, either shift out of OD or use the push to shift to manually change gears and keep the vehicle from constant up/down shifts. I love the Tow/Haul mode on my GMC, it changes the shift points up the RPM range to prevent hunting gears.

^That’s very un-IDO’ish of you

buckybadger wrote:

That’s very un-IDO’ish of you

I know. To soften such a shocking revelation, I should have prefaced it with:

For resale value, I bought a semi-tractor to tow my 28-foot twin-engine walleye boat. But for those of you guys with itty-bitty 17-foot boats…

I apologize for any stress the above shocking statement may have caused.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>buckybadger wrote:</div>
That’s very un-IDO’ish of you

I know. To soften such a shocking revelation, I should have prefaced it with:

For resale value, I bought a semi-tractor to tow my 28-foot twin-engine walleye boat. But for those of you guys with itty-bitty 17-foot boats…

I apologize for any stress the above shocking statement may have caused.

Grouse

You’re probably one of those guys who drives to the store to get groceries in something other than a 3/4+ ton pickup.

This place is being overrun with “snowflakes”

***Full disclaimer of sarcasm and a reminder of a great story. Last summer I had a guy ask me if I “felt safe” towing a 23′ tritoon with “just a half ton pickup” while I was strapping up at the landing. I laughed and told him “I did feel safe until I saw your attempts backing up your big diesel truck at the launch and feared a crash.” He got pissed and drove away extra aggressively towing what was presumably his wife’s maroon Bayliner. …Sorry if that was someone here!

Don’t worry Bucky no one with a Bayliner is going to admit it even they are on here!

Tindall,
For years my company provided a range of different minivans as my company vehicle, my 2 cents is, most are FWD, which isn’t very good on wet ramps heading up-hill. At least look for an AWD version. Or friends who are willing to sit on the hood for you,,,,

HRG

Tow my rig with basically an Suv-has the cooler and I keep on top of the fluid too.

I towed my 1700 pro v with a 2001 olds silhouette for years even towed it from st cloud 400 miles into Canada once never felt afraid.

I’d be cautious towing in the mountains with a mini-van. The amount of shifting our chrysler town & country does when we’re in the black hills bugs me. Have you considered renting a large SUV for your over the mountains trips?

Hot Runr Guy wrote:

Tindall,
For years my company provided a range of different minivans as my company vehicle, my 2 cents is, most are FWD, which isn’t very good on wet ramps heading up-hill. At least look for an AWD version. Or friends who are willing to sit on the hood for you,,,,

HRG

I was going to mention the drive train portion too. I think most minivans are front wheel drive. You don’t see many anymore as they seem to have been replaced with cross overs and SUVs instead. My family had one for years when I was a kid and I hated that thing.

Many years ago I towed with a front wheel drive only mini-van but after not being able to pull the boat up a sandy ramp we bought a different tow vehicle.

tornadochaser wrote:

I’d be cautious towing in the mountains with a mini-van. The amount of shifting our chrysler town & country does when we’re in the black hills bugs me. Have you considered renting a large SUV for your over the mountains trips?

If it has a tow package it should have tow mode. But I don’t know my mini vans. Take it out of overdrive.
These new vehicles with 8 and 10 speeds can never find a gear and be happy when towing up hill

My parents have towed their 16 ft Alumacraft Lunker with 3 different Plymouth/Chrysler minivans with no issue. No issue on the ramps.

You are right that minivans have a lot of comfort for road trips and a ton more storage in the back than most SUVs and crossovers.

queenswake wrote:

You are right that minivans have a lot of comfort for road trips and a ton more storage in the back than most SUVs and crossovers.

minivans rule! literally the only bad thing about them is the negative stigma associated with them that they aren’t cool or aren’t manly. which is a pretty ridiculous reason to not own a vehicle if you think about it.

They get good gas mileage, some models come in AWD, they can accommodate up to 8 people and do so far more comfortably than most vehicles and they come with a lot of features not available on any other type of vehicle. Not to mention they cost a lot less than the “comparable” SUV. If you need to haul a lot of people, do some light towing, and aren’t concerned about what the person driving next to you thinks, they are a great choice

I used to drive a Toyota sienna mini van as my work vehicle when working out of town before I got a company truck.
That thing was the business

My AWD 6 cyld. does great at the launch, sometimes one wheel will slip a bit pulling out but so what? Have been to so many weird and irregular launches, have had one trailer wheel sunk in a pothole, mud, water up to my exhaust pipes, my pilot crawls that 3klb rig right out every time. Did get 4 tires with somewhat aggresive tread, good idea especially if you go out on ice.

I have seen and done some crazy sh!t in my life but what I saw on I-80 a few years ago takes the cake.
west bound near Newton Iowa,, a late eighties early nineties dodge minivan that should of been in the junkyard was towing a sixteen foot trailer so loaded down with furniture that the hitch and rear bumper was sparking at every bump in the road, to top that off was two Honda foremans parked sideways on top of the vans roof!!!

I almost pulled up beside them and asked them if they took the numbers off of their house so that their address didnt change when they got to the new one..
sorry to derail the thread,carry on.