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Old 05-28-2017, 05:58 AM   #1
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2016 Interstate Grand Tour Ext
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Towing a Grand Cherokee...

I purchased a 2016 Airstream Interstate with the V-6 turbo.....In looking at the tow specs I see it says 5,000 lb's. It also has an asterisk and when I look that up it states the towing capacity could be 4,300-7,100 lbs. depending on "conditions" and tow vehicle?

My question is has anyone tried towing a Jeep Grand Cherokee behind the airstream. I use to tow it behind my big Dynamax and Prevo and am hoping I can tow it back and forth from Florida since I have the base plate and set up already on it or should I look for a smaller-lighter tow vehicle. I'm not concerned about mileage while I am towing as I know it will greatly affect that. I would plan on using supplemental brakes on the jeep. The jeep weight is 4,800 lbs.

I have a home in Florida so we want to have a car and not be reliant on the airstream for our everyday driver.

thanks, Jim
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Old 05-28-2017, 06:27 AM   #2
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Following....I know somebody here does, but can't remember who.
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Old 05-28-2017, 11:15 AM   #3
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Found it here. Post #31.
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Old 05-29-2017, 05:58 AM   #4
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Found it here. Post #31.
I did see that post, thank you but the poster says he has an older land yacht and not an interstate. According to his profile.
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Old 05-29-2017, 07:11 AM   #5
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Something to look up on your Airstream Interstate is the combined weight rating (GCWR), I suspect the tow rating is for a bare van, before the conversion equipment.

I think one of the great things about travel with a camper van is not having a towable behind it. We recently bought a winter home on Arizona and sold our Airstream, haven't yet decided whether to get a smaller travel trailer or camper van to tour the country as we travel back and forth.

Also unsure of easiest method, more than likely we will leave a car permanently in our AZ carport.
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Old 07-15-2017, 07:07 PM   #6
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Something to look up on your Airstream Interstate is the combined weight rating (GCWR), I suspect the tow rating is for a bare van, before the conversion equipment.
No, actually the tow rating is the same loaded or empty for the Mercedes Sprinter Vans (might be a European thing).

Though tongue weight would reduce payload.
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Old 07-16-2017, 11:48 AM   #7
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Towing a Grand Cherokee...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wazbro View Post
No, actually the tow rating is the same loaded or empty for the Mercedes Sprinter Vans (might be a European thing).

Though tongue weight would reduce payload.

What? It's not a European thing. Tow rating is one thing, but you must still stay under the COMBINED weight rating of your vehicle. We have discussed this many times on this forum. A fully loaded Interstate can't tow up to the tow rating without exceeding the GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating).

For example my 2013 Interstate Lounge EXT is typical. It has a GCWR of 15,250 lbs. The tow rating (GTW) is 7,500 lbs. But my van runs at about 10,250 when loaded for a trip. That means my tow limit is only 5,000 lbs. (15,250 - 10,250) to stay within the 15,250 GCWR.

It's a good thing that the engineers add a healthy safety margin to their designs because there are a lot of vehicles, especially RVs, running down the road overloaded.

Commercial trucks are actually less likely to be running overweight because there is weight enforcement for them, but not for private pickup trucks and RVs.
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Old 07-17-2017, 10:04 AM   #8
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Mike has it right. Weigh your coach loaded and ready for a trip, weigh your toad, and combined they can't exceed GCWR. This is why the allowed toad weight can vary, up to the 5,000lb max weight allowed by the receiver.
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Old 07-17-2017, 02:27 PM   #9
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Question

Thanks for the replies folks......The weight of my jeep is 4,800 lbs. I do plan on weighing the coach next trip out to see just what I am looking at. I was just curious if anyone towed a grand cherokee and I guess they don't. On the sprinter site it says towing capacity varies between 5K-7.5K, which is what confused me. Mine is a 2016 EXT / 6 cyl. turbo diesel....

This is the quote from the sprinter site.....

"Properly equipped and regardless of engine, a Sprinter 2500 can tow as much as 5,000 pounds and a 3500 can tow as much as 7,500 pounds."
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Old 07-17-2017, 04:00 PM   #10
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2017 brochure states the AI tow capacity is up to 5000#, typically 4200# to 5000# depending upon model and loading of the unit.
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Old 07-17-2017, 06:01 PM   #11
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I copied these specs from www.autoguide.com for a Mercedes Sprinter Van.

Gross Vehicle Weight Rating Cap (lbs) 8550
Gross Combined Wt Rating (lbs) 13550
Dead Weight Hitch - Max Trailer Wt. (lbs) 5000
As you can see GCWR plus Tow Rating equals GCVWR.

I guess it could be different for an Interstate.
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Old 07-17-2017, 06:13 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by Wazbro View Post
I copied these specs from www.autoguide.com for a Mercedes Sprinter Van.

Gross Vehicle Weight Rating Cap (lbs) 8550
Gross Combined Wt Rating (lbs) 13550
Dead Weight Hitch - Max Trailer Wt. (lbs) 5000
As you can see GCWR plus Tow Rating equals GCVWR.

I guess it could be different for an Interstate.

You are confusing everyone even more. Those numbers are for the 2500 Sprinters. All late model Interstates are based on the 3500 Sprinters. Everyone should use the rating in back of their owner's manuals and not something posted by an auto web site on the internet. If you don't have an owners manual you can get them from the Mercedes Sprinter web site.
https://www.mbvans.com/sprinter/owne.../owner-manuals
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Old 10-05-2017, 11:35 AM   #13
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Well after much research we decided to sell the wife's buick lucerne and got her a convertible vw bug for Florida and summers in Michigan. It is 3000# so towing on a dolly should be no problem for the airstream ext (2016). Any tips from others who tow behind their airstreams. The trailer has brakes and our plan is to simply tow it straight to florida and then back to michigan in the spring.

We don't take the car when we camp (usually) since we drive the van everywhere.
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