Is it possible to use a car to tow a 19' or 20' airstream?

[MaineStreamer]

Cool picture!

[AWCHIEF]

For years people happily towed with the family car. Only in the last few years has it become popular to have dedicated large tow vehicles. Personally I believe that many are over kill and that some could get along with less. I have been thru several different vehicles in search of a good compromise for me. Gone from to underpowered to way too much truck to plenty of power and load capability. Happy right now with my current combination, a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland w/5.7 Hemi and the Safari 23. Everything is a compromise, if there was the perfect trailer/TV combination everyone would have the same rig. That would be so boring!

[Dave-Nancy]

Just a note about AS towing with an SUV. We tow our FC19 with our Highlander with OEM Tow Package. It is about as wonderful a combination as we hoped for, up hills and down, a big criteria or us (power and braking safety).

I want to conclude this with a comment that might help you, in the event you feel you must go "bigger," but want to stay in the non-pickup mode.

We had a lighter and smaller Jayco Swift 16 ft. that we purchased to see how well we liked small trailer camping, "before we invest in an AS". It weighed 2,250 lbs. dry. To our astonishment, our loaded FC tows notably easier than the box trailer. Our gas mileage is better, and wind affects are now almost non-existent.

We also use the Highlander as our "shopping" and 3-row grandkid hauler." We don't have a separate towing only vehicle, as practical matters continue to complicate our lives! Although, Nancy drives a 2-seat sports car ... Ha! How practical is that?!

Our experiment in camping went well, the Jayco was a fun little trailer with lots to compliment it, actually. And, it was $45,000 less in cost than the FC. It served our needs well for a summer. We made the mistaken error of thinking that heavier would be a problem. Today, you could not get us to ever go back.

Buy a bigger car-towing vehicle, if you feel the need. But, base it on your AS and go from there. That's our advice and humble opinion. Dave

[tjdonahoe]

People tend to forget that the big cars in the 50's and 60's had a real frame most all of today's cars and lite duty suv's are unibody, thus no frame...

[Adam Geuss]

[QUOTE=megster;1544600]I am considering purchasing a small, new Airstream (newbe here) and am clueless about tow vehicles. It appears that most use an actual pickup truck, but are there not other options? I initially thought I could just install a hitch on my BMW sedan but I don't know it that would be wise or safe. What say you?[/QUOTE

For me a most important factor is the vehicle weight and the trailer weight. In Europe there is a fairly standard law, tow vehicles must weigh a minimum of 15% more than the trailer. This law makes good sense as a trailer heavier than it's tow vehicle can easily cause severe handling problems on the road. Once this requirement is addressed many other factors apply. My first thought to the question was ....super cars, BMW's but most models are not designed to tow things. I strongly suggest you ask your dealer. If your car is not a good match buy the Airstream and a nice truck.😊


We tow our 23' Flying Cloud with a Ford 250 with a 6.7L Diesel engine. Overkill perhaps but really safe and easy. Good luck.

[AlbertF]

Originally Posted by megster

I am considering purchasing a small, new Airstream (newbe here) and am clueless about tow vehicles. It appears that most use an actual pickup truck, but are there not other options? I initially thought I could just install a hitch on my BMW sedan but I don't know it that would be wise or safe. What say you?

Which BMW do you own?

The 5-series is typically rated for 2000 kg/4400 lbs in Europe.

[tjdonahoe]

I will second that with 125,000/ year in Abigail truck..... 31' as with a 07 dodge 6.7 85000 miles and no problems....

[megster]

We have a 2011 3 series and a 2008 5 series BMW

[Urbanologist]

The key concept is doing so safely and being able to maneuver and STOP!! CanAm setup my 2009, 5.7L V8, Tundra Short Bed to properly to our Panamerica. They took me out for a spin in a 34' AS using a Taurus SHO!! Call them. They will give you ALL the info you'll need.

[old gray cat]

I tow my Airstream International 534 with a Peugeot 508 SW, (station wagon) engine size 2.2 litre. Even over the Alps! You have to take into consideration car weight/trailer weight/engine power, but your local dealer would advise on that. You don't need a big truck except for the big fellas.

[mazoolah]

I'm a newbe here ,just got my trailer and tow vehicle this year .But have driven BMWs all models for many years ,and done all my own repair work .You could get a lot of modification's to make it tow ,but ,and this point is lost a lot of times in these discussions, at what cost? if you are a good used car (truck ) shopper there are plenty of used pickups/suv's with factory tow packs , load rated tires ,etc. for what it would cost to convet a bmw . And while bmws are great to drive ,I think their automatic trannys and cooling systems are marginal. If you smoke a bmw tranny its 5-6 grand .and their plastic water pumps are infamous for blowing up . Their differential mounts are also a know weak point that a trailer would stress to the max. As boring as they are to drive a good late model truck is way more cost effective .

[Road Ruler]

mazoo... Not a BMW but an Infiniti G35 sedan (similar).

Ten years ago our car was set up by Can Am to tow our 23'.

Not much different to set up than many other vehicles. It got a custom built 2" receiver, tranny cooler, brake controller, and a set of M'Kesh mirrors.

10 years later very few problems*

*Except for regular services, a tie rod end and one rear wheel bearing. The rest of the vehicle is fine and it drives like new. Not many out there towing with a pick up have reported such few problems from their tow vehicle.

[jcl]

And as a counterpoint, a BMW X5 is a fantastic tow vehicle. I had an E53, 2000-2006, rated for 6000 lbs towing. I now have an X3, rated 3500 lbs.

Plastic water pump impellors weren't used after the 90's, the X5 never had them. Automatic transmissions haven't been a failure point with heavy loads, most likely due to the factory coolers on all models. Brakes are large disks, with lots of stopping power. Rear suspension is fine unless you run very wide rubber on oversize wheels, then bushings are required from time to time as a maintenance item. OE hitch is the way to go, it reinforces the unibody on the X5 and doesn't just bolt on the rear pan. Factory trailer stability control is standard, and an OE wiring kit (everything but brake controller) is a plug in option from the dealer.

The X5 is built on the E39 5 series, same chassis and power. A 5 series would tow fine, a 3 series would be fine for trailers under 3500 lbs, or slightly more with a reinforced hitch installation. No further modifications required. Recent models with the turbo gas or diesel have excellent power and fuel economy, with good low end torque.

Jeff

[Len n Jeanne]

The petite Sport (aka Bambi) weights about 3500 lbs. One other consideration with a TV is how you will transport your gear. At 16' it just doesn't have a lot of storage space.

Our preferred TV is a truck with a cap (aka topper, canopy) on the back as a means of dramatically increasing what we can take with us.

A big issue is a generator if you plan to boondock for more than a couple of nights, plus a gas can. Do you want those in the trunk of your car, or transported inside your trailer? Do you take along outdoor sports gear? (We frequently carry life jackets, canoe paddles, portaging wheels, cold-weather jackets and boots, and/or day packs for hiking.) For longer boondocks we carry a portable waste disposal tank, which is bulky.

We are about to take delivery (finally!) on our new 19' Flying Cloud. The amount of extra interior storage space (to us after 7 years in Bambi I) is amazing. But this unit weighs 4500 lbs. We decided on a new V8 truck to tow this extra weight. (And are now in the poor house. )

We mostly drive in mountainous areas, so that's another issue in terms of an under-powered TV.

[Road Ruler]

Originally Posted by Len n Jeanne

A big issue is a generator if you plan to boondock for more than a couple of nights, plus a gas can. Do you want those in the trunk of your car, or transported inside your trailer? Do you take along outdoor sports gear? (We frequently carry life jackets, canoe paddles, portaging wheels, cold-weather jackets and boots, and/or day packs for hiking.) For longer boondocks we carry a portable waste disposal tank, which is bulky.

If we had to carry all that stuff with us we would need a truck or van too.

[Stefrobrts]

I see a lot of people saying to talk to the Dealers, but in my experience they know NOTHING about towing. Our Ford dealer, when we mentioned towing, was feeding us a complete line of BS. They had no idea what their vehicles could tow, in fact they overestimated the towing capacity of our Ford Flex by about double. What if they had sold us on that and we really did need something with 8k lbs capacity? Luckily we already knew the numbers from doing our own research, because I'm certain they wouldn't have stood behind anything they said.

CanAm on the other hand does towing setups all the time, and has their own testbeds that they actually USE for towing. They are the ones to talk to. Andrew T was very helpful when we were searching for our new tow vehicle, and we are VERY happy with what we ended up with.

[timhortons]

Inspired by those on this forum who told me not to do it, this is a small spreadsheet I made while trying to decide my best setup for towing a 16' Bambi.

Engine Type Trans.
HP Torque RPM (peak HP) (peak trq)

2009 Jetta Diesel 2.0 -TDI SOHC 140 236 4000 1750 6
2014 ATS Gas - I4 2.5L DOHC DI VVT 202 190 6800 4800 6
2005 TSX Gas - I4 2.4 DOHC iVTEC 200 166 6800 4500 5


equipment

weight balancing hitch, unless you want struts through the hood !
Custom Class 3 RCVR/adjustable or welded bal thingiel.
Prodigy II Brake Controller and 7 pin connector, with electric trailer brakes (std)
transmission radiator
friction sway bar

trailers
Stock Weight GVWR Act Tongue
Bambi 16' Sport 2897 3500 350
ALTO F1743 1592+(250)? 2700? 250?

[timhortons]

Fuel Economy MPG(rated) Towing Economy 0-60 w/ trailer
City Highway Highway Fuel Econ

2009 Jetta 29 40 32 reported
2014 ATS 22 33
2005 TSX 22 32 20 preliminary 7.5 15 sec?

[timhortons]

and here is a picture of same:

all threee setups were tested on the highway speeds on and off ramps , up and down hillsand in town stop and go for about 40 50 minutes .... thanks to CANAM, also rain one day and 35-40MPH winds on one of the two days

Traction was great. I never experienced any sway on either of the bambi setups, and stopping distance was great, in fact I was more worried about getting rear-ended by a tailgater than any concern about not being able to stop/avoid.

I did not do slalom, or any track type driving. The ATS with the DI boosted tourque and power had most acceleration on steep inclines and the Jetta TDI is the most composed highway cruising, but nothing was "buzzy", and of course my TSX has the best handling

[Revery]

I went thru a similar brain buster. Bought a 23' FC with the thougt of towing with our MB ML430 (gas). Many forum folks said no problem, with cited experiences. The MB has a towing capacity of 5000-6000 lbs depending on who's rating you read and the trailer with food, luggage, 1/2 tank fluids and firewood for a 4 night stay would weigh in at about the same weight. I decided my family was too valuable to push the envelope and bought a larger SUV with 9000# capacity. Glad I did, not only piece of mind, accompanied by a pleasant no fatigue drive, but my first trip (900 miles one way) included over 300 miles of 30 mph crosswinds. Bigger car made it an effortlessly, comfortable and most of all fun trip to make. Size does matter.