Originally posted by JPAIRSTREAM There was a guy here that pulled his 19' with a honda oddessy. He used a Blue Ox Hitch. He said he had no issues and he had 90,000 miles on van I think..
There is a dealer that pulls a new 30' behind a dodge intreped. Also has driven over the mountains..
Good examples JPAIR
During the last 25 years there has been a vast amount of research and testing with passenger type vehicles towing larger A/S's north of the border. Hundreds of vehicles over millions of miles.
A properly connected combination is important.
Trailer brakes relieve braking stress from the vehicle.
Weight distibution hitches greatly reduces the added "carrying weight" stress on the vehicle.
Surprisingly it has been found that very few problems occur as a result of passenger cars/mini vans towing an aerodynamic trailer.
Uwe brought up a good point about usage. Full time towing is different than part time towing. Most people tow with their vehicles less than 20% of the actual miles of total driving.
Hope this helps explain the reasons why passenger car/van type vehicles have a good track record. Their performance and reliability factors are enhanced buy towing an Airstream rather than a square trailer.
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Yesterday, I called Drawtite and talked at great lenghth with Tim about Recievers, Weight-distibution units, sway bar, etc.
I am learning alot about this stuff.
From what I understand, the first thing I would need to have installed is a Class 3 reciever on my Eurovan. A place called Delan(?) sells those, but when I called asking some basic questions, they were anxious to get off the phone. Drawtite sells the weight Dist. units. Apparently this would be not only a good way to go, but the only way, at least for piece of mind. How I understand it is if say my vehicles tongue weight is 220#, the WD actually increases that capacity by double, 440#, because the weight is being spread toward the back of the trailer. It is important that these are set-up correctly before driving off. Due to the fact that the rear end clearance to the ground of my Eurovan is questionable, I would also need something called a shank(?) so that the trailer will sit level. I was told that sway bars are sort of optional, but was reminded that with out them, if a semi passes you going 90mph, you would really feel it.
One of the tricks to miniize this sway, was to open a window or two on the trailer. Does not seem practical if it's raining out.
I also asked Tim whether the 'plug' for the brakes and trailer lights arre universal (same size) throughout the RV industry and the short answer was no. He mentined there is a Coleman style, some sort of square or rectangular style, and the round ones that the AS uses.
In any case, to get set-up with something that would give the little lady and I comfort going down the road, it looks like we would be spending 600-700 dollars on parts, plus whatever installation cost there may be.
I realize the above has no affect on the torque and pulling power, etc. BUT...
If I went this route, does this make those who thought pulling a Bambi behind my Dub questionable any less questionable?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts, past and present.
A really competent hitch place (such as Magnum or Spillar here in Austin) should be able to design and weld up a receiver for your Eurovan. I had a receiver for my Mercedes locally at a very reasonable cost. They stock the receiver tubes, square tubing, and sheet stock so that it is just a matter of measuring, cutting, and welding.
__________________
John W. Irwin
2005 Classic 28 "Sabre-Dog III"
2004 Silverado 2500HD Duramax/Allison
WBCCI Region 9 Webmaster, #9632
Jonathan,
The parts and modifications you mentioned would apply to any tow vehicle, not necessarily making your VW into a tow monster. A weight distributing hitch would definitely be on my list for any tow vehicle towing a trailer with a 500lb tongue weight. I might skip the sway control system for a trailer this short on a heavier tow vehicle, but would definitely consider it for your VW. This, however, might be one of those rare situations that can't be fixed by throwing cash at it.
I think that you will be way to close to the Euro's max to feel or be safe. My Bambi, fully loaded is 1,000 lbs under my Landrover's max, and I wouldn't even consider pulling anything heavier except for very short, level trips.
__________________
Rick Klein
'01 Bambi
'99 Land Rover Disco
181 ft. lbs. of torque, which is very low for towing that weight. The independent rear suspension is another negative, it would be hard to find enough steel to safely attach a hitch. You don't need a monster SUV for a Bambi, but you need more than you have.
Aren't the newer VW vans front wheel drive? I wouldn't think it best to not have the weight of your trailer over the driving wheels.
On the other hand, I've towed my 1966 Globe Trotter (3,000 lbs) with a 1987 Ford Aerostar van (3 liter V-6) without difficulty, but not in the mountains. We now use an F-150 SuperCrew and notice that the trailer doesn't seem to "push" us around as much as it did the van.
Another note on the questioned abilities of the VR6 Eurovan,
Doesn't Winnebago still make the Rialta which is based on the current Eurovan and aren't there a few mini motorhomes built on the same chassis as well? I do think they put a different rear axle on them but as far as engine and drivetrain they are identical.
Now the effect of having a trailer vs. a coach body strapped onto it's back could be two different things altogether.
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