Grand Caravan TV for a 154BH?

[chantunia]

hello everyone , I have spent hours on this forum reading plenty of useful information since we (wife, me & 2 kids) made the decision to upgrade from tenting.
This is my very first post, and I can only be thankful for all the info you guys post, sharing your experiences along with tremendously useful tips for newbies like me.
So after lot of research, I am planning to be the proud owner of a 154BH in the next couple of weeks, and we cannot get any more excited.
I am also planning to use a 2011 Grand Caravan R/T as my TV. The minivan does not come with a towing package unfortunately, so I will need to install the tranny cooler, hitch, WD, sway bar and brake controllers.

So I was wondering the following,

1) do I need or do you recommend anything else to be installed in my minivan other than the items I just described? Could you kindly tell me the brand preferences for each item?

2) Anyone towing the 154BH with a minivan to share their experiences. I read some people saying things like "do not tow anything with a mini van" and I am staring to get a little bit worried about my family safety.

Thank you so much in advance for your help!

[mike837go]

As someone who used to tow with a unibody vehicle, I would say, "Listen to the voices of reason."


Towing with a full-frame truck instead of a unibody is day instead of night!


Having the whole vehicle twist and warp and the wind loads shift against the trailer... Not with a full-frame separate from the body truck or SUV.


Wonderfully smooth riding McPherson struts overwhelmed by the tongue weight shifting as the trailer's axle goes over a bump... Not with leaf springs and heavy duty shocks.


So, yes. One can tow with a minivan. The question becomes, "Why would you WANT to?"


Don't be overwhelmed by my current TV-TT combo. The unibody car towed a 2200# TT for several years. I moved up to a 1/4 ton Toyota Tacoma for that TT and never looked back.

[Sundancer330]

Looking at the specs for your van you will be fine. That trailer empty is 2540#, GVRW(max loaded) 3200#, tongue weight 305#. The van specs 3600# tow capacity, payload 1217#-305# tongue weight gives you 912# in people, dogs, luggage, food, coolers, etc, etc, this is where you need to do the math as only you know what will go in the van and you don't want to overload it since this is what causes overload problems. I see mini vans every weekend pulling all kinds of trailers with no problems. Some will have you believe that only a heavy duty truck will pull a trailer safely. You may not need a WDH, drive it and see how it feels. I pull a 40 foot offshore boat on a triple axle 50 foot trailer with no sway control or WDH and I don't even know its back there.

[NVGun40]

Originally Posted by chantunia

~snip: The minivan does not come with a towing package unfortunately, so I will need to install the tranny cooler, hitch, WD, sway bar and brake controllers.

So I was wondering the following,

1) do I need or do you recommend anything else to be installed in my minivan other than the items I just described? Could you kindly tell me the brand preferences for each item?

I would suggest an Air Bag Helper Spring kit.

https://www.suspensionconnection.com...van-grand.html

[DocBrown]

I have towed two different combos close to my capacities, including a 3500# hybrid trailer with a mini-van. It was setup right, it was safe, but as Mike said, towing with a "right sized" towing vehicle is night and day in comparison.

Keeping in mind that your kids are growing (additional weight), so will their desire for more and bigger things to bring along. Your payload will get eaten up faster than you may realize.

All that said, yes you can probably set it up right and for short trips you'll be just fine. You'll grow to hate the combo on long trips, when towing into 35mph+ winds, and long hills and mountains. Most people that do this upgrade the tow vehicle within 12-18 months.

[rkresge]

Originally Posted by chantunia

I am also planning to use a 2011 Grand Caravan R/T as my TV. The minivan does not come with a towing package unfortunately, so I will need to install the tranny cooler, hitch, WD, sway bar and brake controllers.

Based on my own experience towing a 165RB with a 2009 Grand Caravan, don't. Even after you add the transmission cooler and all the other stuff, it's still marginal for towing that much. We had radiator overheating issues when towing it over large hills (NOT mountains) and it really pulled the rear end of the car down, making it a bit unstable when towing even with WD. You can probably deal with short distances, say up to 50 miles - we did - but extended towing? Not.

Towing was much better when we upgraded from the Grand Caravan to a Ford F150 with factory tow package. And that let us upgrade our TT from the 165RB to a 23RLSW that we're *very* happy with.

Good luck!

Roger

[Desert RVers]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on getting a Jayco 154bh! As mentioned earlier, weights will be a major concern. If you can stay within the TV limits, then you should be ok. If your vehicle can handle using a weight distribution hitch, I would recommend doing it. Sway control would also be a good idea. We use an Equalizer brand 4-point hitch and it takes care of both. Have fun and keep us posted (with pics ) when you get the new Jayco.

[Stevarino]

I'm pulling a 184BH Swift XL with a 2004 Toyota mini van. I added tranny cooler, brake controller, WD, sway controll,air bags and McKesh mirrors. Left Indiana Dec 1st and have been through the Carolinas, down to Key West, back through the panhandle, then Cajun country and now I'm in Texas. It pulls fine. A few tips. Relax, 60 mph is fast enough. It's safe even though EVERYONE will pass you. Get your WD/air bags set up then dial them in using a CAT scale. Just changing air bag pressure can affect front axle weight by nearly 100 lbs. Sway bar is important in windy conditions. Can't recommend the mirrors highly enough. No more blind spots. Can't imagine lane changes without them.
Getting you rig set up is half the fun. Don't worry, you'll figure it all out!

[repacs0103]

The 154 BH is not a heavy trailer at all, that Caravan can handle it just fine. As others have said, it's the profile of the trailer that will affect you most in windy conditions. I'd get a sway control/weight distribution hitch and call it good. Here in the states people have developed an attitude over the years that you can only tow with a truck. People tow all sorts of trailers, many bigger and heavier than yours, with small fwd unibody cars in the rest of the world, especially Europe.

Fwiw I towed a rockwood 10' pop-up with a fwd Volvo V70 for 4 years. It weighed 1700# when loaded and had no trailer brakes and I didn't use a weight distribution hitch. We pulled it all over the country for well over 20,000 miles, usually at 65-70 mph and the car did great. The 154BH is within your tow rating, so It comes down to how confident you feel behind the wheel- if it's comfortable then run with it... if not, then upgrade.

[chantunia]

Thank you for your feedback guys

I believe I will go ahead and use the GC as my TV, taking all the necessary precautions.
I'd love a truck... but a 7 seater is something that we really need. Other option would be to upgrade the TV to a Durango or Highlander for example, but that would also be a unibody, correct? so I am not sure if it'd be worth it based on what you are advising.

Limitation on the speed side of things is not really a factor, I seldom drive over 60 anyways. Travelling light seems to be a must, so nothing goes in before being on the scale. Getting airbags is something I have not considered before, I need to do additional research but sounds like a good idea. I am not mechanically inclined .... any mechanic would be able to get that installed?

We will be doing some warming up during the Fall getting used to this new travelling experience, doing some short trips north of Ontario. Then the idea is to go to Orlando in the summer....not sure, may be this is too ambitious...perhaps something to do in 2018... I am getting very anxious, there more I read the more I find things to be worried about, hopefully everything becomes natural once we are finally on the road!

[rkresge]

You're getting a lot of "go ahead and do it anyway" advice. Sounds like me talking to my self a couple of years ago.

1. Have you checked your owner manual to see what that Grand Caravan is rated at for towing? Bet you'll find it's a MAX of about 3300 pounds, IF you have the factory tow package. It's a lot less without the factory tow package, even if you add the transmission cooler, brake controller and weight distribution hitch.
2. Towing a popup is far different than towing a travel trailer - you get a lot more wind resistance. Again, look at your owner's manual for how many square feet of front area you can safely tow. That was listed in the manual for my 2009 Grand Caravan.

Let me repeat that it will probably be OK for towing at short distances. Try it out and see, before you start thinking about major traveling with that setup. Good luck and enjoy!!


Roger

[bansai]

Agree with Roger, do some short test trips and you will know, one way or another.

Specs say my current combo is fine, but we've decided to get a new truck this spring.. good enough isn't usually good enough for me as it turns out.

[DocBrown]

Originally Posted by chantunia

Other option would be to upgrade the TV to a Durango or Highlander for example, but that would also be a unibody, correct? so I am not sure if it'd be worth it based on what you are advising.

Actually it would be well worth it. Unibody vehicles are not all created equal. Not to mention there is a lot of mis-understanding regarding uni-body and it's ability to tow. A Durango has a 7500# TC if I recall, is available with a V8, and would do a fine job towing that trailer.

[bono]

I do not know your TV from personal experience, but there are a lot of people using mini vans towing MUCH larger Airstreams. Maybe worth to find somebody with similar TV over Airstream Trailer & Motorhome Owners Community to have a proper discussion.

You can always reach out to Can-Am RV Centre, specifically, to Andy Thomson. His company set up thousands of vehicles to safely tow proper trailers. He would know the real life capabilities of your vehicle.

Durango is a proper 7 seater and the latest model is using the same platform as Mercedes GL (I heard this, not checked this). It is a highly rated TV.

[farnik78]

For whatever reason almost every rv owner goes through this. Whether you want to tow a 14,000 lb fifth wheel with a half ton pickup or tow a pop up with a minivan the bottom line is you will be happier in the long run if you have a tow vehicle that is more than what you need. You can spend several hundred dollars on your minivan trying to make it do something it just isn't capable of doing or you can just bite the bullet now and get a proper tow vehicle. A suburban or expedition will safely and comfortably tow your pop up and you will have plenty of seating.

[secal48]

When we traded our pup for a tt we also traded up from a grand caravan to the Durango. Our Durango came with the factory tow package and the big V8 so we are rated for 7200#'s. We still get looks on the road and in the campgrounds but we went from Chicago to mt Rushmore and back last summer without any problems. But definitely run through a CAT scale as soon as you can to make sure your weight and weight distribution are within limits. Have fun

[Murff]

After looking at this cute trailer, I can see the future! You will tow the trailer with the Caravan for one season and then, you will wish you had a bigger trailer! Of course, you will be unable to pull anything much bigger with the GC.

So, like many of us here on the JOF, you will get a new tow vehicle so you can get a larger trailer.

Since you asked for advice, and I offer this with all sincerity, skip the middle step, get an SUV or pick-up with a decent tow package and look at a larger trailer with bunks for the kids, a dinette for meals and a queen bed for you and mama. She will be happier! Trust me!

https://www.jayco.com/products/trave...feather/23bhm/

Murff

[Kenelz]

Another possibility is a full size van. They are made in every configuration. I have a friend that tows with a Ford 250 van, with a diesel engine. The van holds all his hobby stuff that he travels for.

Not that you need or can afford that, but there probably is one that will fit your needs.

[walter91]

I have a 154BH and have towed it ~2000 miles with my 2014 Honda Odyssey. I personally installed the towing equipment (hitch receiver, trans cooler, WD, brake controller) and depending on where you live and where you tow/camp, the minivan+154BH can be a great combo. I tow at ~62MPH on average (I just set the cruise unless I'm on a >5% grade) and I get 12-13MPG. No major issues. When heading up a 5-7% grade, I drive between 40-50MPH. I travel with my wife, two small sons, and a small dog. I find there is still a good amount of sway when large vehicles pass me going 75-80MPH on the freeway (15-20MPH speed difference), but nothing that is concerning to me or feels unsafe. Also, the tow mode handles downhill grades well by downshifting and keeping me off the brakes.

IF you want drive with children for more than 2 hours (at that point going 60MPH becomes intolerable for me) OR frequently travel up steep mountain grades, I recommend a larger TV in the long run. I just bought a Dodge Durango with the 5.7L HEMI because we decided we love the 154BH so much we want to travel farther and higher into the mountains (requirement here in southern AZ) than our initial plans.

I have no regrets about towing the trailer with my minivan initially, because I didn't have to invest in a new TV until I new we'd use the TT. Now though, I'm committed.

I hope this helps.

[bono]

How fast you are towing then?

I believe that many mini-vans on the market may provide a good towing experience (there are a few owners on the Airsteam forum towing >30 ft. trailers).

I agree that a bigger engine may be helpful, if you are often going through the mountains.

Originally Posted by walter91

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IF you want drive with children for more than 2 hours (at that point going 60MPH becomes intolerable for me) OR frequently travel up steep mountain grades, I recommend a larger TV in the long run. (...)