[fcatwo]

Thinking further about your situation and assuming the 300 is still under warranty, I'll offer a few more personal opinions. I would forget camping and concentrate on just getting the TM home. Considering the temperatures back your way I would travel at night or at least in the cooler parts of the day. I'd also strip all but the front seat out of the 300, stay in motels and travel with little more than a toothbrush.

We towed our 2619 for 20,000 trouble-free miles with an 02 Honda Odyssey minivan which was car-based like your 300, had the same 350/3500 tow limits but had a longer wheelbase, a factory tow package and was bigger and heavier. We removed the 2nd and 3rd row seats in the Ody and packed like we were going on a backpacking trip but were still within a few lbs of our allowed GCWR. We also traveled in spring/fall to avoid the heat.

I recently visited an owner's web site for a larger mid-size luxury SUV and a "towing" search brought up a lot of discussion of whether they could be towed behind a motor home but nothing about using them as a tow vehicle for anything other than small boats -- and even that was limited. you'll probably find the same thing on the 300 owner's site.

I should tell you that I'm a little conservative so you'll want to keep that in mind while considering my opinions. I don't wear a belt and suspenders with my elastic waist pants like some guys here but I'm not far from that :-).