[Bill]

Barry -

There is more to it than that. The following points are taken from the 2008 Saturn Vue web site.

First, in order to reach a 3500-pound tow capacity, your Saturn must have a 6-cylinder engine. The Vue with the 4-cylinder engine has no useful towing capacity, and cannot be modifed to tow a TM.

Second, in order to reach a 3500-pound towing capcity, your Vue must be "properly equipped". That implies a factory-installed towing package, which will include wiring, a hitch receiver, a transmission cooler, and quite possibly a beefed-up suspension. Realistically, you can't simply add the wiring and the hitch receiver and call it good.

Third, in order to reach a 3500-pound towing capacity, your Saturn, when towing, must have NO passengers, NO factory options, NO aftermarket options, and NO cargo. Under "Towing Capacity", the web site says

"Maximum trailer weight ratings are calculated assuming a base vehicle ... plus driver. The weight of other optional equipment, passengers, and cargo will reduce the maximum trailer weight your vehicle can tow."

Next, you need to look at the weight of your trailer. This means the drive-away ready-to-camp weight, not the dry weight. The dry weight does not include any factory options you may have chosen for the trailer (air conditioner, awning, etc). It does not include any stuff that you carry inside the trailer (microwave, food, dishes and silverware, TV, clothes, tools, books, etc.) It does not include any fluids (water in the tanks, propane, etc) And it may not include a battery - I'm not sure about that any more. Most people find that no matter how lightly they pack, the ready-to-camp TM weighs 800-1000 pounds more than the dry weight, and to their credit, TM points this out on their web site.

So the real-life situation is that your vehicle will safely tow considerably less than the nominal tow rating. And the TM weighs considerably more than the nominal dry weight. Can you make this work? That's for you to ponder and decide. And of course, it also depends on where you will tow - flatlands vs mountains.

Having said all that, let me also say that we have a few members on this board who do tow with a 3500-pound rated vehicle, and apparently do so successfully. You might do well to search them out using the Search tool (or perhaps they will respond to this thread), correspond with a couple of them, and get their experiences.

Bill