Towing with a minivan

i forgot to put when i bought the trailer from a dealer just before the trip he told me the previous owner just put new tires on it! So i had no fear! they looked new, then when i had the blowout the tires just peeled like an orange!

[Mr. Adventure]

The most important thing we don't know about you is how you are planning to use your TrailManor. People out west go boondocking, some to extremes with lots of extra toys and stuff. Boondocking for them means carrying enough water and supplies to be self contained for several days, many miles from the nearest convenience store. On the east coast, we are more likely to be staying in campgrounds with hookups, where we don't need to carry generators or water in the trailer and where we can dump our holding tanks before we leave. For one recent poster, just the water and the extra battery he carries total over 460 of the 1100 pounds he routinely deploys with when he goes camping in the boondocks.

Please read your owner's manual carefully in the towing section. I believe what you will discover is that you can easily keep a 2619 under 3500# as long as you travel lighter than the boondockers, and I also believe that when you consider the tongue weight of the TrailManor, you'll need to travel light in the Sienna as well, if you're going to stay under the gross vehicle weight rating. I'll add an editorial that no recreational vehicle is designed to go 70mph in traffic, and towing requires substantially more care and attention than ordinary driving.

I don't remember a Toyota owner posting here of power train problems they attributed to towing (do a search, and see the posts). The opinions of Toyota Sienna owners who have actually towed TrailManors are worth quite a bit more than the opinions of the rest of us.

But, you should consider the towing package to be mandatory (get competent help adding the missing features if you don't have it), and do not even think of towing a TrailManor without a weight distributing hitch.

And from my own experience, in a typical year, I tow less than 10% of my total vehicle miles. This is a different experience for my Toyota than if I towed 10000 miles per year as some people do here, and for that I'd probably prefer the 4Runner to my Highlander. But it wouldn't keep me from doing it!

[Wavery]

I would just caution anyone from making a decision on a TV based of the recommendations of others that have not had problems. I would encourage you to do your homework and be responsible for your own decisions. In the event that something bad does happen, I can pretty well assure you that person will not be there for you. Their experience has little to do with what may or may not happen in your experience.

Some people have sailed around the world in small boats and not had problems or flown small airplanes across the country without a problem......others have died doing the exact same thing. No 2 people will never have the exact same experience.

I would recommend that you respect the limits of the vehicle and know the weight of the trailer, passengers and cargo before making a decision like this.

BTW, picking a fictitious # out of the air is not safe. Only you can answer the question of what is a "Safe" weight consideration. My trailer weighs over 4,000# fully loaded and there is just my wife and myself. My 2006 Chevy Silverado V8, 1/2 ton pick-up is pretty maxed out on the specs but they may be different from your exact set-up.

I was planning on using the camper every other weekend and once a summer driving about six hours away. I don't have a hitch yet, does that add weight to my tow rating? How about sway bars? I'm trying to decide if I should get one that I found for a great deal or wait until I can purchase a truck. I feel that if I wait that I should think about a bigger Trailmanor or one that doesn't fold down. Does anyone feel that Trailmanor's are a lot of work? Thank you.

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by trailmanor123

I was planning on using the camper every other weekend and once a summer driving about six hours away. I don't have a hitch yet, does that add weight to my tow rating? How about sway bars? I'm trying to decide if I should get one that I found for a great deal or wait until I can purchase a truck. I feel that if I wait that I should think about a bigger Trailmanor or one that doesn't fold down. Does anyone feel that Trailmanor's are a lot of work? Thank you.

That's about the same as we use our TM......

If your vehicle does not have a hitch, it does not have a factory tow package. Adding a hitch will merely give you the minimum tow rating that comes on the standard van. You can't tow anything without a hitch. If you are asking if the hitch adds weight to the vehicle, thus lowering the available tow rating........yes it does, by the weight of the hitch.

Sway bars are not required on a Trailmanor on most vehicles.

The Trailmanor is ~more work at set-up than a travel trailer. That work is far out-weighed by the advantages of the TM for some owners. One of the advantages is that it can be towed with a vehicle that has a 5,000# tow rating. I would not tow most travel trailers with a 5,000# tow rating..

Originally Posted by harveyrv

If your vehicle does not have a hitch, it does not have a factory tow package. Adding a hitch will merely give you the minimum tow rating that comes on the standard van. You can't tow anything without a hitch.

One minor quibble...

Our 2006 Sienna included a factory "tow prep" package that did not include the hitch receiver or wiring for the trailer harness. It did however, include a heavier duty alternator and transmission cooler. So it was sort of half way in between having and not having a factory tow package.

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by M&M Hokie

One minor quibble...

Our 2006 Sienna included a factory "tow prep" package that did not include the hitch receiver or wiring for the trailer harness. It did however, include a heavier duty alternator and transmission cooler. So it was sort of half way in between having and not having a factory tow package.

Thanks.......that's good to know. Kinda weird....but good to know. The OP should determine if the vehicle has the "Tow Prep pkg" to determine what the rating is on the vehicle......

Yeah, Toyota likes to do that. Our Highlander was the same, had a tow package, but no hitch. That way they had a chance to make a little more money off you.

I did like others here, I wasn't sure how the '08 Highlander would do (5000 lb rating), but decided to go for it any way. I towed with it 4 times, it did OK (I live in Colorado) but it seemed to be a lot of stress on it. We liked the Highlander so much, I didn't want to put the additional wear on it. It needs to last for a long time! With my Subaru close to 200,000 miles on it, I traded for the Tundra. It was a good move for us.

As far as work...it takes my wife and I (mainly me) about 20 minutes to set up and get connected when we are in a RV park. Like mentioned above, considering the advantages of the TM, it's really no work at all. And I had the same concerns you do. I am currently on the Oregon coast, 1400 miles from home with the TM, we hit bad winds across Idaho and into Oregon. There were areas where people towing the full size trailers were pulled over, or going about 25 MPH. I was holding steady at 65MPH with just a little bit of sideways push from the wind on the higher gusts. I would have slowed down if i did not feel safe. Good luck with your search and decision, it will be worth it, we LOVE the TM! But I have to admit, I do wish we had gone for the 2720, even though there are only 2 of us, the DW manages to use most of the room. :-)

[ThePair]

All Toyota Siennas of 2007 or earlier have all the towing engine parts needed. The tow package added the hitch, and maybe a 4-pin connector. The engines, etc. are all identical for those model years. 2008 is the first year that there were extra engine parts (oil cooler) included in the tow prep package.

Adding a 4 pin connector is simplicity, and adding a 2" hitch is an inexpensive task for a hitch shop. Converting the 4 pin to a 7 pin is a larger job, but there are instructions available if you wanted to try to tackle it yourself (I did, and I have no experience whatsoever, took me an afternoon to get the job done).

Originally Posted by seandunn1020

i know it is unbelievable, i think the whole key was I thought the tires were new so they did not fail me, and god had a little to do with it. Then i went without my family and just a friend we went on a 3 hr trip and then i had a blow out and when i went to get the tires replaced the mechanic told me they were 10 yrs old, i would have never took my family across the country with old tires! At least when I had the blow out when i did not have any kids with me! I am just thankful that it happened after our long trip. I think the siennas can tow more weight than they say. It was easy towing even at 70-75, it was my first time towing the trailmanor and i never looked at the website so I was just being dumb. Now after reading all the tire stories i dont drive over 65. I guess somethings are better off if you dont know any better! for what it is worth the original tires were the goodyear marathons.

Glad you found this site so that your future trips will be slower, safer, and hopefully without any more tire mishaps.