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Old 05-18-2009, 07:51 PM   #1
mikeandgina
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Default I'd be pulling with a Town and Country. Am I nuts?

Hi Everyone!
My wife and I want a Trailmanor but aren't sure we should get one. Our dilemma is towing with the T&C. It's kind of a catch 22-the T&C is a company car=free gas, but I'm not sure it can handle a TM. If in fact it can handle a TM (oh please oh please-lol), I'm wondering if I'd have to out fit it or if I can pull a TM without a tow package-hate to put money into a company vehicle. What to do, what to do?

Please let us know your thought. Are we nuts?

Mike
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Old 05-18-2009, 08:22 PM   #2
ED-n-KEL
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeandgina View Post
Hi Everyone!
My wife and I want a Trailmanor but aren't sure we should get one. Our dilemma is towing with the T&C. It's kind of a catch 22-the T&C is a company car=free gas, but I'm not sure it can handle a TM. If in fact it can handle a TM (oh please oh please-lol), I'm wondering if I'd have to out fit it or if I can pull a TM without a tow package-hate to put money into a company vehicle. What to do, what to do?

Please let us know your thought. Are we nuts?

Mike
Since you're not giving us any details on your particular vehicle, I grabbed a 2006 just for conversation sake, and they are rated from 2000-3500, depending on how equipped. You would need to do the homework and find out more about your model, but based on these figures alone, I wouldn't attempt it.
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Old 05-19-2009, 12:53 AM   #3
MariaG
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We tow with a Grand Caravan, BUT - it has all the towing upgrades, tranny cooler, heavy duty radiator, etc. and it's all wheel drive. Plus the fact that it's the Grand gives it a longer wheelbase. We also are VERY careful what we pack, have the one of the smallest/lightest TrailManors, and never take it into mountains or anything that would over tax it. And still I worry. We can't afford to replace it right now, but as soon as we can we'll be moving to something a little more robust to tow with.
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Old 05-19-2009, 06:25 AM   #4
rumbleweed
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There a a lot of posts here on towing with various vehicles, The key is to make sure the total weight of the TM and the TV do not exceed the total capacity of the TV, If that works and you are close to the max which I think you will be, you will need the complete tow package ( not just hitch and lights) and remember after you get it going, you need to stop it.
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Old 05-24-2009, 03:54 PM   #5
mikeandgina
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Can you tell me exactly what the complete tow package should include? I was at U-Haul today and I want to make sure we're all on the same page.

Thanks!
Mike
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Old 05-24-2009, 04:15 PM   #6
rumbleweed
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Smile

Many of the things I don't think you can get at U-haul. I strongly recommend transmission cooler, Heavy duty alternator and larger radiator. OEM packages usually include heavy duty brakes and HD transmission. In Lieu of these two, make sure you have your brakes checked. I would also suggest using
synthetic oil in the engine and transmission. Not sure what the TV has for gauges, but you might also consider a scan gauge ( link Below), It plugs into the ODBII diagnostic port and will allow you to monitor the TV performance and catch problems early on. Remember to not only do you have to get the rig going, but you have o stop it also.

http://www.scangauge.com/products/
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Old 05-24-2009, 07:51 PM   #7
Ryan_CET
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Default T&C will tow

I tow our TM SD2720 with our 2007 T&C and it pulls just fine, even through the hills of Ga and SC. The Town & Country Touring or Limited Edition both have a 3.8 L engine so there's no problem with power. It's rated at 3500 with a class III hitch and we have the equalizer weight distribution which brings it up to 4K, and the 3.8 already has the HD alternator. I do recommend the transmission cooler, and if your van has any miles on its a good idea to have the tranny flushed and a filter change. I had mine installed at U-haul and the tranny work done at the dealer. Remember to tell U-Haul if you have stow&go seats, because their is a difference in the hitches, You have to have a 2x2 receiver to tow a TM. You'll need a seven pin electrical connector and have U-Haul run the extra B+ line with a 40 Amp circuit breaker. U-Haul will put you in a Valley HD brake controller which is a timed controller. They are a little bit of a pain to set up but they work great and fit nice on the lower dash just to the right of the steering colum. Also ask you Uhaul dealer to put on a pulse limiter which will prevent the brake controller from applying the brakes if you need to drive with the 4 way flashers on. One last thing... I had new struts and shock put on. The struts are monroe sensatrack and the shocks are heavy duty leveling (the ones with the springs). That really helped with the handling. The way my van is set up I could actually handle a larger size TM, but the wife and I like the layout of the 2720SD.

If you have the 3.3L T&C...time to upgrade.

Ryan_CET
Merritt Island, Fl
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Old 05-25-2009, 02:12 PM   #8
mikeandgina
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Thanks so much everyone. Your information is invaluable. I'll be talking to U-Haul this week-wish me luck!

Mike
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Old 05-25-2009, 06:59 PM   #9
Wavery
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeandgina View Post
Thanks so much everyone. Your information is invaluable. I'll be talking to U-Haul this week-wish me luck!

Mike
You may want to be very careful about the "Legal and technical advice" that you receive on the internet.

Many people tow many things with many types of vehicles. That doesn't make it legal or even prudent.

If you really want to know if the T&C that you have is up to the task, you will need to find out what the GCWR (Gross COMBINED Weight Rating) is. Tow ratings tell you very little. MAXIMUM Tow Ratings are just that and usually calculated on an empty vehicle. Not many people go camping without passengers and cargo. You usually have to subtract the weight of your passengers and cargo from the tow rating on most vehicles. If you are carrying a family of 4 and 1500# of cargo, your 3500# tow rating could easily be cut to 1500# due to the excess weight that the total COMBINED package has now become.

Take the GCWR and subtract the vehicle's dry weight. This will tell you what the vehicle can legally tow including the fully loaded trailer, passengers, cargo and fuel. Remember, these weight ratings are maximum legal limits, not recommendations.

This may be particularly important in your case as your boss may not take kindly to you getting in an accident because you were towing with a company vehicle that may not be designed for that use. If there are injuries or fatalities involved, I can guaranty you that your company would be named in a civil suite, especially if they have deep pockets. You could also find yourself being charged with criminal negligence. It's best to get the facts and use them to your advantage rather than ignore them.

Telling the judge that you got your advice on the internet may not exonerate you, neither will teliing him, "Lots of other people do it".. I would suggest getting the legal limits that your vehicle was designed for from Chrysler and get it in writing. It should be in the vehicle's Owner's Manual.

Although adding a trans cooler and HD brakes etc are all very good things to do, they do not change the legal weight ratings on the vehicle. Neither does a weight distribution hitch. These things protect the vehicle's mechanical devices but do little to protect others. The legal weight limits are designed to protect others by being sure that the vehicle is designed to STOP a maximum load in a minimum stopping distance (among other things).
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Old 05-31-2009, 09:29 PM   #10
Mr. Adventure
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Originally Posted by harveyrv View Post
"You may want to be very careful about the "Legal and technical advice" that you receive on the internet."

"I can guaranty you that your company would be named in a civil suite, especially if they have deep pockets. You could also find yourself being charged with criminal negligence. It's best to get the facts and use them to your advantage rather than ignore them."
Harvey,
You're way out of bounds here.

First, you're not a lawyer and you shouldn't be giving people legal advice. You can't spell "civil suit" let alone address the issues involved in establishing the proper case for one. You certainly can't guarantee ANYTHING.

Second, If you happen to know of a single case anywhere in America where a trial judge had the attention span to get down to the liabilities presented by a recreational vehicle that's 15% overweight to make it "criminal negligence", please share it with us. Our TrailManor owners have trouble figuring through the numbing details of these things, and I'd be surprised to hear of police or judges who weren't satisfied with "failure to maintain control of a motor vehicle", "driving too fast for conditions", or "following too closely behind another vehicle" in favor of much harder to prove charges.

And Third, There are a lot of variables, some of which can cause accidents and some which just cause transmission repairs, and it's not always easy to know which is which. The presence or absence of a transmission cooler doesn't seem like a safety item to me.

Let's allow the justice meted by our wives and warranty holders to prevail in cases of equipment failures, instead of prematurely involving the lawyers and courts!
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