Confused to Tow

I tow my 2009.5 2720 with a 2000 Honda minivan and it does just fine. I have a weight distribution hitch and added a transmission cooler. I've towed it full of water (46 gallons- 40 +6 ), 3 adults and a dog. What year Quest do you have? I had one several years ago and liked it, but as it was one of the earlier ones; it had one of the smaller 6 cylinder engines-151 hp and if it that siaze, I'd think would be underpowered.

PS Jerry how do you like your Venza? Am considering one for my next TV.

After reading a few other comments I'd add two additional points:
1. According to my Honda Odyssey Owner's Manual and I quote "As shown in the load limits table, how much weight you can tow is limited by the number of occupants in your vehicle and whether or not you have installed a transmission cooler." For ex from the table 2 occupants wtc 3500#, wotc only 2000# . they calulate and deduct 150# for each occupant so 4 occupants lowers the towing to 3200# with tc and 1700# wotc. So having a transmission cooler significantly increases your towing capacity, at least according to Honda.
2. I understand that advertising is just that, but TM entire concept is based on using a common (and appropirate) vehicle one may find in garages across the country. TM did their "gas test" using a Honda Odyssey. I understand their point was to demonstrate utility and efficiency of a TM, not how fast it could tow up a mountain, but I don't think they "threatened" anybody's safety. Lastly, some of you may have met Steve who was a TM rep who traveled around the country towing his 2720 with a Chrysler miniwan-I know as I saw it in Hershey Pa. Again, he was a traveling ad for TM, but his tv sure seemed to get the job done.

I don't understand why they told you that. We have a Toyota Sienna, also rated at 3500# towing and we tow a 3023 (2900# empty). We have towed it all over the western US and it seems up to it. It has enough power and just enough brakes. We did purchase ours with the towing package (hitch, trans cooler, etc) but otherwise we have only added the electric brake control.
Have fun with your new (or used) TrailManor!

Art

I have a 2003 Chev S10 extended cab 4.3l engine. It has a tow rating of 5600lbs. I'm looking at a 2009 2720sl. Has anyone pulled a similar TM with a S10.

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by Patrick Crotty

I have a 2003 Chev S10 extended cab 4.3l engine. It has a tow rating of 5600lbs. I'm looking at a 2009 2720sl. Has anyone pulled a similar TM with a S10.

We had a 2001 S10 when we 1st bought our 2720TM. It actually has as much (if not more) towing "Power" as our current Sierra 1500 V8. That 4.3L engine has a lot of low RPM torque and is great for towing.

We went to a full sized truck because the S10 MUST use a WDH to have safe braking. Without the WDH, the S10 is far too light on the front axle and really scary to tow a trailer with 500# tongue weight. With the WDH....braking is acceptable but I never towed on wet roads with it. I would still be a little leery.

The S10 is very light for such a heavy trailer. I have a bad back and have chosen not to use a WDH.....Our larger truck does fine without it (even on wet roads) but that was not an option IMO on the S10. The S10 with the WDH is moderately acceptable IMO.

[Virginia Deacon]

As menioned above, your Owners Manual should have all the information you need, to decide whether you can safely tow a TrailManor

I tow our 2720SL with a six-cylinder Ford Explorer XLT (four door). And, I insisted on a weight-distributing hitch, based on my previous experience towing Coleman popups. Because the fully-loaded TrailManor weighs about the same as the tow vehicle, I need to

- Be patient climbing steep hills in a lower gear,
- Allow extra stopping distance between myself and the vehicle in front of me, and
- Anticipate, anticipate, anticipate situations while traveling, to avoid getting trapped in a situation a more powerful SUV would be able to get around.

My experience is that dealers are in the business of selling cars (duh), and they will say anything to make you think you need to replace your present vehicle.

Happy Camping!

[scrubjaysnest]

Originally Posted by Patrick Crotty

I have a 2003 Chev S10 extended cab 4.3l engine. It has a tow rating of 5600lbs. I'm looking at a 2009 2720sl. Has anyone pulled a similar TM with a S10.

We had a 2001 S10 with the same motor. It was the crew cab version with 4 wheel drive. It could barely tow our pop-up in the Carolinas and West Virgina. We went to a 4.8L v8 and had no problems towing the pop-up. The pop-up loaded was about 700 lbs less then the 2720SL we now have dry. I wouldn't even trying pulling a TM with the S10.

Thanks for the input. I do have a WDH. I'm going to tow one this weekend to see what it will do. I have a trailer that I load with a yard and half of dense soil (clay) and the S10 pulls well, but because it usually is not loaded the same each time, there are some tense moments. The trailer weight is 1200lb and a yard of the soil is about 3000lbs. So I'm pulling well over 4000lbs. Stopping is a problem, the trailer has no brakes. So since the TM has brakes that should be a good experence for me. Thanks again!

[Virginia Deacon]

Does the Honda Owners Manual still recommend using High Test, instead of Regular, gasoline when towing? A couple years ago, we were looking forward to buying a Honda Ridgeline to tow our TrailManor. That was one of the deal-breakers for us. I'm glad we kept our Ford Explorer; it has 96,000 miles and meets all our towing needs.

Originally Posted by Patrick Crotty

Thanks for the input. I do have a WDH. I'm going to tow one this weekend to see what it will do. I have a trailer that I load with a yard and half of dense soil (clay) and the S10 pulls well, but because it usually is not loaded the same each time, there are some tense moments. The trailer weight is 1200lb and a yard of the soil is about 3000lbs. So I'm pulling well over 4000lbs. Stopping is a problem, the trailer has no brakes. So since the TM has brakes that should be a good experence for me. Thanks again!

You obviously are not in California. California requires trailer brakes on all non camper trailers with a capacity greater than2,400 pounds.

The weight limit is lower for camper trailers. I have no idea why.

I have accidentally tested what happens when I brake hard enough to engage the trucks ABS while executing a stop from 45 mph. I was impressed with the result.