Confused about Dodge Caravan's towing ability

[t6817rm]

I'm confused. According to www.dodge.com the towing capacity for the grand caravan is 1800 pounds, yet I know other people have towed heavier popups with a minivan. fleetwood.com even shows a setup video for the santa fe popup, which I think weighs 3,000 lbs, in which a minivan is the tow vehicle. And I see another topic in here about someone setting up his own towing package for the minivan and I didn't see anyone warning him that the minvan shouldn't be used for towing popups. I'm considering getting the minivan but won't if it's not capable of towing my Fleetwood Colonial popup. Any comments or advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Will]

When we bought our Grand Caravan we were told, by the service manager, to not even bother putting a trailer hitch on the van.  He said that the transaxles were too weak to be reliable on a long tow.  My experince with Chrysler transmissions says he was right.  Caravan trannys are weak.  A small popup trailer is the most you would be able to tow without replacing transmissions every year.

Old Astro vans and Aerostars were good towers, being rear-wheel-drive truck-based vans.  Alas the Astro, the last truck-based van, was discontinued last year.

Look at the Honda Pilot.  Still a car based SUV, but rated for towing 5000lbs.

[t6817rm]

Unfortunately, but also fortunately, I work for the company so I pretty much have to drive one of their products. I currently have a Jeep which I love but my wife really misses the Grand Caravan, which admiitedly is a more comfortable vehicle. I'm happy to stick with Jeep or possibly a Durango. But if I can please my wife and save gas money, I'm all for that too.

[Will]

Older Caravans were rated for higher towing, but I think the Stow and Go seats added lots of weight, subtracting from the GVWR.

Check the sales literature from dealerships.  I check the Mopar sites often and they are prone to misprints.  The Grand Caravan with the 3.8 may still be able to tow more weight than that.  I would, nevertheless, insist on the towing package with transmission oil cooler.

Sticking strictly with the Chrysler lineup, the Pacifica is rated for 3500lbs, and is available with a much nicer 4.0L engine.

[Carl L]

There is something confusing here.  The Trailer Life 2006 tables show ratings as high as 3800 lbs on some models of caravan.   The usual rule is the mfr ratings have priority, but this might be worth checking out.  If you work for the company, get ahold of someone not a salesman and find out what models or equipment options of the GC will premit maximum towing ratings and what those ratings are.  

[BernieD]

I know that many things have changed since then, but we had a 1995 Dodge Grand Caravan with the factory towing package. It was rated for 3,500 #s and we towed a 3,800 # loaded trailer with it for 3 years until we traded it in on our motor home.

[IrishBrewer]

I must be the exception to the rule with the Caravans and towing.  I bought the van used with about 50K miles on it and I took it to my mechanic to go over prior to purchasing.  He had seen a lot of Caravans with transmission problems but few that had the overdrive transmission.  The engine is the 3.3L.  I did change out the transmission fluid and filter a while back.  If you do so, just make sure to use the recommended ATF fluid despite what anyone else may tell you.  These dodge trannys are very picky about the fluild.

I bought a popup camper this summer and have been towing it with my Grand Caravan after making the following modifications.

1.  External tranny cooler mounted in front of the radiator and A/C condensor to supplement the stock cooler that is part of the radiator.

2.  Replaced stock rear shocks with some good quality heavy duty shocks.

3.  Installed leaf helper springs in the rear.

4.  Class III Reese hitch (Class II would also work fine), 5" rise ball mount & trailer wiring.

The only thing I would change about this setup is to get a different hitch that doesn't ride so low.  If the hitch receiver bar is welded to the cross bar such that they are in the same plane rather than the recever being below the cross bar, you would have a couple inches of additional clearance.  As it is, I have to be careful not to pull into any gas stations where there is a significant dip in the pavement when towing.

The popup is 2000 empty and the GVW is up to 3000 lb.  I've never weighed it loaded so I'm not sure where we're at but I would guess it is about 2400 lb.

Took it on a couple short trips to get the bugs worked prior to a big 1200 mile trip (each way) to Oklahoma for 10 days.  Mostly interstate driving.

The van did great and I drove it in overdrive on the flat sections and shifted into 3rd in hilly areas.  Avg MPG was a little over 18.  I didn't feel any need for additional sway control but electric brakes on the trailer would give me a little more piece of mind.

I now have about 145K miles on this vehicle and it is still going with its original tranny. 

My wife thought that the long trip would be the death of this vehicle but even she was very surprised as to how well it towed.  I think she thought that this would be her oppertunity to get a new(er) vehicle but I keep telling her I expect to get another 100K out of it.

[Six Pack]

I have a 2006 Dodge Caravan 3.3L with factory tow package with braking system that I purchased in March of this year, we had a 2004 Coachman Clippers 1070ST with brakes(not sure of the weight).  Before hauling with the van I checked the owners manual and it said "tow rating 3800lbs with 2 audults, 2 children and carry on bags.  For a little extra since there were only 3 of us and a dog we took out the middle seat and moved the back one ahead.  Never had a problem.  My next door neighbor also tows an older, heavier 12' model pup with his Caravan with 3 kids.

Here is where it gets interesting; in June I upgraded to a 2007 Rockwood Roo 21SS GVWR 4753lbs., pulled it with the van for the rest ogf the season.  After the season end I have since purchased another TV (2003 Dodge Durango 4.7L V8).  I would not recommend this combination (Caravan/Roo 21SS) for those who have have not experience towing trailers.

Jeff

[RV Roamer]

Irishrewer,
You are well within the Caravan's tow rating and it should perform well and not suffer any undue stress because of it.  Adding the tranny cooler was wise - just keep changing that fluid regularly. Heat is the #1 enemy of auto transmissions and ATF and fresh clean ATF is one way to minimize the possibility of damage.

[Carl L]

Irishrewer,
 Heat is the #1 enemy of auto transmissions and ATF and fresh clean ATF is one way to minimize the possibility of damage.

Power drain and replace once a year before the towing season like clock work is the way to go.

[MikeOrion]

Hello Everyone,

I'm new to the forum and have a new pop up camper.  Been talking about buying one for seven years and did it last year.  The wife and kids are happy, so much for procrastination.  As for your towing rating I can help.  Most of the high end packages for Dodge/Chrysler minivan's have the tow package option, which I highly recommend.  Our powertrain is tested on extreme conditions and at full rated conditions (Max Load).  To put it simply we load a trailer at the max weight we qualified for and pull it up mountains, deserts, through death valley to make sure it lives.  The two most important grades we run the vehicles up is the grapevine and bakers grade in the middle of the summer.  The powertrain will live but you have to have the tow package.
The towing package is usually matched up with the high end engines (3.8L/4.0L with the 62TE trans).
Includes:
•Heavy Duty Engine Cooling
•Engine Oil Cooler
•Heavy Duty Radiator
•Heavy Duty Transmission Oil Cooler
•Load Leveling and Height Control
•Trailer Tow Wiring Harness (7-Way)

http://www.dodge.com/en/towing_payload/2009/

My wife and I have 139,000 miles on ours and still running like a champ.

Take Care,
Mike

[RV Roamer]

HI Mike and welcome to RV Forum. Glad you joined us and hope you will stick around and participate.

You probably didn't notice but the discussion you replied to is almost 3 years old. Nothing wrong with that, but thought I would mention it so you  were not expecting a reply from the original poster.