My brother is trying to trailer a 19' boat using a 1998 Plymouth Voyager
Minivan which supposedly has some sort of "towing package 2".

His trailer has hydraulic brakes....

When he towed the boat, he said the van was "bucking". Can a 6-cylinder,
3.3 liter minivan trailer a 2700 pound boat? Do you think the problem is
related to the minivan or is this likely something to do with the hydraulic
brakes on the trailer? Any thoughts?

Thanks

"whitespc1" wrote in message
...
My brother is trying to trailer a 19' boat using a 1998 Plymouth Voyager
Minivan which supposedly has some sort of "towing package 2".

His trailer has hydraulic brakes....

When he towed the boat, he said the van was "bucking". Can a 6-cylinder,
3.3 liter minivan trailer a 2700 pound boat?

Yes -- I've been towing a 26' sailboat boat that's right around that weight
with a '97 Grand Voyager with the 3.3 and the towing package.

Do you think the problem is
related to the minivan or is this likely something to do with the
hydraulic
brakes on the trailer? Any thoughts?


I'd suspect the tongue weight being too light as the most likely
culprit--though, I don't get what I'd call 'bucking' when it's too light,
but there's a definite tendency for the boat to sway.

Mark Weaver

"whitespc1" wrote in message ...
My brother is trying to trailer a 19' boat using a 1998 Plymouth Voyager
Minivan which supposedly has some sort of "towing package 2".

His trailer has hydraulic brakes....

When he towed the boat, he said the van was "bucking". Can a 6-cylinder,
3.3 liter minivan trailer a 2700 pound boat? Do you think the problem is
related to the minivan or is this likely something to do with the hydraulic
brakes on the trailer? Any thoughts?

Thanks

I've towed my 3500# skiboat with a minivan for 20,000-plus miles. It's
a Honda, not a Mopar product; but if you check rec.sport.waterski, Tom
Ruta on that ng tows his skiboat with a Mopar minivan.

I suspect tongue weight or other trailer issues, rather than the
minivan.

Frank

"whitespc1" wrote...
My brother is trying to trailer a 19' boat using a 1998 Plymouth Voyager
Minivan which supposedly has some sort of "towing package 2".

His trailer has hydraulic brakes....

When he towed the boat, he said the van was "bucking".

That's rather vague. Could it be an engine or drivetrain problem unrelated to trailering?

... Can a 6-cylinder,
3.3 liter minivan trailer a 2700 pound boat? Do you think the problem is
related to the minivan or is this likely something to do with the hydraulic
brakes on the trailer? Any thoughts?

The vehicle seems a little light to be towing this heavy a boat, what do you suppose the trailer &
motor & everything loaded into the boat weigh? Good thing he has trailer brakes!




Frank and Ronnie Maier wrote:
I've towed my 3500# skiboat with a minivan for 20,000-plus miles.

That doesn't make it smart, or safe. Sorry, but if you were exceeding the GCVW then that's bad. I am
happy for you that you did not have an accident or shred some key drivetrain component.

Remember, the van not only has to get the trailer moving, it also has to stop it (although trailer
brakes help a lot) and steer it too. Check the owners manual, if you are exceeding the weight rating
then you deserve a big ticket and/or a busted tranny. Nobody wants you killing their family on the
highway with an unsafe vehicle.

Actually I'd suggest dropping at least 10% below the recommended max, especially for long distance
trailering.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

DSK wrote:
Frank and Ronnie Maier wrote:
I've towed my 3500# skiboat with a minivan for 20,000-plus miles.

That doesn't make it smart, or safe. Sorry, but if you were exceeding the GCVW then that's bad. I am
happy for you that you did not have an accident or shred some key drivetrain component.

Remember, the van not only has to get the trailer moving, it also has to stop it (although trailer
brakes help a lot) and steer it too. Check the owners manual, if you are exceeding the weight rating
then you deserve a big ticket and/or a busted tranny. Nobody wants you killing their family on the
highway with an unsafe vehicle.

Actually I'd suggest dropping at least 10% below the recommended max, especially for long distance
trailering.

Thanks for your concern; but I checked this out before I spent $26K on
this car. I'd rather be at the limit with a Honda or Toyota than 25%
below the limit with a Detroit product. And my family's vehicle safety
is of great concern to me, especially since my sister was killed in a
car wreck when we were young when we were hit by someone towing a
trailer. That's part of why I bought the Honda.

Feeling the need to use a F350 to tow a skiboat is like sailing a boat
with a full keel and low aspect ratio. Some people find it "necessary"
but it ain't my cup of tea.

So, you can shove your smug, supercilious attitude up your... pipe and
smoke it.

YMMV,

Frank (Speaking of which, my mileage is twice what my father-in-law
gets with his big Ford truck and I can fit in a regular parking space
when I go to the supermarket.)

Chrysler minivans w/towing are rated to tow up to a 3800# trailer.

Hmm, that means that a 3500# pound boat will only be... how much? ... over the
limit? I guess the trailer,
the fuel, the coolers, etc etc are weightless?

Frank and Ronnie Maier wrote:


Thanks for your concern; but I checked this out before I spent $26K on
this car. I'd rather be at the limit with a Honda or Toyota than 25%
below the limit with a Detroit product.

Since Hondas and Toyotas are both built in the USA I'm not sure how this
figures.

I have mentioned this before, but it is important to check you vehicle's GVWT
(gross vehicle weight towing). This is the max that you can tow and safely stop
as this is the max that the tow vehicle can handle. You can tow heavier loads if
within the tongue weight, but you can't stop with the brakes in a panic stop
that sometime happens out there on the road when being in a group of crazies out
there.
have towed travel trailers for years and stayed within the specs and no
problems.

Leanne

"DSK" wrote in message
...
Obviously this is not my day.

Mark Weaver wrote:


Chrysler minivans w/towing are rated to tow up to a 3800# trailer.

Hmm, that means that a 3500# pound boat will only be... how much? ... over
the limit? I guess the trailer,
the fuel, the coolers, etc etc are weightless?


And do you KNOW he didn't include the weight of the whole rig when providing
the 3500# estimate?

Mark Weaver wrote:


And do you KNOW he didn't include the weight of the whole rig when providing
the 3500# estimate?

No, but a familiarity with ski boat displacements suggest strongly that he
didn't. For one accustomed to sailboat specs, motorboats are surprisingly heavy.

DSK

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On Sun, 27 Jul 2003 22:13:32 -0400,
Leanne wrote:
Chrysler minivans w/towing are rated to tow up to a 3800# trailer.

Hmm, that means that a 3500# pound boat will only be... how much? ... over the
limit? I guess the trailer,
the fuel, the coolers, etc etc are weightless?

Frank and Ronnie Maier wrote:


Thanks for your concern; but I checked this out before I spent $26K on
this car. I'd rather be at the limit with a Honda or Toyota than 25%
below the limit with a Detroit product.

Since Hondas and Toyotas are both built in the USA I'm not sure how this
figures.

I have mentioned this before, but it is important to check you
vehicle's GVWT (gross vehicle weight towing). This is the max that you
can tow and safely stop as this is the max that the tow vehicle can
handle. You can tow heavier loads if within the tongue weight, but you
can't stop with the brakes in a panic stop that sometime happens out
there on the road when being in a group of crazies out there. have
towed travel trailers for years and stayed within the specs and no
problems.

Leanne




Not to mention, that if you exceed the max, and get into any kind of
accident, even one that is entirely not your fault, the insurance
company will most likely dump you for violating the safety procedures
by exceeding said GVWT.


- -- Jim Richardson http://www.eskimo.com/~warlock

Linux, because eventually, you grow up enough to be trusted with a fork()

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DSK wrote:
Obviously this is not my day.

Mark Weaver wrote:
Chrysler minivans w/towing are rated to tow up to a 3800# trailer.

Hmm, that means that a 3500# pound boat will only be... how much? ... over the limit? I guess the trailer,
the fuel, the coolers, etc etc are weightless?

The 3500# number was me. The original poster asked about 2700#; and my
assumption was that we were talking about being wet and on the
trailer, so 2700# would put him way below his vehicle's tow limit. If
that's just the empty, dry hull weight, then you're correct that
adding all that stuff is gonna increase the total weight a measurable
amount.

....snip...

Kind of a stretch here, isn't it? All I was recommending was a respect for gross vehicle weight ratings,
and a suggestion that brakes an important part of the overall specs.

You (Doug) said:

Remember, the van not only has to get the trailer moving, it also has to stop it (although trailer
brakes help a lot) and steer it too. Check the owners manual, if you are exceeding the weight rating
then you deserve a big ticket and/or a busted tranny. Nobody wants you killing their family on the
highway with an unsafe vehicle.

"Killing their family...with an unsafe vehicle" is a bit more
inflammatory than merely recommending a generic respect for ratings.
As I said, my sister was killed when a (big Detroit) vehicle towing a
travel-trailer lost control and hit us; so this comment really
affected me personally, perhaps more than it was intended to. That's
what prompted me to respond:

So, you can shove your smug, supercilious attitude up your... pipe and
smoke it.

Part of my smug, supercilious attitude is that I see a LOT of people with dangerous careless attitudes
that nearly kill each other with motorboats, sometimes on the water & sometimes on the roads. Meanwhile, I
have trailered a racer/cruiser type sailboat approx 50,000 miles in the past ten years visiting most
places on the East Coast and some choice spots on the Gulf and inland lakes. No problems, no breakdowns,
and only a few near-misses due to kamikaze drivers.

And I have trailered this boat since '96 about the same distance all
around the country. In that time, I've had one flat on the car, one
flat on the trailer, and one episode of e-braking. (My wife always
brakes for animals, even when it's perhaps inappropriate.) I agree
that careless attitudes and kamikaze drivers are dangerous.

Pardon me for trying to be helpful and informative.

Helpful and informative is good. That's what I was trying to
accomplish, too.

Frank