Towing with our Town and Country Van

[tandempair]

I was so concerned, alright..worried, about towing our single axle, 6X12, & foot high , all aluminum cargo trailer with our Town and Country. So far it has a pull down queen sized bed in it and our compact kitchen. The kitchen weighs 106 Lbs and is mounted on the R side of the trailer, between the side door and the axle.
I wasn't sure how the trailer would tow with our new van. We debated that leaving the bed in an UP position would put the extra weight at the top of the trailer and make it top heavy, but decided to give it a try and tow with it up. Although I could feel that I had more weight on the R side than on the L, the trailer tracked well. I was very please, no swaying issues, even when trucks passed me. The trailer doesn't have a V tongue, it has a straight one and I was thinking sway might be an issue, but as long as I keep my speed around 55 MPH, all went well. We will be adding some storage cupboards in the front V of the trailer yet, a fold down bench on the L wall, probably behind the axle so we have room to put a folding table thier for meals inside, on in climate days. I also want a small cupboard next to the compact kitchen. When traveling, our tandem trike, which weighs about 60 lbs will be strapped in on the L side of the trailer. The trike is 10 Ft long. That should help balance the weight out some, and if it is still not even, I can strap a couple. Gallon jerry cans of water on that L side too.
Still not use why our steel 6X 12 cargo trailer tracked so bad when we took the trike to the cycling trail last week. Mabe there wasn't enough weight with just the trike in it. I will have to do some experimenting around with that.

[tandempair]

Just hauling 1 trike . I couldn't seem to get the extra pic deleted.

[dancam]

How tall is it and how heavy? Bathroom scale on the jack tells you tongue weight and you want it to be 10-15% of total.
Looks pretty light from your photos, van shouldnt have an issue with the weight even without a transmission cooler.
If you ever load it up it still should be fine if you get a transmission cooler.
Stability is all about load distribution and the axle being aligned on the trailer.

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[tandempair]

How tall is it and how heavy? Bathroom scale on the jack tells you tongue weight and you want it to be 10-15% of total.
Looks pretty light from your photos, van shouldnt have an issue with the weight even without a transmission cooler.
If you ever load it up it still should be fine if you get a transmission cooler.
Stability is all about load distribution and the axle being aligned on the trailer.

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Trailer is 7 ft tall, pretty sure the weight is under 1500. It is an all aluminum trailer. (Paperwork is packed away right now). We don't anticipate hauling anything heavy. We bought all aluminum so we didn't need a big vehichle to tow. The van already has a tranny cooler. We are trying to be mindful of weight distribution as we add things into the CTT. The trike will be tied down on the left hand side of the trailer.

[dancam]

Your van shouldnt have an issue as long as you keep the weight nicely balanced in the trailer. Filling the rear tires up to their max cold pressure helps a lot for it to feel more stable if you havent done that.
But vans are long so it should feel fine anyway.

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[Tigris99]

Im going to gather your referring to a NEW T&C, not an older one.

Is the trailer 7ft from the ground or 7ft tall box?

I would check to see if yours has the towing package.

Their rated towing capacity is with towing package. New ones are 3600lbs.

If you dont have the towing package, get ahold of the dealer. Have to have the cooler installed at the dealer otherwise voids the warranty. Towing through the mountains or living where it gets hot as hell (like the midwest and such are right now) its best to have a cooler. Chrysler is not known for strong transmissions except in their trucks.

V nosed trailers suck to tow unless decently loaded, especially when the trailer is taller than the TV. Their only good in a head wind, cross winds at any other angle across the front push them around REALLY BAD unless there is enough weight in them.

As Dan pointed out beyond what i said, weigh distribution is key.

Also, of you dont have the towing package, rear spring helpers (ait shocks or 20 other options to stiffen the rear spring rate) will do wonders.

How much is your van squating with the trailer on? How tipped forward is the trailer when on the van?

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