View Full Version : Trailering question
LooseDrag NPAA #115
06-08-2002, 10:11 PM
unfortunitely my towing vehicle is shot, My boat weighs 2500 lb, can I tow it with a 4 cyl dodge caravan? I will only be going about 5 - 10 miles and all on dead flat terrain. With these short towing distances will this hurt my caravan?
ToddM
06-09-2002, 12:26 AM
I have seen people do it and I think it's rated to tow that much anyway. It's not something I would want to do permanently but if it gets you to the water then do it.
rock2me
06-09-2002, 09:41 AM
You can do it but keep in mind that it will be tough on your tranny.
The Dodge/Chrysler minivans are notorious for blowing their tranny's. Ask any transmission shop and they will tell you that Diamler/Chrysler is keeping them in business with their minivan transmissions. Between 60K and 100K plan on a rebuild.
I'm not trying to slam their product it is just what I have been told in person and from a reputable transmission repair facility. This is the repair shop that the dealers send their tough fixes to.
My brother's tranny died and he was told the same thing from Aamco.
Good Luck
Bob Thompson
06-09-2002, 12:17 PM
Also keep in mind that heat is a transmissions worst enemy and just the addition of a transmission oil cooler other than the stock unit in the radiator will greatly increase the longivity of the trans.
I am on my second Caravan and I hear ya about the transmission problems. My first one blew a transmission at about 110,000 miles, then I lost two more within months. The third one has held up OK. Boat towing didn't have anything to do with these problems.
I doubt that towing that big of a boat over short distances will hurt your tranny. Perhaps having the smaller motor will help keep some load off of the tranny since you probably won't have enough power to do much damage.
What I would be concerned about however, is pulling your boat out of the water. Unless you have a nice flat concrete ramp, I wouldn't even try it. Front-wheel drive is great for a lot of things, but it is worthless on gravel or steep ramps. The boat/trailer shifts a lot of the weight to the back axle, so the front has trouble getting traction, regardless of engine size.
Roy