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Looking to buy a travel trailer...

6756 Views 12 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  mrledee
Hello,


I recently bought a used Transit Van (2015 150XLT 10 seat configuration, 3.7) for my growing family (wife and 4 kids). I'm considering buying a travel trailer to go on trips in the future. I looked online and I found that the maximum tow capacity for my van is close to 5,000lbs. I'm looking at travel trailers that are around 4,200lbs because I'm trying to find a balance between size for my family and the weight.


Based on the experience of anyone here, what are your thoughts on the 3.7 150XLT model towing trailers? Any experiences or advise would be greatly appreciated!


Thanks to all and God bless.
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I pull a Keystone Hideout 175lhs, which is 3300lbs empty, and about 4100lbs full. When I did my calculations, this only left me about 600lbs for passengers, so forget about filling up all the seats, too. I am hampered a little by the diesel engine which adds 400lbs in weight, which comes directly off of load capacity. On our trip from Oregon to Montana this summer, there were quite a few times that I wish I had more power, though it was usually workable, and always much better than it would have been in my Sprinter. One takeaway I got from the trip was the lesson of aerodynamic load - I would strongly consider getting a 7' wide trailer over an 8' wide one, even if it is longer, as it will be much easier to pull at highway speeds. On one stretch we went almost 3hrs into a 35mph headwind, and the van would barely do 60 on level ground, downshifted, and was getting 8.9mpg, which is the worst mileage I've ever gotten in a diesel. In my dreams, my next trailer is a Livin' Lite:)
You got it right - GCWR is the fun killer. Since my van seats 15, my brother-in-law wanted to throw his whole family and their gear in our rig so that he wouldn't have to drive, but GCWR came to the rescue and let me tell him no, though we did end up with his kids and were right at max. As I mentioned, I do think that the frontal area was more of an issue for us than the weight.
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