Towing with a minivan

"Richcosta" wrote
> do I run the risk of fishing my van out of the river?

Exceeding the vehicle's tow rating is generally unadvisable, but I'll admit
that I towed my Thunderbird S-18, at what's probably close to 3500 pounds,
with my 94 Taurus wagon for three years. Short, infrequent trips, babying it
all the way. Never had a problem.
 >> Stay informed about: Towing with a minivan 

"Richcosta" <r.costa DeleteThis @verizon.net> wrote in message
news:1165345672.018808.156130@16g2000cwy.googlegroups.com...
>I am considering purchasing an '06 175, which when on a trailer with
> gas will come in at about 2,400 lbs. My Windstar has a towing capacity
> of 2,000 lbs. As I will be using the boat at a ramp about 3 miles
> away, do I run the risk of fishing my van out of the river?
> Thank you.
>

Maybe, but my first concern would be a combination of :

1- Towing something beyond the published capacity of the van
and
2 - doing so with a transmission of dubious durability
and
3 - You didn't mention how many miles you have on the van, and whether you
had done (or were even aware of) the scheduled maintenance for the tranny.

If your maintenance has been perfect, AND you add a transmission cooler, AND
you know how to change your driving habits to baby the vehicle while towing,
you'll probably get away with it.
 >> Stay informed about: Towing with a minivan 

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 >> Stay informed about: Towing with a minivan 

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 >> Stay informed about: Towing with a minivan 

Almost all vehicles have a published "tow capacity" for the simple
reason they prolly couldn't sell it without one. This does NOT mean the
vehicle has an "Implied Warranty" of actually being able to tow the
rated capacity without damage or failure. As a rule, wimpy tow ratings
of 2K basically indicate the vehicle should not be realistically
considered for towing anything over, say, a garden trailer to the dump.
Look for your trans to fail, and keep up on your tow insurance and
friendship with the local trans shop.
PS: your Windstar is a POS. And you know it.
JR

ichcosta wrote:
> I am considering purchasing an '06 175, which when on a trailer with
> gas will come in at about 2,400 lbs. My Windstar has a towing capacity
> of 2,000 lbs. As I will be using the boat at a ramp about 3 miles
> away, do I run the risk of fishing my van out of the river?
> Thank you.
>


--
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
 >> Stay informed about: Towing with a minivan 

JR North wrote:
> PS: your Windstar is a POS. And you know it.
> JR


Not near a POS as the Aerostar and it was Rear wheel drive. same basic
drive train as a dinky POS Ford Ranger pickup. the Windstar is
better, with the basic drive train as a Taurus.

a three mi. tow shouldn't be bad. on the tranny IMHO especially w/ an
extra cooler, but the ramp Idea is still giddish.
 >> Stay informed about: Towing with a minivan 

Interesting about the Aerostar, a friend of mine had one, and after the
second bog $ tran. rebuild, he finally went to a junk yard and got one
out of an '87 Ford Crown Vic.

fit right in, only thing is he had to change the speedo gears.



Calif Bill wrote:
> "Tim" <tschnautz.DeleteThis@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1165371365.603088.178980@j44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> >
> > JR North wrote:
> >> PS: your Windstar is a POS. And you know it.
> >> JR
> >
> >
> > Not near a POS as the Aerostar and it was Rear wheel drive. same basic
> > drive train as a dinky POS Ford Ranger pickup. the Windstar is
> > better, with the basic drive train as a Taurus.
> >
> > a three mi. tow shouldn't be bad. on the tranny IMHO especially w/ an
> > extra cooler, but the ramp Idea is still giddish.
> >
>
> The Aerostar was OK except for the POS tranny. I got 85k before I had to
> have it reworked. But I only towed a 14' Aluminum skiff with a 15 hp
> Mariner on it.
 >> Stay informed about: Towing with a minivan 

"Tim" <tschnautz DeleteThis @gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1165371365.603088.178980@j44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
> JR North wrote:
>> PS: your Windstar is a POS. And you know it.
>> JR
>
>
> Not near a POS as the Aerostar and it was Rear wheel drive. same basic
> drive train as a dinky POS Ford Ranger pickup. the Windstar is
> better, with the basic drive train as a Taurus.
>
> a three mi. tow shouldn't be bad. on the tranny IMHO especially w/ an
> extra cooler, but the ramp Idea is still giddish.
>

The Aerostar was OK except for the POS tranny. I got 85k before I had to
have it reworked. But I only towed a 14' Aluminum skiff with a 15 hp
Mariner on it.
 >> Stay informed about: Towing with a minivan 

Calif Bill wrote:

> "Tim" <tschnautz DeleteThis @gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1165371365.603088.178980@j44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
>>JR North wrote:
>>
>>>PS: your Windstar is a POS. And you know it.
>>>JR
>>
>>
>>Not near a POS as the Aerostar and it was Rear wheel drive. same basic
>>drive train as a dinky POS Ford Ranger pickup. the Windstar is
>>better, with the basic drive train as a Taurus.
>>
>>a three mi. tow shouldn't be bad. on the tranny IMHO especially w/ an
>>extra cooler, but the ramp Idea is still giddish.
>>
>
>
> The Aerostar was OK except for the POS tranny. I got 85k before I had to
> have it reworked. But I only towed a 14' Aluminum skiff with a 15 hp
> Mariner on it.
>
>

The AeroStar tows like a truck. The 4WD AeroStar had a HD version of
the A4LD as found in the Explorer and tows very nicely.

The last WindStars, & subsequent FreeStars, have most all of the bugs
worked out and can tow well with the 3.8/3.9/4.2 and the AX4N
transmission. A cooler is a requisite. Going over a ton will
eventually torture the van, though.

A good friend did tow a heavy older pop-up camper with the early 3.0
Windstar. Everything went wrong with that POS EXCEPT the transmission(&
nothing relating to towing). They had to give it away - running, no
rust, but so many little problems including the CEL/MIL/SES DTC light
coming on for so many things it wasn't worth fixing.

Rob
 >> Stay informed about: Towing with a minivan 

"trainfan1" <lmsearing.RemoveThis@usdatanet.net> wrote in message
news:vb-dnRzYyqsCrOvYnZ2dnUVZ_oidnZ2d@usadatanet.net...
> Calif Bill wrote:
>
>> "Tim" <tschnautz.RemoveThis@gmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:1165371365.603088.178980@j44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>>
>>>JR North wrote:
>>>
>>>>PS: your Windstar is a POS. And you know it.
>>>>JR
>>>
>>>
>>>Not near a POS as the Aerostar and it was Rear wheel drive. same basic
>>>drive train as a dinky POS Ford Ranger pickup. the Windstar is
>>>better, with the basic drive train as a Taurus.
>>>
>>>a three mi. tow shouldn't be bad. on the tranny IMHO especially w/ an
>>>extra cooler, but the ramp Idea is still giddish.
>>>
>>
>>
>> The Aerostar was OK except for the POS tranny. I got 85k before I had to
>> have it reworked. But I only towed a 14' Aluminum skiff with a 15 hp
>> Mariner on it.
>
> The AeroStar tows like a truck. The 4WD AeroStar had a HD version of the
> A4LD as found in the Explorer and tows very nicely.
>
> The last WindStars, & subsequent FreeStars, have most all of the bugs
> worked out and can tow well with the 3.8/3.9/4.2 and the AX4N
> transmission. A cooler is a requisite. Going over a ton will eventually
> torture the van, though.
>
> A good friend did tow a heavy older pop-up camper with the early 3.0
> Windstar. Everything went wrong with that POS EXCEPT the transmission(&
> nothing relating to towing). They had to give it away - running, no rust,
> but so many little problems including the CEL/MIL/SES DTC light coming on
> for so many things it wasn't worth fixing.
>
> Rob

My Aerostar was an 89. Had a lightweight Mazda tranny.
 >> Stay informed about: Towing with a minivan 

"Tim" <tschnautz RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1165376644.411413.314420@79g2000cws.googlegroups.com...
> Interesting about the Aerostar, a friend of mine had one, and after the
> second bog $ tran. rebuild, he finally went to a junk yard and got one
> out of an '87 Ford Crown Vic.
>
> fit right in, only thing is he had to change the speedo gears.
>
>
>
> Calif Bill wrote:
>> "Tim" <tschnautz RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:1165371365.603088.178980@j44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>> >
>> > JR North wrote:
>> >> PS: your Windstar is a POS. And you know it.
>> >> JR
>> >
>> >
>> > Not near a POS as the Aerostar and it was Rear wheel drive. same basic
>> > drive train as a dinky POS Ford Ranger pickup. the Windstar is
>> > better, with the basic drive train as a Taurus.
>> >
>> > a three mi. tow shouldn't be bad. on the tranny IMHO especially w/ an
>> > extra cooler, but the ramp Idea is still giddish.
>> >
>>
>> The Aerostar was OK except for the POS tranny. I got 85k before I had to
>> have it reworked. But I only towed a 14' Aluminum skiff with a 15 hp
>> Mariner on it.
>

I sold the van.
 >> Stay informed about: Towing with a minivan 

trainfan1 wrote:

Ford modified the gear train clutching again to bring about a 5 speed
> auto, still available today in the Explorer as the 5R55.
>
> Rob


And still a POS
 >> Stay informed about: Towing with a minivan 

I have been towing a 175 with a Toyota Sienna minivan for two years
with no issues. The Toyota is rated to 3500 lb towing capacity. In
addition to the the boat I have towed (ocassionally) U-Haul trailers at
or very close to the 3500 lb limit, with no problems. Front wheel
drive has never been an issue to pull the boat out of the water, even
on steep and wet ramps.

I don't think there is any fundamental issue with using a minivan to
tow a boat, as long as the engine has enough power and the transmission
is strong enough. I don't know about Ford, but I have seen many Toyota
and Honda minivans towing boats around here with not problems.



Richcosta wrote:
> I am considering purchasing an '06 175, which when on a trailer with
> gas will come in at about 2,400 lbs. My Windstar has a towing capacity
> of 2,000 lbs. As I will be using the boat at a ramp about 3 miles
> away, do I run the risk of fishing my van out of the river?
> Thank you.
 >> Stay informed about: Towing with a minivan