1985 ,305ci, 5L,G-15, window van. How many pounds do you think I could haul behind me with van empty or loaded??
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Opie Knievel
Rum Fueled Midnight Mechanic and Moderator
That all depends on how safely you want to do it. I've seen my dad load and pull a trailer behind a 2 door Suzuki Sidekick that I'm sure was heavier than Suzuki ever intended it to. He had a late '80s Nissan pickup that he similarly abused. I went with him one day to cut down a big tree for fire wood. He brought the trailer with him and loaded down both the truck and trailer. I ended up driving back. He had it loaded so heavy that I couldn't really go past 3rd gear on any kind of hill. The worst part was stopping and the handling was awful. Dad was kind of crazy .Lol.
It's experiences like these that taught me that it's not how much you can pull, it's how much you can control and stop safely. Your van can probably get quite a bit of weight moving but stopping it might be a different story. You've also got to consider tongue weight, weight distribution on the trailer and wether or not you have trailer brakes.
If I was going to guess, I'd say you should be able to pull a couple thousand pounds around without too much trouble but you should definitely do a little more research first.
Thank You man, I appreciate that input. Thats what i was thinking to. I'm looking at boats and I didn't want to get to big of one or to heavy of one i should say to haul to the lake. For the size i'm thinking I should be fine. {Just a small boat strong enough to pull a skier or a para sail } Sounds like your dad would load it to you couldn't pull it then take off 50 pounds so it would roll...LOL Thanks again
My dad bought a 1500 van back in the late 80's with the trailer towing package and he burned up 3 700R4 transmissions towing an open car trailer (about 5,000lbs) before switching to '91 2500 454 suburban.
The 1500 drivetrains are weak in towing. You need a large, separate trans cooler.
The issue with any trailer is tongue weight. MORE THAN 15% of the trailers weight HAS to be on the tongue or it will sway above 55 mph. 20% is better.
That is 150 - 200 lbs for every 1000 lbs of trailer weight + cargo on the trailer.
A loaded 1500 van is not going sit well with an extra 750 lbs on the tongue. A Class IV load distributing hitch would probably be needed over 3500 lbs trailer weight.
The 1500 drivetrains are weak in towing. You need a large, separate trans cooler.
The issue with any trailer is tongue weight. MORE THAN 15% of the trailers weight HAS to be on the tongue or it will sway above 55 mph. 20% is better.
That is 150 - 200 lbs for every 1000 lbs of trailer weight + cargo on the trailer.
A loaded 1500 van is not going sit well with an extra 750 lbs on the tongue. A Class IV load distributing hitch would probably be needed over 3500 lbs trailer weight.
If the body is cherry, you could consider finding a used-up one-ton and transferring the suspension and driveline. I'd still recommend a weight-distributing hitch, though.
Opie Knievel
Rum Fueled Midnight Mechanic and Moderator
Very good point about the transmission cooler. I didn't even think about that when I replied. Heat is one of the biggest enemies of automatic transmissions and towing will produce more heat.
A real hitch that attaches to the frame instead of a bumper hitch is also a very good recommendation.
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