I'm new to the site. I grew up camping with parents in a 12' starcraft 1978 pop up. Now that I have a family of my own I want to give my kids the same memories that I had with my parents. Unforgettably my dad sold the pop up while I was in college. Anyhow, I went to the RV show in toronto 2012 and noticed the new hard top hybrids. I love em. But I'm getting conflicting info from sales man and internet research. I drive a town and country mini van 2010 limited 4.0l engine with towing package 3800lbs. From my calculations, the biggest hybrid I can haul safely is the coachmen 16RBT My van can tow 3 to 5 people with luggage 3,350 lbs 335lbs tongue weight as per manual. Does anyone know of any other Hybrids around that are 16' or larger that I can tow safely?
I'm new to the site. I grew up camping with parents in a 12' starcraft 1978 pop up. Now that I have a family of my own I want to give my kids the same memories that I had with my parents. Unforgettably my dad sold the pop up while I was in college. Anyhow, I went to the RV show in toronto 2012 and noticed the new hard top hybrids. I love em. But I'm getting conflicting info from sales man and internet research. I drive a town and country mini van 2010 limited 4.0l engine with towing package 3800lbs. From my calculations, the biggest hybrid I can haul safely is the coachmen 16RBT My van can tow 3 to 5 people with luggage 3,350 lbs 335lbs tongue weight as per manual. Does anyone know of any other Hybrids around that are 16' or larger that I can tow safely?
first, that a KZ Sportsmen 16RBT, not Coachmen.
second, not sure what you mean by "hard top" hybrids. are there soft top hybrids? even popups have hard tops.
third, your minivan has a 3800lbs. tow capacity with only a 150lb. driver in it.
anything and anyone else in it, lowers that 3800 number by its weight.
the 16RBT's actual hitch weight could easily exceed your 335lbs. limit, since its fictional "dry" hitch weight is nearly 300lbs.
you can start with hybrids that have GVWRs of 3500lbs. these are made specifically for the minivan/CUVs crowd, since nearly all have a 3500lbs. tow capacity.
Dan- Firefighter, Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur, Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever, 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
Hi and welcome to the forum. Unfortunately, you're going to get a lot of different point of views regarding towing with a minivan. It's been debated many times on here. Fortunately, I'm one of the minivan guys . To compare, I tow a 17ft R-Vision hybrid with my 2003 Ford Windstar. Your van has more torque and horsepower than mine so in my opinion, with a proper set up like brake controller; transmission cooler; anti-sway, I say go for it. There are others here that tow with minivans that will probably tell you the same.....and now the floor is open for debate
2003 Ford Windstar
2009 R-Vision Trail-Cruiser C-17
3 wonderful kids
Wife/co-pilot "Are we there yet?"
I think that you will find that a popup is what you are really limited to with a minivan.
You will be limited by both payload and towing mass if you go with a hybrid, and at best will only be able to safely and comfortably tow the smallest hybrids on essentially flat terrain. These types of trailer trend to get overloaded quickly and, with the large frontal area creates a lot of drag which would seem like added mass to the tow vehicle. You will find that you need a half ton truck as I did.
From a quick look Starcraft has a few that fit inside your ratings but they are all pretty small, none have 2 queen pop out beds. You actually get more floor space and sleeping capacity in a Pop-up. If you really want a Hybrid go to all the manufacturers web sites and check the specs for the smaller units. They all have a dealer serch tool that shows you where the nearest dealer is, call ahead cause inventory is usually limited to whatever sells the most.
From what I saw when I was looking back in 06, they high wall pop-ups weigh and cost as much as the hybrids.
Happy Motoring
Bob & Deb
W Ma.
12 F150 HD SCAB EcoBoost LB 4x4
06 Starcraft 18SB
Check out Niagara trailers in Niagara Falls, ontario.
when i was buying our trailer last week they had a hybrid - i think it was a starcraft of some sort hooked up to a Toyota Sienna. I asked about weight and the sales guy indicated that some hybrids are indeed mini van towable. It had a weight distributing hitch and was sitting level and looked like a goood set-up.
They also seemed pretty honest about what your vehicle can and cannot tow. At least they were honest with me about limitations and where we wanted to be weight wise. Other dealers were not as legitimate and basically said we could max out weight and we would be ok.
With a mini-van however, I would err on the side of caution and your best bet may be a pop-up based on living space and towing capacity.
2003 Coleman Carmel(gone
2008 Starcraft Antigua 195CK
2011 Ford Explorer XLT w/ tow package
Living on the flat land of Ohio, I have not experienced any problems towing with my 04 Kia. Our longest trip was around lake Erie. I noticed many hybrids being towed by minivans in Canada.As for a camper, I like the floor plan our 17' Palomino Stampede offers. Perfect for a small family. Wonderful customer support too.
I'm new to the site. I grew up camping with parents in a 12' starcraft 1978 pop up. Now that I have a family of my own I want to give my kids the same memories that I had with my parents. Unforgettably my dad sold the pop up while I was in college. Anyhow, I went to the RV show in toronto 2012 and noticed the new hard top hybrids. I love em. But I'm getting conflicting info from sales man and internet research. I drive a town and country mini van 2010 limited 4.0l engine with towing package 3800lbs. From my calculations, the biggest hybrid I can haul safely is the coachmen 16RBT My van can tow 3 to 5 people with luggage 3,350 lbs 335lbs tongue weight as per manual. Does anyone know of any other Hybrids around that are 16' or larger that I can tow safely?
first, that a KZ Sportsmen 16RBT, not Coachmen.
second, not sure what you mean by "hard top" hybrids. are there soft top hybrids? even popups have hard tops.
third, your minivan has a 3800lbs. tow capacity with only a 150lb. driver in it.
anything and anyone else in it, lowers that 3800 number by its weight.
the 16RBT's actual hitch weight could easily exceed your 335lbs. limit, since its fictional "dry" hitch weight is nearly 300lbs.
you can start with hybrids that have GVWRs of 3500lbs. these are made specifically for the minivan/CUVs crowd, since nearly all have a 3500lbs. tow capacity.
Sorry, KZ sportsman 16RBT. Again, sorry about the lingo, Hard top i meant for hybrid. I'll just say hybrid for now on.
I figure the largest size KZ 16rbt hybrid is the biggest(16') and lowest GVWR of 2900lbs. All other Hybrids at 16' and more were larger than 3500lbs gvwr so far during my research at the show and internet. Anyone know of any new hybrids that are less than 3500lbs 16' or more?
Hi there... I'm a traveling cardiac nurse and use my B-19 hybrid as often as I can. I tow with a 03 Mazda MPV. Been across the country twice and never had an issue towing! Make sure u get the biggest tranny cooler u can and keep the fluid pink!
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, Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur
, Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever
, 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
. To compare, I tow a 17ft R-Vision hybrid with my 2003 Ford Windstar. Your van has more torque and horsepower than mine so in my opinion, with a proper set up like brake controller; transmission cooler; anti-sway, I say go for it. There are others here that tow with minivans that will probably tell you the same.....and now the floor is open for debate 
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