Another alternative is the new crossovers by GM; Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia or ??? Enclave. They have many of the features of the minivan and SUV and tow up to 4500#. Our Outlook seats 8 and gets about 24 MPG. We do not tow with it so I cannot give you an opinion on that. You will not find too many used Outlooks, they are new and the owners like them.
We used to tow a PUP with a Jeep Cherokee. We did learn that we needed brakes on the PUP, burned up the Jeep brakes more than once. I would recommend the same with any PUP over 1500#.
2manytoyz wrote: Most any SUV (not a cross-over) will tow your Popup with ease.
My SUV pulls our 25' TT just fine. I know it's back there, but I have plenty of power. When I tow our boat, which is closer to the weight of your Popup, can't hardly tell it's back there.
FWIW, I'm getting 18-20 MPG in mixed driving. 265 HP, 284 ft-lbs of torque. 4400 lbs, 4x4.
Bargains to be had right now for sure. But keep in mind a brand new Titan (with warranty), 4x4, 4 door, most of the bells & whistles, is $25K. I'd be careful not to pay too much for a used vehicle since the prices of the new gas guzzlers is coming down.
I wouldn't even consider the Titan. It's gone. Nissan announced the Titan is gone as of 2010 and Dodge will start making fullsize pickups for Nissan. The Nissan Armada will continue to live though. Most likely because the Titan has been a piece of garbage reliability wise and quality wise. I had one and learned my lesson.
Also watch for 2005 Nissan midsize paint problems. That's the reason I rid myself of my Pathfinder. Everyone I knew with a Nissan Midsize truck in 2005 had this problem along with the showroom floor models. Hopefully you're free of this.
See this link to see of the paint problems and to see of all the problems I had with my Titan, through a link in the my signature on that linked page.
Have a good one.
I think either you had bad luck or I have had good luck as our 2004 Armada which shares many parts with the Titan (even paint) has been nearly flawless and a great TV. Until the new Sequoia came out IMO the Nissan 5.6 had no peers.
Burp wrote: Another alternative is the new crossovers by GM; Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia or ??? Enclave. They have many of the features of the minivan and SUV and tow up to 4500#. Our Outlook seats 8 and gets about 24 MPG. We do not tow with it so I cannot give you an opinion on that. You will not find too many used Outlooks, they are new and the owners like them.
These new SUV's are actually quite good. They share the same 3.6 engine from the Caddi CTS which was earlier reported to be a very good towing drive train.
cillyone wrote: I think either you had bad luck or I have had good luck as our 2004 Armada which shares many parts with the Titan (even paint) has been nearly flawless and a great TV. Until the new Sequoia came out IMO the Nissan 5.6 had no peers.
The Nissan Titan and Nissan Armada had tons of problems up until 2007. Titan Talk and Club Armada can be referenced. In fact they've had such poor reliability their resale is the lowest of any fullsize truck.
If you want to respond, please PM me as I don't want to cloud up this thread with another topic, thanks.
burkehouse wrote: I downsized from a Durango to a Town & Country. Hands down my T&C is a much better vehicle than my gas hog SUV ever was. I can fit more people, more stuff, and it tows just fine. The thing I love most about my van is my stow-n-go seats. I did buy my van with the "towing package" which included a heavy duty radiator and the ability to tow 3800#. The Durango got 9 mpg when towing, my T&C gets 19-21 mpg when towing.
Don't let the stigma of a van bother you, I know my van doesn't look cool, but I love the looks on people's faces when I am at Home Depot and am shoving a 4x8 sheet of plywood in the back and closing the gate! I could never do that with my Durango!
I will ditto Burkehouse here. We went from an S-10 to a Durango several years ago, the first day gas went up 50 cents as a matter of fact . Several reasons...DH will not drive a "mom-mobile"...his S-10 lost too much power towing up the mountain (in all fairness, he does have 237,000 miles on it)...we wanted something to travel in that would not include waterproofing. An suv was a good choice for us, partly because I only drive 3 miles a day to work and home so $10 of gas will last me a week. But, you will get about 15 mpg, 9 towing (5 or 6 going up a mountain). DH is ok with the mileage because we usually take short trips (within 50 miles of home) and the Durango pulls our PU over Monteagle mountain and the Smokies and doesn't even slow down. Another advantage for us is we can put everything in the back without having to "waterproof" it.
Another thing to consider. You have two young children and I'm assuming you may have more. The Durango does not have a lot of room for a family of 6. A friend of mine has a minivan and four teenagers. They can go for a weekend with all of their luggage very easily. They used a Durango for a week after an accident and had problems getting all four children, and their school gear into the Durango (had to relearn how to pack). If you are used to a minivan, an suv will teach you how to pack all over again.
We did get a great price on our Durango, but we have made up for it in gas. Our favorite thing though is towing power and the "trunk". Will we get rid of ours? No. Would be buy another? Probably. But our situation is very specific. No children (don't need a lot of room) and short daily trips. You have a lot more to consider and from experience I can promise you that gas will become a larger part of your budget if you buy an SUV.
I went from a Grand Caravan to a Suburban and I love it. We also upgraded to a bigger PUP (Avalon). The Suburban tows it great and I don't have to worry about how many people I pack into it. We have 3 kids who sometimes bring friends and 106 lb dog (we don't let him bring friends)
The down side of course is the MPG, it is about 15, but I have not noticed that is is less when we tow, I think it is about the same as driving around town. When we tow we are on the highway most of the time and get about the same MPG.
The SUV seats 9 people and is very comfortable, but is is over $100.00 to fill up with regular. I've just recently bought a Mercedes 240 D to convert to veg. oil and it will be my around town errand car.
Crosbygroup 2008 Fleetwood Avalon Highlander
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate. ~Henry J. Tillman
I'm planning to use a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan with a 3.3 litre to pull a Fleetwood Sea Pine. I don't have the trailer yet. My van doesn't have trailer hitch either.
Do I need to install a WD hitch with anti-sway bars? Or will a standard hitch and receiver work?
I want to be safe, but have been getting a lot of different opinions. some say you need WD and others say not for a fairly light pop-up 1735 lbs.
I hope to hear back from those of you with experience towing a pop-up with a mini-van. Thanks in advance.
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. Several reasons...DH will not drive a "mom-mobile"...his S-10 lost too much power towing up the mountain (in all fairness, he does have 237,000 miles on it)...we wanted something to travel in that would not include waterproofing. An suv was a good choice for us, partly because I only drive 3 miles a day to work and home so $10 of gas will last me a week. But, you will get about 15 mpg, 9 towing (5 or 6 going up a mountain). DH is ok with the mileage because we usually take short trips (within 50 miles of home) and the Durango pulls our PU over Monteagle mountain and the Smokies and doesn't even slow down. Another advantage for us is we can put everything in the back without having to "waterproof" it. 
