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Towing Experience with Popup Camper

21298 Views 19 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  CraigVanAustin, 
M
Just finished a 400 mile round trip towing a Popup camper with my 2018 Pacifica. Dry weight of the trailer is 2400 lbs (2500 lbs with roof top AC), it has trailer brakes, & I do not have the factory tow package. On the way home I weighed my Pacifica and trailer at a certified scale. 8060 lbs. This was with 3/4 tank of gas, family of 5 (3 young children), & gear.

First 200 miles was all in the rain, half highway (Flat), half back roads (some hills but nothing to big). Last 200 miles was all highway, dry, and mostly flat. Outside temps were in the 70's and low 80's.

Some notable points about the trip
-Oil, transmission, and other Temps were at most 10 % above normal for the speeds I was traveling. But still below the half way mark on the gauges.
-Trailer had brakes, and I gave myself space to stop, but I never felt like I could not stop in time for something. Including a time I had to slam on my brakes to avoid someone who cut me off.
- I also have a mechanical anti sway bar because the pop dealer recommended it.
- On flat highway I was able to drive 75 without any issues. This was in a 70 mph area and I did not feel comfortable any higher then 75 even then I mostly kept it below 72.

There were a few Cons
-With all the gear in the van plus the 250 tong weight there was 1-3 inches of sag in the suspension. Ride handling was fine, but I may consider air bags in the future.
-The pacifica transmission is without a doubt the week point in the whole towing system. It tends to stay in high gears for fuel efficiency, which was fine on the highway, but can make towing on hills difficult. This can be fixed by giving more gas, but requires a bit of a learning curve I still need to master.
- I did have to start the van from a dead stop on a small hill in the rain. This produced some front wheel slippage, but the van was still able to get going.

Brakes

I have the Tekonsha 90250 Prodigy RF Electronic Brake Controller which I am not completely sold on. Highway braking was fine, but it tended to be jerky at low speeds. I found I had to use the hand held controller a few times to smooth out braking at low speeds. Also when braking down long hills there were issues with consistent braking. At no time did I feel like I was going to lose control of the van, and I have never towed a trailer with brakes before, so it may be technique. I tried to keep braking to short bursts.

Anyway, if you are considering a popup or other trailer below 2500 lbs dry weight the Pacifica can handle it well. I would avoid anything heavier as you will quickly reach the 8600 lb combined vehicle max.

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Gohawks1224
I traveled nearly 2,000 miles with a full load in my van and a pop-up trailer weighing about 2500 lb during the April 13th snow storm from Seattle Washington to Austin Minnesota. I have the tow package with sway control and that definitely came in handy well I didn't experience a lot of ice and snow on the road there was lots of wind and the van stayed firmly on the road which was very nice. We averaged about 23 miles per gallon as I never went over 65 miles an hour given the rating on my trailer wheels. All in all I was thoroughly impressed with the towing capability and handling of the Pacifica.

As the o p stated I to have any electronic brake system that I installed you will need to get your own harness but the wiring is in place and easy to get to once you know where it's at use the Primus IQ from tekonsha and that helped tremendously. My advice is to make sure that you go ahead and follow the manufacturer's instructions on calibrating your brake controller as when I first started and I do not do that I've hardly felt an impact. Setting the right brake pressure made a world of difference.
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@mattlreese What is the part number of the anti sway bar you added? Did you put it on your self? Thanks for the info!
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Orbit3600 said:
@mattlreese What is the part number of the anti sway bar you added? Did you put it on your self? Thanks for the info!
Click to expand...
if you are not familiar with a trailer swap bat, its a second bar that goes from the trailer to a small ball on the hitch It provides friction to reduce hw much the trailer moves side to side. Not to be confused with a cars anti sway bar
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N
Good info! We don't have the towing package either. Our pop up weights about 1200 lbs and gave us no issues. We do not have trailer brakes, but i will upgrade next year i am thinking as i want to go to new mexico or Colorado. Currently we are in oklahoma so no large hills to deal with. I have boiled brake fluid before coming out of the mountains into denver before with a trailer with no brakes. Had to pull over and let the brakes cool as they were glowing bright red
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Orbit3600 said:
@mattlreese What is the part number of the anti sway bar you added? Did you put it on your self? Thanks for the info!
Click to expand...

Here it is
https://www.amazon.com/Pro-83660-Value-Friction-Control/dp/B0016KJ5MC

You will need a special hitch it will look something like the link below, but with the correct rise for the van. I did not install mine, but it is raised at least 4 inches.

https://www.amazon.com/Curt-Manufac...D=41r%2BqKzoKVL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
@Orbit3600
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Mother of Twin Dragons
I have been searching information regarding the Pacifica towing a trailer/camper and I am so glad I found this. We had recently bought a Jay Feather and from what I read, it weighs about 2845lbs. We do have the tow package, but I am still worried about towing this thing. The dealers at Giant RV said that our Pacifica could tow this model. I believe they will also install the anti-sway bar and stuff. The trailer is still to be picked up at the dealership this weekend. We have never towed anything and so we will have to see how this goes. We plan to do the grocery shopping when we get to our spot so as to avoid carrying more load. We have two kids weighing less than 80lbs combined. We live in San Diego and might have to say no to camping all the way up in Yosemite. The Grapevine is one steep climb and maybe there will be more of those once we get to NorCal. Has anybody towed something of this weight and at this distance/elevation? For now, we will do a dry run by camping by the beach and familiarize ourselves with how to maneuver the trailer and using the amenities on it. I don't understand all this weight jargon, but I sure hope our Pacifica and our Jay Feather make good memories and not regretful ones :). If you have any advice to share, please feel free to comment on my post. Thank you!
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2845 dry? You are going to have to pack very light, and even with that you will likely be over the GCVWR of the Pacifica. Can it tow that weight, yes. What will your limitations be... rear end sag and reduced traction on the front wheels. If it is possible to get a Weight Distribution Hitch as the reduced traction on the front wheels is not a minor issue.
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anafleming
Hello. Maybe someone can help me here.
I am about to purchase a tent trailer that weighs about 1550lb.
I have a 2017 Pacifica, with no tow package.
Will I be able to travel?
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DoninDel
anafleming said:
Hello. Maybe someone can help me here.
I am about to purchase a tent trailer that weighs about 1550lb.
I have a 2017 Pacifica, with no tow package.
Will I be able to travel?
Click to expand...
I would say yes, if the trailer has brakes.
Read the first post.
He does NOT have the tow package and towed a much heavier trailer.
Heed his advice and you ought to be fine.
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Waknitz
We just got back from towing a 1500 dry trailer without the towing package. It was terrible. The transmission lurched every few seconds at certain speeds. 0-30 it would lurch every second. 50-65 it would lurch as well. Have an appointment to take it in and see if they can reset the transmission.
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Waknitz said:
We just got back from towing a 1500 dry trailer without the towing package. It was terrible. The transmission lurched every few seconds at certain speeds. 0-30 it would lurch every second. 50-65 it would lurch as well. Have an appointment to take it in and see if they can reset the transmission.
Click to expand...
Did you set your transmission to L ?
I am towing a full size trailer around 3000lbs and the transmission typically does pretty well in L. Sometimes its in a lower gear than I would prefer, so i switch to D, when it upshifts, I switch it right back to L and it will stay in that gear.
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Waknitz
jasonn said:
Did you set your transmission to L ?
I am towing a full size trailer around 3000lbs and the transmission typically does pretty well in L. Sometimes its in a lower gear than I would prefer, so i switch to D, when it upshifts, I switch it right back to L and it will stay in that gear.
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I did when going slowly, but most of the towing was on the highway, so no go on the low. I have an appointment with the dealer to check on the transmission.
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Waknitz said:
I did when going slowly, but most of the towing was on the highway, so no go on the low. I have an appointment with the dealer to check on the transmission.
Click to expand...
I do the opposite... D when less than 40MPH otherwise its a bit too torquey for me. L on the highway, RPMs sit around ~3100 rpm at 67mph?

I referred to the owner's manual and it does recommend D even while towing. I also had poor results in D so I switched to L... hmm.
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mattlreese said:
2845 dry? You are going to have to pack very light, and even with that you will likely be over the GCVWR of the Pacifica. Can it tow that weight, yes. What will your limitations be... rear end sag and reduced traction on the front wheels. If it is possible to get a Weight Distribution Hitch as the reduced traction on the front wheels is not a minor issue.
Click to expand...
Look at the weight items. GCWR = combined van + trailer is 8600 lbs, so curb weight +hitch weight + trailer + people + gear max is 4330 + 300 hitch + (2880 - 300 hitch) + (family + gear = 1400)

Don't pack the trailer very much - but still make sure 10 - 15% of the 2880 lbs is on the hitch - no bikes on the rear of the trailer. Put most of the gear in the van, with any extra heavy weight items in the middle seat wells.
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Waknitz
jasonn said:
I do the opposite... D when less than 40MPH otherwise its a bit too torquey for me. L on the highway, RPMs sit around ~3100 rpm at 67mph?

I referred to the owner's manual and it does recommend D even while towing. I also had poor results in D so I switched to L... hmm.
Click to expand...
How can you do anything over 20 in L? Mine doesn't shift up it just revs... I'm confused.
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Waknitz said:
How can you do anything over 20 in L? Mine doesn't shift up it just revs... I'm confused.
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Maybe you aren't waiting long enough? Car is fine cruising at 4k rpm in L, it'll shift when you go over that.

On a recent towing trip, I did try D on the interstate. With a tailwind, it actually did ok, but on the way back with a headwind, D just wants to shift up, then slows, then shits down, its all over the place. I leave it on L with doing 64+mph (typically around 3,200rpm or so?) on the highway unless a long downhill then I will switch to D for a bit.
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Waknitz
jasonn said:
Maybe you aren't waiting long enough? Car is fine cruising at 4k rpm in L, it'll shift when you go over that.

On a recent towing trip, I did try D on the interstate. With a tailwind, it actually did ok, but on the way back with a headwind, D just wants to shift up, then slows, then shits down, its all over the place. I leave it on L with doing 64+mph (typically around 3,200rpm or so?) on the highway unless a long downhill then I will switch to D for a bit.
Click to expand...
Interesting .. yeah I usually don't like reving it that high so gave up on trying L after about 3500.
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sharlyn.walker
Mother of Twin Dragons said:
I have been searching information regarding the Pacifica towing a trailer/camper and I am so glad I found this. We had recently bought a Jay Feather and from what I read, it weighs about 2845lbs. We do have the tow package, but I am still worried about towing this thing. The dealers at Giant RV said that our Pacifica could tow this model. I believe they will also install the anti-sway bar and stuff. The trailer is still to be picked up at the dealership this weekend. We have never towed anything and so we will have to see how this goes. We plan to do the grocery shopping when we get to our spot so as to avoid carrying more load. We have two kids weighing less than 80lbs combined. We live in San Diego and might have to say no to camping all the way up in Yosemite. The Grapevine is one steep climb and maybe there will be more of those once we get to NorCal. Has anybody towed something of this weight and at this distance/elevation? For now, we will do a dry run by camping by the beach and familiarize ourselves with how to maneuver the trailer and using the amenities on it. I don't understand all this weight jargon, but I sure hope our Pacifica and our Jay Feather make good memories and not regretful ones :). If you have any advice to share, please feel free to comment on my post. Thank you!
Click to expand...
I’m in the same position as you. I’m wanting advice and information on towing a small camper with my 2021 AWD Pacifica. Anyone doing this??? Love to hear from you.
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Waknitz said:
Interesting .. yeah I usually don't like reving it that high so gave up on trying L after about 3500.
Click to expand...
We've done a couple of trips, 4800 miles and 2800 with our 1600 lb teardrop (Vistabule) trailer with tow package and brake controller, just wife and I and not too much gear in the van. Not over the Rockies, etc. No problems with shifting like you described, only a few times when I tried the L setting. I'm light on the pedal, 60-65 mph, used cruise control a bunch, but on small rolling hills on I35, without other traffic, I'd take it out of Cruise and back off on the speed as we climb the small roller, then pick up speed gently on the downhill. 21-22 mph.

Did you ever have the adjustments on the transmission checked?
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