Will a 2,000 lb hitch be sufficient to tow a charger?

[vxvxAndrewxvxv]

I have a 2,000 lb rated hitch behind my van, I need to tow a charger a lot of miles... Uhaul's system says the hitch is not sufficient. Thoughts?

edit: will be towing with a dolly.

[cordes]

I'm not a towing expert, but I would probably hold off towing a vehicle weighing about 2500lbs. with a 2000lb. rated hitch.

[135sohc]

I wouldnt.

[neongary]

Nope.

[trbowgn]

Nope dolly plus car is over 3000lbs.

[vxvxAndrewxvxv]

Thanks all for the replies. Took your advice, and didn't tow it. Glad we didn't now. Wouldn't have been worth it if I had hurt my baby.

[Vigo]

I think i would need to see the hitch, but im guessing i would have been just fine with it. Dolleys are pretty easy on hitches since they have almost no tongue weight. Towing 3000 lbs with a 2000lb hitch is probably well within what it was designed to do, even if it's not under the CYA number the hitch company labels it with.

[tryingbe]

I think i would need to see the hitch, but im guessing i would have been just fine with it. Dolleys are pretty easy on hitches since they have almost no tongue weight. Towing 3000 lbs with a 2000lb hitch is probably well within what it was designed to do, even if it's not under the CYA number the hitch company labels it with.

What about in braking? What about in windy condition? Towing over the rated weight is foolish and accident waiting to happen.

Found this last Friday.

[Vigo]

And you think that was over the rated weight? That trailer is probably <4k and we have no idea what was in it. It's entirely possible to wreck an empty trailer too, especially if you have something like a left rear blowout while trying to change lanes, or just trying to dodge something that you should have just hit.

OP didnt say what his van is, but if it's your typical 3800 lb minivan it shouldnt have much problem towing a 2500lb car on a 500lb dolley. U-haul is a law firm that rents trailers on the side. What they say is safe is basically lowest common denominator that assumes that every renter is an asshat who's never towed anything and is going to get them sued, and the things they 'allow' with their vehicles are decided entirely on that basis and not on what is actually safe for a prudent/experienced person to do. Hitch ratings are the same. That number is more about what will fly in court than what will rip the hitch off in the real world. Like i said, i would want to see the hitch, but im almost 100% positive i would not have had a second thought about towing 3000lbs with a dolley and no tongue weight.

[tryingbe]

And you think that was over the rated weight? That trailer is probably <4k and we have no idea what was in it. It's entirely possible to wreck an empty trailer too, especially if you have something like a left rear blowout while trying to change lanes, or just trying to dodge something that you should have just hit.

Nope, I had no comment on the crash. All I have was pictures of it.

OP didnt say what his van is, but if it's your typical 3800 lb minivan it shouldnt have much problem towing a 2500lb car on a 500lb dolley.

Have you tow anything with a 80's Dodge Minivan? A. J. had, and he told me power is not the problem. Braking is. When he towed a car, he had a difficult time to slow and stop.

I have the minivan calipers and pads on my GLH, they don't slow down the car that well, compare to other cars I've driven. The braking on the Minivan is underpowered as-is, problem is worsen when you're towing. I don't know what's traffic like out there, but people routinely cut in front of me here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b672rtiZAiE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_9GaC8Gtwg

What they say is safe is basically lowest common denominator

That is the correct way to do it. You maybe able to accelerate and maintain speed with 1,000,000 lbs behind you, but if you have trouble slowing and stopping your vehicle with towing just 1000 lbs in a safe manner, 1000 lbs is too much.

[Vigo]

Well to be clear a SWB 1st gen van is a 3200 lb van, not the 3800 lb vans i was talking about like a 96-up grand caravan, or a newer odyssey, sienna, sedona, etc. I dontt know what kind of van the OP actually has.

But i agree with you on old 1st gen van brakes for towing. That is part of the reason i upgraded my van brakes to 11" fronts and something like 11" rear drums as well.


I think the front brakes are the biggie. The back brakes look ok and you could adjust the factory height-sensing brake valve to make them grab more if you were so inclined.

Ive also towed a bit over 4k lbs, and 3k lbs fairly frequently, on a dolley with my 93 dynasty. That one has the 11" discs all around and while they are not super great i actually prefer towing small cars with the dynasty to the 96 ext cab dakota i was also using, because the dynasty seemed more stable and had better brakes. The Dakota was easily 600+lbs heavier and had a longer wheelbase, but in the real world it did not tow as well as my modified dynasty. Imo it came down to back brakes not doing anything and tire sidewalls being too tall and squirmy. Im sure a stock dynasty would be pretty bad for the same reasons, though.

It's kind of funny you bring up AJ because he now tows his van on a dolley with his dakota which is the same truck other than the motor. I towed vans on the dolley with both my dynasty and dakota and i preferred the dynasty.