Launching and retrieving with a Minivan?

Anyone do this regularly?
It's the only tow vehicle that I have. 3500/350lbs tongue.
Which size boat would be the max length on a concrete ramp with grippy slots and notches and medium grade?
Would a single or double axle trailer make any difference?

What kind of mini van do you have?

You said it in the 2nd sentence, it's about weight limits and safety! Find a boat that fits within those weight limits!

The only time I had trouble towing with a Chrysler minivan was when trying to retrieve in a monsoon rainstorm - fwd sucks on even the best ramps, lol.

Other than that, the minivan was a great tow vehicle; super comfortable and tons of room.

The only down side is that it's a minivan.

It's an 05 Toyota FWD -
The thread is about ramps - not so much about towing.

The trick is going to be those limits, it's going to have to be a small DD with a single axel trailer to stay under those. You might want to bring someone with a truck the first time just to make sure. I've had good luck with a V6 F150 with 4wd and a stick, it didin't move things down the highway very well, but in 4 lo it would pull some big things up the neighborhood ramp.

Buy an old pickup to use just for towing. I suggest an '80-'97 F-250/350. Can be had for under $1000. Unless you like to slalom, I doubt anything you'd want is within those tow limits. Aside from that, FWD automatic transmissions are really weak. I wouldn't expect it to last.

To answer your questions I'd say an 18' I/O w/ 4 or 6 cyl would be at the top end of what I'd be comfortable towing with our mini van and it would have to be to a great launch. Maybe a 17' inboard ski boat with a v8.

Double axle would help on the road but hurt you at the launch since it makes the trailer 300 lbs or so heavier. The 2nd axle would brake better, track straighter and help you maintain control better if you have a blowout.

As someone else pointed out mini vans are bult pretty much like fwd cars. They have weak running gear that generally cant withstand regular towing at or near their rated capacity. Some of the older style rwd mini vans like the Astro and Safari woud to a bit better.

If you need a van what about a full size van? I've been told it's easy to find outstanding deals on used fleet vans with normally aspirated (non turbo) diesels. One of would pull well and get decent mileage doing it.

OH and if you're at or near the rated capacity a weight distributing hitch is a must. This will allow you to shift a portion of that tongue weight to the front axle which will benefit you on the road as well as on the ramp.

Launching would be okay. Pulling 3500 lbs up a ramp with a FWD vehicle isn't impossible but definitely sketchy. Does your Sienna have traction control?

2400lbs

Buy a cheap V8 tow vehicle for under $1K of Craigslist.

Save your minivan for soccer practice, if you tow too much with it you will likely end up doing more than $1k in damage over time to the tranny and brakes.

your major issue is going to be how the weight bias shifts towards the rear of the van, especially on the ramp. tongue weight and ramp angle will serve to create less contact pressure from your drive wheels in the front. the problem is exacerbated when the ramp is wet and further reduces the available friction to the already compromised traction of your drive wheels. all other things being equal, a rear wheel drive vehicle is going perform better than a front wheel drive vehicle at the ramp....

We've had 4 people stuck on our private ramp in the last 3 days. 3 of them driving mini-vans of some kind.... I assume FWD but have no idea. One guy backed his jetski trailer up like 7 or 8 times before he made it all the way down, then barely made it back up with an empty trailer. Another guy backed off the edge & the trailer was high centered on the axle.

Can it be done? Sure.

But if you get into any adverse conditions, or make any mistake at all, good luck to ya.

Originally Posted by bhyatt_ohp

2400lbs

Yeah, 2,400 lbs + at least 900-1,000 for a trailer. Depending on if that's a wet or dry weight you'd have to add 6 lbs per gallon of fuel in the tank, battery weight, etc. Most people who are wake boarding will have a tower on there which adds 150+ more lbs and probably another easy 200 lbs of miscellaneous wake boarding crap, spare parts, tools, anchor, etc.

So, a 2001 equipped for wake boarding would be at least 3,500 lbs which would put you at the limit for this van. I think a more realistic number for the 2001 would be closer to 4,000 lbs especially if that's a dry weight.

No way I'd plan on towing a 2001 with a fwd mini van.