Anyone have a Mini Van that ....

[My Pasos]

they use to pull a small horse trailer?
We, well I am thinking of having a Reese put on and pulling with the mini van.
It would be great if it would work!!! Then we could go to weekend trips & sleep in the van.

[ErinC]

Terri did, now she had a truck and trail.
it just did not work out!

[appyday]

NO ...I would not..

[appyday]

NO ...I would not..

[appyday]

NO ...I would not..

[CarolU]

I have a mini-Van and NO, I would not. They are not built for pulling, and even a 6-cylinder would not be stable pulling a trailer. Your power is on your front wheels, not your rear where the weight would be. VERY unstable.

[Terri]

Yep, I drove a chevy venture and a brenderup
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/micomyhorse/DCFC0035.jpg
It probably was "me" but I never felt "solid" driving my horses with it. I always felt nervous driving it.
now I have a chevy silverado and an old 2 horse "trailer USA" bumper pull. I feel safe and solid driving it anywhere - the highway - whatever.
I will NEVER undertruck myself again.

[My Pasos]

Well, I guess it wouldn't be a good idea then. We just bought this van, it has power, but I don't want to ruin the engine either.

I told Mark, when we go to trade it in (many years from now :roll: ) I want to trade for a Ram.

We can still drive both somewhere and sleep in the van....

[reuben T]

all kinds of things have been done, and can be done, and when i was younger i tended to push the limits a lot further than i do now, but after lots of expirence pulling trailers I think it's better to be safe than risky.
a neighbor and me hauled a 5000 lb load on a chopped off pickup trailer behind a subaru from Utah to TN, but I wouldn't do it again, sure it was a 4x4 subaru with low range, but the weight of car to weight of load was too far off for real safety. We ripped the bumper off half way home, but it happened in a small town where my neighbor's friend from school days lived and he had a welder, so we fixed it ourselves.
The minivan horse trailer combo would work, as long as the driver was very careful, but it's not something I'd do unless it was short term and really had to. A full size pickup, van, or simular size vehicle would be better. I have a friend that hauls 1 horse in a 2 horse trailer (that I sold him before I bought my 20 ft gooseneck) with a minivan, but it's a rear wheel drive van, I'm sure a bit more stable with a trailer than a front wheel drive van.
I guess why I'm getting more careful is all the breakdowns I've had from trying to haul too much, blown engines, blown transmisions, broken hitches, blown tires, etc.

[Terry Wallace]

It might "work for a while" but it will not work for long, may take out your tranny, and will at least overheat your coling system AND tranny.
Mini Vans are not made to pull horse trailers. They don't have the radiator/cooling system for it, they don't have the brakes for it, and they don't have the transmission for pulling.

I would advise you against it completely. JMO

[moonrize]

Got to agree with eveyone else and caution you against a mini van pulling a horse trailer. Even if it had a big enough engine and transmission, it does not have the wheel base to be stable enough to negotiate turns with a shifting load in a trailer. It also does not have the weight needed to slow down the trailer (even with trailer brakes).

Just find ya a nice old pick up that you only use for hauling. I owned an old truck that I was basically embarrassed to drive for years when I was younger and she only cost $1,000 (paid a $100 a month to some friends for this beauty). But she was big ol' thing that was safe to haul with and that's the most important thing.

[LynnG]

You might want toc check out rental auto dealerships that rent out trucks that can tow. I had to rent a truck this way once when mine was in an accident and I needed to haul horses to a show. at the Alaska clinic one gal had a rental pick-up truck from U-Haul that pulled her horse trailer. This could save alot without buying an extra vehicle, insurance, repairs, tires, etc.

[LynnG]

You might want toc check out rental auto dealerships that rent out trucks that can tow. I had to rent a truck this way once when mine was in an accident and I needed to haul horses to a show. at the Alaska clinic one gal had a rental pick-up truck from U-Haul that pulled her horse trailer. This could save alot without buying an extra vehicle, insurance, repairs, tires, etc.