report on towing boat with '94 caravan

Hi,

I had posted here in september, prior to using my 3.3 ltr 1994 Caravan LE to tow my 16' Dixie fiberglass boat from new jersey to florida. I asked for advice about towing, etc., and promised to let you guys know how I made out on the trip.

Everything went fine. I had no trouble at all.

To prepare for the trip I flushed the automatic transmission oil and replaced the filter screen as suggested. Buying the right gasket/screen kit was a problem because there are 5 different sets, but eventually, by counting the bolts on the pan I was able to get the right one. The flush was a total flush, including the torque converter. I did that because I bought the van used and it had 150,000 miles on it. Also installed a medium sized transmission oil cooler and mounted it forward of the radiator, and replaced the serpentine belt. I also rotated the rear tires to the front.

The only thing I should have done, and didn't, was install air shocks because the weight lowered the rear a lot, but not enough to bottom out luckily.

So I can report, yeah, you can definitely use a caravan to tow a small boat long distances. One other thing, I ran in overdrive the whole way and had very little downshifting into 3rd. It happened once in a while on grades but not enough to turn off the over drive. With a fully loaded van, and boat, 40horse Evenrude, trailor, and one passenger, I got 24 MPG on the trip, compared to the usual 27. I removed the rear seats prior to the trip to reduce weight and provide more cargo room. Most of the driving was on cruise doing about 60.

mike

Reply to
Mike Hollywood
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Good stuff

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Reply to
xblazinlv

If you can find air shocks for this thing, please let me know.

I was working for a parts dealer (CarQuest) before I got my Caravan (92, same body style) and I figured, since i had a discount still, and I carry about 3/4 of band equipment around with me, Air Shocks might be nice...

Monroe doesn't make them. Gabriel doesn't make them...

I suppose I could cob something in, but I'd rather try to do it right.

After leaving CarQuest I went to work for a used car dealer with all kinds of connections to off-beat parts as well as the main-stream stuff...NOPE!

I tried the web, the phone book, whatever. Not a thing...

The only thing I was able to find was that there are 'helper' springs available for these things. What a PITA...

Let me know if you find anything different. I gave up...

Funny thing is, you can get air shocls for an '88-93 New Yorker. Go figure...

Reply to
Hachiroku

Hi,

I never tried to buy air shocks for the van. My mechanic suggested them at the last minute. I hadn't thought of it prior to the day we left, but as it turned out, for my purposes, they weren't really necessary anyway. If I locate them, I'll post here.

Mike

Reply to
Mike Hollywood

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