Not quite a specific answer for you 'cuz our camper is a Sedona popup;
but we've towed a MasterCraft skiboat over 20K miles with our minivan
(Honda Odyssey) since 2000 and that boat was right at the 3500# mark in
"travel mode." Always felt comfortable and in control. But it's a
Honda, not a Mopar product. My brother used to have a Chrysler minivan
and it was not the same experience, even towing a much smaller/lighter
16-foot runabout.

Frank

<Snip>Salesdrone told Chris:  "he generally sells this kind of trailer to
people with mini-vans."

BECAUSE: he wants to sell you a trailer that he knows you want but are
having second thoughts about.

<Snip>  Car dealer says: "I (you) should be fine."

BECAUSE:  They want you to come back and buy a new car in 3-4 years when
this one is worn out and the warranty is gone, if you haven't totaled it in
an accident.

I'll be the a$$ since they wont tell you.  Bottom line, get what you want.
Alot of experience is telling you that you are making a mistake.  If you
want the Hybrid, get it, but do me a favor.  Put the wife and kids in a
different vehicle and let them follow you to the campground safely.  My
neighbor towed a small popup with a Caravan V6 and it squatted down like
crazy once he had the wife and kids in it (they were older kids, and they
also took the "house" with them when camping).  I have a medium/large sized
popup with electric brakes.... I know what it does to my explorer sporttrac
when fully loaded.  I hate to see what a heavier trailer does to a nissan
quest, but it can't be pretty, regardless of what the dealership salesdrones
are telling you.

--
[Gerry] & Robyn
99 Mesa
01 SportTrac

Will it tow it? Sure.

For how long or how far is anyone's guess. If you keep asking, you will
eventually get the answer you are really looking for.

FWIW, I towed a 2,000 lb. popup all over California with a 1990 Ford Ranger with
a towing capacity of 6,000 lbs. with no problems at all.

But, when I hooked up a 3,000 lb. boat to that same pickup, it was a totally
different experience. Hills I zoomed up with the popup felt like Mt. Everest
with the boat behind me.

Bottom line--my Ranger's actual, real-world towing capacity was somewhere
between 2,000 and 2,500 lbs. maximum.

I recently went to a boat show. There was a RV dealer there selling toy haulers.
He had a huge 30' toy hauler with a UVW of 8,000 lbs. and a GVWR of 13,000 lbs..
I remarked to my buddy that it would most likely take a 1-ton truck to tow it.
The salesgeek overheard me and said that he had sold that trailer to "lots of
folks" and that a 1/2 ton pickup "would tow it easily."

It was all I could do to keep the soda I was drinking from coming out of my nose
I was laughing so hard.

Mark Filice
2004 Homestead Settler 255RS
1999 Chevrolet Suburban 2500

You went BACK?  They HAVE you now and they KNOW it.  They will now tell you
ANYTHING they think you want to hear in order to make a sale.

That's nice.  Ask him for the telephone number of TWO, such sales as
references.  If he actually delivers the phone numbers, call them and ASK
about their towing experience.

This is the outfit that also stands to gain $$ when you need service work,
right?  Ask them to write their assurances ("You should be fine") and sign it.

No doubt.  It's a heavy trailer.

Really?  This would be the first modern instance I am aware of where a "sway
bar" is part of the trailer package.  The *HITCH* package, sure.  But the
TRAILER part?  Nope.

BTW - You should get - in writing - assurances that your minivan can be
PROPERLY fitted with a Class III hitch receiver and that the minivan can
PROPERLY accommodate a weight-distributing hitch.  I suspect the minivan will
NOT be approved for such an installation.

You mean like the brake controller in the minivan?  How about the auxiliary
automatic transmission cooler?

You absolutely HAVE to have a hybrid camper?  So you're gonna get the
absolutely SMALLEST/SHORTEST model you can find when, for the same money, you
could enjoy MUCH more living space in a new folding trailer.  You will more
quickly tire of the cramped space in a 17-ft hybrid that you would of the soft
sidewalls of a 25-26-ft popup.

You need a bigger horse or a smaller/lighter/lower-profile trailer.

Good luck.  The Quest is under warranty.  Be *VERY* careful about how MUCH you
tow with it.
               :)
JR

I towed a 10 ft Coleman Santa Fe with a Minivan for 4 years. We camp about
50 nights a year - one trip a month, with a couple long, multistop trips a
years. IOWs lots of miles.

I think the Sienna did well. Last year we bought a Toyota 4Runner, V8, rated
to tow 7500 lbs. The difference is amazing, but that is not the point. The
Sienna was good enough.

BUT, I wouldn't want to tow anything heavier. Your assurances from the
dealers does not sway me. Before I got the 4Runner, I was kidding with my
Coleman dealer (who I think is a really good guy) about wanting a Bayside.
He asked me why not, and I said "well, Money and not enough TV". He said
that the Sienna could pull 5000lbs. I told him that was so wrong, and he
went and checked and came back and informed me I was correct. He wasn't
trying to lie to me, he just doesn't know.

When I bought the 4Runner, I had some questions about towing. No one at the
dealership knew *anything*. It was amazing. I had to ask my questions here.

I don't think the salespeople really know. They should, but they don't. It
is your responsibility to know these things, and it is there responsibility
to sell trailers and cars. I would trust the manual, but also remember - the
number includes more than just the dry weight of the trailer. It includes
your cargo, extras and passengers.

Yes, people tow over the limit, but they are putting themselves and others
at risk. Trailer brakes are not enough.

Laura

Hi,
The decision is yours.  You got answers here from people who tow and
you got answers from people who want to sell you trailers and
vehicles.  If you look and wait long enough someone here will probably
agree with you to.

If you are going to insist on towing with the Quest get a *small*
bare minimum pop up camper.  Something in the 1000-1500 lb. range max.
Make sure it has trailer brakes, if it doesn't get them installed.
The Quest brakes are not enough by themselves.  When we first started
camping it was with a tent then a bare minimum pop up.  I pulled it
with a Grand Fury that weighed over 4000 lbs. with the 5.2L engine.  I
still ended up having to put a transmission cooler and adjustable
shocks on it in order to tow.  We had a lot of good times with that
pop up.  You don't need the biggest fanciest trailer starting out.
Heck you may find you don't even like it.

Take care and Happy Campin...

RichA
"We Get Too Soon Olde and Too Late Smart"