Towing Travel trailer with Sprinter

I have a 2016 3500 4x4 170Ext Cargo with the V6/5spd combo, and use it to haul motorcycles to enduro races across the country. I have a 4 month trip coming up and would like to pull a travel trailer with me rather than sleeping in the van the entire time and getting hotels when needed.

I have a friend who pulls a lance 22' (26' overall w/hitch) behind his ecoboost transit, and it does awesome. I would like to buy the same trailer, but have concerns about my sprinter pulling it.

Loaded weight would be right at 5,000lbs and I would be using a spring bar WDH. I worry about bending the rear frame on the sprinter on rough roads.

I also am concerned about harming the power train/emissions system. The trailer would be towed about 10k miles per year. Will this have a negative effect on my long term reliability?

Looking for any advice I can get on the subject. I appreciate any input form anyone towing large amounts with their vans.

Thanks,
-Andrew

You are right on the edge of max tow weight and might be over GCVWR with a loaded van and the trailer. I would not do it, especially when you can get lighter trailers

+1 with chromisdesigns!
The principle reason the 516/519/3500 170" EXTENDED cargo vans have the downgraded (from 7,500/750) towing capacity of
5,000/500 is that the structural integrity of the extension is not up to the necessary levels that are found in the standard short overhang
516/519/3500 Sprinter cargo vans.
Adding a weight distributing hitch would seem to put a lot more strain on an already highly stressed rear overhang structure.
Putting a weight distributing hitch system on ANY unibody vehicle is a huge risk IMHO.
Weight distributing hitches work great on pickups and SUVs that have a frame under them.
The additional load is transferred/projected forward through the heavy section frame rails.
Sprinters have no frame and depend on the entire body section (top to bottom/side to side) for structural integrity.
No frame rails at all, with the possible exception of the Cab/Chassis, but even a cab/chassis has no heavy section frame
rails, just a heavier weldment of slightly thicker sections into something that works like a frame (sort of).
I'd look for a lighter trailer.
The engine and transmission will handle the extra weight just fine, provided you get a Scan Gauge II or similar and drive the sprinter/
trailer in a manner that keeps the % engine Load @ < 75% as much of the time as possible.
This means manually downshifting quite a bit, and not just for uphill grades.
Your travel trailer will add a huge amount of wind load, so whenever the wind is coming from ahead, you will need to manuall
downshift unless you are on a downhill grade.
I've towed quite a bit with Sprinters, and never found this to be any sort of issue for the Sprinter, but I have always purchased
the OEM factory installed ORIS hitch and factory installed trailer wiring and trailer brake wiring in SHORT BACK (NOT EXTENDED)
516/519/3500 Sprinters with the 4.182 : 1 rear end ratio.
Bottom line is (as chromisdesigns suggests) look for a much lighter trailer or trade the Sprinter in on a short back version.
Hope this helps,
Roger

I believe that in addition to possible structural issues, the tow capacity reduction for the extended van also relates to geometry issues. The extra leverage of the trailer in both a downward and pivoting situation is negatively affected by the distance of the hitch ball from the rear axle.

I agree with finding a lighter trailer.

Jayco and some other TT manufacturers make nice smaller trailers. You might consider a Jayco hybrid. We have an older 23B. When expanded it is really spacious. When in "turtle" mode (no extra canvas bed space dropped down) we can sleep 3 people comfortably and 4 if you're cozy. That means for parking lot stopovers, or short wet night stays the canvas doesn't need to be opened and get wet. It takes about 10 minutes to drop the beds down when you need them

They have been making hybrids for years now so are available used.

http://www.jayco.com/tools/archive/2015-jay-feather/floorplans-and-prices/

vic

I can step down to a slightly smaller lance, which would put me around 4600 and 23.5 overall length. This is about the smallest floor plan with the space, capacities, and insulation that I need. My friend's EcoBoost transit barely feels the larger trailer behind it, I believe mostly because of the windbreak the van offers, but I worry that the sprinter may be a bit more fragile.

AndrewKane said:

I can step down to a slightly smaller lance, which would put me around 4600 and 23.5 overall length. This is about the smallest floor plan with the space, capacities, and insulation that I need. My friend's EcoBoost transit barely feels the larger trailer behind it, I believe mostly because of the windbreak the van offers, but I worry that the sprinter may be a bit more fragile.

Click to expand...

4600 dry weight will quickly exceed 5000# total for most users.

The good news is that the only deduct for the Sprinter cargo capacity while towing is the tongue weight. 10% is typical, so -500# for tongue weight comes off the cargo capacity.

How close you want to play with numbers higher than recommended is your call.

Good luck. vic

It would be about 4600 wet, the trailer is 3750. I can't imagine ending up over 5000 with just 40gal water, propane, and some clothes and a few cooking items.

AndrewKane said:

It would be about 4600 wet, the trailer is 3750. I can't imagine ending up over 5000 with just 40gal water, propane, and some clothes and a few cooking items.

Click to expand...

You'll be fine with that then. vic

You will be fine. My friend has 2008 3500 EXT with mega roof and he tows his heavy boat , around 6000lb . not saying that it is smart ..

Did you give any thought to using your long van as a "metal tent" and towing a smaller motorcycle trailer behind you? Not too hard to make removable insides for your local or daytripping needs. Any level of comfort possible.

I got an excellent deal on my 02 158" from Pyranha Kayak when they sold off their small fleet of Sprinters in 04. My Sprinter was used to tow a trailer full of whitewater kayaks to events. The driver could sleep inside the mildly converted van.

But then Pyranha bought a sea kayak company and the much longer trailers needed convinced them to switch to a pickup truck fifth wheel combo. A long Sprinter-trailer combo was just too painful and not designed for that task.

Just a thought. We spend months out on our excursions and the van is then outfitted quite differently from the daytripping with canoes or bikes.

Dan

I tow my 2001 Rockwood Roo 2315 model or something like that, Hybrid. 2500 not extended high roof all over the place. Temps stay just fine. Afraid to weigh it. Handles spectacular. Have been towing stuff forever. Feels totally safe. The hitch does bolt to the unibody so it certainly isn't a Chevy Duramax truck but presently surprised. Towed about 3000 miles this past summer. No huge mountains but some pretty big hills. Just gear down and slow down a bit and all is good.
I use mine to carry large RC airplanes to precision scale aerobatic contests. Dang the big van is cool!

sailquik said:

Adding a weight distributing hitch would seem to put a lot more strain on an already highly stressed rear overhang structure. Putting a weight distributing hitch system on ANY unibody vehicle is a huge risk IMHO.
Weight distributing hitches work great on pickups and SUVs that have a frame under them.
The additional load is transferred/projected forward through the heavy section frame rails.
Sprinters have no frame and depend on the entire body section (top to bottom/side to side) for structural integrity.

Click to expand...

How about the non-EXT 3500 170 cargo? We will probably pull the horse trailer most of the time. ~5,000lbs max. We have a travel trailer that weights 4300 dry but it has a weight distributing hitch on it. The Tundra pulls it without any problems but I wonder about the Sprinter.

Thorn - how'd it end up pulling that horse trailer?

thorn said:

How about the non-EXT 3500 170 cargo? We will probably pull the horse trailer most of the time. ~5,000lbs max. We have a travel trailer that weights 4300 dry but it has a weight distributing hitch on it. The Tundra pulls it without any problems but I wonder about the Sprinter.

Click to expand...