Ok here is the deal.

My family and I have decided to move to florida. Hopefully within the next few months. We are looking to purchasing a Van. We have a budget for the Van at $2500.

We have searched through the internet and found many to choose from so we know that are budget is realistic.

The plan is to purchase a van, drive to florida, secure a house, drive back to New York, Load the family up and drive back down to florida, and live happily ever after

The problem is that we will be renting one of Uhauls trailer boxes. The biggest one they have is
the 6' by 12'
here are specs on the the one we want to rent

* Volume: up to 396 cu. ft.
* Max load: 2,600 lbs.
* Gross vehicle weight: 4,400 lbs. max
* Empty weight: 1,800 lbs.

Inside dimensions: 11'7" x 6' x 5'5" (LxWxH)

Now hear are the requirements for the vehicle that can tow this trailer

Your towing vehicle:

* Must be equipped with a hard top if it is an SUV. U-Haul does not allow any type of sport-utility vehicle not equipped with a hard top to tow U-Haul equipment.
* Must weigh at least 3,500 lbs. (curb weight)
* Must have Class 2 tow hitch (3,500 lb. minimum weight-carrying rating)
* Must have 1-7/8", 2" or 2-1/8" hitch ball (3,500 lbs. minimum)
* Must not exceed maximum allowable hitch ball height 25"
* Must have external mirrors on both sides
* Must have fully operational lighting
* Trailer lighting must be operational at all times, day and night
* Maximum recommended speed is 45 MPH

Now I have had my eyes on some conversion vans, and I know that those vans that have the V8 5.0 or 5.7 can definately handle the trailer all the way to florida.

But

I see plymouth voyager, chevy astro, ford winstar, plymouth voyager se, and many more with that similiar body style for a mini van.

I see that some even have the V6 engine. Most of these minivans 90% don't come with trailer hitches.

Now even though I prefer the conversion van with the stronger engine & transmission, I also like the newer models that have the newer look.

So finally my question

Can these minivans tow such a trailer safely without over taxing the engine& transmission, or should I just stick with the big boys.

I really would like an answer because I am not sure. I don't want to spend the money on a van to find out later that the van can not handle the trailer.

I hope that I have explained it well enough

Thanks in advance for all answers

I really need some advice

I own a Chrysler/Dodge minivan. Has the 3.8l engine (Largest available). No way would I use it to tow a 4,000 pound trailer.
1. it's front wheel drive.
2. The rear suspension will not support 400 pounds of hitch weight
3. The transmission is a slush bucket and will overheat.
4. The max tow weight specified is 3000 pounds IF you have only 2 people in the van AND the heavy duty tow package. It's about 1000 pounds without...

I notice this question is a bit old, but if you're still checking for responses, here's one: There are two things to think about when choosing a van to tow a trailer. One's the towing capacity of the van itself, obviously, and if you're gonna use a $2500 van to tow a 5000 lb. trailer (which, realistically, it might be when all loaded up), you probably want to get one that was originally rated to tow quite a bit more than that, since age and neglect will have weakened some of the essential components. The FWD minivans are usually based on car platforms and are just not engineered to handle those kinds of loads. Astros could, when new, handle a 5000 lb trailer, but I don't know that I'd trust one from 1998 (10 years old, after all) to reliably tow something that heavy across the country and through the heat of Florida.

But the other (and maybe more important) thing is the weight of the tow vehicle. A minivan that weighs 3500-4000lbs hooked to a trailer that weighs at least as much as it does is a *very* unsafe proposition. This is because of something known as trailer sway, which, essentially, is what happens when the heavy trailer begins controlling the motion of the tow vehicle, rather than the other way around. The whole rig begins snaking back and forth on the highway, and since most drivers aren't experienced enough to stop it, the whole mess eventually rolls over or gets dragged off the highway trailer first. So I would strongly encourage you to consider a full-size conversion van. Yeah, they're not as new, and yeah, they're less fuel-efficient. But take a basic Ford E150 conversion. It weighs somewhere around 6000 lbs empty, can be had from the factory with a tow package that includes a transmission cooler, and is rated to tow nearly 7000 lbs. (with the big v8). It's less likely to overheat or break down and leave you stranded, and it's more likely to be stable and safe at freeway speeds.

That's my $0.02. Good luck to you