Shadow Cruiser 16H tow vehicles

[bradjk]

My wife and I are looking at getting into the RV scene as a way of us to spend more quality time with our children. We are very impressed with the Shadow Cruiser 16H. Though we have only seen pictures this far we feel it would accommodate our needs through the first few years.

My main worry is our current tow vehicle(2005 Saturn Relay). With People and gear on board we would be very close to the rated limit of our van (3500lbs).

I would really like to know....What are current owners of Shadow Cruiser 16H towing with and how do they perform?

Thanks
Brad

[indieaz]

You'll be *very* close to your towing limit.

Which engine do you have? I know those came with a 200hp/200lb-ft 3.5l as base engine...that engine will struggle for sure. For reference we have a Jeep Liberty with a 3.7L (210hp/225-lb-ft) that we used to pick our 189 up. The liberty weighs about 400 pounds less than your van, but our trailer weighs about 250 pounds more. We ended up buying another vehicle becuase even at 40mph I didn't feel too safe pulling it, and the car struggled to pull the weight.

If you already have a hitch on your vehicle I would recommend you ask the dealer to hook it up and let you drive around the block (this is not an uncommon request).

[bradjk]

I know it's gonna be close, but for safety's sake I know we may have to upgrade. Our van has the original 3.5L V6 with 200hp, not the 3.9L 240HP. I would love to try pulling it with our van but the closest one that I can find is 5-6 hours away.
If you dont mind me asking, did you upgrade to a V8 vehicle?

I would really regret having to upgrade our van as it is in great shape and I still can only get $5500 for it. Meaning to upgrade to any suv of similar seating capacity, I'm forking out at a minimum 10 grand, which is almost our entire RV Budget.

Thanks

[indieaz]

Yes we upgraded to a V8 ('04 Jeep GC 4.7L V8 265HP/325lb-ft). It's night and day versus the liberty having another 100 lb-ft of torque, and the grand cherokee only weighs about 250 pounds more than the liberty.

We live in the southwest and all our camping excursions take us up very steep inclines, so there was no way the liberty was going to cut it. IF we lived in flatter terrain I might have tried pulling it with th liberty. I know others have done it.

[indieaz]

You might want to consider looking at the R-Pod, even lighter than the funfinder/shadow cruiser and more aerodynamic. I cannot stand up in them (interior height is only 6'1" and I am 6'3"), but they tow much easier than a FF will. The frontal area of the FF/Shadow Cruiser creates a lot of drag, r-pod is somewhere between a large popup and a funfinder from a towing perspective.

If r-pod is too small, then maybe consider a pop-up. You can get a shower and everything in them now, and towing is far easier even at similar weights due to the greatly reduced drag.