U-Haul says that my Aerostar can pull the Tempo.

[JohnAerostarXLT]

I have the Tempo tenatively sold to a buddy of mine in Washington state. I checked to day and IF my van had the proper towing equipment (hitch and connector, which it doesnt as of yet), it is within U-haul's guidelines and is capable of towing the GLS. And it's less than $200 for the rental.

I'm thinking of selling him the Tempo and eventually buying a newer sedan to replace it, possibly a 2006-2009 low mileage Ford Fusion with the 3.0L Duratec and 6-speed auto. I found an '08 Fusion SEL V-6 with 91,000 on it at a local Nissan dealer that I just love.

Don't worry, I wont be trading the van in on the Fusion, heh heh.

For the Aerostar to make the trip, though, here are a list of to-dos, not including the towing equipment.

Repair power steering system.
Repair A/C system (new compressor)
Trans fluid/filter changed
Tires/wheels put on (the '03 Explorer alloys I have detailed in another thread)

I may do the front brakes as well (stops well but the rotors are warped and that will be annoying in the mountains with the Tempo pushing the van downhill).

This will HOPEFULLY take place over this summer, it depends on how things go for me and my buddy who's buying the car. I'll probably use the $1,000 I'm charging him for the Tempo (that's a "buddy price" lol) for the repairs on the van.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Harbor Freight sells one of those things that U-Haul rents.

 

[JohnAerostarXLT]

Sorry, I should have mentioned, this is with using a tow dolly (two wheels off the ground), not a tow bar (4-wheels on the ground) or auto carrier (4-wheels off the ground).

I am more interested in where I can find the proper tow package (the reciever and wiring) for the van.

 

[colintrax]

etrailer.com is popular. Junk yards, local trailer shops, and even uhaul should have a hitch. Same goes for the wiring.
FYI, "tow package" is not a hitch and wiring. It's an option from the factory.

Have fun towing that
If you don't have a trans temp gauge, I'd suggest you get one. Auto trans don't like hills

 

[JohnAerostarXLT]

FYI, "tow package" is not a hitch and wiring. It's an option from the factory.

Gotchya. My buddies and I have often refered to the reciever, hitch, wiring, etc as a "tow package", although I realize it's not the proper term. I guess I shouldn't have used it as such here.

I appreciate the link, I found a hitch for my van for $185.95. That obviously does not include wiring nor instalation but it's a start. Thanks again.

 

[don-ohio]

I towed my son-in-law a car(his bit the dust and he needed rescue in Tennesee below Nashville). A guy up here in Jackson owed him a car,a Chevy Corsica,and so I towed it on a tow dolly from Jackson(only 450 miles to Columbia area where he lived).
But I had the 4.0 Eddie Bauer,and full synthetic transmission fluid,along with the optional air-cooled fluid cooler besides the regular in-radiator cooler.
I had no trouble,got 16.9 mpg. Now one thing I was careful about was to lock it out of overdrive on grades. I DIDN't wait for it to shift down......I shifted it down.
I had a little extra air pressure in the rear tires.
Remember with a tow-dolly backing up can be frightful.....plan your stops and drive thru exits.
YES! It WILL tow that Tempo! don-ohio ^)

 

[JohnAerostarXLT]

Thanks Don, that's not bad MPG at all but of course you weren't going over the Cascade mountains, lol.

Yeah, I planned to leave it out of overdrive on grades. I've towed before, just never used a dolly with an Aerostar before. I once towed a Mercury Sable about 20 miles with a chain using my 1989 Aerostar 3.0L. I even passed a Toyota truck on a two lane with the Sable in tow. It was hillarious. The guy got passed by a not just a minivan, but a minivan towing a car! LOL!

 

[colintrax]

^hahahaha well that's pretty damn funny

$190 isn't real cheap, did you check else where? $150 would be better. You can get the wiring just about anywhere.
As for installation, you should be able to do it. It's heavy, but if my skinny butt can do it then anyone should be able to. Just need some basic hand tools and 30 minutes

 

[don-ohio]

Yeah,John,I love the old Sables and Tauruses. Takes a towed car that has decent brakes to tow with a chain. AND a good,alert driver in the towed car. don-ohio ^)

Thanks Don, that's not bad MPG at all but of course you weren't going over the Cascade mountains, lol.

Yeah, I planned to leave it out of overdrive on grades. I've towed before, just never used a dolly with an Aerostar before. I once towed a Mercury Sable about 20 miles with a chain using my 1989 Aerostar 3.0L. I even passed a Toyota truck on a two lane with the Sable in tow. It was hillarious. The guy got passed by a not just a minivan, but a minivan towing a car! LOL!

 

[aero-star]

JohnAerostarXLT did you make your tow to Washington? I went to U-haul and they didn't want to rent me one. My 1995 4.0L AWD is capable of towing 5000lbs. So I opt for the towdolly; U-Haul answered can't do it. So I bought a 2012 used ACME dolly with surge brakes for Cad 800.00 and towed another Aerostar for 300 Km after disconnect of the drive line. It was a smooth ride. Dolly + Aerostar = 3950lbs