Towing a 1650ex with a Volvo XC90?

[DadOFour]

So I made the mistake of putting an OEM Volvo hitch on my XC90 thinking it would be the safest choice for my vehicle. Rented a 1650ex for a week with the family. Travelling through NC WV mountains on I-77 into OH.

I did not realize that this towbar is not for use with WD and other accessories, as that was not disclosed to me at the time of purchase. I was also focused on the fact that the hitch was rated at 5000/500 lbs. The hitch also only comes with a 2" ball. Here's the best link I can find (3rd party):
https://www.volvodealeraccessories.c...hitch-32259539

-The depth of the square profile is limited to 2.6 inches, measured from the center of the hole for the locking pin to the bottom of the receiver.
-The distance between the outer edge (mouth) of the hitch tube to the center of the locking pin is 1.5 inches.
-Never use the towbar together with a hitch weight distribution system. For more information, see the Owner's Manual.

I do have air suspension, and plan to be as conservative as possible on the weight, but do have to bring a week of stuff. Vehicle weighs over 6000. I have an echo brake controller.

We planned to leave in a few days. What are my options to get this done safely? Do I need to rip the towbar out (assuming I can find a replacement on short notice, haha) or can I do this safely with the right 2 5/16" ball/height adjustment?

Thanks for any advice,
LearningTheHardway

[Ken / Claudia]

I don't have an answer to your question.
I question the tow vehicle as able to tow a RV safely. Is it rated for the real towing weight of that RV and most important payload on your tow vehicle.
Payload is listed on every newer vehicles body on or near the drivers door.
Thinking that since they sell a class 3 hitch and normally you want a class 4 maybe its too much.

[DadOFour]

Appreciate the comment.

The vehicle has a capacity of over 1200 lbs and tow of 5000/500lbs. With passengers and hitch weight I've figured 1000 lbs conservatively. There won't be much room in the car for stuff, so minimal additional gear in the car. Maybe tighter than I'd like, but certainly within spec. The owner tows with a midsize SUV as well.

The trailer itself has over 1000 lbs of capacity, and we're going to do all we can to keep that as low as possible, but all the "heavy" gear will be distributed there.

The lesson for the future is we'll probably stick to popups until time to upgrade the vehicle & hitch, but for now, just curious if anyone has towed a 1650ex with no WD and anti-sway. I suspect we'll be fine if we keep the speed low and properly distribute the weight - and assuming the trailer is well-maintained, etc.

[wiredgeorge]

20' trailer, 4700 lb gross weigh trailer. Hitch weight of trailer north of 600 lbs. Hitch passengers, stuff in your car. Please state the actual payload of your car which is printed on the yellow/white placard in the driver door frame. With no weight distribution this may not be towable with your car due lack of payload capacity.

[DadOFour]

1210 lbs.

Trailer specs (2018, found on RVGuide):
Dry Weight (lbs/kg) 3400 / 1542.2
Payload Capacity (lbs/kgs) 1300 / 589.7
GVWR (lbs/kgs) 4700 / 2131.9
Hitch Weight (lbs/kgs) 450 / 204.1

[jasin1]

As a “dad of four” I would think the safety and well being of your family is your primary job in life. IMO …. I would rent a truck or buy something borrow something …anything but put my family in jeopardy..it may be better to disappoint the family a little and get things right before you take the trip.

Your either safely towing or not…there is no middle ground

[chuckster57]

JMHO: based on what you’ve posted, I would not do it. Just because the hitch is rated 5000/500, what is your vehicle rated? No WD or sway? One truck passing you may have your trailer swinging like a door in the restaurant kitchen.

I realize your probably going to go on this trip regardless of what anybody might say here, all I’m going to say is I hope you make it in one piece.

[wiredgeorge]

Quoting specs out of a brochure won't tell you the true payload. What does the payload placard in your car actually say? This is a payload placard:

[DadOFour]

Agree safety first, which is why I'm in this situation to begin with:
1. I bought the safest 3-row SUV I could. Towing was a consideration, but at the time I only had access to basic specs online and a limited knowledge of what to look for.
2. I bought the OEM tow bar, thinking (incorrectly) that would be best.
3. I measured my weights and calculated with 5-10% safety margin.
4. I picked a rental that included WD/AS. Sadly because of #2, the recommendation is to not use it with my towbar. Still working to see if swapping towbar is the fix.
5. I'm reaching out to the experts everywhere I can and trying to get solutions and learn so I don't do something unsafe.

I goofed on #2, trying to figure out the best way to remedy. If necessary, we can tent-camp or find a different rental - but there will be safety tradeoffs there as well.

I am quoting the plackard on the vehicle. I can't quote the RV because it's a rental, but I planned to double-check and hold the owner to it if the variance is there.

[flybouy]

Packing light with a family of 4 for a week? Highly unlikely. The GVW of the trailer will most likely be the weight if not more. 13% of GVW is typically used for tongue weight when actual weight is unknown. 13% of 4,700 is 611 so that exceeds the 500 lb hitch rating.

A WDH is not recommended by manufacturers of unibody vehichles. No disrespect but soccer mom SUVs do not make good tow vehichles. That set up will unnecessarily place you, your family, and the rest of the folks near you on the road. I say unnecessarily because now you have been informed by several people the danger of proceeding. Good luck and stay safe.

[DadOFour]

Ok, greatly appreciate the feedback. I had not heard that about hitch weight and mistakenly assumed that the weight was that on the spec.

We'll look for another option.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by DadOFour

Ok, greatly appreciate the feedback. I had not heard that about hitch weight and mistakenly assumed that the weight was that on the spec.

We'll look for another option.

Folks have bills, I know this as well as everyone and a budget is a budget especially for things that are not a necessity but perhaps pick up a used truck for just pulling? I have a 2006 F350 I paid $7K for and have put a few thousand bucks into to make it reliable. We pretty much only use it to tow our 5th wheel. I know a lot of folks get nervous about buying an old vehicle but with the price of new heavy duty trucks at a sky high all time high perhaps it doesn't seem as dumb as it would in normal times. Perhaps now is not the time to get into camping anyway due the inflated prices of both campers and suitable tow vehicles. I don't know. And tent camping isn't camping... it is misery, sweat, bugs and a sore back (I am old and have tent camped in the distant past).

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by DadOFour

Agree safety first, which is why I'm in this situation to begin with:
1. I bought the safest 3-row SUV I could. Towing was a consideration, but at the time I only had access to basic specs online and a limited knowledge of what to look for.
2. I bought the OEM tow bar, thinking (incorrectly) that would be best.
3. I measured my weights and calculated with 5-10% safety margin.
4. I picked a rental that included WD/AS. Sadly because of #2, the recommendation is to not use it with my towbar. Still working to see if swapping towbar is the fix.
5. I'm reaching out to the experts everywhere I can and trying to get solutions and learn so I don't do something unsafe.

I goofed on #2, trying to figure out the best way to remedy. If necessary, we can tent-camp or find a different rental - but there will be safety tradeoffs there as well.

I am quoting the plackard on the vehicle. I can't quote the RV because it's a rental, but I planned to double-check and hold the owner to it if the variance is there.

To put it as simply as I know how to do, hopefully without making you angry, would you put your family of 6 in an airplane designed for two and fly them on vacation, even though you've never, ever flown an airplane that big? You might have flown a glider or an ultra-light, but having NEVER flown that kind of airplane (one designed for 6 passengers) and risking your family is very much like NEVER having towed a trailer that big with that vehicle (not designed for WD hitch towing) and risking your family.....

Now, to respond to your post:

1. That Volvo may be rated as "the safest SUV" and it might well be just that. There are significant compromises in making it that safe... Crumple zones, folding panels, use of plastic and reinforced frame members around the passenger compartment are some of them. Much of that is not compatible with the perimeter frame strength required to carry a weight distribution hitch. What that "note" in the hitch manual means is that you can't "bolt a WD hitch on this vehicle because it isn't designed to be rigid enough in that area to support the weight of the trailer".... It's a compromise between "passenger cage safety and perimeter frame crumple zones"... YOU CAN"T HAVE BOTH the way that vehicle was designed. I think you'll also find, in the vehicle owner's manual, if you dig deep enough, a statement saying the same: Do not use this vehicle with a WD hitch.

2. It's very likely the reason the OEM drawbar has that restriction is explained in #1.

3. Putting "estimated weights on paper" is not "real world data"... As an example, the OEM drawbar or your aftermarket drawbar likely weighs 50-75 pounds. That is a "bolt on accessory" that's not calculated in the payload sticker. When using 5000 pounds as a starting point for max towing weight, just the addition of that 50 pound receiver reduces your 5-10% margin by 1%, making it 4-9%. The point is, "DON'T GUESS ON WEIGHTS". Either take the rig to a scale and weigh it (real world weights) or plan on being much closer to or over your estimate. There is no "free lunch" with recreational towing. Nearly every one who owns a travel trailer is surprised at how much weight they "really tow". but, in the "grand scheme of things" should you even get "this far into planning this rig" when you can't get past the first limitation, the inability of the tow vehicle to safely connect to the trailer ???

4. Swapping the towbar will not "fix" the design limitations of your Volvo. It's not the hitch, it's the vehicle design compromises that you can't avoid. NO hitch will alter or avoid the engineering design of your "uni-body frame" with perimeter crumple zones. You can't mount a WD hitch on a "folding body frame"....

As for #5, have you considered renting BOTH a tow vehicle and the trailer you have already rented? Many rental agencies rent trucks as well as sedans/SUV's and crossovers. Shop around and find a suitable tow vehicle to rent that's equipped to pull your trailer. Otherwise, "suck it up and forfeit the loss from canceling the trailer rental"....

You simply can't (shouldn't) put your family in a situation of risking their safety by using the wrong vehicle to tow a "too heavy" trailer with a hitch that is not designed to work with the vehicle you bolt it on......

[sourdough]

Although all the responses say the same thing I have to chime in seconding all their recommendations. I would never consider towing anything more than a lawn trailer with a unibody SUV. John explained it very well in the previous post. Everything about the vehicle, including the manual, says you shouldn't be towing with it.

Considering towing a RV without a wdh with a small SUV is basically a death wish - with a family of 6?? Anything, and I mean anything, will set that trailer and Volvo skittering across however many lanes of traffic there are.....or into the tree line/rocks on the side of the road - I've seen it.

I won't even discuss options to outfit the Volvo, it's not fit to tow an RV period. I will 2nd (3rd?) the suggestion of renting a pickup to tow the RV for vacation. I've rented several when traveling and not pulling the trailer because I like their versatility when I get where I'm going. A crew cab short bed 1/2 ton "might" get the job done but with 6 people the weight of the passengers, gear, hitch and tongue might get very close to the max payload of the pickup rental unless you go HD, you would have to do some homework on the potential rental. 6 folks in a crew cab can be done but you need to make sure of the interior configuration (buckets would make things very tight). But in the end the truck is the only way I would consider that trip.....or just cancel.

[notanlines]

Here's another thing to keep in mind. I have a little experience driving and towing with the XC90 (someone else's) and I can promise this: There is no RV out there with a 2-5/16 ball that needs to be behind that Volvo. I also second (ok, 3rd) all that was said above. It certainly isn't fit for your purpose.

[CaptnJohn]

Volvo has been spouting that hype since the word 'preppie'. Now go rent a truck to tow the traler, see how the truck is built and think safety.