Towing With a Bonneville
 

I have a 96 SE, and due to a recent divorce, she got her mini van and I got to keep my Bonnie. My question is, can the Bonneville handle towing a pop up camper? The Bonneville does have a bigger motor than the Dodge Gr Caravan we had, so I wouldn't think power would be a problem. Thanks

How much does the camper weigh?

I am not sure, but I thought the Bonnie's were rated to tow like 1000lbs? I would have to check on that though..

Your manual explicitly discourages towing of any kind. Although if we all listened to our manuals, this site would be a boring place. :-)

Towing with a 4T60-E isn't the best idea in the world, but I have heard a few success stories on this site. Just change that transmission fluid frequently, and don't drag race with a trailer — common sense, basically.

If you were going to frequently do it I would think that getting a scan gauge that can tell you trans temp and possibly a trans cooler would be a good idea.

The manual does contradict itself. It does discouraged towing,, yet states a towing capacity of 1000Lbs. I used to tow a small trailer with my 92 Park Ave with same drivetrain and didn't seem to have problem. Taking it easy and not putting undue torque against the tranny while towing can go a long way in keeping it in good shape. I dont think a popup will have an adverse effect if you treat the drivetrain right.

i used to tow stuff with my bonne all the time, help people move for some extra cash, atv's, snowmobile's, bunch of stuff but i usually tried to keep my total trailer weight under 800lbs

just remember that just because its an automatic doesnt mean u cant use all the gears. if going up hills use 2nd gear, stay away from OD, use D. accelerate slowly back off the gas at shift points. ect. Treat her good and she will get the job done

Right off hand I think the pop-up weighs around 1300 lbs.

At that weight, I would add a tranny cooler just to keep the tranny happy. At that weight too, you will be giving the brakes a run for the money too, but if you treat them right, it shouldn't be too bad. You will also want to be careful of the tongue weight too.

Have fun with the gas mileage decrease while towing that thing LOL. I owned a Avalanche with a 8k towing capacity and when towing a 3k pontoon boat my mileage went from 21MPG to about 6-8MPG.