[A/S] Tow vehicle???

[ablea@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Hi All, I'm new to the list and must say it has been an excellant 
resource for gathering information on all aspects Airstream. I hope to 
contribute to this great forum some day. Now for my problem: My 
beautiful wife and I are getting close to making a decision on the 
purchase of a new 19'Bambi. We have two small childern and are getting 
weary of tent camping. We saw a 19'Bambi at a nearby dealership last 
weekend. My wife fell in love with it the moment she saw it. I took a 
more practical hardline approach but after a few hours of close 
inspection had to admit it was "put together" very well. Especially 
after looking at other makes of travel trailers over the last several 
months. My problem, or shall I say dilemma is our tow vehicle. We have 
a 1999 Ford Explorer, 4.0L SOHC V6 w/ tow package, 250 lb.ft. of 
torque, 5-speed automatic transmission. The tow rating of the Ford is 
5680 pounds. The Bambi weighs in at 4500 pounds loaded. I've read 
through a large portion of the archives and have come to the 
conclusion that the Explorer is not really thought of as a tow 
vehicle. I guess I'm wondering what exactly is the definition of a tow 
vehicle? The specs of the Bambi seem to mesh well with those of the 
Ford. The hitch that we were told to get by the Airstream dealer is a 
Reese WD hitch with the dual cam anti-sway bars. The only other thing 
that I think would help the Ford is the addition of another 
transmission cooler and an oil cooler. What really confused my wife 
and I was seeing the June issue of Trailer Life magazine showing a 
19'Bambi being pulled by a Nissan Xterra! The specs of the Xterra are 
not even close to the Ford. Please don't think that I'm trying to 
start something here. My wife and I are just trying to make an 
informed decision. Any comments would be greatly appreciated. 
                                                                      
                                    Best Regards, Anthony