Towing Honda Odyssey 4 wheels down
I am new to RVing. I want to tow a Honda Odyssey 4 wheels down. I need a vehicle that can transport a wheelchair so my vehicle options are very limited. Can the Odyssey be modified with a Remco trans...
Forum Discussion
"If your transmission fails, it is going to be difficult to hide the fact that it has been towed flat."
One of the reasons I bought an 08. The transmission has no remaining warranty. The risk is all mine. Posters in the old thread reported up to 20k miles towing without problems. One had an analysis of the tranny oil done before towing, and after several thousand miles. No issues were found. The 05 and prior models had a significant number of transmission issues. Some were towed, others not. The 07, and perhaps some 06's, had a change in the transmissions which resulted in far fewer failures. That transmission design continued through the 10 models.
Roadmaster sells a bracket set for 05-10 Odyssey LX models. Lots of folks are towing them. I haven't found any posts of failures from towing these models (except the "someone I know said his failed" anecdotes).
The tow procedure is a huge consideration. The most popular toads have a tranny that you shift to neutral, turn the key to a position to keep the steering lock disabled, and drive away. I've left my Saturn and Jeep toads untouched for a week or more of sustained towing. Can't do that with the Odyssey! Setup to tow is multi-step, must be executed in exact order, and repeated if the tow period exceeds 8 hours. It's easy to see why Honda management took the easy route and just said it's not towable 4 down. However, the "emergency tow instructions are identical to those for the towable pre-06 models except for distance and speed.
Seating for 8, within the 5k limit of most hitches, good fuel economy, comfortable, reliable, and lots of optional cargo space - the Odyssey has all the characteristics of a great toad.
However, the decision to tow one is a personal one, and the owner assumes the risk. But as the signature line of one poster says: "A ship is safe in a harbor, but that's not what ships are made for".
One of the reasons I bought an 08. The transmission has no remaining warranty. The risk is all mine. Posters in the old thread reported up to 20k miles towing without problems. One had an analysis of the tranny oil done before towing, and after several thousand miles. No issues were found. The 05 and prior models had a significant number of transmission issues. Some were towed, others not. The 07, and perhaps some 06's, had a change in the transmissions which resulted in far fewer failures. That transmission design continued through the 10 models.
Roadmaster sells a bracket set for 05-10 Odyssey LX models. Lots of folks are towing them. I haven't found any posts of failures from towing these models (except the "someone I know said his failed" anecdotes).
The tow procedure is a huge consideration. The most popular toads have a tranny that you shift to neutral, turn the key to a position to keep the steering lock disabled, and drive away. I've left my Saturn and Jeep toads untouched for a week or more of sustained towing. Can't do that with the Odyssey! Setup to tow is multi-step, must be executed in exact order, and repeated if the tow period exceeds 8 hours. It's easy to see why Honda management took the easy route and just said it's not towable 4 down. However, the "emergency tow instructions are identical to those for the towable pre-06 models except for distance and speed.
Seating for 8, within the 5k limit of most hitches, good fuel economy, comfortable, reliable, and lots of optional cargo space - the Odyssey has all the characteristics of a great toad.
However, the decision to tow one is a personal one, and the owner assumes the risk. But as the signature line of one poster says: "A ship is safe in a harbor, but that's not what ships are made for".
