Towing pop up with 2004 Honda Odyssey?
We have always been tent campers. We are considering getting a light pop up to do local trips in the CO mountains. Is it crazy to tow with our 2004 Odyssey? We just got a lot of work done on it so it ...
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Noblefam, your post reminds me of a retired couple who were towing a 16' Scamp all over the country with a CR-V! I think it was an '04, too. After putting well over 200K miles on it, they traded the CR-V about 2 or 3 years ago for a new Oddy and were thrilled with it.
Find out what would have come with any tow package for your model year van. Then add whatever is really important for safety and longevity; for example, if better transmission cooling came with the package, get an auxiliary tranny cooler. If the package included a bigger alternator, that is an example of an item you could probably skip IMO.
I would recommend a fairly small, lightweight, bare-bones popup with no more than 300 lbs actual hitch weight (with LP, battery etc). A great time can be had in the campgrounds with fairly basic equipment; if you need all the bells and whistles for your camping experience, you'd better wait for a better tug to tow all that weight. And you'll want to lock out overdrive when towing, and take it easy going up and down the grades. Definitely get a popup with trailer brakes!
Find out what would have come with any tow package for your model year van. Then add whatever is really important for safety and longevity; for example, if better transmission cooling came with the package, get an auxiliary tranny cooler. If the package included a bigger alternator, that is an example of an item you could probably skip IMO.
I would recommend a fairly small, lightweight, bare-bones popup with no more than 300 lbs actual hitch weight (with LP, battery etc). A great time can be had in the campgrounds with fairly basic equipment; if you need all the bells and whistles for your camping experience, you'd better wait for a better tug to tow all that weight. And you'll want to lock out overdrive when towing, and take it easy going up and down the grades. Definitely get a popup with trailer brakes!
