towing with a Honda Oddessy

Yes, you probably can for short trips in flattish country. Happy Shopping.

Thanks to all for the info,I figured the Honda would be able to do this,it will be for short trips

I have been towing our 19' HTT (2,700 lbs dry weight "whatever that means") for 2 years now with a 2005 Odyssey EX-L.
Yup, I installed the hitch, 7 pin wiring harness, transmission cooler, steering cooler, weight distribution hitch, fresh transmission fluid every year and the van has been doing great!
We do live in Florida which is mostly flat lands and we never drive to campgrounds that are more than 3 hours away.
Yes, you will feel the wind resistance with the frontal area of the HTT and that's why we drive at no more than 55mph.
Our setup is totally maxed out with 3 bikes on top of the van and 5 children under 8.
I don't know if you were asking about the max tongue weight, but I believe it is 350lbs.

We towed a Surveyor SL180T 18ft hybrid with our 2007 odyssey. The van did a good job of towing that trailer, and got better gas mileage doing it then the half-ton we bought later on (for a larger trailer). I put in a transmission cooler, fresh fluid, 7 pin wiring harness for and trailer brake controller, and of course a weight distributing hitch. Overall what we found was
- towing, stability, etc. was all excellent, the van did a great job
- van is right at the limits of its gcwr with 3500lb trailer. Couple hundred pounds over its gvwr with family and stuff on-board. We packed as much as possible in the trailer rather than in the van to minimize.
- engine cooling wise the van was maxed out. On a hot day when towing if I put the A/C on the coolant temp would jump 5 deg :). No overheating though.
- Don't know if I would tow in the mountains with the minivan, but anywhere else would be fine for sure.

Older odyssey's had a reputation for weak transmissions, but 2007 and newer have the same transmission as the Ridgeline which is rated for 5000lb. So as long as you have the transmission cooler you shouldn't have to worry about it.

I tow my trailer with a Sienna, which is similar in terms of capabilities. It's worked quite nicely for five years now. Read the owner's manual and follow the instructions there with regard to towing speed and the heavy-use maintenance schedule (for the Sienna, this amounts to changing the transmission fluid more frequently). Also keep in mind that most trailer tires are rated for a maximum speed of 65 mph and have little engineering margin. You'll almost certainly be more successful and safe towing at 60 mph than at 75 mph.

You have to watch the total weight, and likely won't be able to carry water (I also don't carry food).

You should use a good Weight Distribution hitch.

There are some significant advantages to towing with minivans: They have a low center of gravity and long wheelbase. This makes them inherently more stable vehicles.

GVWR: The GVWR on my trailer is 5600 lbs (and it's built on a frame rated for 14,000 lbs). The actual fully loaded weight is 3100 lbs, as measured at a scale. It's the fully loaded weight that matters, not the GVWR. The fact that my trailer can theoretically carry another 2500 lbs is irrelevant. (I don't know how any sane person could actually manage to put that much more weight into this small trailer.)

We towed with our Sienna for a few years, but only a PUP (quite a heavy one), we REALLY wanted to tow an HTT with it, but after crunching the numbers (family of 5 with large dog) and taking a friend's trailer out for some test rides we weren't comfortable with it.

We did look at a small HTT that was owned by an older couple, no kids, small dog, who said they travelled with tanks empty, took their time, and felt comfortable with their set up.

A close friend (family of 3) bought an R-POD to tow with their minivan. They plan to upgrade to a truck for next summer, though they put a huge number for miles on it this season, might have been different with occasional use.

Sorry for rambling, hope this helps.

TheDirty wrote:
I have a Sienna that I tow a Jayco Feather 17C. Similar tow specs. You will get better answers if there is a Odyssey forum around. I know I got most of my info from the Sienna Chat forum regarding what other people are towing and their experiences and what the problems might be.

Best answer yet.

I have suggested this more times than I can count but it usually gets deleted. This forum might be great for some things but it is mostly conjecture and speculation than actual experience. A forum of the vehicle type is always more informative as you are more likely to find people with experience

I have a Sienna that I tow a Jayco Feather 17C. Similar tow specs. You will get better answers if there is a Odyssey forum around. I know I got most of my info from the Sienna Chat forum regarding what other people are towing and their experiences and what the problems might be.

When we towed our old Kiwi 17a with a Montana, there is no way I could have or would have without W/D. I'd be hard pressed to think that one could get away with towing a box with the Odyssey without a W/D hitch. Honda's official stance on using a W/D with an Odyssey is no. But I know that many are doing so.

I have seen several oddyse vans towing tandem axle trailers as well as other mini vans. My parent tow a 14rb with a Montana. However it is 3000gtwr and the van dosent like it on the hwy or in any head winds. If you can keep your weight in check and dont mind flogging your van (like lots of hills in second at big rpms) then go for it.