Travel trailer questions from an RV newbie
Hi Everyone, My husband and I are contemplating purchasing a travel trailer in which to tour the U.S. with our baby and our cat. We'll be traveling for an indefinite period of time. Initially we we...
Forum Discussion
You'd need to make sure you have the dealers install the transmission cooler and power steering fluid cooler along with the hitch and receiver. I'm not sure if third parties can do it, but I'd likely call Acura first.
You can then tow 3500# with a 450# max tongue weight assuming only 2 people in the vehicle that weigh 150# each and have 15# of cargo each. If your family weighs more than that, you can tow less than the max. There is a chart in your manual which shows the towing capacity reduction with the more people you add.
Then there is also the payload of your vehicle to take into account. I don't remember if the 2006 model year has a sticker somewhere around the driver's side door that tells you the payload. Go look for it and it will tell you something like "weight of cargo and passengers should never exceed X". That number takes into account all the factory options on your vehicle. It doesn't account for dealer added options like if you got roof rails, floor mats, other dealer added accessories. Or if you've added any of your own accessories.
I bet some others will pop in and give you the low down on how to accurately weigh your vehicle to better determine what you can tow.
I would not recommend anything more than a pop up trailer. If you tow a "fixed-sided trailer" (a travel trailer, you can't go more than 55mph. Your manual references this as well. And having owned an MDX, one with a 5000# towing capacity, i can tell you that towing a travel trailer with it isn't great. If you go faster than 55, the engine RPMs are high and you are really working the engine (because you have to lock out 5th gear when towing). Even at 55, gas plummets quickly. We used up the entire tank of fuel in 2.5 hours of driving. And then another tank for the 2nd 2.5 hour leg of our trip. Going faster uses fuel even faster. It makes a trip very tedious with having to refill so often.
Actually, another one for you to look at would be the Trail Manor. That's a hard side trailer that folds down like a pop up. So you get decent space, but you won't have to reduce your speed like with a hard side. Our MDX towed our 3000# pop-up beautifully; it was a great vehicle for towing something smaller.
You can then tow 3500# with a 450# max tongue weight assuming only 2 people in the vehicle that weigh 150# each and have 15# of cargo each. If your family weighs more than that, you can tow less than the max. There is a chart in your manual which shows the towing capacity reduction with the more people you add.
Then there is also the payload of your vehicle to take into account. I don't remember if the 2006 model year has a sticker somewhere around the driver's side door that tells you the payload. Go look for it and it will tell you something like "weight of cargo and passengers should never exceed X". That number takes into account all the factory options on your vehicle. It doesn't account for dealer added options like if you got roof rails, floor mats, other dealer added accessories. Or if you've added any of your own accessories.
I bet some others will pop in and give you the low down on how to accurately weigh your vehicle to better determine what you can tow.
I would not recommend anything more than a pop up trailer. If you tow a "fixed-sided trailer" (a travel trailer, you can't go more than 55mph. Your manual references this as well. And having owned an MDX, one with a 5000# towing capacity, i can tell you that towing a travel trailer with it isn't great. If you go faster than 55, the engine RPMs are high and you are really working the engine (because you have to lock out 5th gear when towing). Even at 55, gas plummets quickly. We used up the entire tank of fuel in 2.5 hours of driving. And then another tank for the 2nd 2.5 hour leg of our trip. Going faster uses fuel even faster. It makes a trip very tedious with having to refill so often.
Actually, another one for you to look at would be the Trail Manor. That's a hard side trailer that folds down like a pop up. So you get decent space, but you won't have to reduce your speed like with a hard side. Our MDX towed our 3000# pop-up beautifully; it was a great vehicle for towing something smaller.
