towing a popup with 2008 Odyssey - assorted questions

wowens79 wrote:
She might want to price renting a class C, it might work out better if this is a one time trip with the van.

I think this is the best suggestion yet. Will it be pricey? Sure, but so is adding a tranny cooler (if it needs it), a tow hitch & wiring. For things that will probably just be used once. And I will tell you that there is NO BETTER WAY to travel with a family (young kids especially) than in a motorhome. Having a potty, snacks & meals at the ready is REALLY nice, especially on longer trips. I'm not sure how many people are in your daughter's family, but if there are several kiddos in the bunch, they WILL appreciate the Class C.

We have a 2001 Odyssey. When we started our search for our first RV back around 2002, our plans were to get a lightweight pop-up or hybrid to tow with our Odyssey. Well....two years of research later and lots of GREAT advice from the folks on these forums, we purchased our 36' Class A as our first RV and we tow the Odyssey behind it. And we still have it and LOVE IT! Obviously, I'm NOT going to suggest you buy your daughter a Class A motorhome. (But think it over? LOL) :)

Seriously, though. When we looked into the limitations of what the Odyssey could SAFELY tow, it was obvious for our family of 6, it was not going to be up to the task. Could it have done it? Probably. But as we learned later, our era Odyssey was susceptible to a transmission failure (I think in 2nd gear?), so I'm glad I didn't tow with it. And I had already installed a 2" tow hitch, auto-tranny cooler and wiring. I did that because before we bought the RV, when we took long trips we had the minivan loaded with a rooftop carrier and a hitch mounted trunk along with our brood of 6. So we were pretty heavily loaded on those trips. The van did fine with the six of us, and one time we had an extra adult with us, but that wasn't towing.

The problem with the tow ratings published by Honda are the exclusions. That 3,500 lb. rating some are quoting is with a minimal passenger & luggage load. It requires a tranny cooler. Start adding in passengers and cargo and that 3,500 limit quickly finds itself down to the 2,700 lb. and less range. And if you're not familiar with loading the trailer properly, the tongue weight might not be correct, which can further exacerbate potential handling issues.

And being front wheel drive, that extra weight on the back can lift the front wheels and reduce traction. Again, could it do it? Probably. I just wasn't convinced it would do it safely. As an engineer, I will admit I do frequently over-analyze these things, but I'd rather have MORE vehicle than I need than less. On dry, level pavement. Probably OK? But what about when it rains? Or winds? Or even snow? I just couldn't convince myself that it would be a safe option for our family.

I know rentals are a good chunk of change, whether a car or a Class C, but I think that would be the wisest option to consider at this point.

Good Luck in your choice. I hope you and your family have a great vacation.

~Rick

It will likely tow fine, but most Honda and Acura vehicles require both a transmission cooler and a power steering cooler to reach the full tow rating. We had a 2005 Acura MDX that required it; when we bought our boat 3 1/2 years ago I thought about adding them as well as the hitch and wiring. The more I looked in to it, I was still afraid of toasting the transmission so ended up buying a 3rd vehicle, a 2001 GMC Yukon, which is a much more capable tow vehicle. That said, the Acura likely would have done just fine.

hertfordnc wrote:
I thought about posting in the popup forum but then i figured i'd find people here who had graduated from a minivan to a real TV.

Those are the worst kind, like ex-smokers on the subject of smoking, folks who have lost a lot of weight on the subject of being fat, and recovering alcoholics on the subject of drinking.

She might want to price renting a class C, it might work out better if this is a one time trip with the van.

We towed a Pup with a Sienna for years. Loaded for travel, it was right at 3500. The Sienna was a great tow vehicle for it. It did come stock with a trans cooler so I didn't have to deal with that. Your daughter will need to confirm if her van has a trans cooler or not. I did add airbags to the rear springs. Unfortunately, this is the downside of using a minivan for towing. They are designed to carry people in comfort so the rear suspension is soft. Unless the Pup is pretty light, you will want to have your daughter upgrade the rear suspension with bags (if available) or some other spring support. No, it does not increase the towing/carrying capacity, just helps the van not sag as much. The bags also helped a lot when we had the bike rack on the van with the bikes so the hitch didn't drag on every driveway.

As has been mentioned, she will need a brake controller and likely a seven pin plug installed. I also echo the sway control as well. While I never had any sway issues, I did use a friction sway control. Not the best option, but pretty much all that was available for towing with the van.

I don't remember if you mentioned it, but obviously she will need a 2" receiver installed. One thing she may want to consider unless she plans to continue to tow in the future, she may can rent something that will tow it for about the same cost as she is going to spend getting the van set up, especially if she has to pay someone to add a trans cooler.

It can be done with the van safely as long as the Pup is not too big.

agesilaus wrote:


So keep the speed down.

That isn't the only problem with popups of course, they are quite unpleasant in prolonged rain. They are tiny inside and it gets exceptionally crowded. But for short week long trips they are tolerable.

Thinking about weather, I don't think they would do well in a wind event out west. And boy howdy, was it windy everywhere all last summer.

It will be about 10 days in CO. The popup will be rented, probably through OutDoorsey or some such.

i may just buy her a second spare at walmart and return it at the end of the trip.

But our Hybrid and the Excursion will provide emergency shelter for the nine of us if it really goes to ****.

"see my profile, I've been here a long time. Someone on rv.net knows the answers to my questions. I thought about posting in the popup forum but then i figured i'd find people here who had graduated from a minivan to a real TV."

Well that fits us, we went thru three popups and pulled one with a Dodge Minivan for a few years. From Florida to Yosemite and lots of other points out west every summer. As I mentioned above the big issue was the popup tires, 13 inch? Very small and the got very hot being pulled down the roads and when they got hot the blew out.
We never got thru a trip without several blown tires and finding a replacement 13 inch tire in Mule Scratch Nevada can be difficult.

So keep the speed down.

That isn't the only problem with popups of course, they are quite unpleasant in prolonged rain. They are tiny inside and it gets exceptionally crowded. But for short week long trips they are tolerable.

Thinking about weather, I don't think they would do well in a wind event out west. And boy howdy, was it windy everywhere all last summer.

Sjm9911 wrote:

I posted the info, and its in the owners manual. I know like 4 people that tow with the odyssey. And depending on the year, it says it needs the cooler. The people that tow with them are on the pop up site. You can ask there, but will get the same answer. Or you can just look up the old threads on it. It can be a great tow vehicle for the right pop up. Have fun.

Yes, that was very helpful.

I also failed to mention, I'm 700 miles from my daughter and her life is running at redline. My goal was to get the info and spoon feed it to her husband.

hertfordnc wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
Please understand the vast majority of participants here, myself included, tow almost exclusively with heavy duty pickup trucks. Their opinions of smaller vehicle tow capabilities are tempered by what they currently use to tow. They will tell you WHAT THEY WOULD NOT DO, not necessarily what can/should not be done.

see my profile, i've been here a long time. Someone on rv.net knows the answers to my questions. I thought about posting in the popup forum but then i figured i'd find people here who had graduated from a minivan to a real TV.

None of the towing guides mention any sort of tow package for the odyssey. They all just say "3500 lb"

And a lot people say it's a really great TV for a minivan. My hunch is that the 3500 lb limit is more about handling than about the power train.

I posted the info, and its in the owners manual. I know like 4 people that tow with the odyssey. And depending on the year, it says it needs the cooler. The people that tow with them are on the pop up site. You can ask there, but will get the same answer. Or you can just look up the old threads on it. It can be a great tow vehicle for the right pop up. Have fun.

Grit dog wrote:
Wireless brake controller is your easy solution for brakes. Can't comment on the suitability of the vehicle, but being the better part of 15 years old, the miles/condition of it are as important as the as-designed vehicle capabilities.

Change the transmission fluid AT THE DEALER and get a good overall inspection. Do not load much in the back of the van.