towing with a Honda Oddessy

[Rickyrocket]

Does any one do this,how big of a TT/Hybrid can one tow safely ,I believe the manual says 3500 lbs.

[atreis]

The Sienna says this too, but it's in reference to towing using the Toyota receiver which isn't designed for use with a WDH hitch. You have to install an aftermarket receiver.

[We_ll_See]

Ridgerunner29 wrote:

We'll See wrote:

Campfire Time wrote:
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.

As a contrast to many SUVs and 1/2 ton trucks, you are unlikely to run out of payload in the vehicle even with the trailer hitched up. My 07 Odyssey has 1,365 pounds of available payload per the yellow door sticker which isn't too shabby.

Are you referring to the Honda Odyssey in the payload contrast to many SUV's and 1/2 ton trucks?

From the 2013 Honda Odyssey owner's manual:

"? Weight distribution hitches
A weight distributing hitch is not recommended for use with your vehicle."

Honda must have changed their stance on WDH with the most recent Odyssey series (2011 to current I believe). My 07 manual requires it.

[Ridgerunner29]

We'll See wrote:

Campfire Time wrote:
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.

As a contrast to many SUVs and 1/2 ton trucks, you are unlikely to run out of payload in the vehicle even with the trailer hitched up. My 07 Odyssey has 1,365 pounds of available payload per the yellow door sticker which isn't too shabby.

Are you referring to the Honda Odyssey in the payload contrast to many SUV's and 1/2 ton trucks?

From the 2013 Honda Odyssey owner's manual:

"? Weight distribution hitches
A weight distributing hitch is not recommended for use with your vehicle."

[We_ll_See]

Campfire Time wrote:
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.

Incorrect - Honda's policy for the Odyssey requires towing with a WDH once the trailer is above a certain weight. It is clear in my owners manual. However, the Honda Pilot Crossover, which has the same drivetrain, does not recommend towing with a WDH.

The van will be very stable but you will need a good brake controller, a proper WDH, and I would recommend air bags. The biggest issue I found with the smaller single axle hybrids is the axle on the hybrids themselves - they seem undersized and on the Jayco they only had 13" wheels.

There is adequate power with the 3.5 liter. However, the transmission does not allow you to lock out only fifth gear. It allows you to lock out fourth and fifth though.

As a contrast to many SUVs and 1/2 ton trucks, you are unlikely to run out of payload in the vehicle even with the trailer hitched up. My 07 Odyssey has 1,365 pounds of available payload per the yellow door sticker which isn't too shabby.

[atreis]

I have 70K miles on my Sienna - about half from towing. No tranny problems (or even hints of it), engine problems, or any other sort of power train issues. I follow the service manual's recommendations for the "heavy use" maintenance schedule, which amounts to changing the transmission fluid more often. The only unusual wear and tear I've had: I had to replace the springs. (Toyota is famous for using soft springs.)

Before this car, I towed with a Ford Windstar. I put 180K miles on the Windstar and the only major repair I ever had was to replace the Rack & Pinion (at 120K), a common repair item for the year I had whose failure was unrelated to towing.

Yes, you do have to watch the weight like a hawk and no matter what you tow with you should make sure it's set up properly. (It's surprising how often I've seen pickups with their noses pointed so high they look like they're preparing for launch. I've yet to see a similarly poor setup with a minivan.)

[dadmomh]

The longer you're here at RVNet or at Hybrid Explorer, you'll find many, many questions about mini-van towing and a large percentage is on the Odyssey. No solid information from here other than in 8 years, the consensus has been either don't try it or IF you try it, pack light, nothing in the tanks, be prepared for some tranny problems. Unless I missed it, you didn't mention how many in the family or if you're adding a 70 pound pooch. Remember that every little thing adds up and does it quickly. If you decide to give this a go, suggest you do your very best to stay on flatland areas, shorter distances and watch the weight like a hawk. Watch your speed. Get it set up properly. Good luck.

[atreis]

I've been towing my current trailer with my Sienna for a 5 years now. It works great. The Odyssey should perform similarly. You do have to watch your weight, but you don't have to limit yourself to trailers with a GVWR of 3500 lbs. (Mine has a GVWR of 5600 lbs.) What's important is what it actually weighs when you're fully loaded and ready to go. (For me, that's about 3200 lbs.) In order to keep the weight down I don't carry water or food. I get those at my destination. I also tow at 60 mph, but you'll find a lot of people here recommend that regardless.

There are several other people on this forum who also tow with minivans.

[Ridgerunner29]

bikendan wrote:

Ridgerunner29 wrote:
There is a considerable amount of information and discussion about towing with an Odyssey or Sienna on the Airstream forum. airforums.com

i'm at a loss why some refer minivan owners to Airstream-related websites, when it's pretty well accepted that towing Airstreams are not the same as towing conventional trailers.
and until Airstream comes out with a hybrid, i don't think it's very useful to recommend an Airstream forum.

the OP wants to tow a hybrid TT that has none of the aerodynamics of an Airstream, therefore will be totally different towing-wise for a minivan.

I apologize if you think that my post indicated that I supported towing with a mini-van. I did not recommend that the OP tow a hybrid with a mini-van or exceed the OEM payload or tow rating. I said there is a considerable amount of discussion and information about towing with an Odyssey and Sienna on the air forums. The OP asked "Does any one do this,how big of a TT/Hybrid can one tow safely ,I believe the manual says 3500 lbs". I pointed him to a forum that has a large amount of first hand pro and con information about using an Odyssey / Sienna as a tow vehicle. I have always wanted as much information as possible about questions I have about tow vehicles and travel trailers. The OP was asking a serious question and I pointed him to discussion by people who use Odyssey's and Sienna's as tow vehicles for trailers exceeding 7000# and people to who condemn the use of mini-vans as tow vehicles for any trailer larger than a garden trailer.

Another interesting source of passenger car as tow vehicle information is Can Am RV. http://www.canamrv.ca They have been setting up passenger cars as tow vehicles for many years.

I owned a ROO 23SS for several years before owning an Airstream 25. The ROO 23SS was a great trailer that towed really well. I used an Eqaulizer brand hitch and a Chevy 2500HD to tow the ROO.

[bikendan]

Ridgerunner29 wrote:
There is a considerable amount of information and discussion about towing with an Odyssey or Sienna on the Airstream forum. airforums.com

i'm at a loss why some refer minivan owners to Airstream-related websites, when it's pretty well accepted that towing Airstreams are not the same as towing conventional trailers.
and until Airstream comes out with a hybrid, i don't think it's very useful to recommend an Airstream forum.

the OP wants to tow a hybrid TT that has none of the aerodynamics of an Airstream, therefore will be totally different towing-wise for a minivan.

[Ridgerunner29]

There is a considerable amount of information and discussion about towing with an Odyssey or Sienna on the Airstream forum. airforums.com

[3LittleDucks]

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

[Rickyrocket]

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

[DammitJim]

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.

[Jetta03]

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.