Help! Honda hitch question....

[esclark]

My husband and I are picking up our new pop-up tomorrow (2005 Fleetwood Yuma).  We will be towing with a 2004 Honda Odyssey (which we will be getting the trans and power steering cooler).  

The Yuma weighs in at 1,542 pounds-dry weight.  My Honda manual states that if the trailer weight is more than 1,850 pounds then we need a weight distributing hitch.  Our dealer said a class II hitch would be fine and that we could not go up to a class III.  Please let me know your thoughts.  We don't want to screw this up and we're totally new AND VERY CONFUSED!

Thanks so much for all your help!  This is a great site.

[tknick]

Always trust the manual from Honda.  If you don't, you will void your warranty.  
Also, you are very close to the max without weight distribution anyway.  if you start putting your gear into the camper (food, linens, pots, pans, hoses, etc) you will quickly surpass the limit.  I found this weight distribution hitch at etrailer.com for a class III hitch.  I also found class III hitches there as well with pictures of what it would look like installed.  Weight Distribtution Hitch Class III hitch Don't know why he said you couldn't get a class III.

Last but not least, remember, the salesman at at Fleetwood is trying to sell trailers, not worry about your car.  I'm sure somewhere in all the paperwork you signed, it says the dealership isn't responsible for deciding the proper set up for towing on your vehicle, you are.

The tranny cooler is a great idea.

[dthurk]

Hello!

We have an '04 Yuma and like it very much.  We like particularly that it doesn't have a lot of the expensive items and options, allowing us to outfit it the way we want to for a lot less money.  

We began towing with a 1999 Grand Caravan, but very quickly found ourselves in the auto dealerships and ended up with a Jeep Grand Caravan.  It does a much nicer job of towing the Yuma.  Without a tow package, most minivans would be overweight towing a loaded Yuma.  You should try to stay at 85% or less of rated tow capacities on tow vehicles.  We do not use a WDH.  Check the camper owners manual before getting one.  I seem to remember something there about WDH's, but don't remember offhand if it was or was not recommended.

Good luck and have fun.

[abbear]

First - the Honda guy won't be towing the trailer - you will.  You need a class 3 weight distribution hitch.

Second - many people have towed with the Odyssey.  I have the same engine and tranny pkg and my tow limits are 3500 lbs.  You need to go to the honda owners forum (use google).  Ask folks there about their towing experience.  Always go to the experts for your vehicle.  We can only give generalities about tow vehicles unless we own what you do.  On the Vue forum there is lots of info on hitches, where to get them, how to do it yourself. I'm sure the Honda forum has the same info for your vehicle.

Third - As to the 75% or 85% or whatever percent rule of thumb for towing - again you are the one towing.  I happen to believe that the manufacturers tow rating is set lower than what the vehicle can actually tow to protect manufactureers from lawsuits by folks who don't weigh their equipment.  If you have weighed your rig and are within the specs of the manufacturer you're good to go in my book.

[wynot]

I know that I have seen many Class III hitches on Honda minivans (I can't spell that Odddddd...sy name).
 
The only downside on the Honda hitch setup is that it, at least, seems very, very low to the ground...

[dthurk]

Yes, many people tow with minivans.  That doesn't make them any better.  Minivans are poor tow vehicles.  They will work, but at what cost?  You might get by and think everything's fine, then find yourself putting a couple thousand into your transmission.  Was it the towing or would it have happenend anyway?  Hard to tell, but other vehicles that have higher tow ratings, more powerful engines, heavier brakes and beefier suspensions will do the job with less strain to the tow vehicle.  And the cost of those other vehicles can be less than the cost of the minivan.  Tow with the van if you want to, but I'd recommend going with something with a bit higher tow rating at first opportunity.

[tlhdoc]

Yes, many people tow with minivans. That doesn't make them any better. Minivans are poor tow vehicles. They will work, but at what cost? You might get by and think everything's fine, then find yourself putting a couple thousand into your transmission. Was it the towing or would it have happenend anyway? Hard to tell, but other vehicles that have higher tow ratings, more powerful engines, heavier brakes and beefier suspensions will do the job with less strain to the tow vehicle. And the cost of those other vehicles can be less than the cost of the minivan. Tow with the van if you want to, but I'd recommend going with something with a bit higher tow rating at first opportunity.

How often do you tow?  How far do you tow?  How fast do you tow?  How much does your trailer weigh?  How much money will you have to pay for a new TV?  What is the difference in your TV milage.  All of these figure into what you tow with.  It is nice to have a rear wheel drive TV, and a TV with a higher tow rating, BUT it is not practical for many.  The minivan companies allow towing so you are not doing anything against the rules.  Yes it is harder on a vehicle to pull a trailer, any vehicle.

[DiW]

We've been towing our Coleman SunValley with our '99 Honda Odyssey for the past 5 years. We use a class 3 WDH. We stay within the towing limits (have weighed the trailer on several trips). I'd rather have a larger, more powerful vehicle but we don't have one and my DH feels comfortable towing with the setup we have. If you have any specific questions, I'll try to get him to answer.
Diane

[esclark]

Thanks so much for your input.  We're picking up the Yuma this afternoon.  We are both very excited.  Part of the reason we're buying the pop-up is so that we don't have to break the bank when we head out for weekends or summer weeks around the Chicagoland area (we camp primarilly in Wisconsin).  Doing this will allow us to have one really BIG vacation during the year and will also get us out of town more often.  

Reading some of the posts suggesting getting a new tow vehicle was quite a surprise since our pop-up is really on the lite side (1542 pounds).  I'm hoping that since we are well within the Honda tow guidlines that this will be fine.  Granted I'm sure having an 11,000 pound+ tow vehicle could be more "ideal," I''m not sure that we want to do that at this juncture.  All of the sudden our bargain pop-up became a lot more expensive.  

Anyhow, see you all in the forums.  

E & S Clark
2005 Fleetwood Yuma
2004 Honda Odyssey  

[dthurk]

How often do you tow? How far do you tow? How fast do you tow? How much does your trailer weigh? How much money will you have to pay for a new TV? What is the difference in your TV milage. All of these figure into what you tow with. It is nice to have a rear wheel drive TV, and a TV with a higher tow rating, BUT it is not practical for many. The minivan companies allow towing so you are not doing anything against the rules. Yes it is harder on a vehicle to pull a trailer, any vehicle.

All legitimate questions, and all should have a bearing on final decision.  Consider, though, from what I've read in this forum, many new posters with minvans will apparently exceed their weight limits when towing.  I did it myself.  Our (camper) dealer said the minivan would be a great tow vehicle when we bought the camper.  So, we followed the same advice and route as OP when we bought our Yuma and were towing with a minivan (3.3 l. 6 cyl., no tow package) and we were unknowingly overweight.  I didn't feel comfortable with it towing at any point in time (it just didn't feel right) and began searching for another tow vehicle.  After joining this forum and gathering information from other sources, I figured out the minivan just wasn't going to do the job adequately and safely.  Since buying the Jeep, we haven't towed a single mile with the minivan, even though it is still set up appropriately to tow our Yuma.  The Jeep does such a better job.  This will, in the long run, save us money on wear and tear on the minivan and also provide a safer situation for me and my family.  Towing safety is always on the forefront of my mind.  I will always recommend tow vehicles that are definitely capable of doing the job and appropriate safety equipment (brakes, etc.) on trailers as opposed to not having that.
 
I have read too many newspaper articles of people having accidents, many fatal, while towing.  My heart goes out to those people every time I read of that.  The really sad thing is that this is so preventable.  Many times the article tells of inadequate towing practices.  What a way to ruin a vacation.  It seems too many people try to cut too many corners too often because it's easier or less expensive.

[dthurk]

Thanks so much for your input. We're picking up the Yuma this afternoon. We are both very excited. Part of the reason we're buying the pop-up is so that we don't have to break the bank when we head out for weekends or summer weeks around the Chicagoland area (we camp primarilly in Wisconsin). Doing this will allow us to have one really BIG vacation during the year and will also get us out of town more often.
 
Reading some of the posts suggesting getting a new tow vehicle was quite a surprise since our pop-up is really on the lite side (1542 pounds). I'm hoping that since we are well within the Honda tow guidlines that this will be fine. Granted I'm sure having an 11,000 pound+ tow vehicle could be more "ideal," I''m not sure that we want to do that at this juncture. All of the sudden our bargain pop-up became a lot more expensive.
 
Anyhow, see you all in the forums.
 
E & S Clark
2005 Fleetwood Yuma
2004 Honda Odyssey

Please do be careful.  1542 would be the dry weight of your camper.  Our 2004 Yuma has a GVWR of 2440 lbs.  Your camper will weigh close to this when you have it outfitted and loaded for a trip.  At that point, you may be exceeding the weight limits of your tow vehicle, depending on how it is set up.  Again, please be careful.

[wynot]

A lot of us have towed with minivans (two, in our case), and a fair number of us who towed with minivans have upgraded the tow vehicle without changing the camper.
 
When we had the minivan, I defended the decision to tow with a minivan.  I wouldn't tow again with a minivan, because our tow vehicle gets better gas mileage than the minivan, and is a whole lot more comfortable and capable.  But I solidly understand somebody towing with a minivan and wanting to do so.
 
As long as the minivan owner realizes what their true tow "limit" is, once passengers, cargo, etc., are subtracted (if appropriate) from their towing max - then that decision of TV becomes theirs.  Most FWD minivans have a towing max of 3,500 lbs figured with a 150 lb driver (not me, btw, I exceed that!), and then subtract the additional weight, passengers, etc.  If this same issue were brought up with a crossover vehicle (Highlander, and whatever else has a 3,500 lb tow limit on a car based unibody) or a Ford Escape, it probably wouldn't cause the same uproar as a minivan.

[tlhdoc]

esclark congratulations on the new PU!  I ran out of time this morning, but wanted to say that if you use the WDH you should be fine with the minivan.  I now tow with an Explorer and it does a much better job of towing that the 2 minivans did, but I would tow with a minivan again, if that is what I owned.  Did you decide to go with the WDH?

[Kavoom]

I've seen a lot of "positive" references to towing with the Odyseys (sic) in particular and heavier pups if I am not mistaken.  

Do a search on the name on some of the pop up sites.  Here, RV.net, and PUX (Pop up explorer) you will find happy campers.  

And nope I don't own one and yep you do have a very light and nice pup.  I bet you could get by on the class II, but I am also one for following the manual.  There must be a reason...

Kavoom
2004 Subaru Forester X
2006 Flagstaff 176
Black dog, DG and me...

[DiW]

Hi Clarks,   This is DiW's DH - we've towed thousands of miles with our '99 Ody and much heavier Sun Valley.  My Ody now has 120K miles and is still towing beautifully.  Here's my opinion on this - you will be absolutely fine towing your Yuma with the Ody.  Sure you'd have more power and capacity with a bigger TV but I wasn't about to spring for an extra $30,000 vehicle (and I can get Ford "A" plan!).  I would have opted for the class III hitch for the extra capacity.  THe Honda manual does say that towing more than I think 1500 or 2000 lbs without a WDH will void the warranty, hence I have a Mini-350 WDH on a class III with the requisite tranny cooler.  Even with the WDH, I wish I had installed my Air-lift air springs sooner (like when I got the camper).  We took one trip in our 1st or second year with an exceptionally heavy load  in both the trailer and the van and I noticed the rear springs on the van sag a bit permanently without some air in the air springs.   I HIGHLY recommend the air springs.  They've been in for 3-4 years and are still great.  I installed them myself in an afternoon and they're cheap like $70 from summitracing.com.
    Towing with the minivan is indeed stressing it more than regular driving so you need to take some extra care of it.   Brakes (front pads) will go sooner (check at 25K mi) if you do a fair bit of towing.  Honda trannys need extra TLC do you know about their long standing issues? -- see ODYCLUB.com for tremendous information on this and every other Odyssey issue.  Be religious about the oil and transfluid changes - Change the oil every 3K mi to make the engine and trannny last.   I change the transfluid (3 qts) every other oil change during the towing season as cheap insurance against problems (but this topic is a whole 'nother thread, see odyclub.com).  
    As far as towing weight with the van - it can handle it if you're nice and gentle and treat it right --- no uphill 4th gear pulls.  I'm in and out of overdrive if the roads are hilly.  Only on flat roads do I pull in fourth gear and then I pull a little fast (70) to keep the engine in it's sweet spot (2200 rpm) where it could pull all day.  Your engine is 40 hp stronger than mine so you may be better off there.  I've maxed out our Gross vehicle combine weight rating on one trip (our max for van and camper is 8160lbs and we were right there.  It was a tough tow but again, I babied the van.
     If you want any more specifics I'll be glad to share my experiences.  All in all,  you'll be fine with the van and the weight/size of your camper --- have a blast!!
-- Chris