Towing with a Honda CRV

[palmtreelover1]

Hi All,

I have a 2004 Honda CRV with a towing capacity of 1500 lbs.  I'm looking at buying a 2006 Fleetwood Element, Cobalt model which weighs about 1245 dry.  Will I be able to tow this popup?  I understand that the towing capacity for the CRV in the UK is about 3000 lbs, not sure why the difference.  I really do not want to buy a different vehicle for towing.  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

Shawn

[tknick]

Hi All,

I have a 2004 Honda CRV with a towing capacity of 1500 lbs.  I'm looking at buying a 2006 Fleetwood Element, Cobalt model which weighs about 1245 dry.  Will I be able to tow this popup?  I understand that the towing capacity for the CRV in the UK is about 3000 lbs, not sure why the difference.  I really do not want to buy a different vehicle for towing.  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

Shawn

The short answer is not really.  You are so close to the limit that when you start adding gear and people you will be at or above the limits for the vehicle.  Also, when you are that close to the limit, you are really going to stress your TV.  You always want a little extra cooling capacity on the motor and the tranny for that long hill on a really hot day, a little extra braking capacity when that idiot pulls out in front of you and a little extra horsepower when trying to merge onto the highway.  

sorry for the bad news
travis

[SpeakEasy]

Maybe there is a lighter-weight popup that you'd be happy with?

[Larry in VT]

Shawn,
We also have a 2004 CRV, and we tow our 2004 Jayco Qwest 10x. The 10x is rated at 1430# unloaded weight! We certainly were above the 1500# US rating, but well under the UK rating. Just returned from a 3 day trip to Wells ME,(approx 400Mi round trip) and had no trouble towing, HOWEVER: I anticipated my braking carefully, kept overdrive locked out most of the time, and tried to drive @ 55mph or less. Had no issues with overheating and pulled the hills ok, not great! I would certainly not pull anything with more weight then my 10x! We also traveled as light as possible,(no bikes,canoes, etc...) Is this a great set up? NO! but it is all we have now. Being very carefull, we make it work! Would I recommend the CRV as a tow vehicle? NO, but if you take your time and use your head, it will pull some campers! If you decide to use your CRV you will probably want the 2" hitch made by Curt MFG CO. Hope this helps!

Good Luck!
Larry

2004 Honda CRV
2004 Jayco Qwest 10X
3 Happy campers in Central Vermont!!

[wavery]

If you are resigned to towing with the CRV, you may want to beef up your brakes.

I added these rotors to all 4 wheels on my TV:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/EBC-BRAKE-ROTORS-02-04-HONDA-CRV-GD7116_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33564QQitemZ8069669726QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Do some research on the best pads to use for heat dissipation. I installed ceramic pads and loved them. I then did some research and found that they may not be the greatest for towing. However, I think a lot of that might be manuf CYA. Anyway, I switched to carbon metallic pads and they work great too.
http://www.nationalfleetparts.com/performance_friction.asp

Your biggest enemy is brake fade. You can overcome almost anything else but brake fade could be fatal. Don't mess around with it. Common sense driving, as mentioned above, will go a long ways toward preventing brake fade but these rotors and pads are sure nice.

[palmtreelover1]

Thanks for the info Larry.  It gives me a bit more comfort knowing that somebody else is towing with a CRV.  One thing I like about the Cobalt is that it has a small box, 7 feet.  I would feel better about towing a smaller box behind my CRV.  How big is the box on your Qwest 10x?  Also, did you have the Curt hitch installed on your CRV?  I live in Colorado, so steeper grades are a factor here.  However, I do most of my camping at elevations lower than 8,500 feet.  Also, I will have electric brakes installed.  Do you have electric brakes on your Jayco?  I'm going to look at the Cobalt again tonite and then probably decide.  I have not been able to find a PU that weighs less than 1200 lbs and still has a full galley.

Shawn

[brainpause]

What others have said. I have towed with a marginal tow vehicle (actually well within specs, but still a load) for 4+ years now, and can't wait to get a better one.

If at all possible, get a heavier tow vehicle. At the very least, as others have suggested, lock out OD, get a tranny cooler, and maybe beef up the brakes. Your mileage really won't suffer that much because of being locked out, as the engine isn't having to work as hard. Faster RPM's for sure, but the engine is churning out more torque. Slow down and enjoy the drive. I believe that's part of the fun: towing.

Larry

[Larry in VT]

Shawn,
The outside dimensions of my 10x are: length = 10' 10" width = 7', it came with no brakes from the factory! I am checking into converting it to electric brakes. As for the Curt hitch, I purchased it and installed it myself. Installation was very simple with NO holes to drill, took about 30 min to complete. I would strongly suggest that you buy the factory Honda wire harness for the lights! I made the mistake of buying a cheap aftermarket harness that was for the CRV. I found that it was too short, no provisions for making a water tight fit, and had no wire loom to protect the wires from abrasion. The factory unit covers all of the above concerns and makes for a professional installation. The honda unit is a little on the expensive side at approx $70.00, but I found it to be money well spent!

Good Luck!
Larry

2004 Jayco Qwest 10X
2004 Honda CRV
3 Happy campers in Central Vermont!

[palmtreelover1]

Larry,

Thanks for the info.  I ordered the Curt hitch yesterday online.  I went back to the dealer to look at the Cobalt again.  They had a decent deal for the hitch, ball, pin and wiring.  However, they only install 1 1/4 inch hitches.  He thought the 2.5 Curt was too much.  What do you think?  It seems to me that the 2" gives me more options for bike racks etc.  I also asked Honda if they installed tranny coolers and they said they did not.  I need to decide on the hitch so I can move forward.  Is a 2" absolutely necessary or will a 1.25" work ok?  Thanks.

Shawn

[wavery]

Larry,

Thanks for the info.  I ordered the Curt hitch yesterday online.  I went back to the dealer to look at the Cobalt again.  They had a decent deal for the hitch, ball, pin and wiring.  However, they only install 1 1/4 inch hitches.  He thought the 2.5 Curt was too much.  What do you think?  It seems to me that the 2" gives me more options for bike racks etc.  I also asked Honda if they installed tranny coolers and they said they did not.  I need to decide on the hitch so I can move forward.  Is a 2" absolutely necessary or will a 1.25" work ok?  Thanks.

Shawn

When you go to their website:
http://www.curtmfg.com/app%20guide/honda.htm
For your vehicle, it looks like they only make a class 2.5 (4,000#) pt# 12515 (footnote Z) and it is a bolt on.


This looks perfect for your needs (what a beauty).....and easy to install. There's no such thing as "too much" hitch (unless it is too heavy in and of itself :p ) .

As for the trans cooler, I would consider it a "must have" if it were me (and it's not). Most transmission shops will install them for you. I would suggest getting the biggest....badest one available. Overheating your trans can be catastrophic. A trans cooler is extremely cheap, compared to a new trans .

[Larry in VT]

Shawn,
Go with the 2" hitch!! You can't even use a decent bike rack with a 1.250 hitch! You will not be sorry.

Good luck!
Larry

[veryolddog]

I currently own both the Honda CR-V (06) and (04) Honda Element. They both are equipped with the 156 HP engine and both, if I understand it correctly, are based on the Civic chasis with differentiations in suspension and steering. I purchased a Class III hitch from etrailer.com along with an aftermarket wiring harness and heavy duty transmission oil cooler for the Element. I also use a Reese 350 weight distribution hitch to pull an 05 Viking 1906ST Saga. It is not the most optimum situation, but considering that I live in New Mexico and we have some hilly country, it actually does just fine. I admit that I would rather have a Toyota Tacoma or a Honda Ridgeline, but that Element gets the job done for my wife and I, and the gear we bring along stored in both the tow vehicle and the pop up. When we are towing in the mountains, most of the speed limits are relatively conservative anyway and the weather is much cooler which means the air conditioner does not have to be used. The A/C is a drag on the engine and consumes power resources when operational and detracts from mileage. And that is the upside. When towing and we have towed across he USA from the West to the East and back, mileage has been no less than 22 and as high as 25 mpg at flat highway speeds. Brakes do not seem to be an issue nor differential fluids which I have checked frequently. I will get my 40 to 50 thousand out of my tires and brakes before I have to replace them according to Honda Service technicians. If you use your common sense, drive conservatively, set reasonable expectations, you will get more out of your $3.00 per gallon than you realize and have a lot of fun doing it. Especially, when you are using your Honda 98 per cent of the time to go to work and do shopping and errands for your family.

I am sure this post will certainly irritate the "tow police", who are driving those big Ford or Chevy diesels and gas burners pulling their pop ups. I am sure glad that it only costs me $30.00 a fill up for 10 gallons instead of $75.00 for 25 gallons. I know, I use to be one of them and finally saw the light and bought a Honda Element. I guess there is something to say about the old adage: " less is more."

Regards,

The Veryolddog

[esclark]

We have the CURT hitch on our Honda Odyssey that we pull a 1542 lb pop-up with.  I would NOT pull anything with your vehicle without having the coolers added.  Our owners manual calls for two coolers as follows-power steering and transmission.  We had them added at the dealership.

[palmtreelover1]

Thanks to all for the great info.  I just installed my Curt hitch last night and will pick up my Cobalt tomorrow afternoon.  The hitch looks great and seems very solid.  I am getting a tranny cooler installed on Thursday.  Maybe I can be camping this weekend.  At that point I will just have to hitch up and see how everything works.

Shawn