I was surprised that my milage went way down while towing, but I didn't use it except for week-ends and vacations.
Terry
This is something we all see....all too common a tale.
I found the closer I traveled to 55mph, the better the mpgs were. I typically travel at 62mph and on the flatland, get between 12-13 depending on headwinds. A good tail wind can get me slightly above 13mpg...but before you Honda folks flip out, keep in mind I've got a 6.0L, nearly 2x that of the Honda V6. I clearly did not get a Greenpeace sticker when I bought the Burb, but ironically, I found an honorary membership card to OPEC. At over $3/gallon, to fill at 39 gallon tank, with the stated observed MPG, you can clearly see why OPEC loves me, as does Exxon Mobil....I must have contributed .5% to their gross profits last quarter.
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Computers manufactured by companies such as IBM, Compaq and millions of others are by far the most popular with about 70 million machines in use worldwide. Macintosh fans note that cockroaches are far more numerous than humans and that numbers alone do not denote a higher life form. -NY Times 11/91
Here is a hint to the wise from a former owner and accident victim of trailer sway with a 2000 Honda Passport..... Similar SUV as yours... pulling a 16' UHaul trailer...
Sunny summer day mid afternoon, One of the tires must have been low and the trailer began to sway big time at 50 miles per hour. Within seconds the trailer became uncontrollable and swung my suv around like noodle. Next thing I remember is laying on the ground and seeing my truck laying on its side.
If you are going to pull anything with your honda, you need sway protection. The tow package of the honda vehicals ... well, downright blow arse. So, a word to the wise... If you are gonna tow with this vehical, please, please, please install a different weight distribution system and incorporate a good anti-sway system such as a Hensley Arrow...
Here is a hint to the wise from a former owner and accident victim of trailer sway with a 2000 Honda Passport..... Similar SUV as yours... pulling a 16' UHaul trailer...
Sunny summer day mid afternoon, One of the tires must have been low and the trailer began to sway big time at 50 miles per hour. Within seconds the trailer became uncontrollable and swung my suv around like noodle. Next thing I remember is laying on the ground and seeing my truck laying on its side.
If you are going to pull anything with your honda, you need sway protection. The tow package of the honda vehicals ... well, downright blow arse. So, a word to the wise... If you are gonna tow with this vehical, please, please, please install a different weight distribution system and incorporate a good anti-sway system such as a Hensley Arrow...
Good luck and I hope all goes well for you.
A 12' open-frame U-Haul weighs in at 2500lbs, empty, has no sway control and surge brakes. Throw in some unbalanced cargo and I would consider that a far more difficult towing configuration for a Passport to deal with than, a Pilot hooked up to 2800lb Bambi with electronically controlled brakes and a sway bar.
Hensley is an excellent product but, especially for a lightweight Bambi, there are other extremely effective anti-sway devices you could consider, for a fraction of the Arrow's price.
The Pilot/Bambi can be easily set up as a safe towing combination.
..............Scott
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2006 Safari SE FB
2000 F150 4.2L
Raleigh, NC
I might add - check out the reliability on the Pilot transmission - outstanding (per Consumer Reports rankings). Also, no comparison between a Passport and a Pilot...
Very true georgezink and Wayward.... Just thought I would add a little of what is possible when towing anything... Even though Airstreams pull better than most anything out there, it is always better to be safe than sorry..
But, I am a new owner as well... and am still a bit afraid of towing anything behind any vehical. Honda's just have a sour tast in my mouth still I guess.
Ok, I am quite confused now, but if I install an Equalizer hitch on the 16' DWR and hitch it up to the Pilot with the Honda tow package- which includes the transmission cooler, etc. and I am very careful about the load in the trailer and the Pilot? Am I missing anything- would this be a safe way to begin?
We have a Tacoma- older one, not a great tow vehicle at all- it is the farm chore truck here. I suppose if the Pilot didn't work out I could trade that one in for the newer V6 Tacoma- I think they have 6500lb tow ratings now.
Here is a hint to the wise from a former owner and accident victim of trailer sway with a 2000 Honda Passport..... Similar SUV as yours... pulling a 16' UHaul trailer...
Sunny summer day mid afternoon, One of the tires must have been low and the trailer began to sway big time at 50 miles per hour. Within seconds the trailer became uncontrollable and swung my suv around like noodle. Next thing I remember is laying on the ground and seeing my truck laying on its side.
If you are going to pull anything with your honda, you need sway protection. The tow package of the honda vehicals ... well, downright blow arse. So, a word to the wise... If you are gonna tow with this vehical, please, please, please install a different weight distribution system and incorporate a good anti-sway system such as a Hensley Arrow...
Good luck and I hope all goes well for you.
Yikes!
I cannot recall one of these tales of (near) tragedy on this forum that does not involve a short wheel base SUV (or overloaded ½ ton, Gardenofjoy’s experience comes to mind).
kestrel; Why on earth would you want to “pack carefully” and risk your loved ones (be they 2 legged or four) by trying to tow with a vehicle loaded to it’s max capacity (or beyond). You are doing quite a bit of traveling- 18 trips/year?
I do not believe you can even put a WD hitch on a unibody vehicle (there are other posts here that address this).
There is lots of advice/opinions on this site. Not all if it is sound.
No one here has ever commented that they had too much TV.
Good luck, be safe.
Bill
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Life is Good-Camping all around New England
Good people drink good beer-Hunter S Thompson
Thanks for your concern Bill. The thing is- I am not the least bit interested in putting my 2 or 4 legged loved ones, myself, or anyone else on the road at risk- that is why I am asking these questions in hopes that those of you with more knowledge can direct me. The dealer I spoke to when I looked at the unit informed me that it would be "absolutely no problem" to tow the DWR behind my Pilot, but I suspected that he was more interested in the sale than the safety, although he would certainly have known more about towing an Airstream than I. (Hence, the confusion and questions.)
So, what I meant by "packing carefully"- would be carefully distributing my essentials in the Airstream, maybe not towing with full tanks or extra batteries, leaving my 300lb olympic weight set at home, etc. (so as not to exceed the weight limits) and using the safest hitch set up available for the Pilot (it is still not clear to me what that would be.)
If it's not possible to do it safely, then I'll stick wth my T@b until I can afford to purchase a more substantial TV, rather than adding another tale of tragedy to the forum.
Thanks for your concern Bill. The thing is- I am not the least bit interested in putting my 2 or 4 legged loved ones, myself, or anyone else on the road at risk- that is why I am asking these questions in hopes that those of you with more knowledge can direct me. The dealer I spoke to when I looked at the unit informed me that it would be "absolutely no problem" to tow the DWR behind my Pilot, but I suspected that he was more interested in the sale than the safety, although he would certainly have known more about towing an Airstream than I. (Hence, the confusion and questions.)
So, what I meant by "packing carefully"- would be carefully distributing my essentials in the Airstream, maybe not towing with full tanks or extra batteries, leaving my 300lb olympic weight set at home, etc. (so as not to exceed the weight limits) and using the safest hitch set up available for the Pilot (it is still not clear to me what that would be.)
If it's not possible to do it safely, then I'll stick wth my T@b until I can afford to purchase a more substantial TV, rather than adding another tale of tragedy to the forum.
I think a good part of your motivation is to have more space and amenities; full water tank, a bathroom, dog cages, etc. Leaving most of your "stuff" at home is not really travelling in style.These all add up to weight. You may be able to do that with the right new AirStream (as noted above 3500#? or one of the Vintage units-much lighter). You would not want to try the 4500# unit.
The last thing I want to do is discourage you from AS's. We would rather you pursue them safely.
Hope this helps narrow your search.
Bill
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Life is Good-Camping all around New England
Good people drink good beer-Hunter S Thompson
Any thoughts on towing a 16' Bambi ....I tow a small T@b trailer at the moment with no problem,.... I'd like to upgrade to the 16' Airstream, but I'd like to keep the Pilot. Thanks.
Hi Kestrel,
For what it's worth and as another 'data point': I too owned a Tab camper, and although I loved that little trailer and used it on many trips, I recently (3 weeks ago) upgraded to a 16' Bambi (3500 lb GVWR). I also upgraded my tow vehicle from a mid-size SUV, Nissan Xterra with a 5000 lb tow rating, to an '06 Nissan Frontier (6100 lb tow rating) even though a local Airstream salesman assured me the Xterra would do the job. I really wanted to keep it, but folks on this group and others convinced me to get something with a longer wheel base and lower center of gravity for safety reasons.
I am sure there are better TVs out there than a Frontier, but my experience has been that it is adequate for the job, and probably safer than the Xterra. It gives me some peace of mind knowing this, and I enjoy the towing experience more (which for me is a big part of owning and using a trailer). I pulled the Bambi from Albuquerque to Denver over an 8000' pass with no issues (Camper was not fully loaded though, and I had a WD hitch and sway bars). Still need to test it out on higher passes, but so far so good.
Ok, I am quite confused now, but if I install an Equalizer hitch on the 16' DWR and hitch it up to the Pilot with the Honda tow package- which includes the transmission cooler, etc. and I am very careful about the load in the trailer and the Pilot? Am I missing anything- would this be a safe way to begin?
That sums it up. Looks like you can tow well within the Honda and Airstream specs. I shared your confusion when I started out on the boards - lots of opinions to digest so, I just look at the specifications the OEM engineers provide.
There are alot of well intentioned "scared safe" stories - unfortunately they end up scaring many people off before they take the time to do the math. Just post back if you want more help with the load calculations.
A Bambi/Pilot looks like a comfortable, capable and fuel efficient rig that should give you a great start to Airstreaming! The biggest safety factor is behind the wheel.
........Scott
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2006 Safari SE FB
2000 F150 4.2L
Raleigh, NC
I am confused about the Honda Odyssey being such a great tow vehicle. I have one and was told that they are built as passenger vehicles, not tow vehicles. In order to put a tow hitch on it, you have to add a complete tow package or some warranties will not no longer be in effect. I was steered away from towing with the odyssey by my dealer.
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