We have a 2005 Honda Pilot and have just bought a 67 Caravel (our 59 Pacer was crushed in transport -- long story ). The Caravel is about 60 miles away and we need to bring it home this weekend. We've bought a Prodigy, which will be installed tomorrow, but I need advice on what I should get in terms of sway control/weight distribution. The Pilot has the factory tow package and is rated at 3500 lbs, the Caravel dry wt is 2300, so I'm not worried about weight, but it does get really windy here and we will be traveling on interstates with lots of big rigs, AND we are neophytes at towing, so I want to be as safe as possible.
What would be the safest set up for us in terms of sway control and weight distribution, without being overkill?
depends on if you have 1 1/4 or 2 inch reciever. If it is 2 inch either a Reese dual cam or the equalizer will do. if it is the smaller one you will have problems finding something.
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Is a Reese dual-cam overkill (or even ineffective?) for a 2300 lb trailer, or is it the best/safest for any trailer of any size?
No. Just make sure when you set it up or who ever sets it up you do so with your TV loaded as if you are towing. The trailer and truck must be level.
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Michelle
If you think you are having a bad day go to the hospital and visit the children.
Sarah
Ruby, (05 BMW R1200RT)
Daisy, (06 Turbo Diesel F-250 w/Tow Command, the perfect TV)
Butter Cup, (06 Classic 31 w/dinette, solar)
45,000 miles in two years! http://Michelles-Adventures.US
I hate to rain on this parade...but I don't think you can use a WD hitch on a unibody vehicle.
I know this has been discussed at length previously...
Best bet; check your owners manual/dealer.
Bill
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I hate to rain on this parade...but I don't think you can use a WD hitch on a unibody vehicle.
I know this has been discussed at length previously...
Best bet; check your owners manual/dealer.
Bill
While not all uni-body vehicles can be equipped to tow, uni-body does not automatically eliminate a vehicle from towing. Honda's towing package for the Pilot includes a class III 2" receiver style hitch. I know that I have towed my Nomad and later my Overlander many thousands of miles with my '65 Dodge Coronet 500 convertible (Resses Hitch) -- and it has uni-body construction -- uni-body Chrysler products of the 1960s and 1970s were among the more popular towcars for Airstreams of that era.
Kevin
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1978 Argosy Minuet 6.0 Metre/1975 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible (8.2 Liter V8/2.70 Final Drive)
While not all uni-body vehicles can be equipped to tow, uni-body does not automatically eliminate a vehicle from towing. Honda's towing package for the Pilot includes a class III 2" receiver style hitch. I know that I have towed my Nomad and later my Overlander many thousands of miles with my '65 Dodge Coronet 500 convertible (Resses Hitch) -- and it has uni-body construction -- uni-body Chrysler products of the 1960s and 1970s were among the more popular towcars for Airstreams of that era.
Kevin
Kevin, no-one said you can not tow with a unibody...I cautioned against using a WD hitch with a unibody. Some manufacturers do not allow this per operators manual/warranty concerns.
Good day...
Bill
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Life is Good-Camping all around New England
Good people drink good beer-Hunter S Thompson
Is the problem with using a WD hitch on a unibody vehicle strain/torque of the frame? I was searching around on one of the Honda Pilot forums last night, looking for info on this, and the consensus seemed to be that the light-duty Reese hitch like Andy recommended (<600 lbs), would not unduly strain the Pilot. A number of people have used them without any problems, although some people felt that the heavy duty ones should not be used. But I'm not sure if there are other factors I need to take into account?
Officially, Honda "does not recommend" WD hitches with the Pilot, although they say it does not affect your warranty, and several people on the Honda forum said that they spoke with Honda mechanics, some of whom used WD hitches themselves, and they felt it was fine. Oddly, Honda does recommend using a WD hitch on the Odyssey minivan (also unibody) for any trailer over 1000 lbs, so I'm not very clear on what the issue is with the Pilot.
The folks on the Pilot forum who did not use WD hitches generally used "airbag" systems in the back to level the vehicle, but I thought from reading this forum that those were a bad idea? I don't think there would be more than 270-300 lbs max tongue weight, so I don't think the WD hitch would be shifting a whole lot of weight to the front -- but then again, I don't understand very well how WD hitches work, so I could be wrong.
I just want the most effective sway control I can get, given that we live in a very windy place and will be traveling interstates (like I-40) with lots of semis, so I am open to any and all suggestions.
Is the problem with using a WD hitch on a unibody vehicle strain/torque of the frame? I was searching around on one of the Honda Pilot forums last night, looking for info on this, and the consensus seemed to be that the light-duty Reese hitch like Andy recommended (<600 lbs), would not unduly strain the Pilot. A number of people have used them without any problems, although some people felt that the heavy duty ones should not be used. But I'm not sure if there are other factors I need to take into account?
Officially, Honda "does not recommend" WD hitches with the Pilot, although they say it does not affect your warranty, and several people on the Honda forum said that they spoke with Honda mechanics, some of whom used WD hitches themselves, and they felt it was fine. Oddly, Honda does recommend using a WD hitch on the Odyssey minivan (also unibody) for any trailer over 1000 lbs, so I'm not very clear on what the issue is with the Pilot.
The folks on the Pilot forum who did not use WD hitches generally used "airbag" systems in the back to level the vehicle, but I thought from reading this forum that those were a bad idea? I don't think there would be more than 270-300 lbs max tongue weight, so I don't think the WD hitch would be shifting a whole lot of weight to the front -- but then again, I don't understand very well how WD hitches work, so I could be wrong.
I just want the most effective sway control I can get, given that we live in a very windy place and will be traveling interstates (like I-40) with lots of semis, so I am open to any and all suggestions.
Any air bag system made, granted can keep things level.
They are not, by any stretch of the imagination, a substitute for a load equalizing hitch.
In fact if you use air bags, you put all the tongue weight on the rear axle. AND REMOVE IT FROM THE FRONT AXLE.
The goal of the WD hitch is to distribute the hitch weight between the front and rear axles of your truck. The 300 hitch weight you listed is for a dry trailer with no options. Add some propane, water and other stuff and you are looking at 400 pounds. Still not a lot of weight. The WD hitch when setup correctly will move around 200 pounds forward.
1. Deflate the air bags.
2. Go to a CAT scale or any commercial scale where you can get the weight on each individual axle.
3. Adjust ball height then weight distribution bars until all axles have the same weight on them, as close as possible (+ or - 50 lbs, 100 lb tolerance.).
4. Pull trailer in a straight line to center every thing. Readjust the dual cam arms.
5. Put air in the air bags when you are hauling wood.
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). The Caravel is about 60 miles away and we need to bring it home this weekend. We've bought a Prodigy, which will be installed tomorrow, but I need advice on what I should get in terms of sway control/weight distribution. The Pilot has the factory tow package and is rated at 3500 lbs, the Caravel dry wt is 2300, so I'm not worried about weight, but it does get really windy here and we will be traveling on interstates with lots of big rigs, AND we are neophytes at towing, so I want to be as safe as possible.
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