Newbie Honda Pilot - 22' fb
 

Coming from the motorhome world and looking to downsize.

Have a 2012 Honda Pilot EX, Auto, AWD, tow capacity rated at 4500#

Looking to buy a 22' FB model.

Will I need a load distribution system like the
Equal-i-zer® 4-point sway control / weight distribution towing system?

What about brakes? and do I need a braking system?

Sorry for the newbie questions, but never had these questions when running a Class C or a Class A motorhome, but now I have seen the light and value of Airstream.
Thanks

4500 lb tow capacity may be a little light for a 22'. A 19' actually has a GVW of 4500 lb. Mine weighs 3750 and my TV is rated at 5000. It's a V6 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 290 horsepower. It does OK but when I upsize to a 23' I will get a pickup.

You will need a brake controller and WD hitch, and sway control no matter what Airstream you tow with that, IMHO.

My Sport 22, loaded for camping with full water tank; axles weigh 3,800 lbs (CAT scale) with tongue weight of 400 lbs with WD hitch.

Weight distribution and trailer brake controller.
I looked at the equalizer, went with blue Ox sway pro. Glad I did, very easy to use.

Personally, I believe you will want a new tow vehicle, especially after the first time your beautiful new AS takes over and the tail wags the dog. I've had it happen...its no fun. But whatever you decide, safe travels. jon

Either get a new tow vehicle or a 19'.
You could get a 2017 Ridgeline/Pilot.
Yes, you will need a trailer brake controller in your vehicle.
You may need a 7-blade RV style trailer plug on your vehicle.
I bet the new Ridgeline has the 7-blade trailer connector already. It has the pre-wire for a trailer brake controller.
Yes, you will need some type of weight distributing sway control hitch like the Equal-i-zer Original 4-point Sway Control hitch.

We towed a 16' sport with an older (07) pilot for about 8 months. We mainly drove for long weekends to the coast or up to Tahoe. A lot of winding roads and towed some steep grades. Never had an instance of terror, towed very solid with our weight distribution and sway control.

My main issues were;

1) Torque. There was not enough when towing up steep grades. The 4 speed transmission was always searching. Probably ok if you're not in the mountains. For reference we were right at the limit of what we could tow (3500#).

2) We soon realized we wanted a larger trailer so we got a pickup. And now we are waiting on the arrival of our new trailer.

Overall we had a good towing experience with our Pilot, but you are very limited in what you can tow.

Good luck!

M.Honey why do you recommend a 19'? The Tow Weight is the same, but the Tongue Weight on the 19' is heavier by about 100 lbs. Wouldn't that cause MORE issues for his tow vehicle?

Wondering as I have a Porsche Macan that has a tow weight of 4500lbs (actually 5k+ but they have removed 15% for safety reasons) and has a hitch weight of 450lbs. I have been going back and forth between the 16, 19 and 22. I finally removed the 19 because I don't want the risk of such a heavy tongue weight.

Thanks,

Tara

A 19' trailer and a 22' trailer weigh the same?


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Newbie Honda Pilot - 22' fb
 

There may not even be a 19'.
Can only find 16' and 22' on Airstream's website.


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Newbie Honda Pilot - 22' fb
 

16' hitch weight 350
16' dry weight 2,880
16' GVW 3,500
22' hitch weight 393
22' dry weight 3,634
22' GVW 4,500


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The 19' are the Flying Clouds or International.

Newbie Honda Pilot - 22' fb
 

I see.
I was looking at Sport.
19' hitch weight 550
19' dry weight 3,852
19' GVW 4,500
The 19 does weigh more.
Why?
Furniture? Cabinets?


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We have been towing a 16' Sport with our 2015 Pilot which came standard with a tow package. Included was a hitch receiver and transmission cooler but I had to add the 7 point plug receptacle and brake controller (it was prewired for these). The Pilot pulls the 16' nicely -- never any sway or power problems even without a WDH (Honda does not recommend one, btw). That said I would not want to pull anything longer or heavier as I think the comfort margin will shrink and will be pushing the limits of power and safety.

From what I can tell: Wooden cabinets and placement over the front of the trailer. I would let an expert speak around this subject as I am still learning.

Country Boy.... I have 2011 4WD Pilot and it drives fine under normal conditions. Its does not have enough power to accelerate at a decent rate when trying to pass someone on the highway. I have a 2007 25' FB Safari and tow it with a GMC 2500HD truck. I would not tow anything larger that a utility trailer behind my Honda.

How is it that the 22 Sport weighs less than the 19 flying cloud?

The 22 sport is narrower than the 19s and 20s, and has been purposefully designed to be lighter (due to price point or engineering, depending on your viewpoint).

Flying cloud has wood front uppers on the cabinets/Sport has rolling tambour doors.
Flying could has more drawers/Sport has only 1 drawer.
Flying cloud has different sinks and stove and ovens than Sport
Flying cloud has different windows that are likely heavier.
Table dinettes are different.

That being said. I drove a Honda Pilot for 10 years and it is a great product. But once we decided that we would buy a 22 sport and not a 16, we bought a Toyota Tundra. With the Pilot there is just no way to be able to have that extra power --merging, passing, avoiding incidents-- that to me equal a safety level that I desire. And we tow at 60 Mph with our Tundra. Safety is important.

Could you tow with a Pilot for very short hop weekend trips on 2 lane flat roads? Yes.

I would not want to be on busy interstate highway traffic or in the mountains, or even on a constant uphill grade like driving west across KS or NE with one while towing a 22.

Is the Sport a "narrow body" and the Flying Cloud a "wide body" maybe?
Sport exterior widths listed as 7' 3.25"-8' so I guess there are both narrow and wide?
The 16' is 8' wide and the 22' is 7' 3.25" wide?
That's crazy.
The 19' is 8' wide.
Maybe the 19' weighs more because it is wider?


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The 22FB Sport is unique among all current Airstream models. It's lower, narrower, and lighter than any other model except the 16'.

I have a 2006 Ridgeline and it has absolutely no problem towing this trailer. In fact it tows like a dream. I don't use the fast lane uphill on mountain passes, but I'm not the slowest vehicle either.

What are the tradeoffs? Biggest bed in any Airstream, bathroom as big as any Airstream, lots of kitchen counter space, fits in tent sites... not bad!

Ok, storage space is limited and there's no couch seating area.

My 2015 Honda Pilot, EX, Auto, AWD pulls my Sport 22 with ease using a Blue Ox SwayPro hitch. Noticed very little effect from passing trucks and wind at 55 mph. Still evaluating gas mileage but there is a significant drop--22.8 max to around 13.