Tow vehicle choice

[Vic Coco]

Hi all

We now pull our 16foot Bambi Sport with a Honda Pilot equipped to tow 5000 pounds, but this will occasionally overheat even with an after market larger transmission coolant. They say the 16 foot Airstream weighs only 3500 pounds. We think we need to upgrade out tow vehicle.

We are not wanting a truck or a large truck frame SUV, if possible.

Several midsize SUVs say they can work - Nissan Pathfinder [6000lbs], Grand Cherokee [6200 with V6, 7200 with V8] and Audi Q7 55 [7200]. I just don't like the Dodge Durango.

I don't want to get another wrong vehicle. Advice please. Who has had success with any of these vehicles or can suggest options. Thanks.

[Mullers]

There is a huge thread on Audi/Porsche/VW .

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f46...134917-84.html

TLDR: they make great tow vehicles. We have a Q8 and love it.

[bel73]

If it's your transmission that is overheating try and tow with it out of overdrive or drop a couple gears down.

[Im2bent]

Is the overheating a recent thing or has it overheated from day one? How old is the pilot? Might just need a new radiator if its an older model.

[Shiny16]

The Grand Cherokee V6 was more then enough with our 16 and still great with our 19 Caravel which is substantially heavier.

[Aluminium Falcon]

It is too bad you do not like the Dodge Durango as it is clearly the best unibody SUV for towing. I have a Durango R/T Plus Tow ‘N Go with a towing capacity of 8700 lbs. It is truly a great tow vehicle and so much fun to drive! The Grand Cherokee is also quite good but it no longer comes with a V8 except for the L model. However, the V6 should do the job for a 16 foot Bambi.

[Wayne&Sam]

Originally Posted by Vic Coco

Grand Cherokee ..... I just don't like the Dodge Durango.

I towed a 25' with a Durango with no problem. You don't like it? It's the same vehicle as a Grand Cherokee.

[Vic Coco]

Originally Posted by Shiny16

The Grand Cherokee V6 was more then enough with our 16 and still great with our 19 Caravel which is substantially heavier.

Thanks, I will look at these. It is reassuring that you have had experience with a Grand Cherokee V6. I just don't want to buy something new that will not be enough.

[Vic Coco]

Originally Posted by bel73

If it's your transmission that is overheating try and tow with it out of overdrive or drop a couple gears down.

It is a 2019 and the transmission started overheating on our first long trip West from NC. Late summer. We checked everything out with Honda and they said we might consider an aftermarket larger capacity transmission coolant system which we did. The shop that did it said it would take care of he problem, but they went out of business during Covid, so I can not call them.



Now it has overheated a few times even on days that are cooler, so we are loosing confidence and now planning a 6 week trip.

[Ndcctrucks]

Sorry to hear of your tranny heat problem.

Following your statements, I agree with your desire to change vehicles.

Capability is only one part of the long and complex equation. For me, reported reliability and manufacturer support would be critical.

I hope you get lucky with your selection; I think we all wish fellow Airstreamers peace, safety and happiness on the road!

-Ken

[bel73]

Here is a quick video on torque converter lock up. Im guessing that is where your heat is coming from. If you can tow with a gear closer to 1:1 it should help with your temps.

https://youtu.be/wk9DLfF19Io

[Boxite]

Originally Posted by Vic Coco

Hi all

We now pull our 16foot Bambi Sport with a Honda Pilot equipped to tow 5000 pounds, but this will occasionally overheat even with an after market larger transmission coolant. They say the 16 foot Airstream weighs only 3500 pounds. We think we need to upgrade out tow vehicle.

We are not wanting a truck or a large truck frame SUV, if possible.

Several midsize SUVs say they can work - Nissan Pathfinder [6000lbs], Grand Cherokee [6200 with V6, 7200 with V8] and Audi Q7 55 [7200]. I just don't like the Dodge Durango.

I don't want to get another wrong vehicle. Advice please. Who has had success with any of these vehicles or can suggest options. Thanks.

Are you using “Tow Mode”…? The Honda Pilot has Tow Mode to prevent trans overheating. https://www.hondainfocenter.com/2023...0if%20equipped.

[Merlintiaga]

+1 to Boxite's comment. Tow mode will make a huge difference. If you don't have tow mode on your particular vehicle, take the car out of overdrive. The trucks that I have owned don't allow the transmission to go into overdrive when it tow mode. They also change the shift points so that the engine revs higher. I think your Honda will work, but definitely need to stop it from going into overdrive.

[jcl]

+2

The heat comes from the torque converter. Operating it with the converter slipping in too high a gear is the most likely cause of heat related failures.

Whether you sell the Honda or not, it is worth addressing this as you don’t want to duplicate the issue with a new vehicle.

IMO the Honda is completely capable of towing this trailer. Look into gear selection, and if necessary, repairs to the cooling system to restore performance.

The Honda dealer is unlikely to have much experience with towing. You may want to contact CanAm RV as they have set up many Pilot and Odyssey tow vehicles. They could likely comment on the cooling issue.

[Janet H]

I would choose carefully. The tongue weight needs to be considered and imo you will be happier with more towing capacity. remember that the specs on your trailer are for an empty trailer.

I recently purchased a Nissan Armada and LOVE this as a tow vehicle. It's bigger than my older Touareg and the Mercedes 350 that followed it but still smaller than a full-sized SUV. The fuel mileage is horrible but the trade-off is a solid tow with lots of extra capacity.

[airstreambob]

I recently started to tow a 25' Flying Cloud with a towing package equipped Chevrolet Colorado. It has a towing capacity of 7000 pounds, yet gets 25-20MPG solo. It tows well and transmission runs cool. A 16' would be a piece of cake.

[Funshram]

We tow our 16’ Bambi with our 2017 BMW X5d. Its excellent and gets about 21mpg. A friend uses a 2022 X5 for his 23 footer. It handles the load really nicely. So you should include them as an option. I had an older model Honda pilot that had the same drive train as yours. Great vehicle but a little on the weak side for towing.

[propchef]

Originally Posted by Funshram

We tow our 16’ Bambi with our 2017 BMW X5d. Its excellent and gets about 21mpg. A friend uses a 2022 X5 for his 23 footer. It handles the load really nicely. So you should include them as an option. I had an older model Honda pilot that had the same drive train as yours. Great vehicle but a little on the weak side for towing.

That diesel is an underestimated beast. I wish they still offered it here.

We pull a 27 with our X5.

[Tom_T]

Originally Posted by Vic Coco

Hi all

We now pull our 16foot Bambi Sport with a Honda Pilot equipped to tow 5000 pounds, but this will occasionally overheat even with an after market larger transmission coolant. They say the 16 foot Airstream weighs only 3500 pounds. We think we need to upgrade out tow vehicle.

We are not wanting a truck or a large truck frame SUV, if possible.

Several midsize SUVs say they can work - Nissan Pathfinder [6000lbs], Grand Cherokee [6200 with V6, 7200 with V8] and Audi Q7 55 [7200]. I just don't like the Dodge Durango.

I don't want to get another wrong vehicle. Advice please. Who has had success with any of these vehicles or can suggest options. Thanks.

Vic -

If you didn't order your Pilot with the factory tow option, which includes larger radiator, trans cooler & other heavy duty upgrades - then you have a basic Pilot only rated to tow something like 3500 lbs, even if you've added aftermarket AT cooler, hitch, etc.

Second, your Bambi Sport doesn't weigh in at 3500 lbs, but I think that they're rated to tow total GTW of something like 4500 lbs. So best to load your Bambi up with everything you take to camp, fill the water, LP, grey & black tanks plus your food, dishes, pots & pans, clothes, bikes, games, whatever else, etc. - then go to a CAT or other truck scale to get it weighed with the Pilot, & do several to weigh your rig at all 3 axles/wheels (1 Bambi, F & R Pilot), & Tongue or Hitch weight.

With that info, make sure your trailer isn't overloaded, then whether you'll need a WD hitch to not overload the Pilot rear wheels, & verify that you actually have the 5000 lb towing rating.

If it is rated for 5,000, & your Bambi fully loaded is within that, then it should be able to tow it with the Pilot, although it will be slow on the hills/grades.

Then check with your manual on towing & other Pilot/Ridgeline owners as to what gear they tow in (like the "...not in overdrive" comment in another post above) - & make sure that you're in tow mode for the Pilot.

Also, take it easy, since here in CA we're mostly limited to 55 mph anyway, unless the Pilot qualifies as a truck - & then only on the roads posted as "Automobiles when towing" (vs. "All vehicles when towing" showing up more & more).

We have vintage trailer buddies who used to tow their 4,500 lb vintage Safari trailer with their mid-2010s Ridgeline (older body style era), but it was slow going up some 2 lane mountain country roads. They later changed to a RAM 1500 3.0 TDI & like that. It was about 4500 lbs fully loaded (vintage canned ham).

You don't say what year Pilot & whether it has the factory tow option - theirs did have the factory option.

Many Vans, SUVs/CUVs & pick-ups actually have limited tow ratings unless you get one of their optional extra money tow options - even the Ford F150 1/2 ton pick-up, which is only rated for 5,000 lbs without an option upgrade.

Most Asian brands including Honda seem to be around 3500 unless you get the upgrade for their vans, CUVs & some SUVs.

Back in 2012-13 we used to tow our 4500 lb fully loaded & as options/restored vintage kin 1960 Avion T20 Tourist with the older 2012 Nissan Pathfinder 4.0L V6 AT (the older body on frame version), which was okay, but was also a bit slow on hills/grades & searched for gears at freeway speeds (i.e.: 65+).

So your Pilot should be workable - if not fast - if it has the factory tow option, & so long as your trailer is within that limit.

You should also try contacting Andy T from CanAm RV at the Cayenne/Touareg/Audi Q7 Topic linked in another post above, since he's set up a few Pilots & Ridgelines to tow, he knows & sells Airstreams, & can advise you on what to do with yours, what WD/AS hitch to use (or about what you have), etc.

Also ask him about hitch reinforcement, as he can probably have him send you photos for the reinforcement to have done locally, since he's done that for other AirForums members here in CA & other places far from his shop in Ontario Canada. But you can also swing by them if you're ever in that area to have them do any set-up adjustments, etc.

Here's that link again, & he's posted a couple of times on this pg 84. You can also look through its now 85 pages for other Pilot & Ridgeline owners to contact for advice, since that is where a lot of non-pick-up TV types tend to post.

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f46...134917-84.html

Good Luck!
Tom
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[foobar]

Originally Posted by Vic Coco

Hi all

We now pull our 16foot Bambi Sport with a Honda Pilot equipped to tow 5000 pounds, but this will occasionally overheat even with an after market larger transmission coolant. They say the 16 foot Airstream weighs only 3500 pounds. We think we need to upgrade out tow vehicle.

We are not wanting a truck or a large truck frame SUV, if possible.

Several midsize SUVs say they can work - Nissan Pathfinder [6000lbs], Grand Cherokee [6200 with V6, 7200 with V8] and Audi Q7 55 [7200]. I just don't like the Dodge Durango.

I don't want to get another wrong vehicle. Advice please. Who has had success with any of these vehicles or can suggest options. Thanks.

We owned a Honda Odyssey mini-van for 15 years and towed with it occasionally.

The Honda Pilot and the Odyssey are kissing cousins. They are built on the same body/chassis/drive train. The Pilot and the Odyssey in the model years that I am familiar with both have a 3500lb tow rating from Honda. These vehicles don't have a frame to attach a hitch too, so the body itself has to carry the towing load.

The transmission is a weak link on the Pilot and the Odyssey. We replaced the transmission 3 times on our Odyssey. Eventually, Honda accepted responsibility for the problem and offset some of the replacement costs.

Anyway, I agree with the other responses. You should be able to tow your trailer with the Pilot provided that the actual weight of your trailer is not over the 3500lb tow limit. Please verify your trailer weight using a CAT scale at a truck stop, "after" you have fully loaded the trailer for camping, including filling your water tank (water is over 8lbs / gallon, so the fresh water tank can add a lot of weight quickly).

Don't use cruise control when towing and don't use overdrive gears (which the cruise control loves to do in order to maximize fuel economy). Running higher RPM in lower gears when cruising should reduce the heat buildup due to slippage in the torque converter inside the automatic transmission.

If you want to upgrade your tow vehicle anyway, I have towed a 2022 Globetrotter 27 FB twin (7600lb GVWR) 7000 miles so far (including 5000 miles in Utah, CO, AZ, and NM) using a 2016 Porsche Cayenne S (shares the same body/drivetrain with the VW Tuareg and Audi Q7). No complaints. Stable when towing, plenty of power. Only real limitation is the lower payload rating vs a bigger pickup truck.