Weight distribution hitch or not (with Honda Pilot)?

[pg_rider]

Originally Posted by Whynot

Just wanted to let you all know that the Pilot towed my new Mini lite 2306 very well. Traveled from Portland Maine to Halifax Nova Scotia (590 miles) with out a problem. The gas milage did decrease some but that was expected. Definitly glad I purchased the WDH and sway bar though. Does anyone find the sway bar noisy? When it's on and I'm going slow around corners, the bar makes an awfull noise. On the highway there isn't a noise. I think it's normal but would love to hear from others.

It is indeed normal (I'm assuming you have an Equal-i-zer). You can apply a little grease to the friction areas to greatly reduce the noise. You'll eventually get used to it though.

[milleniumkenny]

Hi all. This is my first post on the FRF! Whynot, similar to you I own a 2010 Honda Pilot (Touring). I thought I would share my personal experiences with the Honda Pilot and Rockwood Roo 183.

A few years ago I was a novice and started looking around for posts with advice on the type of TT I could enjoy with my Pilot. We live in the city (Toronto) and our tiny crackerbox house has a small driveway, so small that we can't squish a full-size pickup or suburban without banging up the doors. Further, we are also a 1-vehicle family and a full-size pickup is not a great vehicle for everyday driving either... and certainly not for our 2 kids! For all these reasons, the Honda Pilot was our best choice.

There are a ton of TT models out there but most were too heavy for the Pilot. A really wanted a full-height TT instead of a PUP. Now I had to figure out HOW MUCH trailer could I tow with the Pilot... before I regretted it!

Ultimately after a lot of reading and asking around at shows, I took the plunge and bought a new (at the time) Rockwood Roo 183 (18ft, 3500lb GVWR).

Since then, each summer we ride a huge loop (10-13,000kms) starting from our home in Toronto up through northern Ontario and onto points west in Montana, Wyoming, Washington and BC, and also took a loop out east to PEI last year. On each of these trips we've spent 5-6 weeks on the road driving, towing, and camping 2-5 nights in each site. I figure so far we have racked up over 50,000kms of driving with the Pilot + Roo.

Apart from the standard electric brake system, our Roo 183 is not equipped with any fancy accessories - no WDH, no power tongue jack. I was concerned about weight and anyway, these could be added as options.

After 4 years, I can assure anyone who is thinking about towing the Rockwood Roo 183 (or smaller) with their Honda Pilot that the combination is completely safe.

There are some caveats:

- We generally tow at 55mph or less. At that speed, expect 25L/100km (tailwind gets 21L/100km and headwind, 30L/100km). We stick to 2-lane highways and with some natural exceptions we generally avoid the interstate. It's no fun being bumrushed and anyway you see a lot more of the countryside! Someone who hates to drive 55 will definitely need a full-size truck unless they are using their Pilot to tow a PUP or RPOD.

- I learned the hard way to always empty the water and grey/black tanks every time. DO NOT EVER leave the tanks half full! There are no baffles to prevent the water from sloshing around in the tank and it does create a big hazard. I almost crashed from sway once when I forgot to drain (or more likely, out of sheer laziness). It was a foolish rookie mistake, but 3 years later it hasn't happened since.

- Drive the Pilot downhill much slower than you might otherwise. This sounds silly, but I only ever hit sway down the continental divide at 55mph (with the tanks half full, see above). Got to force yourself to take it slow (40mph slow).

- I leave the Pilot in regular "D" when I drive highway but I found that if I get the speed just right it does not shift into top gear. Turning "off" the overdrive causes the engine to rev at 3000RPM+ which kills the gas mileage. Maybe I am setting myself up for an expensive transmission job doing this, but so far no problems. Meanwhile I must have saved $1000s in gas.

- The Honda Pilot gas tank is good for about 200mi before the warning light comes on. You will have to fill up a bit more often than you might if you were driving a Dooley with twin tanks. Filling up 3-4 times a day is not uncommon.

I really enjoy driving the Pilot Touring and can't recommend it enough. The interior is quiet, flawless in fact, and the Touring model comes equipped with GPS, XM and all the electronic toys to keep our kids assuaged. The Touring is the towing model and comes with the oil cooler, built-in 7-prong TT light kit, plus the receiver and backup camera which makes hooking up a snap. You could probably get most of this stuff aftermarket, but worth the price to get it all factory spec.

This spring we traded up our Rockwood Roo 183 for a Mini Lite 2306. The Mini Lite has less beds but it's all hardwall. No more tents! Even though the 2306 is much longer it only weights 100lbs more than the Roo. I'm eager to try it out, see how this handles with the Pilot. Will write back if things are substantially different from the Roo.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by milleniumkenny

Hi all. This is my first post on the FRF! Whynot, similar to you I own a 2010 Honda Pilot (Touring). I thought I would share my personal experiences with the Honda Pilot and Rockwood Roo 183.


Ultimately after a lot of reading and asking around at shows, I took the plunge and bought a new (at the time) Rockwood Roo 183 (18ft, 3500lb GVWR).


This spring we traded up our Rockwood Roo 183 for a Mini Lite 2306. The Mini Lite has less beds but it's all hardwall. No more tents! Even though the 2306 is much longer it only weights 100lbs more than the Roo. I'm eager to try it out, see how this handles with the Pilot. Will write back if things are substantially different from the Roo.

since you are preaching the benefits of the Pilot towing a full height trailer, i have to correct some of your numbers.

first, the 183's GVWR is NOT 3500lbs., that's the bogus "dry" weight number.
its GVWR is 4715lbs., which is WWWAAAYYY over the max towing capacity of the Pilot, which is 4500lbs. IF it's 4x4 and has factory tow package.

second, the 183's length is nearly 21' long, at 20'9", NOT 18' long.

third, the 2306 "dry" weight number is nearly 350lbs. heavier than the 183's, not just a 100lbs. heavier.
and it is another 3' longer, plus its GVWR also exceeds Honda's 4500lbs. max tow rating for the Pilot.

so, what you're claiming is that the Pilot can tow a trailer past its tow rating from Honda. and the 2306's loaded hitch weight will also exceed Honda's hitch.

just want to clarify your claims so that readers can make an informed decision.
just because you're willing to exceed the manufacturers' specs, doesn't mean others are willing to.

not trying to be harsh, i just want the info to be correct.

[HONDAMAN174]

Geez bikeadan- why don't you just tell him there's no Santa Claus too! 😝

[milleniumkenny]

Hey bikendan, your correction was fairly swift but I think, fair. I was just looking for a way to retract or edit my post for those GVWR numbers? Doesn't look like I can do that, so I'll just acknowledge you are right about the numbers. The official specs are listed on Rockwood's site. Yes, GVWR is the combined gross weight, very different from dry weight. It does add up to more than 100lbs difference between the 2306 and 183. In our case, since we pack very light we can keep our payload down so the overall weight seems safe enough. When I fill the water tanks for example, I can tell we're way over. For that matter, as I mentioned in my post we are also thinking about ditching our Pilot for another tow vehicle with a higher tow rating which would be ample for the 2306. Trying to find one that fits in the same footprint as a Pilot is hard to find (Grand Cherokee? Yukon?). I'm not inclined to buy a big truck just to be stuck parking on the street for the rest of the year. What I do see among other posts I have read here is that the 2306 will tow just fine behind a Pilot. I'll know soon enough for myself once we pick it up.

While we are on the subject, I thought I read somewhere people comparing Honda Pilots to Accords (was that you?). Frankly I couldn't disagree more. The chassis might be shared, but if you look under the vehicle you will see that it's apples and oranges. Last weekend I replaced the front brake rotors and I think you would agree that the size and weight of those rotors are telling. The Pilot is not an Accord. This is akin to comparing a F-150 with a F-250.

People can decide for themselves what is reasonable. From what I can see you've spent a lot of time critiquing different people in this forum about being "overweight" on GVWR, and again, that is fair game. On the other hand, I am basing my opinion on fairly considerable experience towing this rig. I do think driving habits play in here and if you don't drive like the wind then there is some tolerance you can add beyond the stated manufacturer rating. Of course you can't continue to add weight indefinitely, at some point there is an absolute threshold that will break or crash the vehicle. I haven't seen any indication that I am near that point with my rig. At the time I was shopping for the Roo, this was a great place to get the unvarnished opinions and I am grateful for the honest help. People can certainly make up their own minds and should stick with their comfort zone.

[bikendan]

nope, wasn't me that compared the Pilot to the Accord. wouldn't do that.

i have a close friend who attempted to tow his hybrid with his Pilot. one white knuckled trip to the Sierras and back and he never used it again.
luckily he has a Silverado truck to do the job.

we originally fell in love with the Ridgeline for a new tow vehicle. but Honda's anti-WDH policy made me realize that Honda doesn't even see it as a competent tow vehicle. no other Auto manufacturer has such a policy for the vehicles they promote as good tow vehicles.

when i go camping with my trailer, i don't want to have to count every ounce of weight to be able to go camping and still feel stressed that i'm over specs.
having a more than capable tow vehicle, with plenty of extra capacity, allows me to relax and take what i want to take. i like being to take as much water as i want.

[EXGMTech]

I'm a certified Honda tech, I'm not going to get in to this battle with stats...but I will advise you to take a few spark plugs with you. Honda has a huge problem with sticking oil rings right now in the v-6's. I won't go in to details as to why but the symptoms will be a ck eng. light and cyl. misfire. You will have a big problem if it happens while you're towing. Continue driving & you'll melt your cat. converter. Unfortunately the cyls. affected are 1-4 which are the REAR bank and 1 cyl in the frt. bank, closest to the belt. What you can do to get home is replace the fouled spark plug on the affected cyl.
We've been replacing piston rings @ our dlr at a rate of 2-3 cars a week and it's growing.

I would not tow anything that heavy with a Pilot...trans. is the weak point.

[milleniumkenny]

Thanks for that tip EXGMTech. Can't say I have ever seen anything like this before, in fact I don't think I have ever seen that check engine light come on once! Maybe I am among the lucky ones. A spare set of plugs sounds like a pretty good idea to me. I hate the idea of being stuck roadside waiting on a special order.

[EXGMTech]

you will need a 5/8 spark plug socket, extensions, ratchet, 10mm socket for the nut that holds the ign. coil over the plug. The wire connector that goes to the coil is a squeeze to release type. You will have to do it entirely by feel as it's very hard to see. You can look at the frt. bank to get the idea...it's the same on the back. #2 cyl (middle one) is the one we've seen the most of.

[KDHfan]

I can't fathom towing a 2306 with a unit rated at 5000# unless you're in an area that is all flat! all the time... Even then, not sure I would. I towed my 2306 with a Nissan Armada with a 5.6L and a 6500# tow capacity. The engine was plenty strong... But even with a tranny cooler, the tranny temp climbed in the large hills of PA. I recently purchased a 2014 5.7L Tundra crewmax... All problems solved.

[tanddc]

Originally Posted by KDHfan

I can't fathom towing a 2306 with a unit rated at 5000# unless you're in an area that is all flat! all the time... Even then, not sure I would. I towed my 2306 with a Nissan Armada with a 5.6L and a 6500# tow capacity. The engine was plenty strong... But even with a tranny cooler, the tranny temp climbed in the large hills of PA. I recently purchased a 2014 5.7L Tundra crewmax... All problems solved.

I tow a TT bigger than that with a Ford Explorer rated at 5K and have no problems at all. I could claim that its because Fords are better or that I am somehow a better driver but I don't think either are true. Not everyone will find themselves uncomfortable using their vehicle at its capacity.

[milleniumkenny]

A few weeks have elapsed here and I have given a lot of thought to this thread. As a Honda Pilot owner and former Rockwood Roo 183 owner, now (coming this week!) 2306 owner this is probably the most valuable thread I have ever read.

Hondaman174,EXGMTech, bikendan, KDHfan, gave a lot of thought to your comments and reading between the lines here, I decided to trade in the Pilot for a new 2014 Durango with the HEMI. It wasn't easy to find a nicely appointed SUV with a 3rd row that fits in my city driveway, but I can honestly say that the Durango is a stellar TV. My tow rating with the Durango is 7400lbs or thereabout, ample room to pull the 2306 and I can load it up comfortably with all my gear, water, and no concerns.

Talk about an expensive ordeal! But I'm square on this now.
Bottom-line, the Honda Pilot can handle the Rockwood Roo 183 or 19 without problems, and while I can't vouch for pulling the 2306 with the Pilot, it could probably handle it, but why take that chance.

[EXGMTech]

I put the hitch & brake controller in a friend's Durango and all I can say is that thing was a tow beast!

[KDHfan]

Your wheelbase is probably similar to my old Armada... With my Equalizer 4pt, I had zero sway issues.
I think you'll be happy with the Durango... I just wanted a little extra capacity so I, like you, could just load and go without worrying how heavy I was getting.
And the PP is correct... I'm currently driving a 1500 with a Hemi while the Tundra is in the body shop (don't get me started)... The Hemi is a beast. You'll have power-o-plenty to pull your TT.

Good luck with your 2306... We absolutely love ours. Heading out for a 12-day journey next week with just me and the kids... Yikes!

[HONDAMAN174]

KDH have a good time and remember, benedryl is for their "allergies"! Snicker snicker- sleep well kids!