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Old 04-29-2013, 12:50 PM   #1
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Newbie, never pulled a trailer

Just bought a 122bh pick it up in a couple days, will pull it with a 2013 Honda Odessey minivan. When we bought the van we included the towing package with train cooler. Lazy Days are installing sway bars. I may pull it with my 2006 Toyota Tocoma. Curious if anyone tows with same vehicle. 1st trailer, have pulled a small usual trailer but never have had to pull before. Any suggestions?
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Old 04-29-2013, 02:13 PM   #2
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I have a 122s and pull it with my 2013 Santa Fe. Tows fine up mountains or on the flat even with my 4cyl 2.0T. It has 265HP with around 265 foot pounds of torque.

I see your Odyssey with a V6 has around the same HP. Only difference I guess would be the Odyssey is around 4400lbs where as my Santa Fe is 3800lbs. The 600lbs difference (or more if you have a full load of passengers) with a little less HP may make going up mountains a little bit of a challenge. Other than that you will be fine.

Are they just putting friction sway controllers or are they do a weight distribution hitch with sway control? I would be cautious using a weight distribution hitch on a unibody frame. I have been tempted to get one, but I have read forum posts where people have ripped their frame apart.

Only other thing I would maybe recommend if you have a lot of rear end sag (tongue weight pushing down on the hitch) and to also save your suspension, is maybe a set of airbag helpers and a compressor to jack the back end back up. I installed this on my Santa Fe and it makes a world of difference in towing the trailer. As far as suspension goes you cannot even tell you are towing it.
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Old 04-29-2013, 02:25 PM   #3
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Thanks for the info. We have the sway bar,etc put on sat at lazy days so will discuss with them, I do note the Odessey minivan is already lower to the ground, wonder also how I will adjust towing on my Tacoma which is a lot higher? Thanks again...
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Old 04-29-2013, 02:45 PM   #4
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Thanks for the info. We have the sway bar,etc put on sat at lazy days so will discuss with them, I do note the Odessey minivan is already lower to the ground, wonder also how I will adjust towing on my Tacoma which is a lot higher? Thanks again...

For the Odyssey get a ball mount that has like a 4 or 5" raise in it and then for the Tacoma you may just need a 2" drop... Pretty much measure the trailer at level and the height of the tongue then measure how far off your receiver is on the Odyssey and the Tacoma.
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Old 04-29-2013, 03:06 PM   #5
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We towed our popup with an Odyssey van and it towed really well. It is very close to the ground, so be careful going over any dips - take them at an angle and not straight on to avoid bottoming out.

As far as switching - you will need a different ball mount for the Tacoma. If possible, I'd take both vehicles when you go to pick up your camper and ask them to give you the right ball mount for both. You may pay a little more over picking up one at wallyworld, but if you are new to towing the peace of mind would be worth it to me.

If that's not possible, rkuffler has some good advice about figuring out which is the right one for the Tacoma.
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Old 04-29-2013, 03:43 PM   #6
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Thanks for your response, am new to pulling a trailer so backing it up into the driveway or an "L" shape camping spot will be interesting.
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Old 04-29-2013, 03:45 PM   #7
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Thanks for your response, am new to pulling a trailer so backing it up into the driveway or an "L" shape camping spot will be interesting.
Just make sure that you do as little damage as possible and provide as much entertainment as possible for those around! At least, that's my plan.

That said - the only trick that has ever worked for me was to keep my hands on the bottom of the steering wheel. Raise the side of the steering wheel in the direction that you want the back of the camper to go.
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Old 04-29-2013, 03:52 PM   #8
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Just make sure that you do as little damage as possible and provide as much entertainment as possible for those around! At least, that's my plan.

That said - the only trick that has ever worked for me was to keep my hands on the bottom of the steering wheel. Raise the side of the steering wheel in the direction that you want the back of the camper to go.
Bah. First day I had my trailer and I was backing it into my garage I clipped the tail light on the corner of my work surface. Smashed the light and the housing. Said meh didn't like the tail lights anyways and replaced them with LED tail lights lol.
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Old 04-29-2013, 04:03 PM   #9
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Thanks for your response, am new to pulling a trailer so backing it up into the driveway or an "L" shape camping spot will be interesting.
Go slow and look at all corners of the tv and the trailer, turn the tv wheels the opposite direction you want the rear of the trailer to go. If you want the rear of the trailer to go left, steer right and GO SLOW! With practice, you'll be putting the trailer within inches of where you want it.
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Old 04-29-2013, 04:04 PM   #10
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That said - the only trick that has ever worked for me was to keep my hands on the bottom of the steering wheel. Raise the side of the steering wheel in the direction that you want the back of the camper to go.
That is the one true thing that applies to all of the universe.

Our trailers are relatively short making the axle close to the TV, This means that the trailer will amplify the movements of the vehicle faster than intuition might lead you to think. This includes easy jackknifing, which occurs when you cannot back the trailer out of its turn, no matter how far you turn the wheel the other way. Take your time and never hesitate to pull forward if the trailer oversteers while backing.

Once you get your trailer set for camping, weigh it. Both the axle and the tongue. The tongue should be 10%-15% of the full trailer weight for safe towing.
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Old 04-29-2013, 04:23 PM   #11
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What is the easiest way to weight it? We plan to camp at Lazy days the day we pick it up (this weekend) wonder if they could/would weight it? Thanks for the tips, loving this forum, especially the a frame as these campers are special, and I believe will become more popular because of the economy, gas, practicality, etc
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Old 04-29-2013, 04:30 PM   #12
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If you're near a highway and truck stops, there are CAT scales where you can weigh the combination of the two - minivan splitting 2 scales and the camper on the 3rd one and the vehicle by itself (park and detach the camper). If you have a weight distributing hitch- weigh once with it engaged and once with it off. The CAT scales can be intimidating because you're there with all of the big rig drivers!

You can also measure tongue weight at home with a household scale. You'll have to google that - I don't have any links handy.
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Old 04-29-2013, 04:47 PM   #13
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I weighed my Niagara at a yard that sold bulk rock building material. The scale read to 100 lbs so it was not good for tongue weight, but it was fine for axle weight. It was close to home and free.

Here is one good way to measure tongue weight
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Old 04-29-2013, 05:32 PM   #14
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Thanks for your response, am new to pulling a trailer so backing it up into the driveway or an "L" shape camping spot will be interesting.
Howdy neighbor! We purchased at Lazydays also but live on the other side of the bridge. We also have an L shaped driveway. Hubby backs it in the best that he can then we unhitch and use a Harbor Freight trailer dolly to get it in the garage. We only have a slight incline on our driveway so I don't know if this will work for you.

http://www.harborfreight.com/heavy-d...lly-37510.html
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Old 04-29-2013, 05:58 PM   #15
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May have to purchase that harbor freight dolley. Have you guys found some good places in Florida to camp? We enjoyed ft desoto last summer but were in a tent, now will be in our a frame!
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Old 04-29-2013, 06:19 PM   #16
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May have to purchase that harbor freight dolley. Have you guys found some good places in Florida to camp? We enjoyed ft desoto last summer but were in a tent, now will be in our a frame!
We were in a tent for 13 years. Your camper will feel like a hotel. Being able to use the air and heat has really added to our camping season. Ft DeSoto is our favorite. We will be there again in May and June. We have also tried these places since we purchased the camper.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...eak-31769.html

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...eak-36808.html
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Old 04-29-2013, 06:35 PM   #17
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Thanks for the tips, may try the park south of Orlando
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Old 04-30-2013, 07:40 PM   #18
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Thanks for your response, am new to pulling a trailer so backing it up into the driveway or an "L" shape camping spot will be interesting.
Find a large parking lot on a weekend like a school or something and pratice pratice pratice and make small wheel adjustments no need to turn the wheel all the way to make the camper go where you want to.
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Old 04-30-2013, 08:25 PM   #19
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Thanks for the info. We have the sway bar,etc put on sat at lazy days so will discuss with them, I do note the Odessey minivan is already lower to the ground, wonder also how I will adjust towing on my Tacoma which is a lot higher? Thanks again...
Totally forgot to mention that Lazydays will allow you to stay in their campground for free when you pick up. Just ask your salesperson. It was handy when we found a few things that did not work correctly to be there on property. Also, bring a video camera if possible for your walk through. They will give you a lot of new info. Enjoy!
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Old 04-30-2013, 10:38 PM   #20
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Thanks for the tips and yes we are staying the night at Lazy Days to learn and check how it all works. Driving it home and backing it up in my drive will be interesting !
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