What's a good towed for the Isata 3

[Barch]

Originally Posted by milkman55

I went with the Blue Ox Avail towbar, Blue Ox baseplate and Demco (SMI) Stay-In-Play Duo for the brakes. The Demco brake unit uses the power brakes on the CR-V because it taps into the vacuum brake. You have full proportional brakes and setup is as easy as switching the brakes at a toggle switch when you hook up the toad. The brake unit stays in place all the time.

For lights I ran separate bulbs in the rear lenses as there is plenty of room and no need to tie in to the Honda wiring in any way.

About $2,500 as I did all the work myself, about two days work at an easy pace.
Closer to $4,500 to have it “professionally” installed.

I also upgraded the battery in the CR-V to the 24F group and added the RVI battery maintainer just for insurance. If your 2013 has the original factory “motorcycle” size battery, you will want to change that out. The Honda Odyssey battery box fits like a glove and the 24F drops right in. I got mine at Walmart for $100 with a 5 yr warranty.

About how many hours do you think it took you to install the Baseplate?

[milkman55]

Baseplate is about 4 hrs. Most of the work is taking the front end body panels off as shown in the video. The baseplate (BlueOx) bolts in place of the bumper. You need a stout cold chisel to knock off the welded nut referred to in the video. That was probably the only difficult part. Make sure you don’t leave out the locktite when you torque down the mounting bolts of the baseplate.

[Barch]

Originally Posted by chroniekon

I set mine up myself. I was able to find the major components on Craigslist. I have a very basic tow bar by smittybilt. The braking system is a Blue Ox Patriot. It's not as convenient as the built in braking systems as you have to put the 'box' in the rig and plug it in, it maybe takes a minute to set up. And you have to find a place to store it when not in use. I fabricated a version of Roadmasters Defender rock guard. All in with all the extra lighting, electrical, safety chains and hardware, I'm a little under $450.

Sounds like you are pretty happy with the Blue Ox Patriot portable system. How are you powering it in the CRV? Did you have to install a 12 volt outlet for it or just use an existing 12 volt outlet? As I understand it from milkman55, if you upgrade the battery and/or install a charger, you don't have to pull any fuses.

[chroniekon]

Mine is installed in a Jeep Wrangler, although I think for the most part they are a universal fit in most rigs. The guy I bought it from had used it in a CRV. It just plugs into the cigarette lighter. There is also another small connector that plugs into the unit that comes from the break away switch mounted at the front bumper.

[Annekem]

As of 2017, the Compass is not 4-down towable according to our local dealer.