| BedfordFred |
I led a group of 19 Boy Scouts on a campout this past weekend. We all drove up in 3 Pilots and a Ford Explorer. To be honest, I think the Honda Pilot is the official vehicle of our Troop - there are about 10 Pilots owned by the various scout families!
I pulled the 6x12 troop trailer behind my 07 Pilot AWD, and it performed much better than I expected. First off, I noticed the trailer was not balanced too well -- too much weight on the tongue. I redistributed some heavy stuff from the front of the trailer to the rear.
We then packed the trailer *to the roof* with gear and equipment. I'm guessing the trailer was in the 3,000-3,500 lb range loaded. With the trailer balanced well, the ride was suprisingly smooth. The transmission worked flawlessly - no unnecessary hunting between gears. I was worried that I might need a D4 setting, but that proved unnecessary. At highway speeds, the tranny alternated between 3rd and 4th, depending on the grade. It only went into 5th on downhill sections.
Arriving at the campsite, we had a 2 mile drive down a private dirt road. Being early spring in NH, this road was quite soft and muddy. There were several sections where mud ruts were 5-8" deep, but the Pilot made it through without a problem. On the muddiest sections, I engaged the VTM-4 lock.
There was one section that gave me some worry - it was a muddy, rut strewn uphill section. I paused near the bottom of the hill to let the lead vehicle get through, then I nailed it with VTM-4 engaged. I could feel the tires start to spin, when drats, the traction control kicked in to limit engine power. I quickly hit the VSA disable button and steamed through the worst section, mud flying everywhere! All this with a fully loaded vehicle and towing a 3,000lb trailer! :D
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| skyraider |
Glad to hear the Pilot did well with your towing! I've yet to tow with my 1 month old EXL with tow package. I assume you have the tow package also. At least I hope so. Bet your not looking forward to the clean up:eek:
__________________
'07 Pilot 4WD EX-L
Dark Cherry Pearl w/Grey Leather
OEM Accessories: Towing Package, Wheel Locks, All Season Mats, Rear Splash Guards. |
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| BedfordFred |
quote:
Originally posted by skyraider
Glad to hear the Pilot did well with your towing! I've yet to tow with my 1 month old EXL with tow package. I assume you have the tow package also. At least I hope so. Bet your not looking forward to the clean up:eek:
Yeah, I installed the tow kit a 4 weeks ago.
BTW - got 11.9 MPG on this trip :eek: |
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| tfrain |
I too towed this weekend. I have a pretty HEAVY trailer that I bought from a landscape guy- 12' by 8' landscape trailer with 18" sides and a long tailgate - dual axle - not sure of its weight. Anyway, it was loaded with a bunch of crap from some home improvement - Vinyl from my kitchen when I tiled, some wood from a tree I cut up, a bunch of tile, some rock, just a bunch of junk - I got the tow package on last week (save the wiring harness) - the Pilot towed flawlessly. It actually towed a lot better than my 5 spd Ford truck with a 302 that I used to tow the trailer with. I was very impressed and am happy to read that the Pilot did so good through that muddy trail with the trailer attached. I can see how a heavy tongue weight would be pretty bad for towing with the Pilot, but I plan on getting the airbags for the rear suspension at some point to help with that.
Overall the Pilot is still impressing me! |
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| truck11 |
How was the rear suspension sag when you towed? I towed my Coleman pop-up camper (small camper) the other day from storage site to my house and it was not too bad. the Pilot swayed a little and headlights seemed a little high (maybe a little sagging), but otherwise pretty good.
Was looking at the airlift 1000 air springs, but not sure if i really need it. |
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| fireflock |
quote:
Originally posted by truck11
How was the rear suspension sag when you towed? I towed my Coleman pop-up camper (small camper) the other day from storage site to my house and it was not too bad. the Pilot swayed a little and headlights seemed a little high (maybe a little sagging), but otherwise pretty good.
Was looking at the airlift 1000 air springs, but not sure if i really need it.
How much does your camper weigh? I have a Coleman popup that is around 1500lbs and it will sag some, but with the sway you are getting I wonder if the tongue weight is too high.
Somewhere in the archives there are posts about air springs and the Timbren rubber bump stops. |
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| truck11 |
The camper is about 1500lbs. Only really towed 5 miles and the Pilot was empty as well. I have towed it with my FX-35 with no issues. I think the swaying is just the Pilot (I am use to the FX)
I will have to check it out again - I am sure it is fine. |
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| rocky |
Glad you made it through without a problem.
Down the road some slightly more off road orientated tires than the Gys will help alot with traction. |
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| jestmaty |
BTW - got 11.9 MPG on this trip
That is about average when towing pretty heavy loads. I get the same mileage when I tow my boat on the freeway (somewhat hilly) to the lake. |
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| BedfordFred |
quote:
Originally posted by truck11
How was the rear suspension sag when you towed? I towed my Coleman pop-up camper (small camper) the other day from storage site to my house and it was not too bad. the Pilot swayed a little and headlights seemed a little high (maybe a little sagging), but otherwise pretty good.
Was looking at the airlift 1000 air springs, but not sure if i really need it.
Here is a larger pic of the Pilot with a trailer attached. With the weight of the trailer balanced well, the rear of the Pilot did sag much at all. |
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| fireflock |
quote:
Originally posted by fireflock
but with the sway you are getting I wonder if the tongue weight is too high.
Sorry, I got that part backwards. Too little tongue weight can cause sway. In any case, having the trailer well balanced makes a world of difference for my particular Pilot/trailer combo.
Air Lift install:
http://www.hondapilot.org/forums/sh...=&threadid=9384 |
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