2006 Odyssey Towing experience

[Househunterlives]

Originally Posted by Bill

Just one more thought. In the good old days, truck manufacturers could use pretty much any number they wanted for a tow rating, and there were some pretty wild specs. In 2008, the Society of Automotive Engineers wrote a specification for how to specify a tow rating, and how to prove it with real world testing. The spec was called J2807. It was updated in 2010, and became mandatory in the US in 2015. I won't try to summarize it, but it is very comprehensive, not just a horsepower spec. You can read all about it in
https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/15...-the-standard/

My point? With any vehicle before 2015, a manufacturer's specified tow rating was not particularly trustworthy, especially if you were trying compare one manufacturer's truck to another. Starting with 2015 models, the ratings became much more valuable. If your budget will stretch to something post-2015, you may be happier.

Bill

Did not know about the rating spec after 2015. Interesting. I diffidently would have to stretch the budget to get a TV 2015 or newer. Might be able to find a Nissan Pathfinder.

[Larryjb]

Originally Posted by Wavery

Tow ratings are a bit of marketing strategy.

The tow ratings in 2006 were based on what a vehicle was able to tow with a driver and 10G of gas. Any passenger, cargo and fuel weight added to the vehicle must be subtracted from the tow rating.

Just about any vehicle (including an old VW bug) can PULL a TM. The key question is, "Can the tow vehicle in question stop a TM in a safe distance at highway speeds?".

Along with the ability to stop, terrain and weather conditions must be considered.

Early this year, I returned to TM and I purchased a Honda Ridgeline which had a 5,000# tow rating. I considered that plenty to haul our 3600# TM with my wife and myself and about 300-500# of cargo (we usually carry a lot of firewood). I found, on our first trip out, that the Ridgeline was having a hard time hard stopping in the mountains. The Ridgeline had all new brakes. I decided that the issue may be that it needed a weight distribution hitch (WDH) to return lost weight back to the front wheels. A few trips later, I had to make an emergency stop on a downhill grade and nearly had a collision.

The next week, I sold the Ridgeline and bought a Chevy Silverado 1500. I lost about $3,000 on the Ridgeline because of all the $ that I put into it to be sure that it was up to the task.

Lesson learned........... good gas mileage doesn't necessarily equate to saved $.

Interesting experience with stopping. I certainly didn't mess with towing capabilities and use a Tahoe or 2008 Explorer. For braking I found the trailer brakes more than compensated for braking power. However, and this is a big however, I have never had to (and never hope to) test this during an emergency stop.