Goodbye Element - Hello Odyssey

[Patrick M.]

It's 1,500, and not a pound more! Okay, so I did 300# more but that's no excuse for the rest of you!

[Gina D.]

Yes, it's 1500. My Burro came in at 1450 FULLY loaded (Sans water in the tank) and it *Felt* like I could do more..but I didn't.

I know others, including the Naughty Patrick, who have done/do over the limit.. but..

Remember, the only thing scarier than a trailer accident is a lawyer.. I don't recommend going over. Even if an accident is someone else's fault, that legal beagles will nail YOU because you exceeded the limit.

I was actually towing and pulled over by the CHP once because the young buck officer thought I was not supposed to be towing ANYTHING with the Element. He was ready to nail me for it. He was actually angry at me when he came to my window "You can't be towing with this!!!"

I was able to prove the cars rating and the trailer weight, and after a strict safety check for lights, brakes and switch, lights etc, and him doing the woodpecker thing on my fiberglass (He felt it and knocked all around with his hands!) I was on my way.

[ericmarlo]

I am beginning to feel lonely am I the last of the Elements pulling a Burro? Who will point the new EOC members to the joys of fiberglass?
congratulations on your new ride may you have many year of pleasure with it.

Nope I have an Element and a Surfside !!!

[Patrick M.]

Gina, I think that CHP officer was abusing his stopping privileges to get a look at your Element and Burro. Shame on him.

Naughty Pat

[Julia O.]

Yep, you want a 2", and a very good idea to get the hitch installed for that sudden opportunity that will require a quick cross-state jaunt!

Hi,
I just wanted to add that I have a 2006 AWD Element & a 1985 Uhaul 13". I just bought the trailer and boy, do I wish I'd had the hitch installed before going trailer shopping! Rushing around to Uhaul's in Boston to find the Class III hitch, a 2" ball and someone to install them was a pain, when all I wanted to do was go get my new trailer

After crawling around a bit, I can confirm that there are no brakes on this 13" Uhaul. It towed very nicely across 40 miles of urban potholed roads, though, and the usual obstacles presented by Boston drivers. I plan to add brakes, because I plan on keeping this car & trailer combo for many years, and I'm really pleased with its overall tow-ability. HustonFamily, If you install brakes, let us know how it goes!
Julia

[Gina D.]

My 13 came equipped with brakes, but it was a year before I actually had them hooked up.

WHAT a difference! You will be astounded when you get yours done. It was "OK" without, but after the first hit of the pedal when they were on, I wondered how I got along so long without them!

[Patrick M.]

First trip with the Odyssey/Scamp combo is now completed!
Traveled from Tucson to Portland and returned down the coast and over hill and dale. The Odyssey was a major improvement over the Element (as much as we loved it), both in smooth, luxury cruising, and in effortless towing, and much more space for stuff we didn't need to take!

But then there's the gas mileage issue. We made virtually this same trip two years ago when we went to the Bandon rally, with the major difference being that trip had one leg going up the great central valley of CA, while this time we went up and down 395, and across the Sierras, with the resulting ups and downs. (Ghost town of Bodie )

On the trip with the Element mileage was 17.7. With the new Odyssey (started with 1,500 miles on it, ended with 5,000) mileage was 15.9. Weighed both rigs on both trips (Oregon weigh stations ) and the Element/Scamp was 4,050# + 1,700# = 5,750# and the Odyssey/Scamp was 5,250# + 1,700# = 6,950#.

Doing the mileage math for this 3,677 mile trip the Odyssey used a whopping 24 gallons more than the Element would have (appx.). So we paid about $70 for the luxury, ride, space, electric doors, and of course, heated mirrors of the Odyssey experience.!

We hope with a few more miles, and some synthetic oil, we might improve a little on the towing mileage, maybe ending up at 16.5 or so.

Oh, one downside to the Odyssey. Low ground clearance + low air-dam front bumper + logs outlining road and campsites at June Lake = missing paint on said front bumper

[Donald Stahl]

Patrick,
We did not get optimum mpg on our new Odyssey until it was well broken in, about 20,000 to 25,000 miles. I think you will likely do much better than 16 and a half. Towing our 17 ft. Casita, we average 16 mpg. Your 13 footer is much lighter, should do better after the engine has more miles on it. The type of gas does make a huge difference. I suggest using only a top tier fuel, such as Chevron. I think Union, Texaco, may also be.
An example - one leg of a trip, we filled the tank with Arco, simply because the gas we normally used was gawd awful expensive. A big mistake !! Mileage dropped to a dismal 10, so savings was just an illusion. Don

[Patrick M.]

That's encouraging Don!

Unfortunately, or fortunately, that was either our last or peniultimate trip with our Scamp 13'. We've decided to move on up, sucuming to four-footitist, and will probably be looking for or ordering a 17' Casita Liberty sometime this summer.

Some lucky person will be purchasing a very fine, loaded, modified Scamp 13' from us in the near future!

[Bill A]

Patrick did you have a tranny cooler in your Element ?
You musta put the Element to a good test going up 395 with your Scamp.
I have a 2004 Element .
I still am look'n for a 13' ..When you get set to sell yours and I haven't found a 13' I might be interested.
Bill

[Patrick M.]

Bill, the Element is a great towing vehicle for the Scamp 13'. Going up mountain passes, whizing by big rigs, is just not a problem. We towed the Scamp about 25,000 miles on 9 trips around the country, and they both performed admirably. BTW, my best trip mileage occurred on a 3,500 mile trip to Mississippi from Tucson - a relatively flat drive. We averaged 18.4MPG on that one. We typically drive 60+/-.

I never put a cooler on my Element. Honda doesn't require it for the stated towing capacity of 1,500#, unlike the Odyssey where they require both a tranny cooler and a power steering cooler. However, most knowledgable people recommend them, and it might be a benefit. Unfortunately, I ended my non-cooler test before hitting my target of 100,000 miles towed.

I plan to post our Scamp for sale here and on the Scamp forum when the time comes. We are discussing taking it on one final trip to Oklahoma in July, but may go the dreaded motel route instead to speed-up this particular trip. So keep checking back.

[Nancy]

Patrick,

I agree with Don that your mpg will get better. (or stay the same with a bigger trailer). Just stay away from those horrible head winds in the midwest. I think that drags us down the most, more than using the a/c in the van or hills.

Don, I'll have to make more notes in my mpg book about the gas stations we stop at. I started to do this but the driving conditions are never the same to compare one gas stop from another. I did notice when we did a bit through Ontario that we got fantastic mileage. Better gas? Slower driving? Problem with my math? Maybe all of those. Looking forward to this summer driving in Canada and seeing if our mpg goes up again. Might help the pain of the more expensive fuel.

Nancy

[Bill A]

Patrick,
That's good to know that you didn't have a tranny cooler and drove all those miles.So I don't really need to rush out and install one.You must have had a brake controller ?
Gina also had a Element .. I wonder if she had a cooler in her Element?

[Gina D.]

Bill, yes, I did.

It's cheap insurance, especially where you live. It's a relatively painless install at U Haul, for around 140 total.

I also had a brake controller.

[Bill A]

Gina,
I have a brake controller ..so its a good idea to get a cooler.
I was stuck in Kettleman City with a bad tranny in my Ford..$3k to get it repaired in Lemore...not fun.
Better call uhaul ..they must not be that hard to install.

[Gina D.]

Yes, the price of the cooler vs. the price and COST of being stuck with no tranny..

do the math..

It didn't seem like it was a tough install, it did not take long. Most folks do them themselves, actually. I was lazy.

[Per Walthinsen]

Had the extra tranny cooler from the beginning ('99) but succumbed to putting a temp gauge on it. The education it gave me about how driving and grades affect the temperatures in that tranny was priceless. If you upsize the trailer I'd urge you to have the cooler installed.