Towing with Honda Element or CRV...?

[Dave T.]

Anyone towing your RV with a Honda Element (or CRV)? Do you stay below the 1500lb rating, what is your experience (i.e., do you recommend)? thanks.

[Mary F]

The Element gets discussed fairly often here. Try our search engine for

+honda +element and set it to display the results as posts.

[Gina D.]

I used to tow a 13 foot Burro with one.

Quick answer, with brakes and a tranny cooler it was very capable, and yes, I barely kept it below 1500.

HERE is one of many good discussions about it

[Patrick M.]

Ah, an Element + Scamp, those were the good old days, replaced by the current days which will someday become the new "good old days".

[Kristen Beck]

We are proud owners of a 13 foot scamp and honda element. We tow our scamp beautifully with the Honda Element. we do have electric brakes on trailer, which is really nice but no tranny cooler yet. We don't tow fast, by choice. I can plug along saftley and without over taxing little sparky at about 60mpg. I love my Honda Element and am thrilled it tows so nicely. We stopped at a weight station and came in at 1300 something and that was fully loaded for a weekend. So if you in the oregon area this summer and you see an Orange element with a little scamp in tow, give us a wave.

Kris
So. Oregon

[Bill in AZ]

FWIW, I saw an Element with a class III hitch on it! For a max 1,500 lb payload??? I wanted one for the Subaru just for the more standard receiver, but U-Haul said nothing doing...liability issue...

[Nate R]

Originally Posted by Dave T.

Anyone towing your RV with a Honda Element (or CRV)? Do you stay below the 1500lb rating, what is your experience (i.e., do you recommend)? thanks.

Tow our 13' Casita (1380 lbs when last weighed) w/ a 2011 CR-V. MPG has been a bit disappointing, but otherwise a good tow overall. Gotta watch the total tongue weight and weight in the rear. With too much stuff in the back I start to get less comfortable over bumps. (WHen I had firewood loaded into the CR-V.) No trailer brakes so far. Honda required them over 1000 lbs on 2007-8, but dropped the requirement in 2009. Either way, we'll be adding brakes when we get the new axle.

Overall, Thumbs up, recommend as a TV. FWIW, we've been at 14-17 MPG towing between 62 and 67 MPH. (The 14 was with TERRIBLE head/side winds)

[honda03842]

We towed with a CRV, same engine and I believe same platform, for 7 years, Our son towed a Casita 16 with his Element for a year.

We knowingly exceeded the 1500 lb limit with our Honda CRV. We traded it in for an Odyssey this month. We had 225,000 miles on it and never had a problem, having towed all over North America.

I have complained to Honda about their NA rating on many occasions, They have never said anything negative about my communication, but silence is not consent.

We have always had brakes on our trailers. No matter how big your tow vehicle trailer brakes should be a requirement for numerous reasons.

Our CRV did not have an automatic transmission, hence no need for a transmission cooler. One of our son tows a Scamp 13 with a 4 cylinder Accord and has added a transmission cooler.

We kept our tongue weight down to 200 lbs and did use an anti sway bar though we never experienced sway when not using it. Our Scamp's axle weight was 2400 lbs.

Over 7 years we averaged 20-22 mpg depending on the trip or trailer (we had 3 different trailers and the lightest got the worse mileage).

The only negative was the CRV does not have a 300 horsepower engine and is not a hill charger meaning we usually have to downshift to 3rd on long hills.

We did some things to make the CRV a more capable tower, minimizing the distance from ball to axle, increased rear and front tire pressures, ......

When it comes to towing one needs to consider their driving style and goals. Of course we are religious about trailer safety, another long topic. If you decide to tow with your Element drop me a note and I'll detail what we did and do when towing. If you're a 'thread hunter' most of this is in various posts.

We loved our CRV and it proved very capable, now we know why so many Europeans tow with one, Europeans are even more fortunate because they can get the diesel version.

We went to the Odyssey because Ginny knows we're getting old and that it will be easier as we age further.

[Mikmay]

We are now on a trip from Los Angela's to Reno with my sons burro and boler he' s towing the burro with a jeep wrangler 6cyl and I'm towing the boler with his honda element . On level ground and slight upgrades they both towed great but on steeper hills the jeep struggled while the element had no problems . We went in to Yosemite for a day trip and had to leave the jeep parked at the entrance and we all went in the element ( 4 of us ) and travelled through the park with the boler with out a single issue . It towed great to elevations of 10000 feet several times and I can guarantee you we were over 1500 lbs I think my wife's luggage alone weighed a 100 lbs didn't weigh it but got the sore shoulders and arms from moving it in and out of the trailer to prove it but that's a case for another discussion . I believe the element is a great vehicle for towing any 13 foot trailer even over its tow rating.

[Mike Magee]

A 6 year old thread, resurrected.

[honda03842]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

A 6 year old thread, resurrected.

Resurrection is an old tradition.

[Toaster Guy]

2004 Element, 13 ft Scamp.... works great!

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Resurrection is an old tradition.

I do believe!!

[MC1]

A great Topic!

[David Tilston]

My sister just bought an Element. She doesn't tow, but she loves it. Very practical.

[MC1]

I know where your sis is coming from. We almost bought one about 6 weeks ago. I liked the way it drove and handled.

In the end I think the Sienna which has averaged 25MPG (imperial) since we bought it a month ago gets about the same mileage as an Element and has a better ride, more space, and higher towing capacity.

[Mikmay]

Just got back from our trip from LA to Reno and unexpectedly to burning man almost 150 miles north of Reno after getting a free ticket have two sons in there right now . The element towed the boler great through countless mountain passes and rough terrain with the only issue being a thick coating of dust from the dessert

[Bill in AZ]

Burning Man? Duuude...what did you think of it? I went there five years in a row a decade ago. I'm sure it's doubled in size since then.

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[Sharon D]

I have a CR-V and a 13ft U-Haul. No brakes on trailer and no sway bar. I use mine for dog event weekends and keep it very light. Going through the Berkshires, uphill, I get about 19.5 miles to the gallon. That is as bad as it gets. otherwise it is about 23 mpg. i like feeling light and comfortable on my trips.


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[Steve_N_Janna]

Originally Posted by Kristen Beck

So if you in the oregon area this summer and you see an Orange element with a little scamp in tow, give us a wave.
Kris

And if you are in the Southeast and see an orange Element with a Scamp 13 in tow, give us a wave as well !!!

2004 Element, manual transmission. 135,000 miles on the odometer. Many of those miles logged towing a 1700 lb canned ham and, of course, our current Scamp. I haven't weighed the Scamp yet, but I'm estimating it at 1500. No trailer brakes on either rig, though I admit that they would be useful.