need a different tow vehicle by end of next week!

[Mike Magee]

You should have no problem doing that. Norm & Ginny (honda03842) have an Odyssey for their Scamp 16 and they love it. Currently they're vacationing in Newfoundland. Previously they towed the Scamp with a CR-V all over North America, tens of thousands of miles (Rocky Mountains and all), and were quite happy.

I think there's a timing belt that has to be changed at a particular mileage interval on that van... 105,000 miles, maybe? Not sure. Just be aware, it's a maintenance bill you'll want to save up for.

[honda03842]

Originally Posted by ontheroadagainace

I am looking at getting a '09 Honda Odyssey to tow my 16' Scamp. It was set up to tow a Casita from the owner....has 97000 miles on it and an '09. Very nice shape. I think engine is 3.5....anyone have experience with this tow vehicle and is the engine strong enough to pull up the passes between Mt. and Az.?

Ace, We did tow with a Honda CRV (250,000 miles) and now tow with a Honda Odyssey (40,000) miles. I liked the CRV because it was a simpler vehicle, Ginny loves the Odyssey because it's more comfortable and bigger. The CRV was great and took us everywhere and was totally reliable. SO far the Odyssey has done as well. The Odyssey has a V-6, wonderfully powerful.

The CRV got better mileage towing, but the Odyssey is respectable, typically in the 19s. Now I'm not a high speed driver. When not towing the Odyssey does better than the CRV because it shuts off cylinders (one of the reasons it's a more complex engine).

To me reliability is important, our Odyssey is our only vehicle, we travel out of the way where there are no Honda Dealers, we expect it to be our only car for 10 years.

Like some Hondas, not the CRV, the timing belt does need to be replaced, I would consider that when negotiating the price. Actually I would have a Honda dealer go through it to see what may need repair beyond the timing belt.

My experience with Honda's, decades, has been high reliability. The Odyssey is the most popular minivan for a reason. It's Huge, Ginny says when we get really old and can't tow we can sleep in the Odyssey.

Glad to answer any direct questions.

As to the tongue weight, we have/had 200 lbs of tongue weight on the Odyssey and CRV, around 8%. In all our years of travel it's never been a problem. We do mostly travel with an anti-sway bar ($50) and consider it our insurance program. THe CRV tongue was rated for 220 lbs and the Odyssey for 350 lbs. We adjust our ball mount to minimize the distance from ball to receiver picking up a few percent improvement.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by ontheroadagainace

I am looking at getting a '09 Honda Odyssey to tow my 16' Scamp. It was set up to tow a Casita from the owner....has 97000 miles on it and an '09. Very nice shape. I think engine is 3.5....anyone have experience with this tow vehicle and is the engine strong enough to pull up the passes between Mt. and Az.?

Five questions:

1. Do you know if the Casita was a 16' or a 17'?
2. How many of those 97K miles are towing miles?
3. Does it have an auxiliary transmission cooler?
4. Do you know the maintenance history?
5. Does it have the VCM system?

Personally, I'd be cautious buying any vehicle with that many miles that was used for towing.

I ask about the Casita because the loaded weight of the 17' deluxe models is right at the upper limit of the vehicle's tow rating, and tongue weight typically exceeds the rating by quite a bit. In spite of that, I am aware of a number of people towing 17' Casitas with Odysseys with the addition of a WDH. If this one was used that way, I would pass. But if it was a 16' Casita, and if most of the miles were non-towing, and if it had the cooler, and if I could verify regular maintenance (especially that the transmission was serviced according to the "severe use" schedule), and if the price were right (factoring in the cost of a timing belt replacement.)… I might.

Based on my experience with the same engine in my 2011 Pilot towing a Scamp 13, I expect towing performance to be adequate but not sparkling. A lot depends on your expectations. Some expect to be able to keep up with passenger vehicles on long grades. That it will not do. You'll have to gear down and slow down. Being naturally aspirated, you have less power and torque available at high elevations. But it will get you there. There have been some issues with the VCM system, so I would avoid it if possible, especially early versions. I think… not sure… it was only included on EX-L trim and above in 2009. You can tell by looking at the plastic engine shroud.

[Martins HeirCon]

I'll third the suggestion to buy back your totaled van IF it's safe to drive. Even if you have to replace the windshield, that's relatively cheap. Then, when you're back home you can shop at your leisure.

If that's not an option, I'd look at Japanese SUVs. There were jillions of them sold as momwagons and never used to their potential. Many just happen to have good towing specs right out of the box. You mentioned Xterra, those are good in V6 trim, my preference is Toyota's 4runner.


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