|
07-16-2003, 08:36 AM
|
#1
|
Senior Member
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 18,870
|
Can Honda Minivan tow a Casita?
I'm hoping I can tow at least a 16 ft Casita deluxe (and preferably a 17 ft deluxe) with a Honda minivan (which lists its towing capacity as 3500 lbs). I know the Casita weights are well below 3500 lbs, but I have no idea what to allow for a fully-loaded trailer, and how much I should stay under the 3500 lb rating to be sure to not damage the car, or make towing unsafe.
If anyone has any experience towing with minivans, or advice on this subject, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks... Ron
|
|
|
07-16-2003, 09:18 AM
|
#2
|
Senior Member
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 18,870
|
Overloaded Tow Vehicle
What ever you deside to do you need to check with your insurance agent what happens if you are towing more weight than your tow vehicle is rated to tow and you have A accident.. I know none of us plan on haveing A accident but things happen. This happened to my brother and now the insurance co. refuses to pay. they say he caused the accident by performing A unsafe action.
|
|
|
07-16-2003, 09:28 AM
|
#3
|
Senior Member
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 18,870
|
Towing with our Odyssey
Hi Ron
We have a 17' Casita Liberty Deluxe.. we tow with a 2000 Honda Odyssey - it tows beautiful and we haven't had any problems.
With the Honda Odyssey you will need to have a WDH (weight distribution hitch) because of front wheel drive. We love the combination of Odyssey and Casita..
We watch the trailer weight carefully .... Everything we have in the trailer was purchased with the idea of keeping weight down and is small in size because of storage .. We do not have a microwave or a heater which would also add weight.
|
|
|
07-16-2003, 09:32 AM
|
#4
|
Senior Member
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 18,870
|
Most people try to stay about 20 percent under the rated weight.
It's my understanding that the Casita Deluxe is listed at 2385 lbs dry, with a hitch weight of 365 lbs. Once you add alll your gear such as food, water, and all the misc. camping stuff, you'll be very close to the "20 percent under' weight, if not over.
FYI:
25 gallons of fresh water is 200 lbs. Add propane @ 30 lbs. Twenty-four pack of beer 18 lbs. etc, etc
You get the idea - it adds up real quick
Only you can decide if it's safe
Please make sure you know your particular Van's TRUE towing capacity. Different models and setups are different. Gearing, engine, etc, etc, all play a factor.
Hope I helped a bit. :wave
|
|
|
07-16-2003, 09:43 AM
|
#5
|
Senior Member
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 18,870
|
Honda Odyssey
Ron:
Some time between 1998 and 2003 the Odyssey came out with a 5 speed automatic transmission (4 plus overdrive). This would help.
A 16 with a WDH on the Odyssey would be a good combination, IMHO. :)
|
|
|
07-16-2003, 09:54 AM
|
#6
|
Senior Member
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 18,870
|
Hi
According to both our 93 Aerostar and 2000 Windstar's owners manuals it is not only the tow rating you look at. It is the GCVR (Gross combined vehicle rating). That is the total weight of your vehicle, its occupants, your load, your trailer and its load.
Most trailer tow ratings are based on a completely empty vehicle with one 150 lb driver. Extra people and contents all decrease your tow rating.
Now having said all this, the given weight of a trailer is usually just the base trailer with no options. Option weights are added seperately. Options are things like propane tanks, fridge vs icebox, furnace, etc.
We just got a 2000 Windstar as a replacement for our aging 93 rear wheel drive Aerostar. The Windstar tows our 13' Trillium fine but it certainly does not have the off the line power that the Aerostar had and I really don't think we'ed want to tow anything larger than we do.
Nancy
|
|
|
07-16-2003, 10:05 AM
|
#7
|
Senior Member
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 18,870
|
Good points Nancy
- another reason to find a weigh scale and find out just how heavy each vehicle is. :)
(and NO, I haven't done that myself!) :o
|
|
|
07-16-2003, 02:29 PM
|
#8
|
Senior Member
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 18,870
|
Anybody else remember the Trailer Life article on the Casita 17 a few years ago? The Honda Odyssey was the tow vehicle they used and featured in the article.
|
|
|
07-16-2003, 05:07 PM
|
#9
|
Senior Member
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 18,870
|
Trailer Life Article
Hi Mary
Yes we remember very well that article. It's part of the reason we felt the Odyssey would pull the 17' Casita Liberty for us. I have the article around here somewhere.
Just have to find it.....
:chin
|
|
|
07-17-2003, 07:33 AM
|
#10
|
Senior Member
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 18,870
|
This is why I wonder about those people installing hardwood floors inside their trailers? I try to keep everything in mine as light as reasonably possible just so I don't have to waste a lot of HP pulling around a bunch of stuff I don't need. Our tow vehicle is only a 90hp non-turbo diesel. We need everything we can get.
|
|
|
07-17-2003, 07:42 AM
|
#11
|
Senior Member
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 18,870
|
Compromises, compromises.
We pull with a v-6 F-150. It's plenty of power for our 17' Casita, although the gas mileage isn't anything to brag about.
But, where we go, we generally need to take our water with us - one reason I'm always wondering/asking how much all of the different add-on features weigh.
The hardwood and laminate floors are nice looking (and feel even better under your feet, I'll bet). My dogs would tear them up, though... something I deal with at home, but don't want to bother with in the trailer.
But if my situation were different, my choices would be different... for sure!
:sunny
|
|
|
07-17-2003, 07:48 AM
|
#12
|
Senior Member
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 18,870
|
Herb>>This is why I wonder about those people installing hardwood floors
And this is why I wonder about those people who wonder about what other people do to their trailers! :)
Herb, a faux wood Pergo floor would add next to nothing. Even a small real hardwood floor in our tiny trailers adds very little weight.
Rick>>case of beer
Rick, why only one case of beer?
|
|
|
07-17-2003, 07:57 AM
|
#13
|
Senior Member
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 18,870
|
My floor is solid kiln-dried white oak that I planed down to 1/4" thick and glued down to the subfloor. It weighs less than a linoleum install, and about equivalent to a short nap carpet. My reasoning is this: due to sand and grit that will inevitably enter the camper, lineoeum would be scarred and nasty within a year or two. Carpet the same, and I'd have to carry a vacuum cleaner. Hardwood I can just sweep out, it looks great, and if it gets scratched (which it will), I can just swipe some touch-up stain over the scratch, add a coat of water-based poly if needed, and within the hour I'm back to a beautiful floor. It would take a hundred years to wear this floor down to the point that it can't be brought back easily.
|
|
|
07-17-2003, 01:54 PM
|
#14
|
Senior Member
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 18,870
|
Quote:
Orginally posted by Charles Watts
Herb>>This is why I wonder about those people installing hardwood floors
And this is why I wonder about those people who wonder about what other people do to their trailers! :)
Herb, a faux wood Pergo floor would add next to nothing. Even a small real hardwood floor in our tiny trailers adds very little weight.
Rick>>case of beer
Rick, why only one case of beer?
|
I refuse to answer on the grounds that it may incriminate me. :o
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Thread Tools |
Search this Thread |
|
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Discussions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
» Upcoming Events |
No events scheduled in the next 465 days.
|
|