Can Honda Minivan tow a Casita? - Fiberglass RV
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 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



Legacy Posts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 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.



Legacy Posts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 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.



Legacy Posts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 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



Legacy Posts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 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. :)



Legacy Posts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 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



Legacy Posts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 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



Legacy Posts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 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.



Legacy Posts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 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



Legacy Posts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 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.



Legacy Posts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 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



Legacy Posts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 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?



Legacy Posts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 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.



Legacy Posts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 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



Legacy Posts is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
casita


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Towing with a minivan lexi Towing, Hitching, Axles and Running Gear 12 06-24-2010 08:56 AM
Casita 17' Spirit/Honda Ridgeline Jack Sanders Care and Feeding of Molded Fiberglass Trailers 1 04-18-2009 05:03 PM
SOLD - 2003 Casita Spirit Deluxe and 2005 Honda Odyssey Nancy Wright Classified Archives 10 03-15-2009 02:57 PM
Added Honda Gen to tongue of Casita lonlawrence Modifications, Alterations and Updates 31 01-05-2009 12:09 PM
Can Honda Minivan tow a Casita? Care and Feeding of Molded Fiberglass Trailers 0 01-01-1970 12:00 AM

» Upcoming Events
No events scheduled in
the next 465 days.
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:55 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.