Anyone tow w/Honda pilot & 17FT. Casita

[Montana Brad]

I am strongly considering buying a new Honda pilot with tow package.Tow rated 5000lbs. and a 17 ft. Casita. I was wondering if anyone owns this combination and what their experience is with it.I have done a lot of research and test driving the last few months looking at TV and trailers.

[Glenn Baglo]

Should work Bob.

[Dave Fish]

We towed our 17' FD with a Ridgeline. Not exactly the same anymore but very similar, also with the tow package and 5,000 pound rating. We covered 20,000 plus miles through 40 some states with the Casita in tow. Never had a problem.

I'm also considering a Pilot as an option when we get ready to trade the Ridgeline.

[Gerry]

Originally Posted by Dave Fish

We towed our 17' FD with a Ridgeline. Not exactly the same anymore but very similar, also with the tow package and 5,000 pound rating. We covered 20,000 plus miles through 40 some states with the Casita in tow. Never had a problem.

I'm also considering a Pilot as an option when we get ready to trade the Ridgeline.

DAVE,
Looking at the Ridgeliner for my next tow vehicle. What year is yours? I will have to buy used but just looking now for my cross country trip next summer.

[Perryb67]

Originally Posted by Montana Brad

I am strongly considering buying a new Honda pilot with tow package.Tow rated 5000lbs. and a 17 ft. Casita. I was wondering if anyone owns this combination and what their experience is with it.I have done a lot of research and test driving the last few months looking at TV and trailers.

There are many who pull Casita's and Scamps with Honda Odysseys with only a 3,500 pound tow rating. Our 2003 Odyssey pulled our heavily loaded Scamp for six years and our Casita for five with no problems. We did add a transmission cooler immediately after buying the Odyssey. It's still going strong at 270,000 miles but was retired from pulling when we purchased our F150 in 2015.

The Pilot has a much higher tow rating at 5,000 pounds and a vastly improved engine than our older, 2003 Odyssey. You should have no problem pulling a loaded Casita. Just make sure you have, or install, a transmission cooler.

For a six months we had a 2008 Odyssey with the Honda integrated tow hitch (yes, we owned two Odysseys at the time). That hitch is much improved over any add-on I've seen. If you're buying new, get Honda's integrated hitch and electronics.

Enjoy,

Perry

[Montana Brad]

I would appreciate it if anyone who has this combination could respond.I am aware it would work and I am also aware of the Honda cooler w/hitch and wiring harness.I am more interested in how it tows.For example going up mountain passes or in warm desert weather etc.

Thank you,
Montana Brad(not Bob)

[sandyb12]

I used to tow a 17ft Casita with a 2013 Honda Pilot 4wd. It had a towing capacity of 4500 pounds. I towed it from California to Reno, NV and to Texas several times without issue. I loved driving the Pilot. It was a great combination for me while I had it.

[Dave Fish]

Originally Posted by Gerry

DAVE,
Looking at the Ridgeliner for my next tow vehicle. What year is yours? I will have to buy used but just looking now for my cross country trip next summer.

Ours is a 2008 with 192,000 miles. It's a great truck. I plan to replace it in about a year. Another Ridgeline is still at the top of my list but I will look at other options in that size range.

[Nealster]

I have been towing my 20 ft coachmen for about 15,000 miles. I have a 2012 pilot and the trailer weighs about 3500 lbs with much more wind resistance than a Casita. The pilot is a very capable tow vehicle. Our last trip took us through Denver and we NEVER felt unsafe. We averaged about 13mpg for this 6412 mile trip.

[ShelbyM]

Hey bbbobobbBrad- Here are some threads on the Casita forum about the Pilot. https://www.casitaforum.com/invboard...rtby=relevancy

[nancyrnfit]

We tow a 16 foot Scamp with a 2015 Honda Pilot.
It is my understanding that Casitas weigh more than Scamps.
Our Scamp, fully loaded for camping, with 2 gas cylinders, side bathroom, weighs 2350 lbs.
We added a hitch receiver to the back of the Scamp, to haul our bikes,
and experienced some sway.
So, we got a sway bar.
Our Honda manual says NOT to use a weight distribution hitch.



We have not experimented with reloading inside, to haul bikes outside,
so can't speak to that right now.
My husband is more comfortable towing with the sway bar in place.


Close, but maybe no cigar, in answer to your question

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by nancyrnfit

Our Honda manual says NOT to use a weight distribution hitch.

That's NOT really what it says. As has been posted here before, the manual says it doesn't recommend a WDH because if it isn't properly installed it can cause issues.

[sandyb12]

With my 2013 Honda Pilot and 17 ft Casita combination I always used an anti sway bar in place. My Casita also had shocks that really helped decrease the amount of bouncing.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Casita 16's are nose light to start with, adding bikes on a rear rack is going to make that worse. too little tongue weight causes severe swaying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2fkOVHAC8Q

[Tim Wood]

I have a 2017 Pilot with a hitch and tow a 17' SD Casita, first thing I did when I bought my Pilot is put on a Tranny cooler as someone else did also. Just for peace of mind, but the trailer pulls fine. We will be taking it to Florida this Feb. and I'm sure it will pull just fine. We really like the Pilot and it gets very good fuel mileage too. Good Luck

[dfandrews]

Bob, we tow a 17'Escape with a 2011 Honda Pilot 2WD (3500 lb. tow rating). It is a near perfect combo. Loaded with our gear, the trailer is at 26-2700 lbs. We do not use a WDH (Honda manual does not Recommend it (does not prohibit it, though)). Our Escape is 12 ft. from ball to axle, so it is very, very stable, with no swaying. Tongue weight is 350-375 lbs.
We have towed throughout the Western US, over the Sierra Nevadas, Cascades, and the Rockies in BC, MT, WY, CO, UT., and extensively through the Mojave Desert, and in AZ, even at 110°. Our Honda has the factory tow pkg. (Std. on 2011 Pilot), which is, for 2WD: 3500 lb. hitch, prewired for brake controller, HD alternator, larger cooling system for trans. Typically, we are at 63+ mph, which, on flat and level, allows the trans to lock in 5th gear. The only down side of the Honda is you can't manually shift down to 4th, but it doesn't hunt between 4th and 5th. The button on the shifter ("D3"), holds you in 3rd and below. We use that up varying grades, and downgrade for engine braking.

[GatorCasita]

I tow a Casita 17 FD with a Ridgeline. It tows like there is nothing being towed. No WDH is required, and I have forgotten to tighten the friction on the anti-sway bar and did not notice anything different.

However, you WILL Notice it at the gas pump. My Honda Ridgeline that gets over 20 MPG on the highway, gets about 12-14 MPG towing the Casita. Honda has the Ridgeline (and probably the Pilot) finely tuned and addition of the extra weight and drag makes the milage fall way below what big pickups get towing a Casita.

Some say that the newer Ridgelines get better millage towing, but only a little, and only if towing slowly (60 MPH or less).

Conclusion: The Ridgeline or Pilot are worth the extra small cost of fuel as a tradeoff for their smooth, car-like driving feel...but only for those who camp occasionally. I think that for those who would travel for many months a year with their trailer, the extra fuel cost would be a big problem.

[Michelle in AZ]

Hi,
I have a 2011 Honda Pilot AWD - Touring. Our Honda has the tow package with a beefed up transmission cooler standard. We tow our 2018 16' Casita Liberty with it. We have not used an anti sway system yet. It does tow ok - it's not like nothing is back there - it does feel a bit like an anchor. I am newer to towing so I am still learning the best practices and efficiencies. Loading the coolers at the front of the trailer (inside) helps the most. Gas mileage drops easily in 1/2 on flat highways - not sure on mountains etc yet. We LOVE the Pilot however - best vehicle I've owned. Not sure I would choose it if I were doing a ton of towing. All the best.

[GatorCasita]

Correction: My Ridgeline gets only about 11 MPG towing the 17 FD Casita. $Owners towing with full-size pickups get 15-16 MPG, plus they have all that extra cargo capacity. That amounts to the Honda owner paying $36-$50/day more for each towing day (depending on gas prices). That would add up quickly for someone towing for many weeks.

On the other hand, it is not too bad for someone who tows for one or two days and then stays two weeks at the same campground (like I do).

[Casita Ed]

We tow a 17SD with a 2018 Honda Ridgeline and really like the way it handles the trailer. We used to tow with a 2010 Toyota Tacoma Prerunner, but switched to get the new safety features. The power train in the Ridgeline is the same as that of the Honda Pilot and it handles it well, so you should like the Pilot in that regard. I will admit the 2010 Tacoma had a more powerful engine and I was able to go up hills at a lower RPM than the Ridgeline, BUT the Ridgeline is so quiet, the slightly higher revs are very acceptable. The Pilot should perform equally well in that regard.

We used a WDH with our Tacoma and use it with our Ridgeline as well. It should be called a comfort hitch, because it really improves the ride over sectioned pavement, which our roadways are plagued with in Washington State.

Our Ridgeline weighs about 500 lbs more than our Tacoma did and that extra weight really makes the difference in comfort while towing. With our Tacoma, the Casita never let us forget we were towing, even with the WDh, whereas the Ridgeline actually lets you forget the Casita is back there except for going into and out of parking lots and such. The Pilot should respond more closely to the Ridgeline.

The Ridgline handles the tongue weight better than the Tacoma. The Ridgeline has a higher rake than the Pilot over the rear wheels, so not sure how the Pilot would respond to the tongue weight. The Casita is tongue heavy, so soft suspensions in the tow vehicle can be noticeable.

If I was wanting an SUV instead of a truck for towing, I would give the Pilot a very long look. IMO Honda offers way more features by far than Toyota and the engineering is impressive.