Honda Odyssey

[honda03842]

Mike,

I don't know what kind of brake controller you have. A good percentage of us seem to have Prodigy controllers.

We have the Tekonsha's Prodigy 2 Brake controller and have had it for 7 years. When not in use it mounts perpendicular to the floor, when in use it's about 45% or so, maybe less. It's pouring out or I'd go check. There are pictures in the thread.

The following is from the Prodigy 2 site.

Proportional brake controller automatically levels when mounted within a 360-degree vertical range. Includes digital display, 3 boost levels, battery protection and continuous diagnostics

Automatic-leveling ability - internal sensor detects deceleration even if controller is not mounted flat. Position at any angle up or down in the vertical plane

Steve,

I agree that the Odyssey does not have the clearance of our CRV. The CRV did allow us to do a lot of dirt road driving. We'll be more restricted now but you're probably right in that parking lot concrete may be more of a danger to the plastic pieces.

As to transmission fluid our CRV was a standard and we finally thought about changing it's lubrication at 200,000 miles. On our motorhome the requirement was to flush it every 25,000 miles and we did. We never saw the color of the 'pink' transmission fluid change (indicating overheating) but we still changed. The transmission cooler that we had added to the Odyssey is substantially larger than the motorhome.

Even with that we'll probably flush the fluid once a year, the only automatic we've owned was in the motorhome, at least for the last 3 decades. A year's travel usually amounts to 25,000 miles for us.

We towed our Scamp 16 and similar trailers for 7 years with our 2004 CRV, all similar in size to our Scamp 16 and never had a problem. People tow substantially bigger trailers than a Scamp. MC1 has tons of pictures of people towing large Airstreams. A Scamp will be a piece of cake.

Even Ginny who is relatively timid says towing the Scamp is like having someone following too close. All of our little trailers have towed beautifully. It took us awhile to learn to back up but all new tasks take a little time. Plus there's always someone who will help you in a campground, a way to make new friends.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Even with that we'll probably flush the fluid once a year, the only automatic we've owned was in the motorhome, at least for the last 3 decades. A year's travel usually amounts to 25,000 miles for us..

How about following the manufacturer's recommendation for flushing auto trans fluid, instead of adding unnecessary pollutants for recycling?

[honda03842]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

How about following the manufacturer's recommendation for flushing auto trans fluid, instead of adding unnecessary pollutants for recycling?

Glenn,

Actually I don't know the service interval for Honda's 6 speed when towing but I'll find out and publish it. I definitely do not want to eat a transmission, what would that add for disposal.

In fact the automatic transmission is always an area of concern for RVers.

I guess everything gets recycled, I'm getting nearer the due date myself.

[Glenn Baglo]

If you have the transmission fluid cooler and no discoloration, you shouldn't have to change fluid more often than recommended.
I did manage to turn on the transmission warning light once by ignoring the instruction manual and towing up a long grade in 3 instead of 4, so I happily had the fluid changed when due. Service did not mention any issues with the fluid they replaced.

[carlkeigley]

My oil change indicator came on today. I was half way to Tulsa so headed
on over and had our first oil change/tire rotation for $19.95.
Ours is a 2014 model.

A little over 8,000 miles........................?

My Toyota came on a lot sooner than that.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by carlkeigley

My oil change indicator came on today. I was half way to Tulsa so headed
on over and had our first oil change/tire rotation for $19.95.
Ours is a 2014 model.

A little over 8,000 miles........................?

My Toyota came on a lot sooner than that.

Is that good, or bad?

baglo

[carlkeigley]

The price was good.
Normally around seventy bucks there.

[Stargazer]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Mike,

I don't know what kind of brake controller you have. A good percentage of us seem to have Prodigy controllers.

We have the Tekonsha's Prodigy 2 Brake controller and have had it for 7 years. When not in use it mounts perpendicular to the floor, when in use it's about 45% or so, maybe less. It's pouring out or I'd go check. There are pictures in the thread.

The following is from the Prodigy 2 site.

Proportional brake controller automatically levels when mounted within a 360-degree vertical range. Includes digital display, 3 boost levels, battery protection and continuous diagnostics

Automatic-leveling ability - internal sensor detects deceleration even if controller is not mounted flat. Position at any angle up or down in the vertical plane

Steve,

I agree that the Odyssey does not have the clearance of our CRV. The CRV did allow us to do a lot of dirt road driving. We'll be more restricted now but you're probably right in that parking lot concrete may be more of a danger to the plastic pieces.

As to transmission fluid our CRV was a standard and we finally thought about changing it's lubrication at 200,000 miles. On our motorhome the requirement was to flush it every 25,000 miles and we did. We never saw the color of the 'pink' transmission fluid change (indicating overheating) but we still changed. The transmission cooler that we had added to the Odyssey is substantially larger than the motorhome.

Even with that we'll probably flush the fluid once a year, the only automatic we've owned was in the motorhome, at least for the last 3 decades. A year's travel usually amounts to 25,000 miles for us.

We towed our Scamp 16 and similar trailers for 7 years with our 2004 CRV, all similar in size to our Scamp 16 and never had a problem. People tow substantially bigger trailers than a Scamp. MC1 has tons of pictures of people towing large Airstreams. A Scamp will be a piece of cake.

Even Ginny who is relatively timid says towing the Scamp is like having someone following too close. All of our little trailers have towed beautifully. It took us awhile to learn to back up but all new tasks take a little time. Plus there's always someone who will help you in a campground, a way to make new friends.

Norm,
Maybe I'll up the ante to a 16' Scamp, something to consider. As MCI stated there is a lot of strong opinions about TV suitability. One of my son's manages a UHaul store and he told me not to two anything over about 1500 pounds. He is not a total expert but has heard horror stories about burnt up transmissions and other vehicle problems.

Your right about making friends when backing in to camp sites. We had a 17' Prowler TT about 15 years ago and there were times when others noticed the difficulty I was having and came over to help!

On the frequent trans fluid changes I am playing it safe, and, my mechanic is making money. Also, it may be more important out here in California as we have some mountains, like the Sierra Nevadas, and, I'd like to go to the Rocky Mts too.

Again, enjoy the new TV.

Steve

[honda03842]

Steve,

There is no doubt that burnt automatic transmissions can be a problem, particularly so on Motor homes that seem to have undersized transmission coolers, at least in our motor home's case. I added a water spray system to our motor home to keep the temps down on long up grades.

We towed with a manual transmission Honda CRV for 7 years and one of the reasons we preferred a manual transmission was over heating of the transmission was never a problem.

With our new Odyssey we now have a huge transmission cooler that should prevent the problem and as well I believe automatic transmissions are now better with less slippage. Secondarily, we typically don't travel in super hot weather, only travel about 4 hours a day, and typically during the cooler morning hours. Retirement does have some benefits for us (and our tow vehicle).

[Mike Magee]

I imagine you will still use your OBD gauge to monitor temps and things, too. That is a nice backup.

[honda03842]

Mike,

I have plugged it in to make sure it works. It does provide some information Honda does not provide. I just haven't taken the time to reconfigure it for the Odyssey.

My next project is to install a LCD screen and possible a new backup camera for the trailer.

[honda03842]

We're beginning to work on our Honda Odyssey Storage.

The 3rd row seats can fold into the floor. When the back seats are upright, there's a deep storage area behind the seats. It's about 2' front to back, 4' wide, and 1.5' deep, a fairly large storage area. We have about four bins that we carry with us. One contains Ginny's paper maps and books, one our hiking clothes like rain jackets and caps, and a bin that contains paint and miscellaneous fluids, plus our hiking sticks and hiking backpack,

I decided to make a cover for it. It is a 2' x 4' x 1/2 inch piece of plywood with the front corners cut out to fit. The board was sealed with gloss polyurethane and covered with a grey/green throw rug rescued from 'cellar storage'. The carpet wraps the long edges and is tacked on the back side.

The board rests on the back pivot pieces of the stairs and the lip of the door opening. It is possible to add hinges on the back edge on the pivot points of the seats but seemed unnecessary.

[carlkeigley]

That will really be handy.

[honda03842]

Carl - I think it will be handy and convertible back in minutes.

The Odyssey comes with a built in phone charger. It is not as fast as the one that comes with our smart phone so I've added a dual charger capable of 4.2 amps @ 5 volts amps for our smart phones or pad.

I also purchased a separate charger that uses that same outlet capable of charging my Chromebook, a 12 volt Laptop, directly from the outlet. Each of these items were under $10 on Amazon.

I also purchased a One Touch Universal mount. It has a sticky gel base that can be rotated every which way. It is designed to hold a smart phone. You only push one button to lock or unlock the phone.

We use it when we use the phone as a GPS system, relatively rare for us. It will be more often used to hold our Tyre Dog Monitor. We use this to monitor the temperature and pressure of our Scamp's tires while towing. Before the Odyssey we also monitored the rear tires of our former tow vehicle, a 2004 Honda CRV.

[MC1]

That seems like a good idea Norm. I may do the same thing for our Sienna.

[honda03842]

Wayne,

I assume you're talking about the cover plate for the back of the Odyssey. It's simple and works well and takes a very short time to build.

Took a mixed 100 mile trip today and got a displayed, not calculated 32 mpg on mixed roads, interstate to country roads.

[honda03842]

First Odyssey Tow

On our first trip towing we averaged 19.3 mpg. About half interstate and half country roads.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Fiberglass RV mobile app

[carlkeigley]

Originally Posted by honda03842

First Odyssey Tow

On our first trip towing we averaged 19.3 mpg. About half interstate and half country roads.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Fiberglass RV mobile app

woohoo.........
great mileage and great comfort at the same time

[MC1]

Originally Posted by honda03842

First Odyssey Tow

On our first trip towing we averaged 19.3 mpg. About half interstate and half country roads.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Fiberglass RV mobile app

Norm, you should be happy with that and with all the Oddy upgrades, etc to boot.

How does that compare with the CRV towing the same trailer?

[honda03842]

It didn't feel much different from the perspective of towing. The car is quite and turns at lower rooms. Of course we're not stepping hard on the accelerator.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Fiberglass RV mobile app