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Old 10-25-2015, 02:42 PM   #281
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Name: Norm and Ginny
Trailer: Scamp 16
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I was just kidding about the electronic displays. I do realize one needs to be careful. I like my rear view device because I can see it without taking my eyes off the road.

I never use my phone in the car. I generally do not like to talk on bluetooth and have Ginny answer my phone rather than use the Odyssey's ability. Old and careful I guess.

The Odyssey's working well with it's heavy load. Once again driving on the Interstate produces better mpgs. Our latest run thru SC and GA on Interstates netted 19.6 miles per gallon calculated, the car's read out said 19.9. Very impressive. One more day and we'll be in FL. We're averaging about 350 miles a day, about twice our typical max. We're trying to make a date with some friends.

Just to make sure...I once had responsibility for a police department. I recognize it as a difficult job that generally is not fun.
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Old 02-28-2016, 07:02 PM   #282
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Name: Ghislain
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Smile Is the low clearance on the Odyssey a problem?

I have been shopping around for a minivan and really like the Honda. My biggest worry is that the van seem so low to the ground and I'm afraid of bottoming out when we go off main roads. Not talking crazy roads here. Just roads that get you in a bit more remote national or state parks. Sometime these roads can be pretty rough. I will only be pulling a Lil BigFoot 13' behind the Honda (weighs less than 1000lbs empty and 250lbs on the tongue). Have anybody experienced and problems related to this? Thanks in advance.
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Old 02-29-2016, 08:20 AM   #283
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You might want to send a PM to Norm (Honda03842). He tows a Scamp 16 with an '14 Odyssey, the new style. I believe he's headed to Labrador later this spring, which isn't known for the best roads.

Based on one season towing a Scamp 13 with a '00 Sienna, you're going to have to be careful because of the trailer anyway, and the van doesn't make it much worse. Mainly it requires taking humps, dips, and steep driveway aprons at an angle.
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Old 02-29-2016, 12:13 PM   #284
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Smile Honda Odyssey on Rough Roads

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Originally Posted by Ghislain View Post
I have been shopping around for a minivan and really like the Honda. My biggest worry is that the van seem so low to the ground and I'm afraid of bottoming out when we go off main roads. Not talking crazy roads here. Just roads that get you in a bit more remote national or state parks. Sometime these roads can be pretty rough. I will only be pulling a Lil BigFoot 13' behind the Honda (weighs less than 1000lbs empty and 250lbs on the tongue). Have anybody experienced and problems related to this? Thanks in advance.
Hi Ghislain, I've got a 2011 Odyssey and pull a 16' Scamp. Yes the Odyssey is low to the ground, that I suspect adds to its fuel economy. I am a real cowboy when it comes to rough roads, sometimes my judgement isn't real good on that. While not pulling my Scamp I've had a flat tire on a gravel road and shredded another tire on a rough road that was also sandy. I tend to tackle roads that I don't belong on. Clearance hasn't been the problem it has been that I've gotten over confident and gone too fast for the rough conditions. While pulling my Scamp I have been on some rough roads for short distances without any problems. As for getting flats it is sharp rocks that do the damage. I live in California and our wilderness areas near the dessert have an abundance of sharp rocks, especially out in Death Valley National Park. I doubt you'll find many roads in State and National Parks that you don't have enough clearance for. I would carry two cans of fix a flat, a small can for your trailer tires and a large can for you minivan tires. Also, carry a small air compressor that can plug in to your DC power or clamp on to your battery, that works much better than a hand pump, I've used both. The jack for the Odyssey will also work to jack up your Scamp, should you have a flat. Getting the little donut back into its compartment, after using it is really hard to do; so get the guys at the tire shop to do that. The Odyssey is a good TV for a 16' so it will be even better for your lighter 13'. The biggest problem I have with my Odyssey is when parking I occasionally run the front of the vehicle up onto curbs and scrape it. I wish I had a video camera to monitor the front while parking. The gas mileage Norm posts I am certain is freeway miles, overall my combined (city & frwy) mileage is about 14 mpg. When I bought my Odyssey I wasn't planning on towing, I bought my used 16' Scamp one year ago and have spent about 75 nights in it to date. I've towed it all over California, over to Colorado, through AZ & NM. It tows beautifully, I added a sway bar to keep it from swaying and that has been nice. If you can get the rear view and RHS view video monitor with your Odyssey I'd recommend it. I don't have that but may add it on. The RHS has a big blind spot. On one adventure I drove the Odyssey (while trailer was at the campground) on a loop trip in Organ Pipe Nat'l Monument over 40 miles of rough roads without any problems at all. Just pay attention and don't go too fast. And, if you are on gravel for a long run let quite a bit of air out of your tires so they won't puncture easily. Best wishes in your trailering adventures.
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Old 02-29-2016, 12:40 PM   #285
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We love our Odyssey and have had no clearance issues.

We get better mileage them some because in part we drive slower. We avoid Interstates and usually are driving 55 to 60 mph. On the interstate we drive about 62 mph.

As to tires we have had flats on our tow vehicle. We carry a small 12 volt compressor and a tire plug kit that allows me to fix most flats. In 15 years we've had 6 flats. We've almost always had pressure sensors on the tow vehicle that have given us notice of decreasing tire pressure. We also use the compressor to adjust pressure, keeping out trailer at 50 psi and the tow vehicle tires at higher than MFg. suggested pressure.

The exception to high pressures was when we drove across Labrador, at the time a 1000 mile dirt road. There we lowered pressure a to lessen the probability of sharp stones piercing tires. Did it work? Was it the right thing to do? I'm not sure but we had no flats. Of course we drove much slower on that road than normal.

We're in the 18 mpg range towing our Scamp 16. So far we haven't towed a lot of miles, maybe 7,000 out of 29.000. I will say the Odyssey is really powerful, and combining towing and non-towing gets very good mileage.

We do tow with a sway bar but have towed without it and noticed no difference, we view the anti-sway bar as an emergency device. We keep weight centered over the axle and low in the trailer. We shorten the distance from Odyssey rear axle to the ball by drilling a second hole in the ball support. We eliminate the looseness between the ball support and it's receiver.

We have the base model if I were doing it over I would get the next model up with the camera in the right side mirror. We do have an auxiliary camera in the rear of the Scamp that shows us traffic behind the Scamp in a dash monitor I added. This screen could be used to see the ground in front of the Odyssey with another camera.

The Odyssey is a joy to drive, truly comfortable. It has a ton of room inside. WE've traveled with 7 adults and all were comfortable, WE carry full sheets of plywood... It's my favorite vehicle so far. I would only wish for two changes, a manual transmission and 4 wheel drive.
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Old 02-29-2016, 12:49 PM   #286
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LOL… completely missed the fact that this is Norm's old thread on his Odyssey!
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Old 03-01-2016, 02:41 PM   #287
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Hi Norm,

Nice response. I also carry a tire plug kit and have used it twice. I just forgot to mention it to the Ghishlain. I love to drive off of the interstate but frequently need to take one in my travels. I admire your mileage numbers, mine just aren't that good. The light truck tires lowered my MPG a mile or two. Next time I need tires I am going back to the regular tires recommended for the Odyssey. One mechanic told me to get the looseness out between the ball support and its receiver, but others said it doesn't matter. What is the benefit of doing so, and how did you eliminate it?? Here in California the speed limit when pulling a trailer is 55 MPG. So, on country roads or highways I never exceed 55 and on the freeway I either do 55 or 60, depending on the traffic. Recently doing 60 on a fairly level stretch of freeway I got about 18.5 MPG over 20 miles. I probably pack more stuff into the Scamp than you do, and on some trips I fill up the water tank prior to leaving my house. We have the larger refrigerator and I pack it full. We also have a microwave oven plus I carry one heavy battery unit (called a Yetti) inside the trailer for running my CPAK machine, when traveling I put is over the axle and on the side of the trailer opposite the refrigerator.

Happy Trails to you and Ginny,

Steve
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Old 03-01-2016, 05:15 PM   #288
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Name: Ghislain
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Smile Trans cooler and hitch

Hi all

Thanks for all the good advice. I feel more confident now in my choice. The dealer is pushing for a 1.25in hitch. Says its good for 3500lbs. I'm used to 2in. Any drawback for the smaller one? The one nice thing is that the smaller hitch seem to have a bit more clearance.

Also, I want to have a trans cooler installed. Would you suggest dealer or after market? So many things to think about. I want to get it right as we are planning on using the trailer quite a bit in the States and western Canada.
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Old 03-01-2016, 06:05 PM   #289
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stargazer View Post
Hi Norm,

Nice response. I also carry a tire plug kit and have used it twice. I just forgot to mention it to the Ghishlain. I love to drive off of the interstate but frequently need to take one in my travels. I admire your mileage numbers, mine just aren't that good. The light truck tires lowered my MPG a mile or two. Next time I need tires I am going back to the regular tires recommended for the Odyssey. One mechanic told me to get the looseness out between the ball support and its receiver, but others said it doesn't matter. What is the benefit of doing so, and how did you eliminate it?? Here in California the speed limit when pulling a trailer is 55 MPG. So, on country roads or highways I never exceed 55 and on the freeway I either do 55 or 60, depending on the traffic. Recently doing 60 on a fairly level stretch of freeway I got about 18.5 MPG over 20 miles. I probably pack more stuff into the Scamp than you do, and on some trips I fill up the water tank prior to leaving my house. We have the larger refrigerator and I pack it full. We also have a microwave oven plus I carry one heavy battery unit (called a Yetti) inside the trailer for running my CPAK machine, when traveling I put is over the axle and on the side of the trailer opposite the refrigerator.

Happy Trails to you and Ginny,

Steve
Steve our trailer weighs 2600 lbs, 2400 on the axle and 200 on the ball. We always carry a half of tank of water.

The reason for locking the ball support in the receiver is it to prevent another degree of motion. The U-bracket cost about $20.
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Old 03-04-2016, 08:46 AM   #290
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Hi all

Thanks for all the good advice. I feel more confident now in my choice. The dealer is pushing for a 1.25in hitch. Says its good for 3500lbs. I'm used to 2in. Any drawback for the smaller one? The one nice thing is that the smaller hitch seem to have a bit more clearance.

Also, I want to have a trans cooler installed. Would you suggest dealer or after market? So many things to think about. I want to get it right as we are planning on using the trailer quite a bit in the States and western Canada.
Ghislain,
I had owned my 2011 Odyssey for over three years when I decided to buy my Scamp, so everything I did was separate from the car dealer. I had U-Haul do all of my work and I've been very satisfied. If you compare I'm certain you'll find their prices significantly lower than the Honda dealer. I had them do the hitch and the transmission cooler. Everything went smoothly. Nine months after the work my trailer brake lights and turn signals stopped working and I went to them under their two year warranty policy. They got me right in and replaced a part connected to the wiring, I think it was a controller. The work was completed promptly at no charge! So, I'd recommend U-Haul. If I'm not mistaken the only hitch sold by Honda for the Odyssey uses a 1.5" ball/receiver unit. I got a hitch rated for I think 5,000 pounds, very adequate for the 3,500 lb capability of the Odyssey. If you ever want to pull a bigger trailer with your Honda I doubt that their factory hitch will do the job well. The sway bar I installed was not done by U-Haul, I bought it on Amazon and had a welder install it for $50.00. As stated by Norm they are optional. I also had U-Haul do my brake controller, which perhaps you don't need. My only minor issue with U-Haul is that with their largest trans fluid cooler some extra trans fluid needs to be added and they don't do that and didn't tell me. I monitored their work for leaks and found none, but discovered I needed to add extra fluid. At U-Haul it was easy; I bought all the parts from them and they installed everything within a couple of hours and I was off and running. Best wishes in deciding which way to go.

Steve
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Old 03-04-2016, 10:20 AM   #291
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Originally Posted by Ghislain View Post
Hi all

Thanks for all the good advice. I feel more confident now in my choice. The dealer is pushing for a 1.25in hitch. Says its good for 3500lbs. I'm used to 2in. Any drawback for the smaller one? The one nice thing is that the smaller hitch seem to have a bit more clearance.

Also, I want to have a trans cooler installed. Would you suggest dealer or after market? So many things to think about. I want to get it right as we are planning on using the trailer quite a bit in the States and western Canada.
I personally would not consider the 1.25" receiver hitch. On my 2002 Odyssey, I installed a U-Haul hitch and a Honda transmission cooler. When I bought my 2012 Odyssey, I had the dealer put on the towing package which included the 2" receiver hitch, wiring, and cooler.
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Old 03-04-2016, 01:40 PM   #292
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Honda Odyssey Hitch

I admit to liking Honda, mostly because in a couple of decades we've never had a driveline failure, each vehicle doing 250,000 or more, all manuals and never replaced anything including clutches.

We did buy their transmission cooler and had them install the hitch, a 2" hitch is standard for the Odyssey, not 1.25". Foolishly they only install a 4 pin connector and not the 7 pin connector. I installed the 7".

The factory transmission cooler is huge.
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Old 03-04-2016, 01:53 PM   #293
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Sounds like the dealer is pushing for a vehicle he has on the lot and wants rid of.
I'd go to another dealer.
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Old 04-07-2016, 01:15 PM   #294
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We just drove a two hundred miles from FL to St. Marys, GA and averaged 19.3 miles per gallon. Typically it's in the 18+ range. We're on the first leg of our trip to NL.
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Old 04-07-2016, 02:45 PM   #295
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We just drove a two hundred miles from FL to St. Marys, GA and averaged 19.3 miles per gallon. Typically it's in the 18+ range. We're on the first leg of our trip to NL.
Norm,
Sounds like you guys are making great time! About, how many hours a day do you drive, before you stop for the night? 19.3 miles per gallon with a tow is good mileage.
Be SAFE!
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Old 04-07-2016, 04:37 PM   #296
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Carl,

We drove almost 4 hours today, more than normal for us. We were targeting a shrimp restaurant in St. Marys that we stop at coming and going thru Georgia. ST/ Marys is a vety nice, liveable town.

9 mpg is a little better than normal, usually it's more like 18.
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Old 04-07-2016, 06:18 PM   #297
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Hey, Norm! Would you post some from your trip when you get up there? I was REALLY looking forward to this trip. Now I want to know what I'm missing!

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Old 04-07-2016, 06:32 PM   #298
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Hey, Norm! Would you post some from your trip when you get up there? I was REALLY looking forward to this trip. Now I want to know what I'm missing!

Mon

Somewhere in this thread I posted a link to the NL tourist bureau where you can order their travel booklet, it's free. Just looking at the pictures will get you excited. I will post.
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Old 04-07-2016, 08:37 PM   #299
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I made 19.5 mpg towing Scamp 16 from Ft Myers to southern GA 2 weeks ago with F-150. The key was tailwind. Usual MPG while towing is 16.5-17.
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Old 04-08-2016, 04:59 PM   #300
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Day 3 we averaged 21.2 mpg calculated. About 100 miles was Interstate driving at 62 mph. I think it was our best day ever. It was a windless day.
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