[sinbad]

I have ordered the towing package, transmission cooler and trailer hitch, for my 2002 Odyssey. Please give me comments and feedback from those who have towed behind the Odyssey. Re: acceleration, braking, stability at speed, handling, overheating, weight of trailer, etc. My tow will weigh from 1,000 to 2,000 pounds. Thanks.

 

[ChrisM]

I just had a hitch and transmission cooler installed so that I could pull our folding tent trailer with our 2001 Odyssey.
Took it for a test drive last week and it did very well. Acceleration, braking, stability, handling were all great. I couldn't ask for any better. Another plus is that I can also see over and to the sides of the trailer using the stock mirrors. Our tent trailer is also in the range of 1,000 to 2,000 pounds. Next week we will be camping and I will let you know how it turns out. I'm curious to see what the gas mileage will be.
By the way, my only complaint so far is that the hitch is low. This weekend the Odyssey had 5 adult passengers and while turning into a parking lot, the hitch scraped the road. Maybe the Odyssey could use gas shocks.

 

[gbaxley]

I installed the Hidden Hitch a month ago and towed a loaded utility trailer with a van full of summer vacation cargo for 250 miles across the CA central valley and up a few steep mountains. I also found the ride, handling, braking etc to be fine, and not much different from what it is unloaded. Even without the transmission cooler, and driving on a 90+ degree day, the temp gauge did not move the slightest bit past normal.

I also ditto the negative comments about the hitch being so low, but that's the price we pay for the magic seat.

Cheers,

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gbaxley
'01 TW EX

 

[mclarke]

Last year my wife, myself, our 2 year old daughter and dog piled into our Odyssey for a 3 week, 5,000 km round trip through Canada's maritime provinces with a rented tent trailer (about 2,000 lbs). With that much weight hanging off the back, you won't win many drag races, but acceleration is still good. Once you get up to speed, you probably won't realize the trailer is back there. On some long highway hauls, we managed 32 mpg (imperial) at 110 km/h [please pardon the mixed imperial and metric units, but L/100 km is completely meaningless to me!]. Repeated braking in rush hour traffic overheats the brakes and they make that familiar howling noise. Electric trailer brakes are usually recommended for trailers over 2,000 lbs. If you are in the market for a new trailer, get them!

mclarke

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by sinbad:
I have ordered the towing package, transmission cooler and trailer hitch, for my 2002 Odyssey. Please give me comments and feedback from those who have towed behind the Odyssey. Re: acceleration, braking, stability at speed, handling, overheating, weight of trailer, etc. My tow will weigh from 1,000 to 2,000 pounds. Thanks.</font>

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Blue 1999 EX, block heater, tranny cooler, trailer hitch

 

[tredfishards]

You will be pleasantly suprised! Have a 2001 and with out the tow package towed at least 2000 lbs. 1,000 miles from sea level to the midwest. No problems except I kept speeding! T

 

[sinbad]

Thanks to all who posted a reply.

 

[albaby]

I imagine most of you towed in D3? It doesn't seem the Odysseys have the power to tow in D4 without the Tc clutch and tranny cycling a lot.

Regards
Al

 

[gbaxley]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by albaby:
I imagine most of you towed in D3? It doesn't seem the Odysseys have the power to tow in D4 without the Tc clutch and tranny cycling a lot.

Regards
Al</font>

Nope. Most of the 120 mile trip was in D4. Occassionally I would shift down going up a hill while towing my 4x8 utility trailer. When the Ody did the shifting for me, it was rather stable. The Grade Logic worked great on the downhills. Regardless of the direction, there was very little gear selection going on. I was pleasantly surprised.

Greg

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gbaxley
'01 TW EX

 

[albaby]

That is suprising! My TC cycles un and out a lot on overpasses and even slight grades-and that's without pulling a trailer or a luggage pod on top!! On steeper climbs, and I don't mean really steep grades, it will downshift. Wonder why the difference?

Regards
Al

 

[ChrisM]

Well, we are back from our first camping trip with the Ody. The minivan did so well.
I don't remember noticing the transmission changing gears a lot. I kept it in D4. Maybe the transmission just stayed in 3rd. I did notice the RPM was higher than without pulling the trailer. Without the trailer, the RPM would be about 2K at 70MPH. With the trailer, I seem to remember 3K RPM. The Ody sure has the power to pull the trailer though. And the ride is so smooth. Many times I would look down and notice I was going 80MPH. Way too fast for pulling the trailer.
Gas mileage was pretty good too. 16.5 MPG for 150 miles. They were highway miles with some hills and I was going a little fast.
I am happy with the Ody's performance.

 

[Chris Teague]

How do you get a towing package on an Odyssey? Is that a dealer installed item? What does it include, and how much does it cost?

Chris

 

[ChrisM]

I think a "towing package" is just a hitch and a tranny cooler.
A dealer would install a hitch and tranny cooler but it would cost a lot. You could also do it yourself if you knew how. I had UHaul do it for about $300. They wouldn't install a used brake control and so I did that myself. A brake control isn't required, but I think Honda recommends it for anything over 1000 lbs. A tranny cooler isn't required either, but Honda also recommends one.

 

[Oddity]

Has anyone ever towed anything upwards of 3,000 lbs. Let's say, for example, a Jeep Wrangler?

Now that we've got the family car, my previous primary mode of transportation (the Jeep) becomes the toy. I'd love to be able to tow it to the offroad sites with my Oddy, and it's the reason I thought ahead and got the dealer installed trailer hitch. The towing capacity is 3500 lbs, I believe, but since the Jeep is 3,000 I have that uneasy feeling about doing it. I would have to pick up a good tow bar and probably an aux braking system, but I've never done this before and could use some expert advice.

 

[ody]

I have been wondering about the towing capacity too, since a boat of some kind is in the future for my family! Since I am not yet an Ody owner, I certainly don't have first hand experience with Odyssey towing.
Based on years of experience with trucks, 4 wheelers and towing though, I would say you should be OK. I would STRONGLY recommend (it is crucial) that you have an adequate trans. cooler installed if you have not already. In fact, I usually install them on my vehicles with auto trans. whether I tow or not.
I would guess that Honda rates the towing capacity rather conservative as well just to cover themselves with regard to warranty claims for power train damage etc.
Also, assuming you are flat towing the Jeep, your tongue weight will be negligible, although the rolling resistance will be a little higher than with most trailers, boats etc. I suppose. Hope this helps...

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On the waiting list for my '02 EX Nav in RED!

[This message has been edited by ody (edited 07-15-2001).]