towing a 26x
- Thread starter rzobel
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How far? Future trips? Does the trailer have brakes? Does the car have a tow package?
I would not want to tow any distance with that size vehicle in heavy traffic or twisty/turning/hilly situations. Especially if the trailer didn't have brakes and was a single axle. Even then I don't think you would be under 3500 lbs in a 'go to the lake state',
Sum
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I would not want to tow any distance with that size vehicle in heavy traffic or twisty/turning/hilly situations. Especially if the trailer didn't have brakes and was a single axle. Even then I don't think you would be under 3500 lbs in a 'go to the lake state',
Sum
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I suspect your Honda will be about maxed out towing the 26X. That does not necessarily mean you cannot do it, but anything uphill will be very hard and slow, and you realy need the surge brakes. If your towing will be mostly on the flat, and you do have surge brakes, it should be OK, but not great.
BTW, I have always pushed the tow limits of my vehicles. If you are content to tow 60 mph, and understand that you are working your vehicle hard, this can be OK. If you want to tow 90 mph up the side of a mountain, the Pilot will not be enough.,
BTW, I have always pushed the tow limits of my vehicles. If you are content to tow 60 mph, and understand that you are working your vehicle hard, this can be OK. If you want to tow 90 mph up the side of a mountain, the Pilot will not be enough.,
likely from northern Virginia to the chesapeake in annapolis area for the most part -- less than 100 miles each way - mostly flat. the only part that would be uphill would be my driveway -- for the most part the only hilly area would be the driveway. I had planned on not going any faster than 55 to 60 mph. everything that i have read about the pilot says that it is rated at 4500 lbs max for towing a boat, but 3500 for less aerodynamic like a uhaul trailer or something. I am having a tow package installed on the pilot - which includes a transmission cooler as well as a class III hitch.
I intend for first year to dry-store boat near water so i don't have to trailer often and just use Pilot to get boat in and out of water, but i do plan to keep at home during off season.
I intend for first year to dry-store boat near water so i don't have to trailer often and just use Pilot to get boat in and out of water, but i do plan to keep at home during off season.
I've always found that vehicles tow capabilities are over estimated. The distance is key here, but i have too always pushed the limits.
I recently purchased a 26x and just towed up through a curvy bumpy drive with a 1999 Ford F-250. Of course this is adequate, but I've pondered buying a JKU Jeep for the same duties and that drive gave me pause. The boat and trailer (stock single axle) combination flexes a bunch and I could genuinely feel it more than I thought I should, even in the the stout F250.
Based on that I would say that your Pilot would be marginal at best (perhaps even unsafe) for a long cross country with variable roads and conditions. If however your surge brakes are well serviced and if the boat is fastened down correctly and if the marina is close and on easy roads, if the pilot has enough ass to haul it out of the water, and if..if...if
If it were a Navigator instead?
Based on that I would say that your Pilot would be marginal at best (perhaps even unsafe) for a long cross country with variable roads and conditions. If however your surge brakes are well serviced and if the boat is fastened down correctly and if the marina is close and on easy roads, if the pilot has enough ass to haul it out of the water, and if..if...if
If it were a Navigator instead?
Fwiw, I have a Pilot and it has no trouble pulling my 26s up a steep ramp. My boat is kept in a mast up yard so it doesn't travel much. A few years ago, I towed it about 60 miles across Houston and then back a week later. I had no problems at all and my trailer is stock - without brakes. If it were me, I'd give it a try. I suspect it will do fine.
I have a 2000 X and tow it with a 2010 Grand Caravan 4.0L with tow package. I am in Illinois and only tow on mostly flat areas to Lake Michigan twice a year. Mine is rated at 3500lb also and although it pulls fine and stops without a problem, if I towed it all the time I would get a cheap tow vehicle for just towing. For towing long distance and up steep grades I wouldn't do it for the safety of my family and other people on the road. But for short drives on flat terrain, as long as it can pull it up the ramp I say go for it. The drive train will take a beating though which could be more expensive to fix than a used, more capable tow vehicle.
how much towing experience do you have? and how many times a year?
I'd say its marginal at best for 100 miles, and up and down in the hills...
trl brakes would be a given and they are a PITA for salt water. (even with disks)
transmission fluid changes are in your future.. look at the after market trans drain plugs.
like this
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0XT5PCKGQEVXAXVYBFHR
if you can do a mast up storage yard close to the ramp, and only do the long tow 1/2x yr then you can keep the pilot... otherwise I'd say you need a bigger truck.
YMMV
I'd say its marginal at best for 100 miles, and up and down in the hills...
trl brakes would be a given and they are a PITA for salt water. (even with disks)
transmission fluid changes are in your future.. look at the after market trans drain plugs.
like this
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0XT5PCKGQEVXAXVYBFHR
if you can do a mast up storage yard close to the ramp, and only do the long tow 1/2x yr then you can keep the pilot... otherwise I'd say you need a bigger truck.
YMMV
My first priority for towing in a heavily populated area would be trailer brakes. No matter how cautious you are some one will pull out of a side road or keep cutting in front of you in traffic as you drop back to allow more braking distance. It seems that everyone wants to pass or cut off a vehicle pulling a load as they think it is going to slow them down.
If you don't have brakes please go out to a stretch of deserted road if you can find one and try an emergency stop. You probably won't like the results. Brakes are good for hills, but even more important to be safe in traffic.
Next would be a better tow vehicle if the one you have isn't adequate. Follow Bill's suggestions also,
Sum
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Our Endeavour 37
Our MacGregor 26-S Pages
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You'd be braver than me to tow anything larger than a dinghy with only four cylinders of power. I watched a Toyota Tacoma slide back into the water trying to haul a bass boat out a few years back. I'm all about a heavy truck with lots of power.
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