Trailer an H260 with Honda Pilot?

KD3PC · Jan 15, 2013

you will need to provide more details as to your setup...

pilot is rated at 3500 capacity, but about 9200 gross (pilot, passengers, load and boat, trailer and load).

If the trailer has adequate brakes and controller in the Pilot, weights are under the specs, you should be fine for casual towing. Highways, hills, mountains and weather will reduce the safety margin of the rig considerably.

Taking the trip "slow" is bogus, slow has nothing to do with it. You are still stressing the vehicle, starting and stopping with added weight and YOU have no control what the rest of the world does while you are driving. As you can never tell when some bozo pulls out in front of you and you are at speed, or stops suddenly. You need to have adequate power and brakes to avoid the bozos.

YMMV

twalker H260 · Jan 15, 2013

Assuming the tow capacity of the pilot above is correct I wouldn't pull a 260 with it. Dry weight of 260 is about 3900lbs. Add motor, water, stores, provisions, fuel etc. and the weight rapidly climbs. Often exceeding 5000lbs.

The following link has some great information on towing the 260.

http://kobernus.com/hunter260/travel/travel.html

Infrequent, Flat land, short distance tows might be ok but in an emergency it could become dangerous. Frequent or long distance use will likely cause damage to transmission, transfer case, differentials etc

I have towed our 260 through the Rockies, across the prairies and around the Great Lakes with a 1/2ton rated to tow 8800lbs. It really worked hard through the mountains, but even with smaller hillls, with family and gear I wouldn't have wanted to have much less capability. I also have surge brakes on both axles.

Ray Bowles · Jan 15, 2013

We pulled our 95 H26 water ballasted boat and trailer with a 2002 Toyota 2 wheel drive pickup. It was a dual axle trailer with surge brakes. The truck was v6 powered and it was about as much as the truck wanted to pull. If doing a lot of cross country hauling I would want a larger truck. Our truck was the same size as your Honda so you would be OK.
Ray

Benny17441 · Jan 16, 2013

The engine power is not the problem; it is the structural integrity of the chassis that usually makes the difference in towing allowances. The Honda Pilot does not have a separate chasis but it is integrated in the body components and thus a low rating of #3,500. Seriously exceeding the towing rating may strech and distort body parts. The weight of a load under motion is not constant and will vary with dips and mounds on the surface and with the grade of inclination on hills. To allow for such variances the manufacturers have set what they feel is a safe limit. I do not know what the actual limit is but would not advise to try and find out with a load approaching 30% in excess of the manufacturers recommended limit.

Rick Webb · Jan 16, 2013

In Addition to the Weight is the Frontal Area

A 260 is alot of boat to be pulling through the air. I notice the frontal area more than the weight when towing my 23.5 behind my F-150. I really noticed the difference with a rack of four Sunfishes behind my Town Car. Under 45 MPH you likely will not see a difference but at hi-way speeds you will. That coupled with the relatively short wheelbase I think the Pilot is a poor candidate of a tow vehicle for a boat that size.

Bob 04 H260 · Jan 16, 2013

Rick makes a very good point. In addition to brakes, engine transmission etc. one very important point is the wheel base of the towing vehicle. The longer the wheel base the more stability you will have on the highway. If you talk to a dealer that sells travel trailers they have formula to figure this out. I think you will find the Pilot has too short a wheel base.

I used to tow with a Nissan Pathfinder, probably similar in size to your Pilot. When I decided to buy a Hunter 260 I bought a full sized 4x4 pickup truck with a trailer towing package. We did trips over 1700 miles long through the mountains in the winter.

The 260 tows very well. However I found it was a concern at times with road construction, heavy traffic, low overhead wires (the 260 needs about 13 ft of clearance).

Unless I was only doing one short trip a year to launch the boat I would go for a bigger vehicle.

Also check the maximum tongue weight, it will probably be close to what the 260 has when loaded. Towing at your max. tongue weight will probably mean you can not carry any passengers or cargo in the rear of the vehicle.

I wish the answer was different...........the 260 is a great boat.....go for a pickup truck !

Bob

Crazy Dave Condon · Jan 17, 2013

Kermit is on a lake which is in a flat part of South Carolina with some long rolling hills on I 77 and his intent is possibly two trips per year. I have had people tow the 260 with a heavy duty 6 cylinder engine with short bed vehicles. For tow in the mountiains or towing long distances may be questionable as many of you have pointed out. For two trips per year on flat roads say to the coast in South Carolina going no more than 55 would be ok but going over the rockies, no. It is up to the individual to make that decision but if pulling all the time, then a larger vehicle with a minimum of 8 cylinder is recommended particularly in mountainous areas.

dave condon

Steve Walsh · Jan 17, 2013

I towed 4,500# (antique car on a trailer) with a Mercury Grand Marquis from Dallas to Jacksonville a few years ago. The 230HP GM is only rated at 2k# towing, but the trailer had surge brakes on both axles and the GM did have a receiver-type hitch. Didn't do anything special except make sure the tongue weight and trailer were balanced right, did not tow in overdrive and ran about 55-60 mph, depending on conditions. Temp gauge never moved from normal and didn't have any problems at all, though it was slow going. I suspect that your Pilot has more HP and if you don't tow in overdrive, manually downshift when climbing hills to ease the strain on the tranny and make sure the surge brakes are working, it will be fine for the short trip you described. However, I am not familiar with using a short-wheelbase vehicle to tow and have heard they can be a handful with heavy loads. We used pickups to tow our RV's. You might rent a UHaul car carrier for a day, put a 2,500# car on it, tow it with the Pilot and see how it handles the weight.

Jackdaw · Jan 17, 2013

Kermit,

We pulled our First 260 a thousand miles to home last spring using a V8 Fourunner. The trucks have the same rather short wheelbase (109 inches). Power was fine, but over 55-60 it was not happy. The first is heavier, but the boats are the same size on the trailers. If you end up feeling OK with your Pilot, just take it slow! ;^)

John23883 · Jan 17, 2013

Don't Do It

First let me say if it was a choice between my H26 and my Honda Pilot the H26 would win hands down!

We love the room in this boat and stay on it one week a month every month all summer and a two week cruise in July. I tow with a 2005 Pathfinder that has a 6000# trailer towing capacity and it tows fine with the following caveats:

1. I never go over 57 miles an hour. It is not the speed, it is how often the transmission shifts that causes the heat and damage. 57mph is the fastest I can go with downshifting EVERY time I go up a small hill.

2. You cannot just drop this on your hitch! You must install airlifts http://www.airliftcompany.com/ on the rear of the vehicle because the brakes are hydraulic and the coupler must be able to move back and forth. You CANNOT use an equalizer hitch, because it does not allow the coupler to move. If you feel you must use an equalizer then you will have to convert to electric brakes. There is one brand out there that says their equalizer works with hydraulics but I am skeptical.

Don't endanger your vehicle or yourselves or the other drivers on the road.

Get the boat!

Steve Walsh · Jan 17, 2013

John nailed it regarding the airlifts and finding the speeds that prevents excessive downshifting. I forgot to mention that the Grand Marquis did have an air bag suspension.

Claude L.-Auger · Jan 17, 2013

Kermit said:
We feel so conflicted! We want the boat so bad we can't stand it. But a new boat and new tow vehicle just aren't in the budget. In all reality we would only trailer it once or twice a year regardless of the boat and regardless of the vehicle. Crazy Dave was the first (on the phone) to encourage us to use our Pilot. But dangit, if we ruin our Pilot or cause a wreck we'd have to buy a new car anyway. And that's not in the budget.

Probably the biggest indicator is that no one has chosen to tow one behind a Pilot. We don't want to be the ones to tell everyone we ruined our car towing the boat of our dreams.

In spite of all the encouragement, my First Mate and I have realized that what we want to do is not a good idea. Thanks to all who responded.

p.s. If we find one we just can't live without and do this anyway, we'll let you know. (Can you tell we're still looking at ads?)

Just an idea Kermit, but if you love the boat so much why not get it and use a rental for the once or twice a year you need it ? Good luck with the decision

Rick Webb · Jan 17, 2013

Buy the Boat and a Beater F-150

Everyone needs a pickup from time to time and you can pickup an OK truck for $1500. The wife never even has to ride in it she can follow you in the Honda and pretend she doesn't know you. That is how it works here at our house.

I drive my truck everywhere I actually prefer it over my wifes Town Car. As long as it starts the AC and the radio work I'm good. I keep getting asked by friends neighbors and co workers when I am going to buy a new truck but I can't think of a reason to, I have become convinced they are out to buy mine if I ever sold it. I'd come drag yours to the lake for you if I were closer. There's another option for you find a guy who has a truck and wants to go sailing. You'd only have to take him twice a year.

Benny17441 · Jan 18, 2013

You can tow with a short wheelbase but need to be on the money with load balance and tongue weight. You may be able to find in any RV parts supplier a sway reducer bar to attach between your hitch and trailer. They are pretty inexpensive and worth every penny if you have trailer sway problems.

Sailm8 · Jan 19, 2013

We towed our C22 from St Louis to The Keys 3x a year using an ancient 1 ton Suburban. It was always an adventure. Finally got smart and stored the C22 in the Keys and rented a U haul to launch and capture. Problem solved. At 6mpg it was a real $$$ saver.

Bob 04 H260 · Jan 19, 2013

There are some good trailering tips here,
http://www.albertarvcountry.net/RVTowingTips/tabid/60/Default.aspx
They recommend no more than a 20 ft trailer for 110" wheel base, the trailer length increases with the length of the tow vehicles wheelbase of course.

One point I did not make in my last post was that towing a boat is different than most other trailers. Usually you want a trailer to be level. Years ago I noticed some sway in one of my boats from the bow wave of 18 wheelers. The boat was on a double axle trailer, s/s disc brakes, had lots of tongue weight so I could not figure out what the issue could be. Then on a windy day as a truck passed I could hear a clunk from the hitch, the trailer swayed and then settled. When I stopped next I noticed that the bow of the boat was slightly raised, so the wind was getting under the hull and lifting all the weight off my hitch (about 350 lbs). that was the clunk I could hear, the trailer lifting up on the ball. I flipped the draw bar over and remounted the ball so that the bow was now riding a few degrees below horizontal and when the next truck went by there was no more sway. Since then I have always tried to set up a boat trailer so the wind would force the bow down and not lift the weight off the ball. The static tongue weight you measure may not be what you have at 60 miles per hour.

Bob

Trailer an H260 with Honda Pilot?

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Attachments

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.