SonicC

What's everyone using for towing their car to track and back?

Considering getting a 06 Pilot EX-L AWD. Says it has towing capacity of 4500, so should be able to tow a 2500 Civic and ~1200 trailer. What's everyone's opinion on using something like the Pilot? Pickup would be preferable, but hard to justify keeping around 2 v8 vehicles (also own a mustang). The added benefit of towing with Pilot is that I could throw a mattress in the back and camp at track.

ontariorider

90civichbsi

iTrader: (1)

2012 Silverado 1500 5.3L here.
I considered getting my wife a Pilot back when she was looking at SUVs so I could also use it to tow, but I spoke to some friends that were mechanics for Honda who advised against it. At least in the earlier models of the Pilot the transmissions did not to well with long term towing.

SonicC

Trans cooler definitely. Dolly is a good idea, didn't think of that - plus wouldn't have to worry about installing trailer brakes.

Josh R.

That generation Pilot only has that towing capacity with the transmission and power steering cooler, otherwise it's 3,500 lbs. Another thing to remember is that you have to account for EVERYTHING you'll be carrying with you in your weight calculation. So if you have 500 lbs of people, tools, spare wheels/tires and camping gear you have to add that. Now you're just about to the towing limit. Even if you're comfortable with that, I would bet money that you're going to run into transmission issues before too long. My wife had an '07 Pilot that ended up with trans issues at 107 k that I towed about 1,000 lbs with a few times a year. Towing with a dolly, in my opinion, SUCKS. I did it for 1/2 a season and scraped that idea. Loading and strapping down a low car stinks, and it stinks even more in the rain. You don't save wear on rear suspension components and depending on tires you run you might still change the rears. And reversing with most dollies is a PITA if not all together impossible.

I tow my Integra with a 2016 Nissan Frontier (w/ aftermarket brake controller) rated at 6,100 lbs. Car is (rounding up) 2,400 lbs, trailer is 1,500 (with electric brakes), spare wheels/tires 150, tool box is 200, camping gear is 100, cooler full of stuff is 50 and I account for 100 lbs of "miscellaneous." For a total of 4,500 lbs. IF I'm not taking anybody (wife and 2 kids) with me. That leaves me with a bit more than the 1,000 lbs of recommended safety margin and I've never felt unsafe while towing, BUT towing across the hills of PA the truck certainly doesn't cruise well or get great gas mileage.

I certainly don't think a full size 1/2 ton truck is necessary, but midsize V6 trucks (Frontier, Tacoma, Colorado, etc) or other medium/large SUV's (Sequoia, Armada) would do the trick. The farthest I've towed in the past 2.5 years (with the Frontier) is around 5 hours. I think if I was going to be towing farther very often I would consider a 1/2 ton. Likewise, if I was never going to be towing more than an hour or so, I might consider something lighter duty like a properly equiped Pilot/Ridgeline.

SonicC

that's discouraging...was hoping honda put better automatic transmissions in bigger vehicles. may need to look into 4runner

Reyes

iTrader: (1)

I recently sold my Toyota Tundra and picked up a Ford Transit van with 3.5L Eco Boost engine. it has a factory tow package (7,000lb capacity) and tows my Civic/open trailer really well. It's not ideal for most people, but I'm building it out as a weekend camper van too. so it was a good choice for my needs.

I recently towed over 1,000 miles round trip with the car, gear, spares etc and averaged almost 15mpg. On the open hwy with no trailer it averages almost 20mpg.

boxedfox

Good idea. I tow with an 07 FJ Crusier, which is basically a short wheelbase 07 4Runner. Official towing capacity of 5000 lbs, and it seems to do that pretty comfortably. I have a 2400 lb car, 1800 lb open deck steel trailer with two braked axles, a 155 lb driver and another 200 lbs in luggage, tools, and spares.

I tow slow and have already changed the "lifetime" transmission fluid once, but knock on wood have yet to encounter transmission wear or overheating issues.

SonicC

what's the typical speed?
and are you running a trans cooler?

.Manny.

iTrader: (1)

2018 Tundra Crewmax 5.7L 4x2. Tows beautifully.

I've seen people tow with Pilots and Tacomas and 4Runners. It's doable, but hills are where you're really going to test the transmission and other components. They'll be under considerable stress

boxedfox

Usually around 65 mph on the wider interstates in this area. I don't have an aftermarket transmission cooler but I'm also not towing up and down hills to get to the tracks I usually go to.

boxedfox

+1 to this. The new Tundras are brilliant trucks and yes, if your tow is normally through country roads and hilly terrain, I would def install a trans cooler.

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

2008 Tundra 5.7L 4x4... tows the civic of doom and hauls all the junk. we camp on the open trailer. We have talked about going to an enclosed trailer... that will mean an upgrade in truck I think. It will do it, several people in the NASA MA region do it... I would just not want to work it that hard getting over the mountains to and from VIR.

SonicC

Tundra would be nice, but hard to justify.

.Manny.

iTrader: (1)

It is, I justified it by having a 2006 Ford Focus beater.

A used one may fit your needs, they're still pricey compared to other trucks on the used market, but they're proven trucks. They're no nonsense trucks with proven drive train and reliability. MPG's are **** though. LOL

Reyes

iTrader: (1)

This was my exact issue, and what led me to a van. Can comfortable sleep/tow etc and keep a smaller open trailer.
I'm surprised that i don't miss the Tundra more.

iwannarace

2004 Ford Explorer Sport Trac 4.0L v6. Seats four/five very comfortably and you still have the bed to throw all you junk in. Tows 5300lbs. Comes with a trans cooler. I pull my teg on a dolly. Piece of cake loading and strapping it down. I can do it myself in < 10 min. I struggle to stay under 70mph on flat highway. Mine has 147k miles and tows without any issues. I bought the dolly for $400 two years ago and it's been a great investment.

The only downside for me is the minor wear on the rear tires/suspension, but here in the Bay Area we have three tracks within about 100 miles so I'm never driving too far. I'll switch to an open trailer as soon as I find one for cheap.

SonicC

Is there accelerated wear to the rear tires and suspension due to towing on a dolly or just normal wear that would have happened as if you were driving the car for same distance? If later, then that shouldn't be an issue for me since it would be on street tires while in transit.

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

I cant give up the pickup truck. I haul a lot of wood for winter and we do work at a charity house to help with upkeep (2 pallets of mulch per year, plus all the other stuff)... So I'm looking into a diesel and an enclosed (we have been rained on too much this year). Its several years away since I'd love to get all I can out of the tundra since its paid off.

boxedfox

I know the towing capacities of the Tundras vary by configuration, but couldn't you tow a light enclosed trailer behind yours? I've seen people tow some fairly big trailers behind the 4x2 Tundras and they seemed to do pretty well.

Reyes

iTrader: (1)

When i was looking to go to an enclosed with my Tundra, It wasn't that the truck couldn't pull the weight. It was all the other stuff like increased wind resistance, fuel economy etc. that would suffer and ultimately cost more money.

Kaan

iTrader: (3)

so I require 4x4 for the remote location we live in... that being said I can tow up to 9800 in my configuration. a light weight 20-22 footer will work, but a 24 footer is optimal for the car, spares, open space (to convert into a living area when we are at the track), etc. As is i carry a bunch of stuff in the car, in the truck, etc. with my open trailer. Also my tundra has 139k miles on it... how long can she tow? probably until 200k no issues (we have guys in the paddock with +250k towing still)... but with an enclosed and the mountains, that has to limit its life span. Id rather be safer than sorry.

Right now i have a 15 foot open trailer with no tire rack. the car fits on it (just well enough... miatas, civics, E30s do well)... but my storage of spares, tires/wheels, camping equipment, etc is tight.

gramkrackers

I used to tow my 16ft open trailer with a 17 Tacoma 4x4 with a 6-Speed manual. It did very well and no need to worry about tranny issues with the manual transmission. I now tow using a 2018 with an automatic trans and I actually find that it tows better than the manual. Get a weight distribution hitch and brake controller no matter what truck you use.

iwannarace

I can't imagine it's any worse than the wear youd get from driving equal distance.

BlueTeg

iTrader: (2)

2 week old thread, but thought I would toss my 2 cents in as well:
I've had a v6 Nissan Frontier (manual) and a v6 Nissan Xterra. Both of them pulled my open trailer (~1,500 lbs) + my civic and some spares very well to tracks as far as 8 hours away (Phoenix to Buttonwillow).

I've also had a v8 Nissan Titan which was absolutely awesome to tow with, but the day to day MPG were not very good. All of the crosswinds that made me pucker up driving the Frontier and Xterra, didn't phase the Titan. The bigger engine and frame + longer wheel base = you can barely even feel the open trailer in back of you.
I borrowed an enclosed trailer for NASA Western championships a few years back and towed about 14 hours up to Laguna Seca. That drive was very taxing on that truck trailer / combo. Lots of big hills. I would probably upgrade to a bigger a truck if I was going to make that drive again...or downgrade back to the more aerodynamic and lighter open trailer.