Anyone towing with a Honda Pilot

[boardjnky4]

1 minute ago, Fman said:

This thread should be re-titled "Why the Honda Pilot should not be used as a tow vehicle".  Seriously, that thing is a total liability towing any of these newer wake boats.  You are putting your family, friends and others around you on the road at risk.

Spoken like a person that has probably never even been in one, let alone driven or towed with one.

[Fman]

5 minutes ago, boardjnky4 said:

Spoken like a person that has probably never even been in one, let alone driven or towed with one.

I don't need to be in one just by looking at the picture of it attached to the LSV....they are not designed to tow anything close to what these newer boats weigh.  To each is own but imo not even worth the high risk.

[SkiPablo]

i bought the boat and it's towing easily enough and stops great due to the 4 disc brakes on the trailer - i even dropped it into the lake last night to weigh the trailer alone (ohio has some stupid laws on trailer weighs)   it tows fine and no issues pulling it out of a medium steep ramp last night.  the only issue i have is the ride is a little jerky until i get to highway speeds for whatever reason - I think the jerking is the trailer b/c it did the same thing even without the boat on last night (i locked out the surge brakes when just towing the trailer to rule that out)

I now know the weights of everything due to going 3 times to get everything weighed  (total 4140 lbs)

2003 Sunsetter LXI with LS1 (2 batteries, 2 amps, 19 gallons of gas)  - 3040 lbs

2003 SMP Tandem trailer - 1100 lbs

(all done at local T.A. CAT scales)

Edited April 3, 2017 by SkiPablo

[boardjnky4]

1 minute ago, Fman said:

I don't need to be in one just by looking at the picture of it attached to the LSV....they are not designed to tow anything close to what these newer boats weigh.  To each is own but imo not even worth the high risk.

well, yeah i think that dude might be pushing it a bit too far. But OP sounds like he's well within the limits. And it tows my 2013 A20 great. So it's not incapable of towing a wakeboard boat.

[wedge88]

1 hour ago, SkiPablo said:

i bought the boat and it's towing easily enough and stops great due to the 4 disc brakes on the trailer - i even dropped it into the lake last night to weigh the trailer alone (ohio has some stupid laws on trailer weighs)   it tows fine and no issues pulling it out of a medium steep ramp last night.  the only issue i have is the ride is a little jerky until i get to highway speeds for whatever reason - I think the jerking is the trailer b/c it did the same thing even without the boat on last night (i locked out the surge brakes when just towing the trailer to rule that out)

I now know the weights of everything due to going 3 times to get everything weighed  (total 4140 lbs)

2003 Sunsetter LXI with LS1 (2 batteries, 2 amps, 19 gallons of gas)  - 3040 lbs

2003 SMP Tandem trailer - 1100 lbs

(all done at local T.A. CAT scales)

4140 without any gear (skis, ropes, anchors, jackets etc) and not a even a full tank of gas.  You also realize that any people/cargo in the vehicle also count against your 4500 so lake ready with a small family you are going to be over 5k.  Not trying to tell anyone how to handle their business but I have never had anything less than a full size vehicle (F150 and F250s) pulling my old SSLXi and there were a handful of times where I had to lock up both the truck and trailer brakes going down the interstate and I wouldn't want to do that in a smaller vehicle.  

Enjoy the new boat and be safe!

[SkiPablo]

i hear ya   saving up for the Durango - i know long term this will be better.

[BSUBU_Kris]

Interesting topic.  Hope nothing bad happens to anyone regardless of overweight or not. 

I have an LSV also and it is over 6,000 pounds with fuel and gear not including passengers.  I have used a Denali XL and standard size Denali both with the 6.3L engine and a RR Sport with the diesel.  All have been rated over 7,500 pounds and I have always had disk brakes on each axle of the trailer.  I tow quite a bit and have had some scary situations with all three vehicles and am absolutely sure I would not tow a boat this size with a vehicle with a lesser tow rating.

In the terrible situation where there is a crash, best case you are still covered for damage to property as it is within the limits of your policy and they likely can't exclude it, worse case someone is injured and you  are sued beyond your policy limits, at that point you would not want me on that jury as I would award the injured as much as possible because of ignoring prudent practices with respect to the tow ratings, worst case someone in your car or another is killed and you will forever wonder if that could have been avoided by making better decisions about not pushing over the limits of your vehicle.

I know everyone here has great intentions but the real question is not can whatever car tow something but should you tow something beyond recommendations given the valuable cargo and that is not the boat you are towing, it is your family and living with yourself when things go bad.

[RyanB]

3 hours ago, BSUBU_Kris said:

Interesting topic.  Hope nothing bad happens to anyone regardless of overweight or not. 

I have an LSV also and it is over 6,000 pounds with fuel and gear not including passengers.  I have used a Denali XL and standard size Denali both with the 6.3L engine and a RR Sport with the diesel.  All have been rated over 7,500 pounds and I have always had disk brakes on each axle of the trailer.  I tow quite a bit and have had some scary situations with all three vehicles and am absolutely sure I would not tow a boat this size with a vehicle with a lesser tow rating.

In the terrible situation where there is a crash, best case you are still covered for damage to property as it is within the limits of your policy and they likely can't exclude it, worse case someone is injured and you  are sued beyond your policy limits, at that point you would not want me on that jury as I would award the injured as much as possible because of ignoring prudent practices with respect to the tow ratings, worst case someone in your car or another is killed and you will forever wonder if that could have been avoided by making better decisions about not pushing over the limits of your vehicle.

I know everyone here has great intentions but the real question is not can whatever car tow something but should you tow something beyond recommendations given the valuable cargo and that is not the boat you are towing, it is your family and living with yourself when things go bad.

Just so you know, if you are towing with a Denali XL or a regular Denali, you are towing above GM's specs as well.  That is unless you are using something pre 2007, and you upgraded beyond the OEM hitch.  (For the record, I also at times use a Yukon Denali XL to tow my LSV).

Edited May 6, 2018 by RyanB

[SkiPablo]

i started this thread last year.   the Pilot has actually been fine.  It feels very safe at all speeds.    

[BSUBU_Kris]

Not sure what that sticker is from but I had a 2010 Denali and the towing capacity with the factory hitch was 8,100 lbs with a 600 pound tongue weight.  A weight distributing hitch would give you 1,100 pounds tough weight but not add anything to the overall 8,100 towing capacity.  The Denali XL has a 7,900 lbs capacity, I assume lower because the drive terrain is the same with a slightly heavier car due to the extended length.  I am just going by what GMC included on the SUV that I had.  Another often overlooked issue is the receiver / ball people use.  Many are 5,000 lbs rated, I have no idea how much cushion there is in those ratings but another thing people should pay attention to.

Every situation is unique and a few miles not on at freeway speeds and not stopping down hills it is less likely to result in a problem.  Also exercising care in driving can't be overlooked.  I have seen people with 3/4 ton trucks towing something at half the rated capacity following one or two car lengths behind the car in front of them at 65 -70 mph on the freeway.  I would much rather have someone paying attention slightly over the rated capacity at 10 car lengths behind me than that situation. 

If people are coming here for advice we should be discouraging them from thinking it is OK to be towing something that is close to or over 50% of the rated towing capacity.  In the end everyone can assess their own situation but we are rarely on the road by ourselves with no passengers in our car so this decision almost allows involves others.

I was searching for something else when I came across this topic with a bit of time on my hands so I included a reply.  Probably should have just let this lie, which I will now.  Many people have "weighed in" in this and the discussion is always good to keep people focused on thinking about it.

I am sure most of us are about to do a lot of towing over the next few months.  Be safe everyone.

[RyanB]

7 hours ago, BSUBU_Kris said:

Not sure what that sticker is from but I had a 2010 Denali and the towing capacity with the factory hitch was 8,100 lbs with a 600 pound tongue weight.  A weight distributing hitch would give you 1,100 pounds tough weight but not add anything to the overall 8,100 towing capacity.  The Denali XL has a 7,900 lbs capacity, I assume lower because the drive terrain is the same with a slightly heavier car due to the extended length.  I am just going by what GMC included on the SUV that I had.

Every 2007 + Tahoe/Yukon/Yukon XL/Suburban/Escalade has that sticker on the hitch. Even the 2500 Burbs have it. 

[G Spot]

10 hours ago, RyanB said:

Every 2007 + Tahoe/Yukon/Yukon XL/Suburban/Escalade has that sticker on the hitch. Even the 2500 Burbs have it. 

Fake news.

Here's the sticker from my 2017 Yukon XL Denali. In the manual it states weight carrying limit is 600#, 1000# with weight distributing hitch.

Edited May 8, 2018 by G Spot

[Asmodeus2112]

On 5/6/2018 at 6:21 PM, SkiPablo said:

i started this thread last year.   the Pilot has actually been fine.  It feels very safe at all speeds.    

Cool. I tow with a 2006 Ridgeline. Granted it has 500 pounds more towing capacity, but have towed boats from TX to WI and back three times. LX's and the last time an LXi with a tandem trailer. It did great, I am very careful calculating weights and there is little to spare towing these boats. I also pull travel trailers up from TX though the mountains in CO. The chassis, brakes have always been very good,  just wish for a little more power sometimes.