My Experience Towing with a Honda Pilot

Great video. Am curious about one item you neglected to mention. In all the vehicles I have towed our 177 with which include: '94 F-150 4x4, 2008 Ford Explorer, 2013 Ford Explorer all came with transmission coolers. Did either or both or your tow vehicles have this item?

God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."

John,

Good video on the Pilot/Pod combo. Seems a popular combo. This question has been asked many time and I've answered it many times. Interesting to hear of the upgrades to the 2016 model. I think you give them a fair and honest review.

I started with a 2010 4WD Pilot and elected to go with the 172 because I knew I would be spend lots of time in the CO Rockies. Engine performance of a naturally aspirated engine at altitude is a big and mostly overlooked factor. Overall it did well but climbing grades at 10K ft. definitely exposed the limits of the Pilot. There were only two of us and I was at 20MPH in first or second gear at times.

One misunderstood item, and you mentioned it, is the use of a WDH. I consider it an absolute necessity with the Pilot. The Pilot manual does not recommend a WDH but it does not prohibit it. Their reasoning, at least in my 2010 manual, is that a maladjusted WDH can be worse than no WDH. Absolutely correct but true for any WDH installation. The idiot dealer that installed my WDH apparently had no clue so I almost had a disaster on my first trip home, but that's another story. My WDH recommendation to new campers is Read the instructions, Understand the instructions, Follow the instructions, and Check your work. I never had any problems with the Unibody of the Pilot. One other thing I recommend is a transmission temperature gauge like the ScanGauge. Climbing mountains, even with a transmission cooler, is tough on the tranny. It needs watching.

Your advice to look at a larger TV when considering the larger Pods is right on. I think the 171 or 172 is the limit for the Pilot unless you're staying on level ground near sea level.

Good video. Thanks.

Charlie
Northern Colorado
OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD
PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD

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PilotPodder Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 04 May 2016 Location: Portage, MI Online Status: Offline Posts: 305	Topic: My Experience Towing with a Honda Pilot Posted: 21 Aug 2018 at 7:27pm
	Just put a video together talking about my experience towing with a 2014 4WD Honda Pilot. Hope it will help folks think through a decision like this. https://youtu.be/WAIMgWv7Zjo ~PP
	Portage, MI — 2017 RPod 179 - sold / 2017 Toyota Tundra — My RPod YouTube Videos

jato Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Feb 2012 Location: Kewadin, MI Online Status: Offline Posts: 3224	Posted: 21 Aug 2018 at 8:55pm
	Great video. Am curious about one item you neglected to mention. In all the vehicles I have towed our 177 with which include: '94 F-150 4x4, 2008 Ford Explorer, 2013 Ford Explorer all came with transmission coolers. Did either or both or your tow vehicles have this item?
	God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."

PilotPodder Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 04 May 2016 Location: Portage, MI Online Status: Offline Posts: 305	Posted: 21 Aug 2018 at 9:05pm
	Jato, Yes the 2014 4WD Honda Pilot came with the transmission cooler as standard equipment. For the 2016 and later Pilots it is an option and not standard. ~PP
	Portage, MI — 2017 RPod 179 - sold / 2017 Toyota Tundra — My RPod YouTube Videos

CharlieM Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Nov 2012 Location: N. Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 1797	Posted: 21 Aug 2018 at 9:34pm
	John, Good video on the Pilot/Pod combo. Seems a popular combo. This question has been asked many time and I've answered it many times. Interesting to hear of the upgrades to the 2016 model. I think you give them a fair and honest review. I started with a 2010 4WD Pilot and elected to go with the 172 because I knew I would be spend lots of time in the CO Rockies. Engine performance of a naturally aspirated engine at altitude is a big and mostly overlooked factor. Overall it did well but climbing grades at 10K ft. definitely exposed the limits of the Pilot. There were only two of us and I was at 20MPH in first or second gear at times. One misunderstood item, and you mentioned it, is the use of a WDH. I consider it an absolute necessity with the Pilot. The Pilot manual does not recommend a WDH but it does not prohibit it. Their reasoning, at least in my 2010 manual, is that a maladjusted WDH can be worse than no WDH. Absolutely correct but true for any WDH installation. The idiot dealer that installed my WDH apparently had no clue so I almost had a disaster on my first trip home, but that's another story. My WDH recommendation to new campers is Read the instructions, Understand the instructions, Follow the instructions, and Check your work. I never had any problems with the Unibody of the Pilot. One other thing I recommend is a transmission temperature gauge like the ScanGauge. Climbing mountains, even with a transmission cooler, is tough on the tranny. It needs watching. Your advice to look at a larger TV when considering the larger Pods is right on. I think the 171 or 172 is the limit for the Pilot unless you're staying on level ground near sea level. Good video. Thanks.
	Charlie Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD

PilotPodder Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 04 May 2016 Location: Portage, MI Online Status: Offline Posts: 305	Posted: 22 Aug 2018 at 6:48pm
	Thanks CharlieM! Excellent real-world experience explained well. I may be asking to quote you at some future date. ~PP
	Portage, MI — 2017 RPod 179 - sold / 2017 Toyota Tundra — My RPod YouTube Videos