Honda Odessey Towing - Event Date: 06 Mar 2016

Welcome to the group!!

If it is any comfort, we towed an R-Pod 179 from North Carolina to Nevada, then to Arizona, and returned to North Carolina with a Ford Escape SE with 2L Ecoboost engine. The Escape is also rated for 3500 lbs. Ours came with the factory tow package which included the transmission cooler.

Performance was fine, even when we were hitting the hills. We went across on I40 and returned via I10 to I20 to I85. We did not have any climbs that were really long and steep, but it towed well. Mileage on that trip, which included some significant head and cross winds varied between 8 and 14 mpg.

Since our return, I added two items that should help. The first is an AeroPlus wind deflector. It deflects the air upward and is supposed to (and apparently does) reduce the wind resistance. We only got to test it briefly when we picked up our R-Pod from the dealer. It will take some longer trips to verify, but it did seem to improve our gas mileage. We purchased online direct from PurpleLine, and got a good price without a middleman markup. They accidentally sent one that had been returned, so PurpleLine refunded part of the cost to make it the "open box" price. It does require a roof rack on which to mount it. If you don't have one, then Icon Direct sells one called the AeroShield.

The second item is an OBDII scanner teamed with the Torque Pro Android app. This is to help me see how the vehicle is performing, and provides gauges for things like transmission temperature and many other parameters. The one I purchased was this one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NLQAHS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I, like you, purchased the Escape, thinking we would be getting something smaller and lighter. Since we too cannot trade, we looked for something that would be towable. The R-Pod meets that requirement. The added advantage is that when we are not towing, we have a very economical vehicle that meets our average daily needs very well.

One caveat: Make sure you get a good weight distribution hitch with sway control. We have the Equal-i-zer 4 way sway control hitch. It performs well, but the disadvantage is that the hitch head is very heavy. I found a tool to assist:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HSO37B0?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01

I cannot recommend this tool highly enough. What a difference it makes in moving the heavy hitch head around and attaching and detaching it to the receiver! It also works with 2" hitch balls, which is what my hitch has.

You might also consider the Andersen No Sway hitch since it would be lighter and easier to work with.

http://www.amazon.com/3324-Andersen-No-sway-Weight-Distribution/dp/B009V70ZP8/ref=sr_1_8?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1457318853&sr=1-8&keywords=Andersen+hitch

Note: I am not endorsing Amazon. It was just convenient to link to pictures and descriptions there. If you decide to purchase an item, please use the business of your choice to do so.

We tow with our Dodge Caravan in the Green Mountain of Vermont and the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and also the Pocano's.

I will have to modify my previous comment. We did have some significant climbs. Examples are ones like I40 entering NM from TX.. Another was the climb up out of Kingman, AZ heading toward Las Vegas. A third was climbing up out of the valley where Las Cruces, NM is located. Those were fairly long and steep climbs.Perhaps the reason I did not remember them was because the Escape performed so well. There are probably more significant climbs both in length and steepness in the northern Rockies, but I think most of the Interstate highways would be okay.