Towing Accessories
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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=11881
Printed Date: 28 Apr 2024 at 7:01am
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Topic: Towing Accessories
Posted By: MikeP
Subject: Towing Accessories
Date Posted: 11 Jul 2018 at 2:45pm
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Hi folks. One step closer to being officially worthy of joining this forum as the offer I put on a 2015 179 has been accepted! Very pumped, as I’m upgrading from our lil’ Palomino Yearling pop-up. So, I’ve tried to research this by myself within this forum and have picked up bits and pieces. But, just curious if anyone would mind passing along their wisdom to a newbie on a couple things? Curious about the necessity of a) brake controller; b) weight distribution hitch and c) sway bar….and where to purchase? Amazon appears well suited for all this stuff, but oh….so many to choose from. My tow vehicle is 2005 Honda Pilot…which I’ve learned isn’t the ideal vehicle, but its’ all I got for now. Much obliged. ------------- MP2112 |
Replies:
Posted By: Ben Herman
Date Posted: 11 Jul 2018 at 2:58pm
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Congrats and welcome! We tow a 179 with a 2011 Ridgeline, which is pretty similar to a Pilot if I'm not mistaken. Brake controller is a must - you need it to power your brakes and control them from the tow vehicle. We have a fairly basic Tekonsha unit, not sure of the model, we bought it at a local RV dealer (I think it was about $50 or 60) and while simple, it does everything we need it to. I believe they charged me another $50 or so for installation. We have an Equalizer WDH and recommend it. Takes some work (and patience) to get it set up properly and its a little bit of added effort to hitch and unhitch, but it makes for a very smooth and stable ride. It is wdh and sway control combined. Many people on this forum tow without one and I would consider it if I had a larger, heavier tow vehicle. But my opinion is that you are much better off with a WDH with the tow vehicle/trailer combo you have.
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Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 11 Jul 2018 at 3:31pm
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Brake controller is legally required in most states. Like 48 of them.. so.. WDH is not recommended for the Pilot/Ridgeline, (per the owners manual) though most owners use one, without issue, and it will improve the ride considerably. For sure get sway control. Some WDH's have it built it. But stand alone friction sway bars are easy, and inexpensive to find. ------------- |
Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 11 Jul 2018 at 4:01pm
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Furpod?? You recommend both wdh AND sway control?? Or your saying if it's not built into the wdh? I tend to value your opinion ------------- 2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 11 Jul 2018 at 4:21pm
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Yes. If towing with a smaller vehicle, which I consider a Pilot to be, I highly recommend both. And it's easiest to implement both if they are together in the same system. If the OP wants to follow the Honda guidance to not use a WDH (which I think is BS, but it ain't my truck or Pod) Then I highly recommend a friction anti sway system, at the very least. ------------- |
Posted By: Ben Herman
Date Posted: 11 Jul 2018 at 4:52pm
Totally agree with Furpod on his assessment. The one I use does both. I've towed the Pod short distances without it and difference is significant.
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Posted By: MikeP
Date Posted: 11 Jul 2018 at 8:18pm
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awesome, thanks folks. Now to calculate the overall tongue weight.....sighh
------------- MP2112 |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2018 at 7:11am
Doesn't have to be calculated.. you can weigh the tongue. But, if you are trying to do the math for a WDH, you need a 600lb bar set. I know a lot of Pods, own a Sherline scale, and have taken a lot of TW measurements.. None has ever been above 600, or under 285. ------------- |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2018 at 7:20am
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http://www.google.com/search?q=measure+trailer+tongue+weight+bathroom+scale&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1 - LINK ------------- |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2018 at 8:34am
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+1, I have a Sherline. I prefer the 0-1000 scale, easier for me to get an accurate weight. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2018 at 9:22am
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Yes.. I mount the 1000lb gauge when at a Pod event.. but for our Lance the 2000lbs gauge is better, since our TW runs between 950-1100lbs.. ------------- |
Posted By: kansasfrogs
Date Posted: 13 Jul 2018 at 1:15pm
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We had a Honda Pilot and a 182G. It was necessary to have the WDH and sway bar. The ride was much better and the Pod stayed right with us at all times! ------------- FROGGY |
Posted By: cgarb
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2018 at 10:11am
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Darn. We currently use the WDH and sway bar, as well, with a Honda Pilot. The hitch is now too heavy for us to lift with our back issues and I was hoping someone would say that the extra heavy hitch wasn't necessary. We used to haul horses and never used anything other than a 2" hitch on a Suburban, but that was a somewhat larger car, so maybe that is the difference. We are going to have to sell the trailer if we can't find a way to haul without the heavy hitch. ------------- Carol 177 HRE rpod 2014 Honda Pilot |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2018 at 10:15am
------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: cgarb
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2018 at 11:36am
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I'll have to check. It must weigh about 40 or 50 lbs.! Seems way too heavy. The original receipt doesn't say a brand, just: "Receiver, other (III BL&MNT) and W/D 350 w/sway (F.D.)". The bars aren't a problem, just the hitch with the balls that goes into the receiver on the car. ------------- Carol 177 HRE rpod 2014 Honda Pilot |
Posted By: Ben Herman
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2018 at 12:33pm
Yeah, mine's pretty heavy also. Not sure of weight but way more than 20 lbs.
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Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2018 at 12:35pm
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To be honest, I've never actually weighed it. My measure is to lift it and try to judge if it weighs more/less than a bowling ball, or more/less than a 60 lb bag of concrete. When I lifted it, it felt heavier than a bowling ball, and a lot less than a 60 lb bag of concrete. To confirm my suspicions (or not), I took the bathroom scale out to the garage, and weighed the head unit. It came to 42.3 lbs. Does anyone add this to their tongue weight? I think it should be...  ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2018 at 4:14pm
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Agreed, when tongue weight is measured, you need to include everything attached to tongue. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |