Anyone tow their Escape 21 with a Honda Pilot?

[daniel108]

I haven't purchased yet but planning to tow a E21 with our Land Rover LR4. It's rated for like 7700 lbs towing (2011 with V8) but it does come close on the hitch weight at 550 lbs. Loaded up with kids in the back, kayaks on the roof, and other gear, we could easily get over the maximum axle loading I think. Also it has an air suspension. There are arguments on the LR4 forums regarding whether a WD hitch can be used or not....the owner's manual says no but some people do so successfully I guess. I tend to over think these things...feel all nervous about being a few pounds over and then see someone towing an Airstream with some little mid-size.

[skyfree]

We tow a 2017 17B, pretty fully loaded with a 2017 Honda Pilot EX-L AWD. We carry 6 people, a big dog, tents, food, chairs, etc., etc. Just the 6 people and dog add up to 900 lbs, so that puts us at about 4,500 lbs all up. The Pilot handles it like a champ. Plenty of power for steep hills. No scary moments. We use a weight-distributing hitch and the vehicle has the transmission cooler which allows the 5,000 lb towing limit.

I wouldn't hesitate to tow your 21 as long as you stay under the 5,000 lbs and use a weight-distributing hitch to keep the hitch weight balanced. Don't pack the car's cargo area with heavy stuff -- put that in the trailer.

I understand that people love to tow with trucks. I've got one and it tows great, but I'd rather tow with the Pilot. It's a more comfortable vehicle on long road trips.

[NCBill]

Originally Posted by Bea

Hey NCBill, If you are looking for a SUV like the Sequoia and GX460, you may want to also compare them to a Ford Expedition SUV? Expeditions are rated to tow 6000 lbs - Add the HD tow package?... 9,200 lbs. New Expeditions come in 2 lengths: 210 in and 222 in (EL). Our 2017 Expedition is 206 in. long (much like the Sequoia, and same in width but not as 'porky' ) In comparison, the GX460 is considerably narrower, 74.2 in width; the Expedition is 80 in width. The smaller the TV, the bigger size and need for tow mirrors. Just food for thought! Happy hunting! -Bea

I am trying to either go Honda or Toyota/Lexus next time. I really don't like the premium fuel only on the GX, otherwise I like it a lot. I do like the styling of the 2013 and earlier model GX. The sideways swinging tailgate on the GX is odd to say the least.

In the meantime, I'll stick with the F150.

Thanks!

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by NCBill

The sideways swinging tailgate on the GX is odd to say the least.

Historically, this has been pretty common on SUVs, to allow a door-mounted spare. It can certainly be annoying if it doesn't swing the way you want at the moment, and the single door (versus the more common unequal double doors with the spare on the wider side) is a very wide thing to handle... and is likely to hit the trailer's tongue-mounted stuff (such as the jack).

[Mkies]

We tow our 19 with a pilot. Works great.

Mike

[Canadian Explorers]

Sounds like we'd be OK, but close to the towing limits if we had to travel with full tanks. I guess it comes down to how much we want to be fussing about being too close to towing capacity or hitch weight maximum. Thanks for all the input. Will help us in determining what to do. (Wish car companies had more options for towing with SUVs rather than just trucks...Great if you already own one, but 95% of the time, we wouldn't be towing, but driving around town and to/from work...)

[Rossue]

Been there and all I can say is the "Any Escape can be towed by Mid-Size SUV" mantra by ETI forever is Fluff at best and not based on real life statistics. Do some tow a 21 with a Highlander or Sorento, or Pilot or Ridgeline? Yes. However, what do the majority tow them with is the question. I submit the former are in a minority and most tow with a truck or truck-based SUV. And there are plenty here who started with mid-size and didn't like it and moved up.

[cpaharley2008]

My tongue weight on a 2019 E21 comes in at 625#, a Sherline scale would help answer some of your concerns https://www.amazon.com/Sherline-LM-1...MD3MST3XH2X06R

[Parker]

So here's a question for you.....prompted by Jim's numbers. If you use a weight distribution hitch and get the rear of the tow vehicle back up to level, how much weight is on the hitch? This is sort of a Zen koan, perhaps. What is the sound of one hand clapping?

I'm not suggesting that this justifies exceeding manufacturers' limits, but I've often wondered about this and how the vehicle manufactures consider it. One also has to consider the weight of the weight distribution hitch itself. If you're pushing 500 pounds tongue weight and then hang a really heavy hitch on the vehicle, that likely exceeds the 500 pounds. But it sort of carries itself due to its function.

[Farther]

It's easy to fall prey to the American "value" of "bigger is better" and "if a little is good a lot is better". Personally I think as long as you adhere to the manufactures specs you will be fine.

[capesabledreamer]

Hi there

My wife and I own an Escape 19 and we pull it around with our 2013 Honda Pilot. The Pilot is great, we usually get around 15 MPG (18L/100km) when pulling the trailer which is pretty good. The trailer tows very well with the Pilot as we can typically cruise along at about 100km/hr and the tach sits between 2000 and 2500 rpm. Our 21 might be a bit lighter than yours (1800 kg GVW) but we have no reservations about pulling the trailer with the Pilot.

Jeff in Saskatoon

[Berndad]

Originally Posted by Canadian Explorers

We are planning to purchase an Escape 21, but really don't want to have to also purchase a pick-up truck to tow it. Does anyone currently tow their Escape 21 with a Honda Pilot (or similar mid-sized SUV)? The Honda Pilot has a maximum tow capacity of 5,000 lbs. with a maximum hitch weight of 500 lbs.

As we live in British Columbia, we want to know if this vehicle is sufficient, and can make it over the Rockies if we want to do a cross-Canada trip.

Thanks!

"If you're ever planning to tow a trailer with your vehicle -- whether it's a car, truck or SUV -- you should be aware of your gross combination weight rating, so you should probably start by learning the definition of a GCWR. A vehicle's GCWR is a specific weight determined by the manufacturer to be the maximum weight of a loaded tow vehicle and its attached loaded trailer. The total weight of the tow vehicle and trailer should never exceed the manufacturer's listed GCWR"
"f you're going to tow a trailer, it's a smart move to play it safe by learning your vehicle's GCWR. Where can you find this information? Typically, it can be found on a label inside the vehicle's door frame, near the area where the driver's door latches"
Excerpts from: https://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-...le%20/gcwr.htm

We have a 2016 Pilot elite with the added tow package and self installed brake controller. Discovered that we did not have a transmission cooler (despite ordering the 5000 lb tow capability in our contract) which the dealer ended up installing! (GCWR ~11,000)
We also have a 2018 F 150 3.0 liter turbo diesel (GCWR~ 19,000); and while the Honda can tow our nearly 5000 lb loaded 2019 Escape 19' with the Escape Ind. installed weight distr. hitch, our 19' , people, gear, and tug clearly exceed the pilot's GCWR! Our truck vs SUV experience means we leave the Pilot at home and drive the truck most of the time, especially at altitude or up mountains!
Hope this helps.

[cpaharley2008]

Here is a thread with common towing terms http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f1...erms-1921.html

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Berndad

We also have a 2018 F 150 3.0 liter turbo diesel (GCWR~ 19,000); and while the Honda can tow our nearly 5000 lb loaded 2019 Escape 19' with the Escape Ind. installed weight distr. hitch, our 19' , people, gear, and tug clearly exceed the pilot's GCWR! Our truck vs SUV experience means we leave the Pilot at home and drive the truck most of the time...

This is a common situation. It's even worse with pickup trucks, since their tow rating is almost always based on hitting the GCWR limit with zero passengers or cargo in the truck - that's why a truck with a trailer weight rating much higher than the actual trailer weight is required to actually handle your travel requirements.

In this example, the Pilot is expected to tow near its trailer weight limit, but the truck has a trailer weight several tons greater - the truck wouldn't work with a trailer at its trailer weight limit, either.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

This is a common situation. It's even worse with pickup trucks, since their tow rating is almost always based on hitting the GCWR limit with zero passengers or cargo in the truck - that's why a truck with a trailer weight rating much higher than the actual trailer weight is required to actually handle your travel requirements..

depends on the truck. the HD stuff (250/350 class) don't seem to have this problem nearly as much.

my F250 diesel just hits its GCWR even with a max weight trailer, and a payload of (max payload - tongue weight). max trailer weight is 12500 lbs, truck payload is 2250 lbs, max tongue weight is 1250 lbs (with WDH), so that means I can still have 750 lbs in the truck when maxing everything else out. on, and the GCWR is 20,000 lbs, with a truck GWR of 8800 lbs...

I do need to weigh my truck to see what its curb weight actually is... the fiberglass shell probably knocks 150 or 200 lbs off the payload. OTOH, the F250 and F350 my year have the same wheels, same frame, same axles, same brakes, only difference is the springs, so air bagging a F250 Super Duty would put you in the F350 single axle realm.

yes, I know, this truck is total overkill for hauling a fiberglass escape around... but I wanted an extended cab long bed (8'), and I wanted a diesel, the rest came along for the ride.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

... the F250 and F350 my year have the same wheels, same frame, same axles, same brakes, only difference is the springs, so air bagging a F250 Super Duty would put you in the F350 single axle realm.

I wouldn't count on that. Even within the F-150 there are (at least in some years) multiple frame steel thicknesses for the same wheelbase, depending on payload package. It may look the same but not be the same.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

I wouldn't count on that. Even within the F-150 there are (at least in some years) multiple frame steel thicknesses for the same wheelbase, depending on payload package. It may look the same but not be the same.

on the early Super Duty's (mine is a 2002), they are the same frame and everything, they didn't cost optimize it like the much higher volume F150's....

the payloads aren't even that different, the F350 has a 9900 lb GVWR while my F250 has a 8800 lb GVWR, thats because under 9000 lbs is a lower registration tax category. even a F350 DRW (dually, 11000 or 11500 lb GVWR) has the same frame, it just has a lower final drive ratio and longer wheel studs for the dual tire stack(and more leafs on the springs), and of course, the flared fenders.

[harvest]

Originally Posted by Mkies

We tow our 19 with a pilot. Works great.

Mike

Does it ever hesitate when towing while driving? We towed our 17b with a ‘21 Pilot with the tow package for 5k for the first time today and it seemed like it was very slightly but regularly lurching/hesitating/jerking.

[harvest]

Originally Posted by skyfree

We tow a 2017 17B, pretty fully loaded with a 2017 Honda Pilot EX-L AWD. We carry 6 people, a big dog, tents, food, chairs, etc., etc. Just the 6 people and dog add up to 900 lbs, so that puts us at about 4,500 lbs all up. The Pilot handles it like a champ. Plenty of power for steep hills. No scary moments. We use a weight-distributing hitch and the vehicle has the transmission cooler which allows the 5,000 lb towing limit.

I wouldn't hesitate to tow your 21 as long as you stay under the 5,000 lbs and use a weight-distributing hitch to keep the hitch weight balanced. Don't pack the car's cargo area with heavy stuff -- put that in the trailer.

I understand that people love to tow with trucks. I've got one and it tows great, but I'd rather tow with the Pilot. It's a more comfortable vehicle on long road trips.

I’d love to hear how it drives compared to not towing. We have a new AWD Pilot with tow package towing a 17B. It seemed good but was regularly having a hesitating or slight jerking kind of feel while driving 55 and also 45 through a town. It was subtle and we’ve never towed before today but I could feel it as a passenger. My husband said he didn’t really notice it.

[Canadian Explorers]

Thanks for your reply. We ended up getting an Audi Q7 which can tow 7700 lbs. We felt the 5000 lb. limit that a lot of the other SUVs max out at might be tight with our 21'. The Q7 has no problem towing, and we actually get pretty good mileage. No problems at all climbing a fairly steep hill. (A pick-up was not an option for us as none would fit in our driveway or garage.)