|
04-01-2016, 07:09 PM
|
#1
|
Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: North GA, Georgia
Trailer: Casita
Posts: 48
|
Towing Concerns
We ordered our 19' trailer today--so excited! I had asked in an earlier thread about towing with a Honda Pilot and should have specified a 2013 Pilot AWD rated at 4500 lbs. The manual says not to use a weight distribution hitch. We currently tow a 17' Casita with a sway bar. We have never had any trouble. Is not having a weight distribution hitch a real concern with a larger trailer? Should we think about getting a vehicle that is rated for 5000 lbs? What are some tips for keeping the weight down besides packing less? Thanks. These posts are really helpful.
|
|
|
04-01-2016, 07:18 PM
|
#2
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
|
Get yourself a Sherline tongue weight scale to accurately measure the weight on your tow vehicle.
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
|
|
|
04-01-2016, 07:45 PM
|
#3
|
Site Team
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Canyon Lake, Texas
Trailer: 2015 19 "Past Tents", 2021 F150 Lariat 2.7L EB
Posts: 10,222
|
Towing Concerns
Lots of folks have towed a 19 with a Honda Pilot - Jim Bennett for one. You'll be fine. Just do as suggested and watch your tongue weight. And I mean, better to be slightly heavy on the tongue than slightly light.
__________________
"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy an RV. And that is pretty close."
|
|
|
05-19-2016, 10:56 AM
|
#4
|
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Portland, Oregon
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19
Posts: 7
|
Do you know if Mr. Bennett uses a WDH, sway bar, or anything with the Pilot? We towed 17' Casita with 2011 Pilot with the sway bar. It worked great. Now we have the 19' Escape.
|
|
|
05-19-2016, 11:14 AM
|
#5
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Trailer: 2017 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 15,552
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by seawolf42
Do you know if Mr. Bennett uses a WDH, sway bar, or anything with the Pilot? We towed 17' Casita with 2011 Pilot with the sway bar. It worked great. Now we have the 19' Escape.
|
I went the first 4 years towing with no WDH and had no troubles. Sure, there were certain towing nuances that did not bother me with regards to rough roads mostly.
For the last couple years, I started using the Andersen WDH, mostly for comfort for the sake of getting my wife driving more. What it did was smooth out the ride, and as many describe, made the tow/trailer together seem more like a single long unit.
If you have not towed much, I would recommend a WDH.
__________________
2017 Escape 5.0 TA
2015 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost
2009 Escape 19 (previous)
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln
|
|
|
05-19-2016, 11:22 AM
|
#6
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Trailer: 2015 5.0 TA, 2014- RAM HEMI 8 spd
Posts: 447
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008
Get yourself a Sherline tongue weight scale to accurately measure the weight on your tow vehicle.
|
Jim, do you know if a pin weight scale exist for 5th wheel? I searched Amazon, didn't come up with anything.
|
|
|
05-19-2016, 11:29 AM
|
#7
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Trailer: 2017 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 15,552
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scuba55
Jim, do you know if a pin weight scale exist for 5th wheel? I searched Amazon, didn't come up with anything.
|
The Sherline will work for that too. You just place the scale in the back of your pickup, and lower the pin onto it.
See page 12
https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=h...2Flm_book2.pdf
__________________
2017 Escape 5.0 TA
2015 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost
2009 Escape 19 (previous)
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln
|
|
|
05-19-2016, 01:42 PM
|
#8
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trav
Should we think about getting a vehicle that is rated for 5000 lbs?
|
The rating says little if anything about stability. A higher rating might just mean a stronger transmission or better engine cooling, in a vehicle which might be the same size and no more stable.
For an example, the first-generation Jeep Liberty is rated for 5000 pounds, but has shorter wheelbase and much less track width than the Pilot, and would be a very marginal tow vehicle for 5,000 pounds of trailer.
|
|
|
05-19-2016, 01:54 PM
|
#9
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scuba55
Jim, do you know if a pin weight scale exist for 5th wheel?
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Bennett
The Sherline will work for that too. You just place the scale in the back of your pickup, and lower the pin onto it.
|
Yes, the Sherline will work... and in the same way, any scheme for weighing a conventional tongue will work for a fifth-wheel, using the truck as a raised platform if needed (depending on the method).
A more direct link for the Sherline manual is lm_book2.pdf
|
|
|
05-19-2016, 06:35 PM
|
#10
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Olympia wa, Washington
Trailer: 5.0TA 2017
Posts: 2,255
|
could you use a heavy weight bathroom scale for a bumper pull by putting it under the jack then raising it off the ball until the full weight was on the scale?
|
|
|
05-19-2016, 06:55 PM
|
#11
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
|
If you're going to try that, put a piece of 2 x 10 between the jack post and bathroom scale. I crushed one and then bought the Sherline.
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
|
|
|
05-19-2016, 07:17 PM
|
#12
|
Site Team
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Canyon Lake, Texas
Trailer: 2015 19 "Past Tents", 2021 F150 Lariat 2.7L EB
Posts: 10,222
|
Towing Concerns
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox hunt
could you use a heavy weight bathroom scale for a bumper pull by putting it under the jack then raising it off the ball until the full weight was on the scale?
|
Yes you can use a bathroom scale, but not directly - at least if you want it accurate. This guy shows how he did it:
Measuring trailer tongue weight with a bathroom scale
__________________
"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy an RV. And that is pretty close."
|
|
|
05-20-2016, 09:00 AM
|
#13
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Trailer: 2015 5.0 TA, 2014- RAM HEMI 8 spd
Posts: 447
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Bennett
|
Thanks, Jim
|
|
|
05-20-2016, 01:36 PM
|
#14
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox hunt
could you use a heavy weight bathroom scale for a bumper pull by putting it under the jack then raising it off the ball until the full weight was on the scale?
|
Yes and no.
This approach can work, but you will only get the right value if you measure with the tongue at the same height as when towing... which means pulling the tug out of the way and lowering back down. With a single-axle trailer such as the Escape 17', by the time you have raised the coupler enough to that the tug's suspension rises and the coupler just comes off the ball, the extra height will make the measured weight lower than it would be at towing height. Tandem-axle trailers behave in the opposite way.
Also, the reading at the jack will be higher than at the coupler (ball), so it needs to be adjusted (reduced about 10%) to get the right value.
|
|
|
05-20-2016, 05:46 PM
|
#15
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Oswego, New York
Trailer: 2017 Escape 21C, 2018 Ford F150
Posts: 5,373
|
Here is my solution for using a bathroom scale.
|
|
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Discussions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|