Choosing Hitch Option

[Bob and Kris]

Greetings and a thanks to all in advance for the welcome and replies.

We are at the 'choosing options' stage for our ordered Escape 19.

We will be towing with a 2010 Honda Pilot, 4 wheel drive, 4,500 lb tow rating. It came with the factory tow package.

The Escape options (3) listed are:

Equalizer Hitch (Pro Series 600 lb Trunnion) $350.00.

Equalizer Hitch (Pro Series 600 lb Trunnion) with Sway Control Bar (Pro Series) $400.00.

E2 by FastWay Integrated Sway Control and Weight Distribution Hitch $625.00.

I invite your opinions as to which option might serve best for our Honda Pilot.

Thanks,

Bob

[Brian B-P]

Sorry to make this more complicated, but there are other choices:

• no weight-distributing hitch (WDH) - $20 for a ball mount from any store with towing equipment
• WDH (of any brand or style) from another source - wide variety of suppliers and prices

If you know what you want this hitch accessory to do, then you can make an informed decision. If one of the Escape options does what you want, it would be convenient to buy it from them.

[tractors1]

I'd go with the E2 Integrated but buy it yourself and take it up for ETI to fit up. Way less $........

https://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Dist...Il_BoCI2jw_wcB

[gbaglo]

Umm. What's the charge for installing a product you bought elsewhere when it was available from ETI?
Maybe you could drag the trailer to wherever you got the hitch and get them to install it for free?

[skiman]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Umm. What's the charge for installing a product you bought elsewhere when it was available from ETI?
Maybe you could drag the trailer to wherever you got the hitch and get them to install it for free?

I think ETI charged us $75 to install our Reese SC66151 hitch.. Did a good job setting up.

[David H]

Originally Posted by Bob and Kris

Greetings and a thanks to all in advance for the welcome and replies.

We are at the 'choosing options' stage for our ordered Escape 19.

We will be towing with a 2010 Honda Pilot, 4 wheel drive, 4,500 lb tow rating. It came with the factory tow package.

The Escape options (3) listed are:

Equalizer Hitch (Pro Series 600 lb Trunnion) $350.00.

Equalizer Hitch (Pro Series 600 lb Trunnion) with Sway Control Bar (Pro Series) $400.00.

E2 by FastWay Integrated Sway Control and Weight Distribution Hitch $625.00.

I invite your opinions as to which option might serve best for our Honda Pilot.

Thanks,

Bob

I towed my 17B with a 2013 Honda Pilot, the owners manual recommended not using a equalizer hitch. It did make reference to using a sway control, generally a friction bar arrangement, but only if sway was a problem. I didn't have sway issues with the Pilot 17B combination. The receiver arrangement on the Pilot is not designed for the forces introduced with an equalizer setup. There was a past post on this forum where a Pilot's receiver had actually deflected vertically from its original position over time. Even my new 2016 VW Touareg clearly states not to use an equalizer hitch even with the rated tow capacity of 7700 lb and a 612 lb rated tongue weight. I suggest you check the owners manual.

[David H]

This is from a 2011 Honda owners manual.


Honda specs.
Receiver: Max. trailer weight = 4500 lbs. (4WD)
= 3500 lbs. (2WD)
Receiver max. tongue weight = 450 lbs. (4WD)
= 350 lbs. (2WD)
From the manual: “A weight distributing hitch is not recommended for use with your vehicle, as an improperly adjusted weight distributing hitch may reduce handling, stability, and braking performance.”

[David H]

This is the problem Steven observed with his Pilot after using an equalizer hitch.


Honda Pilot hitch receiver problem


I posted in this thread on towing a 19' because I just had a problem towing my 19' and it is related to my tow vehicle.

Well, I've been successfully pulling my 19' with my 2010 Honda Pilot 4WD for almost 2 years with an EqualIzer WDH and noticed a problem two days ago when hauling the trailer up to a 7,000ft campground in the Sierra Mountains in California. I was driving after dark and oncoming drivers were giving me their high lights constantly. At a gas stop I noticed that the Pilot front end was high and the back was low as if the WDH was not there. I took a closer look after setting up camp the next morning. The Pilot hitch receiver is bending upward which makes the WDH not work correctly. I looked under the Pilot at the receiver tube mounting and was surprised at how lightweight the whole assembly is. The entire mounting is constructed of formed sheet metal. It looks like the sheet metal form the receiver tube is welded to is bending upward. With my tongue weight at the top end of the Honda Pilot spec and the WDH forces the towing receiver just couldn't take it and bent. I also did not hit a big bump or rut on this trip so I suspect the problem has been gradual. I also checked all the welds and they are good. There is no immediate safety issue but it is obvious that this setup needs to be changed. I now know why the Pilot manual recommends no WDH. The towing assembly on the Honda Pilot is not designed to be strong enough for a WDH. Other Pilot owners should be aware.

When I get back I am going to pull the WDH off, lighten the tongue weight by reorganizing the trailer load and then I'm thinking about adding air bags inside my coil springs to level the truck when the trailer is attached. As long as I pull some weight off the trailer tongue I should be fine. I know some of you have installed air springs in your suspensions and would welcome your thoughts/advice...

Steve

[gbaglo]

The manual for my 2008 RAV4 V6 also says a weight distribution hitch is not recommended. Eventually I got clarification in that it means they don't recommend a WDH. They don't have a relationship with a company that builds WDH so they don't recommend.
Doesn't mean you can't use one.
And, last service, my Toyota dealer checked out the hitch receiver at my request and reported that everything was good ( after seven years ).

[Bob and Kris]

Thanks to all for your comments. I'm beginning to think that my best option is to go with a sway bar only. Bob